13th Annual NorCal Permaculture Convergence

Daniel has worked in the fields of solar energy, aquaponics, permaculture, farming, landscaping and construction. One thing has been the same for him the entire time, and that is that the invisible structure of the workplace has been a pyramid, rather than a circle. He aims to deliver, through his talk in the form of a dialogue with the audience, a poignant and past-due discussion on the ethics of permaculture as they pertain to these invisible structures in the workplace. After dissemination of the 'problem' of a pyramid capitalist workplace, Daniel will then go on to describe CA Assembly Bill 816, "Consumer Cooperative Corporation Law" in which the state of CA has recognized that, "A worker [owned] cooperative has the purpose of creating and maintaining sustainable jobs and generating wealth in order to improve the quality of life of its worker-members, dignify human work, allow workers’ democratic self-management, and promote community and local development in this state."

This law was passed in 2015. How many Worker Owned Co-Ops do you know of? How many companies do you know of that use the word 'permaculture' and yet may be stuck in the past with an un-democratic invisible dynamic in the workplace? How can we best live out the ethics put forward in the Permaculture Designer's Manual?

These questions and more will be put forward in this talk.

Dive deep into the past when Europeans lived by hunting game with bow and arrow, worshiped Oak trees, and lived in tribal harmony with nature. Hear forgotten legends and languages brought to light.

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.

Brandi Mack, AKA, Mama B, will share her 5 steps to Resilient design that support people and the planet, with and infuses on highlighting melanated women and children.

Understanding how systems of oppression function and how our social identities relate within these systems can enhance cross cultural communication and ground us in the knowledge needed to change these systems and create better ones.

Cross cultural communication can be enhanced by understanding how Systems of Oppression function. We will explore our social identities as they relate to these systems and see where our privileges and lack of privileges intersect. Cultivating empathy for differing perspectives and tending to trauma release is key to healing longstanding social divisions. When we understand how historical and present day oppressions influence our sense of identity and underlying habits we create the awarenesses needed to re-wild and re-indiginze our selves in connection with our tribal ancestors as steward of the earth.

Connect with the knowledge of your body, which connects you with Mother Earth and your Ancestors.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe (Lakota) stated that

” The effort to protect Mother Earth is all of humanity’s responsibility, not just aboriginal people. Every human being has Ancestors in their lineage that understood their umbilical cord to the Earth and to always protect and thank Her. Therefore, all humanity has to re-connect to the Indigenous Roots of their lineage – to heal their connection and responsibility to Mother Earth.”

Our Ancestors reside within all of us through our DNA, and we are being influenced by this in our daily lived experience through the web of life and their consciousness. Our Ancestors had their programming, patterns, beliefs, attitudes, and this created karmic imprinting for us.

They play a huge role in our circumstances in our present lived experience, even if we are unaware of this. Their traumas affect us, through their karmic imprinting. If this imprinting is negative and it’s not resolved, it will continue to get passed down through our lineage.

We need to heal the memories from our bones & blood, where we store all our memories & hidden codes that connect us with Mother Earth.

Westerners and non Westerners think and behave differently about many things, who can we become more aware when relating to others of a different culture? Reflections from IPC India 2017.

What is a colonial mindset? What sorts of things happen when we think from a colonial perspective? Permaculturists working in international settings come with the best of intentions. What are the blind spots that need to be addressed? What does it mean to be a white ally? Interactive dialogue facilitated by the Permaculture Design Coordinator of the site of IPC India 2017.

Through presentation and group discussion, we will come up with strategies to insure fair inclusion and representation of marginalized voices in ecologically-regenerative movements.

While we all want to transition to a post-carbon future in a way that restores a balanced relationship with the Earth, we often forget that some groups of people have more access to the tools and resources required to get in on this next paradigm. This is plainly obvious to anyone who has been in these types of communities and spaces, and has taken a good look around at the faces in the room. When we talk about designing a more resilient future with bio-diversity in mind, we must not forget the diversity in our human societies. This includes not just race/ethnicity, but class, bodily ability and all variety of gender expression.

Following the Decolonizing Permaculture workshops at the Convergence from the past few years, please join the same presenter as we take a deeper dive into the WHY and HOW to create a more justice-based, equitable and inclusive Resiliency Movement.

POC, Queer, Trans and differently-abled folks especially invited to join in this conversation. Everyone welcomed!

Join us for an introductory conversation on Queer Ecologies and Ecojustice: Open to ALL, please bring your questions.

As people whose lives embody change and transformation, the LGBTQ+ community has necessary contributions to lend to this global struggle to protect and regenerate land, water, food, and biocultural diversity. Join us for this introductory conversation to ask questions about the different identities and experiences in the LGBTQ+ community, explore the gender and sexual diversity of the natural world, and uncover the common roots underlying the harms to the planet and the ongoing violences to the queer and trans community. Open to all, please bring questions.

Let’s play: tap into the wisdom of your body as a force for activist self-care and cultural critique.

You’ve heard that these times are dire and urgent, right? So isn’t it time we had some fun? Back due to popular demand, this hands- hearts- and bodies-on workshop returns for the second year to explore play and sacred clowning as tools for social permaculture. Endless urgency and intellectual seriousness are symptoms of a mechanistic, burn-out activist culture. Social sustainability requires different skills than those practiced within the Western capitalist paradigm. Forget those creepy clowns from childhood nightmares – come learn how to use the craft of clowning and play to bring life and joy into our movements. Play facilitates honest cultural critique and creates space for creative alternatives. And, it’s very fun. Notes: No experience necessary. Come especially if you have no experience.

This is an open a discussion and council on what it means to be an "Ally" in today's day and age. This is more than race or color, sex, gender, orientation, faith, nationalism, ability, classs, beliefs... this is about all of that AND a deep desire to dissolve that which separates us by being heard, seen, and empathized with. When we come together in the shared space of council we see the experiences that unite us, we connect through differences, we empathize with challenges, and we support and resource one another in ways we couldn't do on our own, because we're not alone in our efforts to create change. This intensive will offer tangible dos and don'ts, tools and wisdom to walk away and step into the inner and outer actions needed to be a ally, which is really just doing the right thing.