Participants from Robin’s ‘Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning’ courses go back into the world, back to their groups and into their workplaces and communities with a huge toolbox of processes to try out, adapt and share with their groups plus the confidence and ability to create whatever they need for any group or learning situation. Several past participants from the courses attended Robin’s session at the Permaculture Convergence in Tasmania recently and took on Robin’s challenge to jump in the deep end and lead the group of 35 people with a favourite processes they’d gleaned, modified or adapted from the Dynamic Groups course. Tamara Griffiths, Permaculture teacher from Victoria was one of them. She used a card game. Pete the Permie had some fun with puppetry and Dick Copeman from Northey Street City Farm had us cross crawling as an energiser. Here’s what Tamara wrote about the process she used. “I’ve …

More than a year has passed since Robin began in earnest writing the first in a series of books documenting over 20 years of training teachers, group leaders and facilitators. Book I, outlining the methodology and giving examples, activities and some processes to use, is almost half written. It has attracted a dedicated team of proofreaders, assistants and an editor over the months, namely Ange Jackson, Erin Young, Tracy Adams and Eve Witney. Robin’s partner Rob Clark is working on the artwork for the cover and for two card games that will be ready for launching before the book is completed. Prof Stuart Hill is reading the book with a view to writing the forward. It’s still early days, though Robin aims to have it in print in the first half of 2016. Here’s a sample activity from the ‘Empowerment’ chapter in Book 1 under the section of ‘Working from …

Woodford Folk Festival, held in December for 6 days each year, is the biggest and most acclaimed festival of it’s kind in Australia. For the last two years Robin and her troupe of installation artists, ceremony weavers and musicians have made her design of ‘The Sacred Union Labyrinth’ as a 10 x 10 meter meditative walk that patrons can experience any time during the festival. A magical pathway leads through a bamboo construction heart entranceway and via a series of pennants that give instructions about how to walk the labyrinth. Four times during the festival she and Mark Healy, who was the spark behind Robin designing the labyrinth, with support from Christine Clegg, Rob Clark and Stephane Cazard, lead sacred community ceremonies accompanied by a merry band of four musicians to the delight of everyone involved. The whole installation was embellished with Rob Clark’s amazing sign art and this last …

What a surprise! The opening evening saw Robin and 13 others acknowledged and honoured as Elders of the Permaculture Community. It was explained that you had to be over 55, contributed substantially over many years to Permaculture and be present at the Convergence. Robin accepted the plaque with tears in her eyes and a joyous heart.  Robin was one of four key note presenters at the Australasian Permaculture Convergence in March. She presented directly after David Holmgren on the first day and led the 200 attendees in an interactive greeting, icebreaking, networking and theme building session entitled ‘Social design and the culturing of Permaculture.’ It was obviously enjoyed and appreciated by all with everyone feeding back their theme groups suggestions with enthusiasm and team support. A lot was achieved in the one hour session and the energy of it carried out into the rest of the convergence. Robin’s workshop the …

Robin’s offering just 2 ‘Dynamic Groups’ Courses this year as she’s busy writing a series of books on ‘Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning’.  23rd to 27th August in UK at The Sustainability Centre, Hampshire ENGLAND with Looby Macnamara as a Special Guest. Enquire and Register with Looby at www.designedvisions.co.uk    Click here to see the poster and details 15th to 20th November in Australia at Crystal Waters Permaculture Village, SE Q’ld. Enquire and Register with Robin via email – robin@earthcare.com.au  Click here to see the poster and details

ROBIN CLAYFIELD Permaculture Solutions to Climate Change IPC11 Cuba This Guest Presentation by ROBIN CLAYFIELD at the International Permaculture Conference in Cuba gives an unconventional Talk about Permaculture Solutions to Climate Change – IPC11 Cuba. Comments on Youtube include: Kurt Holbrook “ Clearly, the very most neglected subject in Permaculture, Social Development, this speaker is brilliant, but the audio is over dubbed with Spanish translation making this release difficult to follow. I’m looking for Robin Clayfield’s attention and vitalization of the second Permaculture Principle, Care of the People, elsewhere. Thumbs up for Robin, thumbs down for the audio. I really appreciate harvesting ideas from Permacuture elders and including the rest of the groups, we get nothing like it in democratic forums.” TrilightShowroom+  sorry about the audio but this recordings where done spontaneously by a group of participants who got to know each other and forming in the first hour of …