Crystal Waters Permaculture Village

For the last 4 years, back in our home country Brazil, we decided to go on a journey of reconnection to the land and holistic way of living, that was when we discovered permaculture. Each of us fell in love with it in our own ways, “For me (Renata), coming back to the land and learning about permaculture helped me make sense of and connect my passion for food, local systems, and community living.”; “And for me (Thais), Permaculture ethics aligned with my values not just with the practical tools it provided for caring for the land but also on the social aspect, because I am amazed by the power of achievement that arises when people come together towards the same dream”. The goal of coming to Australia was to get to know a different culture and to continue to live on the Permaculture path we started, thus, there wouldn’t …

ONGO supports people to learn elements of NVC, especially empathy and deep listening, exploring needs and feelings and working together and with oneself to practice healthful communication and a more Zen way of living our daily lives. These are particularly good skills to have when being on Boards, Committees, in business teams or being in any kind of relationship. It involves working through a beautifully written book called ‘ONGO: Everyday nonviolence’ by Catherine Cadden, Jesse Wiens with illustrations by Kate Raffin. There is one group meeting per week, one meeting with a ‘Buddy’ per week and some personal practices to do each week on 5 of the days, though many of these take only a short time and some take some focus and time. I found the journey very valuable, especially the practice of empathy when in communication with another. There is an ONGO group planning to start at Crystal …

Robin and Wronka met nearly 30 years ago when Wronka applied to study Pedagogy for three months with Robin and Skye at Crystal Waters as part of her University studies. She come from Germany and participated and helped with the ‘Advanced Permaculture Creative Teachers Facilitation Course’ and the Permaculture Courses that they were running. In 1998 she returned the favour and hosted Robin and Skye in North Germany and organized the Creative Facilitators course for them to offer there, as well as touring them all around the Permaculture places in North Germany, including all kinds of wonderful inner Urban communities and gardens in Berlin. More recently she attended Robin’s ‘Wise Women’s Weekend Retreat’ way up in the mountains in Switzerland as a birthday present to herself. She then drove Robin and helper Kym Chi to her home in a little electric car to the Lakes area and hosted them both …

A passionate and skilled group of 18 people from India, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Solomon Islands plus two University Professors (Kristen from UQ and Jagjit from Monash and India) and two student interns participated in a specially designed 3 day tour of places of interest in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in mid December 2023. Robin hosted the tour group with Raven’s help covering logistics and most admin tasks. The program included beginning in Maleny with an Acknowledgement of Country, Lunch at an Indian restaurant and a presentation by Assistant Manager of 44 year old Maple St Co operative, a wonderful member owned food health food store. The afternoon completed with some shopping time and a tour of the Co ops, Collectives and points of interest around Maleny then a bus ride to Crystal Waters Permaculture Ecovillage and dinner with Yoav from ‘Good Food Vibes’ on the Deck at Crystal Waters. …

The last week of July promises to be a lively, creative and fantastic learning time. It’s a year since Robin’s last ‘Dynamic Groups’ course. It’s her annual offering of this type of course at Crystal Waters and since Covid began she has only offered this once a year in her home community as travelling to other states and countries by invitation wasn’t possible. The six day intensive runs from 23rd to 28th July and will be followed a day later by a big Permaculture Music gig with ‘Formidable Vegetable’ launching their new album. People booking for the course are recommended to stay the extra day and night and be part of the event. More info about the ‘Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning’ can be found on the FaceBook event here. Treat yourself to some Professional Development and lots of fun and confidence building. Contact Robin now to book your place.

Exciting news. For the first time ever at Crystal Waters, the world travelled Permaculture Band ‘Formidable Vegetable’ will be rocking the Village Green and Deck area on the last Saturday evening of July. Fresh from a sold-out national tour, Formidable Vegetable are back with some all new permaculture-boosted electro-funk and positive climate action that the whole neighbourhood can get down to as they launch their brand new album ‘Micro Biome’. With accolades from the UN and having toured to over 20 countries, Formidable Vegetable inspire folks from 5 to 95 to grow their own food, restore their own ecosystems and live a better life with irresistibly funky home-scale solutions to the many problems of the world. From the local farmers market to massive festivals such as Glastonbury, Formidable Vegetable are as at home on stage alongside the likes of Radiohead, Dolly Parton and The Rolling Stones as they are in …