IPC - Convergence

Convergence

The IPC India 2017 Convergence represented a chance for people already initiated to permaculture (PDC holders and permaculture/sustainable living enthusiasts) to connect deeply with each other and the theme of the event. The Convergence was a five-day residential, experiential learning forum held at Polam permaculture farm from November 27 till December 2, 2017 and included as well visits to Aranya permaculture farm on November 28 and November 30, 2017. It welcomed more than 500 people bringing their contributions to the programme. Networking, knowledge sharing, hands-on practices and celebrations were at the heart of the event. You will find here documents, photos and videos to make you relive or remember what has been happening during those five days. We are uploading this page regularly as soon as the content is available.

CONVERGENCE PROGRAMME

Click on the different days below to discover who will be sharing their knowledge, about which topic, at the Convergence. The programme is subject to change.

CONVERGENCE SPEAKERS & PRESENTATIONS

Find below ordered by subthemes the list of presentations that happened during the Convergence, links to presentation documents and access to videos (work in progress).

Women as agents of change

  • Dr. Marty Branagan (Australia) - "The overlooked role of women in environmental non violent action" : Presentation
  • Robyn Rosenfeldt (Australia) - "Design your life as a woman and an agent of change: balancing work, family and self-care"
  • Bibek Dhital (Nepal) - "Ecovillage development through the empowerment and leadership of women: the example of Pathlekhet (Nepal)" : Presentation
  • Julia Schindler (France) - "The Symptothermal method: the key to cultivating your secret garden" : Presentation

Permaculture as a social responsibility

  • Julious Piti (Zimbabwe) - "Agro-ecology work as a social responsibility in Zimbabwe" : Presentation
  • Nina Sengupta (India) - "Integral ecology: looking at and beyond permaculture"
  • Robin Clayfield (Australia) - "Creative permaculture education as a grassroots action"
  • Francesca Simonetti (Italy) - "Children in permaculture: a future of hope" : Presentation
  • Ego Lemos (Timor-Leste) - "The Timor-Leste national Permaculture School Gardens program and Tropical Permaculture Guidebook launch"
  • Rim Mathlouthi (Tunisia) - "Taking care of the others thanks to the land: the case of Tunisian permaculture" : Presentation
  • Bridget O'Brien (Australia) - "'Adapt' - Play and Create the world of your dreams" : Presentation
  • Dr. Keri Chiveralls (Australia) - "Progressing permaculture in higher education" : Presentation
  • Nisha, Ragu (India) - "Integrating Permaculture with Prema-culture"
  • Jinan K B (India) - "From knowing nature to being nature, understanding alienation and learning to let go" - a meditative, experiential and exploratory workshop"
  • Margarethe Holzer (Austria) - "Permaculture: an open door to the world: a permaculture journey with the last 6 IPCs as key points" : Presentation
  • Paolo Rosazza (Italy) - "Permaculture learning center - Egypt, Sinai" : Presentation
  • Lachlan McKenzie (the United Kindgom) - "An understanding, analysis and vision of International Permaculture Education"
  • Chifundo Jean Khokwa (Malawi) - "Permaculture 'out of the mouth of babes'" : Presentation
  • Andrew Millison (the United States) - "Lessons learned from a free 35000 students permaculture course" : Presentation

Grassroots permaculture in action

  • Dani Wolff-Chambers (Australia) - "Interactive and sustainable design through earth building"
  • Govinda Sharma (Nepal) - "Status of permaculture initiatives in Nepal, their learnings and message for the world"
  • Amani Dagher (Lebanon) - "Implementing micro gardens in Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon" : Presentation
  • David Holmgren (Australia) - "Permaculture: creating the world we want in an area of failing activism"
  • Dave Hursthouse (New Zealand) - "Making permaculture stronger"
  • Wycliffe Otieno (Kenya) - "Education for peasants of tomorrow"
  • Eunice Neves (Portugal) - "Accelerate succession in the global permaculture community - learning from the pioneers" : Presentation
  • Dr. G. V. Ramanjaneyala (India) - "Government policies and support for promotion of ecological farming systems"
  • Dr. Benjamin Habib (Australia) - "Permaculture as a international social movement" : Presentation
  • Chris Evans (Nepal) - "Permaculture is more than gardening: application of design in project management on the roof of the world"
  • Anna Bartoli (Italy) - "Permaculture: a living community and beyond - the Italien experience" : Presentation
  • Bert Peeters (the Philippines) - "The gentle wild: Generating eco-systems based abundance, crafting and healing with permaculture" : Presentation
  • Katherine Szuminska (Australia) - "Invisible structures no more! Opening governments to work for us"
  • Cynthia Tina (the United States) - "Networking for impact: collaborative tool sharing"
  • Than Shwe (Myanmar) - "Permaculture in action for grassroots community development in Myanmar" : Presentation
  • Dr. Charlie Brennan (Australia) - "Making sense of place" : Presentation
  • Pavlo Ardanov (Ukraine) - "Permaculture farming in central and eastern Europe"
  • Murad Alkuffash (Palestine) - "Planting seeds of hope in the occupied territories" : Presentation

Sustainable water resource management

  • Jeremiah Kidd (the United States) - "Community drought solutions - building resilience and abundance through wholistic design approach" : Presentation
  • Orla O'Donovan (Ireland) - "Remembering H2O and the waters of forgetfulness - Ivan Illich, permaculture and Ireland's water war" : Presentation
  • Subash Chandra Reddy (India) - "Climate change influencing rainfall patterns"
  • Shah Badyari (India) - "Climate change impacts on glaciers, lakes, rainfalls: Kashmir and permaculture"
  • Sara Wuerstle (the United States) - "Fix a Flood with an orchard: ancient solutions to flood and drought in the era of tech"
  • Jeremy Lynch (the United States) - "Water harvesting as social change"
  • Raya Cole (the United States) - "Small farm design for the Indian drylands"

Revitalising and preserving traditional farming practices

  • Dr. Julia Wright (the United Kindgom) - "Quantum-based agriculture: it is time for permaculturists to embrace the invisible" : Presentation
  • Mari Stuart (the United States) - "A climate-beneficial wardrobe: the climate change mitigating potential of regenerative fiber farming" : Presentation
  • Dr. Elizabeth Anne Westaway (the United Kindgom) - "Sustainable nutrition and permaculture" : Presentation
  • Himalayan Permaculture Center (Nepal) - "Sharing stories of resilience-building in Nepal - an overview of priority areas of the Himalayan Permaculture Centre"
  • Madan Poudel (Nepal) - "On-farm biodiversity conservation for strengthening farmers seed diversity in Fulbari, Chitwan, Nepal" : Presentation
  • Starhawk (the United States) - "Permaculture and spirit"
  • Christoff Schneider (Austria) - "Hot Composting with controlled microbiological carbonisation, Cold composting, Terra Preta, Soil Mixures, Compost Extract for farms, towns, communities & house garden"
  • Hui-i Chiang (Taiwan) - "The opportunity and challenge of introducing and localizing Permaculture into the Chinese-speaking world"
  • Patrick Mucia (Guatemala) - "Seed bank implementation and management with indigenous communities in Guatemala" : Presentation
  • Penny Livingston (the United States) - "Regenerative herbalism and medicinal food forests: revitalising and preserving traditional herbal knowledge and practices"
  • Chokedee & Michael Commons (Thailand) - "Over 25 years of experience integrating and utilizing bamboo in Wanakaset (Forest Gardening Systems)"
  • Robina McCurdy (New Zealand) - "The power of seed sovereignty"
  • Courtney Brooke (New Zealand) - "Living heart as the heartbeat of essential change"

Permaculture and climate change adaptation

  • Ardhendu SC (India) - "Climate change and adaptation in East-Central India" : Presentation
  • Brett Prichard (Australia) - "The use of probiotic inoculates to turn traditional wet paddy rice fields and urban wicking beds from methane emitters into carbon and nitrogen sinks" : Presentation
  • Linda Kabaira (Zimbabwe) - "Children and youth action in building climate resilience" : Ask for presentation support
  • Albert Bates (the United States) - "Climate ecoforestry an the Cool village" : Presentation
  • Jette Hagensen (Denmark) - "Permaculture to achieve less emissions of greenhouse gas" : Presentation
  • Keshav Chander Jaini (India) - "Transforming urban communities with permaculture - Garden Estate, a case study" : Presentation
  • Paulo Bessa (Portugal) - "Designing pioneering food forests in Iceland, Austria and Portugal" : Presentation
  • Rebecca Becky Ellis (Canada) - "Bees as allies: co-creating farms and gardens with bees" : Presentation
  • Dr. G. Syamasundar Reddy (India) - "Sasya-samala Krishivanam: a success story of urban food forest"
  • Rafter Sass Ferguson (the United States) - "Permaculture and the climate crisis"
  • Nisha Malla & Michael Coccini (Nepal) - "Seismic resistant natural building in post-earthquake Nepal: rural housing strategies"
  • Mario Yanez (the United States) - "The role of Permaculture in re-patterning our world" : Presentation
  • Eston Mgala (Malawi) - "Permaculture as a design solution for healthy leaving" : Presentation

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

TRADITIONAL VILLAGE LIVING SKILLS

During the 5 days of the Convergence, participants got to discover different traditional village living skills from Telangana that surely appear relevant from a permaculturist’ point of view: efficient, accessible, replicable, long lasting… What we could call “appropriate technologies”. Those were including:
Cow dung floors, Ploughing with bullock and explanation of variety of bullock plowing and sowing implements, Saree tying, Milking cows, Rangoli, Pickle making, Smoless chulla, Stone and iron lighting of fires, Millet in the kitchen, Knots, Pitchari irrigation, Natural dyes, Natural home building Indian style, Seed oil grinding by hand, Cow dung cakes for fuel, Dehusking millet by hand, Seed preservation, Natural toothcare, Lumber making, Bamboo processing, Pottery, Splitting of pulses with a stone grinder, Local plants medicine remedies, Winnowing methods, Date mats, Rope making, Handlooming, Sun drying, Leaf plates and bowls, Blacksmithing...

VISITS AT ARANYA PERMACULTURE FARM

Two visits at Aranya Permaculture farm were organised on November 28 and November 30.

It is a 20-year old Indian tropical dryland permaculture farm and a beautiful example of how to regenerate a dry bare land and turn it into an abundant food forest. The food forest and annual crop fields were established entirely rainfed. There are over 200 different species of trees giving tropical fruits 365 days a year. Recently solar system and pump has been established which has diversified even more some of the planting. It has been designed by the co-founders of Aranya Agricultural Alternatives and hosts of IPC India 2017, Padma & Narsanna Koppula and is a place of experimentation that's still evolving and always welcoming, with one motto: (almost) everything should come from the system and remain, as long as possible, within the system.

This tour explained its rich history and included a visit to the surrounding village farmers Aranya work with. Indian traditional farming knowledge and various permaculture techniques adapted to the local context were shared in this peaceful environment before going back to the buzzing IPC village at Polam farm.