13th Annual NorCal Permaculture Convergence

Trained 1:1 by world renowned soil expert Dr. Elaine Ingham to convey complex ideas to a K-12 audience, Matt Powers is an educator that can make soil understandable. Dive deep with Matt and learn about the world beneath your feet in and out of the garden sourcing Dr. Elaine's work, Radical Mycologist Peter McCoy's work, and dozens of experts from around the world as well as his own experience growing in 140F soils in Central Valley California. Join Matt for a fun, inspiring, and informative workshop on how to build soils, how to remediate soils, how to feed soil life, and how it all works micro to macro, and then learn how to apply the information to your own site!

In this presentation you will deep dive into the cutting edge science of this resilient material. The opportunity to shift away from fossil carbon dependencies is more and more within reach. Our forests and farms are bursting with dangerous fuel loads; it's a good time to reconnect with good fire. Possible demonstration.

Appropriate cooking technology harnesses renewable energy to cook meals that are healthy for our planet and us. Solar thermal energy is a readily available and renewable way to cook our food; dehydrate our fruits and vegetables; and pasteurize water. Rocket stoves use a fuel-efficient combustion chamber to minimize the amount of wood needed for cooking. Come learn how to build and use these technologies as we cook and enjoy a fossil-fuel-free snack!

The Regrarians Platform® bridges the work of Permaculture, Keyline Design, and Holistic Management to determine the priority of different elements of landscape development, their respective permanence and the order in which we design and plan production landscapes and their associated enterprises.

In this presentation this all-star team will introduce the Regrarians Platform® for land planning. The presentation will examine the context from which The Platform was adapted by world renowned farm designer and educator Darren Doherty. The steps of the platform will be introduced and discussed with a focus on the concept of relative permanence in the landscape. We will examine each step through the lens of a live client, Fruitwood Nursery, an established Humboldt food forest and rare fruit nursery. We invite participants to bring their own questions and projects as this is an interactive session.

Attendees of this workshop will be getting their hands dirty! This will be an introduction to the process of sourcing Wild clay from the Earth, and converting it into a material usable for topical medicine, ceramics, or building material. The class will begin with a discussion of where one might find wild clay, and what tests one can perform to determine various qualities. Following the discussion, participants will use simple tools to crush, sift, and hydrate clay. We will end with muddy skin, and a follow up discussion. Upon request, participants can delve deeper to experiment with making simple vessels, and perform test firings in a pit or wood-fired oven, and, with some luck, take home a wildcrafted vessel.

Intro to permaculture course taught by Bay Area urban gardener and urban ecologist, seedsman and seed librarian, community gardener and community organizer Christopher Shein. He brings 17 years of teaching a PDC at Merritt College, many more years of teaching in community gardens and public schools, and knows he doesn't know everything about permaculture or teaching or ...
Christopher brings the most diverse students together (race, class, gender, etc...) to build the most plant and species diverse public gardens in the commons in urban SF East Bay. www.wildheartgardens.com, www.merrittlandhort.com

GREEN ACRES PERMACULTURE VILLAGE is a small, retrofit, intergenerational intentional community in a core suburban college town neighborhood that integrates self-knowledge and expression with a shared culture among humans and the living Earth to encourage abundance on every level.

Greywater 101 will cover the basics of water resources and techniques for reusing water. We will define grey- and black-water and go over different mechanism to recycle water, such as branch drain systems and laundry-to-landscape systems. Freshwater is a finite resource and we need to keep it fresh!

I perceive two radically different approaches to sustainability developing, one of dense, 'smart' cities and another of dispersed eco-villages and market towns. I suspect that most advocates of each approach are at best mildly aware of the other concept, but choosing wisely bids us understand both well. A summary of the 2 approaches, their advantages and constraints, will be presented, followed by discussion.

Certified permaculture caretakers is a program that offers training in permaculture and access to land with a focus on single mothers and women of color. It is designed to be nested into a larger comprehensive back to the land movement and create a network of continued skill building and opportunities with in the emergent culture.

This panel assumes that water rights equate to the most basic human right to life. We will be looking at concepts that have lead to a global water crisis, where 1 in 4 people lack access to safe drinking water to be able to live.

“Right to Life” is defined not just for humans but for all life, including plants, animals, ecosystems, and microorganisms. Viewing policy reform not as a political entity but as an essential component to creating change.

A social, ecological and human rights perspective exploring themes such as environmental racism, social and environmental justice, landscape resiliency, and environmental, ecological, social, political, and structural repair of the water cycle in the modern day.

This panel intends to explore the frontlines of environmental consciousness: cultivating mindfulness in our relationship to water and discuss action steps that could lead toward a revolution where all beings have an absolute right to clean water.

Anchoring The New Dream of Earth
Since 2005

ANCHORING THE NEW DREAM OF EARTH is a large group visionary stewardship process that activates us into our bliss and sense of connection with one another and all of life so that we can create new “blueprints” for earth Life.

From this place of harmony and mutual cooperation. People from all walks of life and religious traditions are invited to participate, with the understanding that we are celebrating our Unity in our Diversity, and connecting with the Universal Power and Presence of Love in non-religious yet intrinsically “spiritual” ways that are non-exclusive.

THE PROCESS FOLLOWS PARTICIPANTS’ PASSIONS ABOUT PARTICULAR EARTH-LIFE TOPICS, FOR EXAMPLE:

• How could our children’s education be the most loving, empowering, confidence building, joy inducing experience possible for them?
• Could politicians be World Servers?
• What do you want the environment to be like?
• How do people get well?
• Can all corporations become Earth Stewards, creating with sustainable technologies?
• Can all our technologies to be sustainable?
• What does it look like? What does it feel like?
• How could government be in its highest aspect based on harmony and love?
• How could international relations be at their highest level of harmony and mutual sustainability?
• And more.

The group discovers their passion for topics of earth life that are most alive for them at that present moment of the workshop.

WHAT’S YOUR VISION FOR THE BEST OF THE BEST POSSIBLE FOR LIFE ON EARTH?

Participates learn to retrieve Source Sanctioned Visions for Life on Earth and/or their Organization or Community in this Visionary Stewardship Playshop. Accolades for the experience have come in since its inception in 2005. Pods co-create a visionary theater piece to express this new vision for earth life, with the most fun ever! Dynamic, synergistic Reality Creation at its best.

What we learned in school about hydrological cycles was in many cases oversimplified and its importance, understated. We were never taught how human habitat, infrastructure, design, and habits affect the watershed, micro and macro water cycles, and the global climate. Learn to connect each drop of water you use –and how you use it– at home, to the bigger picture. Topics include greywater, rainwater, stormwater, groundwater recharge, waste management and regenerative water management design.

Join international permaculturalist Jillian Hovey on a pictoral odyssey of her work in over 30 countries, from large eco communities, to urban ag, to biological waste treatment systems, and large-scale swales. See Tamera community and other work with Sepp Holzer, Hobbit House builder's home, projects across Europe, arid lands in the Middle East, coastal sites in Africa, the recent IPC in India, and David Holmgren's home and other projects in Australia, Jillian will be will be your guide with stories, knowledge, and humour. Be inspired by seeing people like you, bringing the patterns of permaculture to life in a range of landscapes. Suitable for beginners to advanced.

Interactive discussion that strategizes The People’s use of the permaculture power tool!

Come join Town and City Permaculture as they facilitate another interactive and invigorating workshop. That will implore participants to really delve into the question “What is Permaculture?” and how can the community use it a diverse and dynamic tool for building ecological economies of environmental equality.

This workshop will introduce how people around the world are using permaculture to respond to disasters, such as hurricanes, fires, and other unexpected catastrophes. It will explore the importance of social capital and knowing who are neighbors are, both for when disaster strikes and the good times in between. It will end with a fun "speed dating" where everyone will get to know the others in the room and build tighter bonds.

Bloom and Anahata have travelled globally with their organization, the Blooming Biodiversity Permaculture network, living at and visiting a rich diversity of Eco-villages, intentional communities, indigenous farms, and Permaculture projects.

Bloom and Anahata have travelled globally with their organization, the Blooming Biodiversity Permaculture network, living at and visiting a rich diversity of Eco-villages, intentional communities, indigenous farms, and Permaculture projects. Through their slideshow presentation, you will have the opportunity to dive into their journey and experience vibrant photos and videos of the Permaculture gems they have been to. They will share best practices, innovative inventions, inspiring models, and paradigm shifting lessons they have learned from the multitudes of positive impact centers, followed by an open solutionary discussion counsel and action plans.

Come learn about the basic design principles and best practices of different water harvesting techniques – rainwater collection, greywater harvesting, earthworks systems, & composting toilets.

Holistic watershed management is the critical guiding principle to any ecological design. Come learn the basics of water harvesting on a residential or land project scale – we will discuss how-to calculate rainwater flow and tank size; how-to integrate rainwater systems into your design; how-to passively collect rainwater in different earthworks systems; how-to best harvest greywater from your bathroom or laundry; how-to design compost toilets; and more!

A panel discussion on the intentional communities movement – past, present, and future.

Join us for a panel discussion on the future of the intentional communities movement. Where have we been, what is happening now, and how do we imagine the role of intentional communities into the future? Learn from community founders and network leaders. Bring your questions to this exploratory conversation.

Is your community ready for anything? Join this workshop to explore the dynamic intersection between transition, permaculture, and emergency preparedness. Let’s get resilient!

How resilient is your community? How ready are you for the natural and man-made disasters and disruptions that inevitably accompany climate change? Did you know that our work in permaculture, homesteading, and building resilient community is also disaster preparedness work? Join this vibrant discussion about these overlapping fields, and explore ways of leveraging ‘crisis consciousness’ to enhance your efforts to build truly resilient community. Learn how to assemble your own “go bag,” receive great practical resilience and emergency-prep tips that could save lives, and share your wisdom and experience in this interactive workshop, hosted by experienced certified First Responders Nils Palsson of Transition US and Lesley Moore of Transition Berkeley.

Mni Wiconi! We will discuss several ways in which we can improve our relationship to water, from the everyday individual action to the society level paradigm shift.

Water is the foundation of all life, and healing our relationship with water is an important step in building an abundant future. This will be an introductory presentation of several ways in which we can improve how we use and relate to water in our everyday lives, our homes, communities, and the world at large. We will discuss the current reality of the water system, and present practical solutions for some of the problems created by the current paradigm concerning water. This workshop will cover a wide range of topics, from conservation, to water harvesting, energy systems, food production, and shifts in perception. The intention is to open a doorway for you to dive deeper into the subjects that speak to you, and discover how you can be a water protector in your own community.

Practical survival skills and knowledge for when the grid goes down.

Community and personal resilience begins with you. Be prepared for when the lights go out and the grid goes down. Practical, educational and attitude skills to survive and actually help your family or neighbor in the event of major disasters, when the usual industrial infrastructure is off-line, for shorter or longer times. Basic tactics and tools for owning your own light and electric, no matter what the circumstance. Applicable for individuals and small community groups, no matter the disaster situation or social breakdown.