Cultivate Community

August, 8, 2020 - Newsletter
Hello Friends!

I hope the influence of permaculture principles in your lives has made this wild year feel like an opportunity for much positive change!  In that spirit, we see “the problem is the solution” as a way to live out our 2020 theme Cultivate Community better that we could have ever dreamed of last fall.

Cultivate CommunityWe are happy to say, the convergence is still on for September! We’re stoked for the opportunity to highlight good work from across Cascadia, with a digital piece allowing us to spread ideas for sustainable culture beyond our borders.  Rather than clustering hundreds of people in one spot, we invite you all to host workshops and small gatherings within your “quarantine bubble” community, while we share all our offerings and stay connected online.   In that spirit, we invite those from similar ecologies like parts of Chile, Western Europe, South Africa, Tazmania, and elsewhere in America to participate.  Cultivate connections! 

Our keynotes and opening/closing circles will be the big zoom parties- where we all gather “face to face” and pass around the speaker microphone to workshop leads and elders in our community.  The rest of the time, we encourage you to think about what kind of workshop you could offer.  Would it be a farm tour? Teaching on your passion? Perhaps you want to share how korean natural farming works, how to build and sharpen a scythe, explain tools to activate social permaculture systems or make a wild sauerkraut from late season harvests.  So many good ideas are under our umbrella, and I know you have some amazing special knowledge or a story that could be an inspiration to a world that needs some hope.  We’re in this together!
 Stretch the BenefitWe envision musicians and artists helping us through the night with a sound lab of permaculture bands, playlists and suggested podcasts to explore.   Our children's program offers a downloadable coloring book explaining the design principles and ethics, with linked videos explaining the principles fun DIY projects to explore anytime.  Our unique format allows us to stretch the bounds of our normal 9am to 9pm weekend format and potentially carry on the messages past the convergence through recorded sessions for post-posting on our website. Please submit what you’d like to share.  
 Inclusive by DesignWe are happy to present a super low $20 ticket price for 2020, have scholarships available, and offer all our presenters a platform to promote their projects and get direct donations from participants.   This convergence is an amazing chance to share what works with each-other and explore the new mainstream flowing with Fair-Share, Earth-Care and People-Care.  Let's do it!

Permaculturally Inspired,
Shaelee 
President Northwest Permaculture Convergence