Permaculture Association of the Northeast
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PAN will not be organizing a 2021 Northeast Permaculture Convergence. Although it seems that positive strides are occurring as we work to emerge from the pandemic, until recently, uncertainty about the viability of large gatherings has pushed too far into the timeframe needed to organize a worthwhile and dynamic event. With most people having had more than their share of “screen time” over the last months, we’ve opted to hold off on a virtual event as well. However, optimism is high for 2022 and we welcome any input from our community as to what would contribute to a meaningful gathering next year.
In the meantime, we wanted to offer some resources to help you stay connected. While the following list is NOT exhaustive, we hope it can help you find some permaculture community in your area (which is a significant component of PAN’s mission). Additionally, if you are part of or know of any permaculture groups or events that aren’t listed here, please share that information with PAN and we can update this article.
Regular Meetup Groups
Conferences, Tours, and Other Events This Summer
Regional Listservs
Are you tired of getting sucked into Facebook? Us too. That’s why we host an email list where you can connect with your neighboring permaculturalists and tune into regional permie talk.
Here are some topics that have come up recently on the Northeastern Permaculture Listserv:
Join our regional listservs.
Did you know that PAN can help your project or organization receive grants and donations that are normally restricted to entities with 501c3 nonprofit status? Fiscal Sponsorship makes it possible for you by applying for these funding opportunities “through” PAN. We want the good work of permaculture projects and education in the Northeast region to move forward and attain goals that help our communities and region become more resilient, and we know a bit of funding can really help.
If you’re working on a project within an organization that does not meet certain funding requirements — some funding applications require a Nonprofit, Not-for-profit, Corporation, LLC, DBA, or other legal structure–you would be able to apply with our help. Learn more about the fiscal sponsorship process and check to see if you are eligible here.
Here is a story from a recent fiscal sponsorship recipient!
Soil & Souls is an emerging social enterprise with three components: a worker owned native plant nursery that provides leadership training and community education in resilience. We cultivate two audiences: young adults 18 to 35 and faith communities who agree to work together. The two audiences work together during mission conferences, permaculture education and the completion of sustainability projects.
We sought out PAN as a fiscal sponsor because it is a regional body in the Permaculture world that is well respected. Funds received through PAN have allowed us the freedom to pursue our full range of services. From forest retreats in L’nu wisdom in New Paltz York; to healing retreats for urban farmers from New Jersey; to mission conferences for a resilience hub in Westminister, Maryland, we are cultivating a culture of resilience in communities that need it most. Members of PAN have also individually supported our native and medicinal plant nursery. We encourage any startup to pursue partnership with PAN. You will be glad you did. 🙂
Looking for some engaging permaculture reading for the summer? Here are some of our old and new favorites…
Reviews: Books by Starhawk
How did I not know “Ecotopian” was a genre of novel? It’d been far too long since I’d picked up some fiction, but when a coworker described this book to me I immediately got myself a copy. A review on the jacket from a California senator says this book “is wisdom wrapped in drama” and I completely agree with this in-a-nutshell review. Written in 1993 and taking place in the not-too-distant future of 2048, the best of humanity has come through to produce a garden city where no one goes hungry or thirsty, everyone has enough, all are housed and productive in the ways they choose to be. But they are in danger of being wiped out by the worst of humanity, which has held power over the rest of the land for the past 20 years.
The descriptions of the attitudes of the fundamentalist capitalist armed forces are eerily familiar. The troubles that have come to pass and what our everyday heroes endure are so recognizable, you’ll start to wonder if this book is a relatively accurate foretelling of the future. What it really is, is a warning and an inspiration. This book will get you wondering how you will bring more magic and intuition into your everyday, because it’s described here with such realism and practicality you’ll likely remember a few precious moments you’ve experienced yourself that you can’t easily describe to anyone else. The peaceful way of life that’s been formed in the city is explored through characters involved in Council meetings, working as healers with the aid of Earth’s energies and scientific improvements, as well as the formerly imprisoned, outcast, and escapees.
The most important message of this book is profound and appropriate to this moment. How can we make peace with those who believe we are enemies? How do we endure in harmony? How do we begin to recognize the sacred? I have been recommending this book to everyone, and have been coming across folks who read it years ago and want to pick it up again. Hard to put down and heartening to the spirit, The Fifth Sacred Thing will immerse you in a world in which you’ll wonder what your role would be and what it is now.
After finishing The Fifth Sacred Thing, I was longing for more of this wisdom wrapped in story and immediately searched for a used copy of the sequel. As I started reading Walking to Mercury I realized I’d erred and this was the prequel. Whoops! Much of the book takes place during the Vietnam War era and there are notable scenes of characters experiencing moments on LSD. The story’s action isn’t nearly as thrilling as the realistic futurism of The Fifth Sacred Thing and it mostly revolves around personal dramas Maya (the Elder in The Fifth Sacred Thing) experienced.
While reading, I felt like I was reading a form of Starhawk’s autobiography. Knowing little about her actual life and reading the depth to which we get to know Maya through 20 years of her life led me to feel that way. There is a wonderful turning point when we get to know how Maya became attuned to occult knowledge. This gives you a taste of what becomes foundational magical reality in The Fifth Sacred Thing. This is when the book becomes something much more interesting and invokes mad curiosity to delve more deeply into what Maya is learning about. I wish the story spent more time here but it veers back to folks having conversations with each other about their relationships.
If you know someone who would be interested in reading about Vietnam War protesters and their interpersonal relationships, this book is for them. Perhaps they’re not quite into Paganism and Ecotopian guidebook novels, and Walking to Mercury would pique their interest to read the next book in the series, where the magic really happens. I hope I find the actual sequel to The Fifth Sacred Thing at some point, but what reading Walking to Mercury made me realize is that I really want to pick up The Spiral Dance next, which is Starhawk’s nonfiction guide to making your own magic and rituals.
By the way, acquiring previously read books by way of borrowing from a friend or purchasing from a local used bookstore is encouraged. I often am too impatient for this and go to Alibris.com to find a used copy of what I’m looking for. I’ve heard Thriftbooks works too.
Did you catch our amazing webinar with Starhawk last year? Please enjoy it and pass it along!
New Books by PAN Members
Permaculture Design Notes, by Delvin Solkinson and Grace Solkinson, is a beautiful book and a labor of love. Delvin is a proud and active member of the PAN community.
Sharing a clear, concise and accessible synthesis of permaculture design from the Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC) curriculum as well as a teaching manual sharing top tips for teaching any subject. Includes best practices for planting, seed saving, food preservation, medicine making and green building.
Delvin entirely volunteers to produce this work. The book is a free download online. It is also available as a cloth bound, foil stamped, hand numbered, limited edition collectible book printed on Forest Stewardship Council Certified (FSC) 100% recycled paper. As of April 2021 there are 300 of these books available. Get on the ground team and help support this project by ordering a copy. All proceeds go towards reprinting this book.
Check out Delvin’s chat with Scott Mann on the Permaculture Podcast.
Bonita Eloise Ford has joined the PAN team as our new board coordinator and we are so grateful for her work and dedication. We’re also happy to uplift her new book, Embers of Hope: Embracing Life in an Age of Ecological Destruction and Climate Chaos, which is about how to cope with, respond to, and live meaningfully in the face of ecological crisis.
If you’d like to get to know Bonita and hear how a difficult personal journey brought her from a place of grief and pain to one of gratitude and persistence, give a listen to this episode of the Permaculture Podcast.
Recommended Books from the Region and Beyond
Regenerative Design for Changemakers by Abrah Jordan Dresdale
Change Here Now by Adam Brock
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown
For the Love of Pawpaws by Michael Judd
The Carbon Farming Solution by Eric Toensmeier
Farming the Woods by Ken Mudge and Steve Gabriel
Over the last few months, PAN has been sharing digital resources for permaculture practitioners to learn about the indigenous lands and peoples of the northeast and the history of colonization in our bioregion. We are also sharing and promoting indigenous led initiatives in the northeast that are accomplishing amazing work related to food sovereignty, land stewardship, and more. We have compiled these resources into one place for all to refer to. Please note that this is in no way an exhaustive list. We hope to eventually dedicate a section of our website to these resources, and see this as a living list meant to be updated regularly.
Learning the History
Decolonizing Permaculture and Regenerative Agriculture
Acknowledging Native Land and People:
Films to Watch
Indigenous Coalitions, Organizations, and Initiatives:
*this list is not exhaustive and will be revised regularly