permaculture

[Bob Waldrop <bob@bobwaldrop.net>]

The version of the letter about the North American Permaculture 
Convergence I sent out a day or so ago was not
the final.  Oops.  Here is the final version.

Bob Waldrop, OKC

Dear Permaculturists of North America,

The desire for a North American Convergence has been expressed by a 
number of Permaculture practitioners and organizers over the years. It 
was also seriously discussed at the IPC in Jordan in 2011. As a result 
of efforts and organizing meetings held at the recent Cuba IPC, it is 
now obvious there is enough coherence and momentum to move this idea 
forward.

The initial Cuba IPC meeting was centered around the notion of a 
potential US Convergence. After additionally checking in with Canadian 
and Mexicano delegates, and receiving positive feedback, we solidified 
the intention to build towards a North American Convergence, in 
recognition of Permaculture's global proliferation, biodiversity, and 
camaraderie that extends beyond borders.

The current trajectory of where there seems to be the most coherence, 
consensus, and momentum is moving in the direction of a NAPC gathering 
in late August of 2014 in Minnesota at Harmony Park. It is a centrally 
located permaculture site that holds professional events, and the venue 
is well prepared to handle the logistics of 1000+ people at one 
time._http://www.harmonypark.com_ <http://www.harmonypark.com/>

The following elders/permaculture pioneers are in support of a NA 
Convergence and we are in the process of contacting other supportive 
stakeholders from Canada, Central America, and all US regions, to form a 
representative body. If you are an elder/permaculture pioneer and wish 
to be on the advisory council please contact us. If you have ideas you 
would like to share, please do. If you have yields in mind that are an 
appropriate design integration that can help a gathering like this to 
be more effective and worthwhile please let us know.
Direct communications can be sent to NAPC+PATO@groupspaces.com 
<mailto:NAPC%2BPATO@groupspaces.com>.

*Peter Bane,* Permaculture Activist, Bloomington, Indiana.
*Jude Hobbs*, Cascadia Permaculture Institute, Oregon.
*Penny Livingston,* Regenerative Design Institute, California.
*Chuck Marsh,* Useful Plants Nursery, Southeast Permaculture 
Convergence, Earthaven Ecovillage, North Carolina.
*Patricia Michael,* Patricia Michael Design, Austin, Texas
*Jerome Osentowski,* Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, 
Colorado.
*Michael Pilarski,* Friends of the Trees Society, Northwest Permaculture 
Convergence, Inland Northwest Permaculture Guild, Montana.
*Scott Pittman,* Permaculture Institute USA, New Mexico.
*Wes Roe & Margie Bushman,* Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, Southern 
California
*Wayne Weiseman,* Permaculture Project LLC, Carbondale, Illinois
*Starhawk, *Earth Activist Training, California

We value your opinions about a North American Permaculture Convergence. 
What you would like to get out of it, and what you would like to see 
accomplished are important to us, and we have created a survey to read 
the landscape. Your opinions and needs will strongly influence how this 
convergence unfolds. Please share the survey with your social media 
networks, and email lists as well.  Please note that there are 
text boxes where you can share more in-depth communications, needs, and 
opinions with us.

Here is the link:
_https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/napc2014_

We have a created a Facebook group for healthy, yet generative and 
supportive discussion where anyone interested can join to share, 
connect, and learn from each other.
_https://www.facebook.com/groups/napermacultureconvergence/_
Also please like our Facebook fanpage (just for redundancy's sake)
https://www.facebook.com/NorthAmericanPermacultureConvergence

We are looking forward to co-creating many beneficial connections and a 
stronger, moreresilient and collaborative community, ultimately helping 
to connect the movement to itself and to propagate our reach into 
positively affecting the world.

Sincerely,
Cover Crop Organizing Team
North American Permaculture Convergence

More Info - Direct Contacts
Michael Pilarski, friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com 
<mailto:friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com>
Koreen Brennan, koreen@growpermaculture.com 
<mailto:koreen@growpermaculture.com>
Bill Busse, bill@centerfordeepecology.org <http://centerfordeepecology.org>
Rashid “Ra” Gilanpour, ra@livingmandala.com <mailto:ra@livingmandala.com>
Monica Ibacache, monica@beyondorganicdesign.com