A central aspect of permaculture is designing so that needs can be met in healthy, regenerative ways. Human needs and wants, and our ways of trying to get them met, are extremely complex and powerful ecologies, and affect almost all of our permaculture design work. Developing awareness and skill in emotional literacy, and being able to read human needs and patterns in the ‘Zone 00’ of others and ourselves, supports us in being more response-able permaculturalists. This interactive workshop will give powerful insight into human ecologies and help us lift up emotional intelligence, which is much-needed as we transition into the next age of consciousness and we grow a more wholistic understanding of permaculture landscapes & practices.

Presented By: Jillian Hovey

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.

Presented By: Cyrus Bacon

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.

Presented By: Robin Liepman & Anna Simone Combi

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.

Presented By: Chaz Peling

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.

Presented By: Water Now

2018 Convergence Panelists: Cheryl Angel, Cleve Steward, & Karuna Warren

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.

Presented By: Alexa Bernard

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

Presented By: Christopher Shein

“How I became a contractor to save the world, the lessons I learned from all my mistakes, and how we are still growing and not giving up.”

Marco Barrantes of La Loma Development Company will share stories from the trenches, instructions on ways to start a design-build company as a successful Permaculture contractor, and photos of La Loma’s diverse projects in Los Angeles. Topics will also include his experiences with urbanite, natural pools, public works, and school campus greening.

Learn how to become a contractor (or work with a contractor) to implement Permaculture design, and influence the trillion dollar landscape construction industry.

Presented By: Marco Barrantes

For this workshop, Ridhi D-Cruz and I will start by giving an overview of The City Repair Project. We will explain what the organization represents, how the Village Building Convergence (VBC) works, and why this event is part of the permaculture movement. Then, we will specifically describe how the VBC has helped marginalized communities stand up for social justice and equality. We will give examples of how we are building bridges of diversity and what communities can do to share power through co-collaborative placemaking.

Presented By: Ridhi & Ashley Bonn

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.

Presented By: Cynthia Tina

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.

Presented By: Chireya Dharma

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!

Presented By: Matt Powers

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.

Presented By: Sasha Shankar & Troy Horton

Do you ever see a space along the sidewalk that needs some Earth Art but there’s not space for a large structure such as bench or a hut? We will be building a “Cobelisk” tower which will have a living roof, nooks to put special things, a stone base, and a fun decorative feature. It will be built outside along the highway just as you enter town.

Presented By: Miguel “Coballero” Elliott

Introduction and exploration of sustainability practices that both repair broken parts of the water cycle, and increase water resilience in communities and villages to be prepared, conscious, and motivated to change the current pattern amidst an unknown future. Systems/Themes to be explored include: Setting up rainwater catchment systems on a micro level and also efforts made in whole villages, the importance of grey water systems, and water filtration systems to eliminate plastic water bottles practices to reduce water consumption. Discussion on the importance of soil health as it pertains to groundwater.

Presented By: Karuna Warren

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.

Presented By: Benoit Clement

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!

Presented By: Nina Gordon-Kirsch

Presented By: Jillian Hovey