Permaculture

An invitation from the Education Team at Braziers Park Community enticed Robin to the experimental group work and social research community in South Oxfordshire for four days. This completed her stay in UK. Members were interested to participate in a ‘Dynamic Decision Making’ one day workshop and Robin also encouraged some community cross pollination by giving a presentation about ‘Crystal Waters Permaculture Village’ on her last evening there. The community is housed in a small Gothic style castle, quite an extraordinary building that was originally a farm house built in 1688 and extended with the Gothic turret type wings in 1799. The community has a large Permaculture garden and hosts many volunteers, workshops, seminars and four festivals a year including WOOD which Robin was luck enough to participate in on her first day there. Each day the community has a half hour morning circle where people share anything they feel …

Robin’s seven country ‘Dynamic Groups’ course tour began in the UK at The Sustainability Centre in Hampshire in mid May. The centre is an educational trust and offers facilities and experiences for adult workshops, school tours and a diversity of learning opportunities, volunteering and ways to be involved. Half the property is a natural burial ground where people are laid to rest in a simple earth friendly way. Such a beautiful thing to witness. The centre is also home to a delicious vegetarian cafe and Permanent Publication, a book publisher and producer of the UK Permaculture Magazine, a very quality and informative publication. Here’s a link to the centre. There were many highlights from the Dynamic Groups course, one being a large and very colourful, facilitated group design painting. A quick simple process that created a stir of excitement and satisfaction. We managed to gather from the participants and the Centre some …

Robin will be a speaker in the wonderfully crafted Regenepreneurs Interview Series! The host, Karryn Olson-Ramanujan*, created this series to highlight women leaders in Permaculture and shed light on the entrepreneurial skills that help us thrive in our regenerative right livelihoods. The interview will be live on Friday April 21st 6pm EDT in the U.S. (UTC-4), which is Saturday April 22nd at 8am in Australia (UTC+10). Please mark your calendars, because if you attend the live interview, she will answer your questions about her approach to thriving in her work. If you can’t attend at that time, the recording will be available for 24 hours. Click here to sign up to receive information about how to join us!  There is a small investment for listening and being. (Karryn is dedicated to mutually beneficial relationships—she and the other speakers are crowdsourcing outreach so that  all benefit from helping get the word out. The …

by Erin Young The Brus Ecovillage ‘Village Development Program’ (VDP) guides 120 people through Ecovillage design education for five weekends over 12 months.  As part of the facilitation team currently bringing this potent curriculum to an enthusiastic group of future Ecovillage residents, it has not only felt natural but also very necessary to utilise ‘Dynamic Groups’ processes to support the content to be fully conveyed and received. Small group work is an effective way to navigate a group of this size to support the intention for robust individual and group engagement.  Grouping processes have been essential, energising, and connective.  The group is invited to mill about each other, sharing smiles and recognition, having them bopping to fun lively music in the background.  They are invited to connect “five right thumbs” to which the group excitingly scurries to create.  They ’are back to milling about as the next instruction comes through. …

Western Australia was alive with it’s amazingly colourful and diverse wild flowers when Robin was there visiting for three weeks in October to attend the APC 13 (Australasian Permaculture Convergence) and present a five day Advanced Permaculture Teachers course. Robin was invited by Ross Mars, the convener of APC 13 and post APC courses, and was hosted very well by Ross, Charles Otway and other PermaWest members. The convergence was held in the Swan Valley and the weather was atrocious. Flying from warm spring days in Queensland to really cold blistery days for the whole 1st week in WA, the attendees were, like Robin, mostly unprepared and very cold. The spirits of all gathered were really high though and the great connections, time with old friends, valuable networking and interesting presentations and workshops made it all worthwhile. Robin enjoyed being a Key Presenter at the big public day preceding the …

Ross Mars, Convener of the Australasian Permaculture Convergence (APC) in WA in October has invited Robin to be the principle trainer of a five day Advanced Permaculture Teachers Course to be held from 10th to 14th October. Annaliese Hordern and Charles Otway will join Robin to present the course and Ross and others will have a Special Guest spot.  More information, bios about the presenters and bookings can be seen by clicking here on the APC13 Website. A quick transition will see Robin arrive at Fairharvest in Margaret River, hosted by Jodie Lane and team. She’ll be offering a one day Social Permaculture course on Sunday 16th October, joined by her good friend Robina McCurdy from NZ/Aotearoa. On Monday 17th she’ll also offer her ‘Dynamic Decision Making’ day, ideal for people involved in groups, teams, courses or organisations from any industry or genre. Click here to see the Social Permaculture Course …