Tag Archives: Social Permaculture

Crystal Waters Permaculture Village – 30 Years On

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 …

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Social Permaculture Course in May to Support People and Groups to Thrive

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 …

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Fantastic Events in 2019

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 …

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2019 Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning Dates Announced for February

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.  

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YouTube Clip from IPC – International Permaculture Conference India 2017

It’s now possible to watch snippets of the Main Presentations at the International Permaculture Conference in Hyderabad, India late last year. One of the sub themes was ‘Women as Agents of Change’ so Robin initiated and was then invited to led a panel of Women in Permaculture, especially emphasising Social Permaculture. She asked the question “Are Women Leading the Change?” and “What areas of change are you active and successful in and what qualities do you feel support this?” Women joining Robin on the panel included Vandana Shiva, Starhawk, Rowe Morrow, Robina McCurdy, Padma Koppula and several others. There’s a few seconds of the panel at 4.27 and a shot of all the presenters to begin with. Enjoy.

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Investing in Pivotal Training Courses. ‘Dynamic Groups’ Testimonials

Testimonials that come ‘Out of the Blue’ are very rewarding for any business, social enterprise or undertaking. Here’s a few that have popped in since the last eNewsletter. This one from Anne Gibson is very honouring and gratefully received, especially as Anne is an outstanding and very well respected speaker and presenter at Expo’s, Events and Workshops these days. “Attending Robin’s ‘Dynamic Groups’ course was one of the most valuable investments I’ve ever made in my presentation skills. Not only was the course thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining, but I gained an incredible teaching toolkit that has enabled me to engage my students and audiences when speaking and delivering workshops in an entirely new way. The group processes challenged my thinking and opened up a whole new world of creative possibilities to enhance learning outcomes. Robin’s teaching aids, processes, gifted teaching style and group work are testament to her exceptional facilitation …

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