Crystal Waters Permaculture Village

Several places have become available in Robin’s next ‘Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning’ six day Creative Facilitation, Teacher Training and Group Leadership course. People booked into three of the four available special cost price/scholarship places have cancelled or postponed for various reasons and a further two have deferred to a future time. There are still the numbers for the course to proceed so Robin is offering three more places for the cost price of $500 which includes all meals for 6 1/2 days. Accommodation in the EcoPark at Crystal Waters for the camping option is only $10 per night so this makes it a really affordable opportunity. A bed in the bunkhouse is $22.50. Some help and contribution, trade or donation would be most welcome as part of the exchange. For example, Robin is needing one person to come a couple of days early to help in the set up for …

A new documentary celebrating the past, present and future of Crystal Waters is just being released. It is possibly the most extensive exploration of an ecovillage in a documentary yet produced… I’d love to hear of other examples. In 2018, Crystal Waters, a world-first permaculture settlement and wildlife sanctuary, is now 30 years old – located near Maleny, South East Queensland. Given a UN Habitat Award in 1996, Crystal Waters is known worldwide for its permaculture related educational courses. Community members run monthly markets, bakery and cafes, bamboo and timber plantations, a fire brigade, cinema, even a cemetery. A visitor park offers cabins, caravan sites and tent sites. Over 100 dwellings and community buildings showcase diverse building methods – rammed earth, mud brick, straw bale and pole construction. The flow of the program entwines history and present views in a colourful and engaging manner. It may not answer all your …

Did you know you can design harmonious and effective groups who thrive towards their aims and purpose as a collective? Yep, it’s called Social Permaculture. And this is what Permaculture pioneer Robin Clayfield and social change-agent Erin Young are brewing for the SOCIAL PERMACULTURE WEEKEND on 18 & 19 May at Crystal Waters Permaculture EcoVillage, near Maleny in South East Queensland. This unique weekend is a rare opportunity to be guided in developing your social design fluency by applying the nature-based principles of permaculture. Using interactive and dynamic experiences, Robin and Erin will share with you insights to regenerative people systems and approaches contributing to happy and healthy humans on the levels of the individual, organisational, and societal. Various angles of effective social design will be covered, including group ecology, community governance and decision-making, group effectiveness, social space retrofits and confidence in acting for change. This course is for those …

Robin’s ‘Calendar of Events’ that she’s involved in this year include (known and confirmed dates)… ‘Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning’ Creative Teachers, Facilitators and Group Leaders Course. Crystal Waters in SE Qld. 17th to 22nd February. Here’s the link to the FaceBook Event which has the poster with details in the Discussion section.  Being Woman… Gathering. SE Q’ld. 8th to 11th March. Ceremony and Workshop. Follow this link. National Labyrinth Conference. Canberra. 21st to 24th March with workshop on Ceremony and Ritual on 22nd March. Follow this link. PDC (Permaculture Design Course) at Crystal Waters Permaculture Village. April 29th to May 11th. Max Lindegger as primary tutor plus Richard Mochelle, Annaliese Hordern and with Robin Clayfield as special guest presenter. Here’s the link. The Sacred Union Labyrinth at The Planting Festival with Ceremonies, Workshop and Music to walk to. 3rd to 5th May at Woodfordia. Here’s the link to the website …

Robin’s decision this year to run her annual ‘Dynamic Groups’ training at Crystal Waters EcoVillage much earlier in the year turned out to be a popular choice with participants. In light of this the course for 2019 will be in February from 17th to 22nd. It promises to be a great course and there are still a few places so best to jump in and confirm before the ‘Silly Season’ arrives.  

The ABC was interested in the 30th anniversary celebrations of the formation of Crystal Waters Permaculture Village, one of the very first EcoVillages and the first Permaculture Designed Village in the world. The community held it’s 30th birthday party in July and the following article, which has an interview with Robin and her daughter Pele along with other residents, was one of the outcomes, along with a great cake and many shared memories. Click here for a link to the ABC Article that went on their website. Here’s a quote from the article – “An eco village on the Sunshine Coast was an experiment in communal living when it first started. Thirty years later the village is still thriving, and the rest of Australia is catching on to some of its pioneering ideas.”