Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning Dynamic Courses, Books, Resources and Tours for Healthy Groups, People and Culture with Robin Clayfield

The scheduled March 2024 PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate Course) was postponed till August to make the most of time, resources and numbers of interested people, which included three people from overseas countries. The PDC last August was fantastic and enjoyed by all and this coming August PDC, from 11^th to 25^th August is promising to be a fantastic learning experience.

The course is a fund raiser for Crystal Waters Community Cooperative with all organisers, presenters, cooks and support people being paid reasonably for their time and efforts, and all surplus going to the Co Op. The main Presenters and Facilitators of learning are Robin Clayfield, Annaliese Hordern, Max Lingdigger and Jessica Steele with guest appearances from several other skilled and passionate people. Robin and Max are Permaculture pioneers and acknowledged Elders of the Permaculture Movement with decades of experience teaching, presenting and facilitating Permaculture and related topics. Max was the principle Designer of Crystal Waters Permaculture Village and Robin bought into the plan in the mid 80’s and moved in when titles transferred in 1988, so both have a lot of knowledge and history with Crystal Waters.

The course features all the standard Permaculture design topics while incorporating hand’s on sessions, a Crystal Waters Tour plus tours and site visits to many Crystal Waters Lots and homes as well as some outside Crystal Waters.

A thorough design exercise takes place over four afternoons, there are films and some night time activities, a day off in the middle and some evenings off. Topics and experiences that give this course a unique flavour include Social Permaculture sessions, a Deep Ecology walk, memory and brain activations and many sessions being conducted using creative, interactive learning methods to ensure all people’s learning needs are met, everyone is learning easily and having fun.

The catering for the course includes three meals a day plus morning tea and all day cuppas. It sources as much local and organic food as possible and caters to people’s special need diets.

Go to the website to see more or book here

It is said by Futurists that Facilitation skills will be one of the Top 10 skills required in the future.

Robin has been training facilitators, teachers and group leaders for 32 years now and after a time, formed up her observations, experiences and thoughts into a Learning Methodology. She’s floated it out into the world with the help of ELFy, the magician.

ELFy is a Jigsaw Puzzle where each piece is part of what she suggests is required for the group and each individual to be successful, engaging with the subject, motivated and having fun. ELFy is also an acronym for Educator, Leader, Facilitator and helps me address all of us who facilitate groups, train, educate, teach, lead, chair or mentor. Key pieces of the puzzle are Creativity, Group and Personal Empowerment, Interactivity and Collaboration along with grounding by meeting Needs and establishing shared Values, Ethics, Principles, Agreements and setting Goals etc along with perfecting the Art and Skill of Facilitation.

Once a year Robin hosts a 6 day ‘Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning’ Intensive at her home Community of Crystal Waters Ecovillage in South East Qld. Next one is 7 weeks away from 19th to 24th May. Consider joining her and upskilling in a dynamic and supported way and let her know if you’d like more info for yourself or to pass onto a colleague or friend that may be needing more confidence or creativity.

Thanks and may all our Groups be happy and effective in whatever field you engauge in, for a better world 🙂

Here’s a link to contact Robin by email to enquire or book

And here’s the FaceBook Event with lots of details                        

Robin’s ‘The Vision Tree Planning and Design Framework’ which will be a whole chapter in her upcoming book ‘Dynamic Teaching and Facilitation’ will most likely be featured as an article in the UK ‘Permaculture Magazine’ sometime through the middle of this year.

Delvin Solkinson from Canada and ‘Visionary Permaculture’ encouraged the article and drafted the first version and after slight edits from Robin and a Yes from the magazine editors and publishers, it’s ready to go.

A wonderful tree illustration for the book chapter has been created by the very talented Permaculture artist and illustrator Brenna Quinlan and this will be used in conjunction with the article.

‘The Vision Tree Planning and Design Framework’ gives a map to journey through to plan and design anything, be it a land based design, a project or event, a business plan, a life design or the creation of a new group, organization or intentional community. It can also support retrospectively when a group, business, project or organization is struggling.

The foundations of the plan and/or design create fertile ground to plant the seed of the vision, which then, with support, matures into a strong healthy tree with all aspects functioning optimally and supporting all involved.

The framework was crystalized while Robin was doing a ‘Life Design’ for a family in Greece. She realized there was a pattern with all her designs, consultations, group support facilitations and problem solving sessions. A healthy foundation was needed to ensure success. A large tree appeared as a metaphor for the journey a group or individual could take or be guided through by Robin.

The Vision Tree Framework has also been beautifully presented as one section of Delvin Solkinson’s ‘Permaculture Design Deck’ which is available as a huge box full of Permaculture Principles, Ethics, Attitudes, Strategies, Tools and Frameworks Cards. See Delvin’s Card Deck here

It’s also available as a free PDF and Delvin has given Robin permission to use the Vision Tree set in her work or in any way she chooses. Such a divine gift from Delvin and his support and care for Robin’s work is beyond amazing and is so appreciated by her and others for sure.

After a very successful ‘Women’s PDC’, for women and presented by women, in November last year, Annaliese Hordern and the Ground Permaculture crew are putting on another Women’s PDC in October this year.

The course last year was in honour of and celebrating that is was 40 years since the first ever PDC, which Robin was a participant in.

To support the course robin did seven sessions as a special guest, two of which were tours of Crystal Waters and of her garden. She’ll be a special guest again this October.

Here’s the link to look or book

Last year’s ‘Dynamic Groups’ course saw some special guests as participants and everyone enjoyed a fun filled, deep learning and confidence building time together.

Robin organized an exciting music event the night after the course to host ‘Formidable Vegetable’ playing two big sets and Jimmy Halliday, who grew up on Crystal Waters, playing with Charlee McGee and Brenna Quinlan to complete the band and also doing his debut with a new style of Looping music.

Robin gave a challenge to the ‘Dynamic Groups’ course – to design and plan together an interactive, creative and potentially musical process piece that was 10 minutes long and would involve the whole group and all of the audience.

After Jimmy’s set the group rose to the challenge and took to the stage. They had the whole crowd (over 200 people) up and dancing in sync and we saw introverts become extroverts and very professional facilitators in colourful action. It was awesome to be part of.

The weather here has not been very supportive of gardening lately. First a very hot dry period towards the end of 2023 where many plants and trees died, then this year has been so wet and humid up here in South East Queensland. The result has been an overgrowth of tenacious grasses and ‘weeds’ that threaten existing trees and take over whole orchards, access paths and large areas of land as well as many large woody herbs and trees overextending themselves to obscure anything around them.

Then along comes fantastic Volunteers and WWOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) who have helped turn a problem into a solutions.
Lots of hard work…
• Making Hot Compost from the ‘weeds’ and prunings, often chipping them first
• Sheet mulching weedy areas by cutting ‘weeds’ and grasses then adding biochar, rock minerals and some nitrogen bombs then covering with soaked cardboard then straw
• Placing ‘weeds’ in wire baskets to Slow Compost or drowning them in big bins to create liquid manure
• Creating piles of ‘weeds’, grasses and pruning’s along edges to leave to compost down by themselves and smother other ‘weeds’ in the process

Please keep in mind that Weeds are only a plant in the wrong place or one that a use hasn’t been found for yet, so at ‘Kutamullamee’ weeds are a good thing and support the whole system to be in balance.

Huge thanks goes out to Renata from Brazil (10 awesome, productive weeks in the garden and lots of ferments in the kitchen), Dom from Pomona/Qld (regular garden visits), Marcelo from Australia/Brazil (regular garden visits) and Ally for 2 days recently, Thais from Brazil (4 weeks and still here being amazing), Wronka and Stefan and their three adult children from Switzerland (helping out before and after Christmas a little), Rod from SE Qld for helping with Solar, Diogo from Portugal (helping while asking lots of research questions for a few days)…

Big gratitude for Rob and Stephane and more recently Jen and Tom for sharing the delights and challenges of this land with me (Robin) and all the wonderful nature and creatures that share with us as well. Reciprocity is my favourite word. I see and hear and feel it everyday here with all of us Beings, some of us being human.