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.
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.
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
Permaculture as a social responsibility
Grassroots permaculture in action
Sustainable water resource management
Revitalising and preserving traditional farming practices
Permaculture and climate change adaptation
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...
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.
Aranya Agricultural Alternatives