Written by Board Member, Patty Love
I am both humbled and
frustrated by how many important skills I still want to learn at the age of 54.
I also struggle, sometimes, with the question of how much formal training
to pursue in any topic. Yet, when I learned that Pandora Thomas and Lisa
DePiano were teaming with Starhawk to offer a Permaculture Teacher Training for
Women through Earth Activist Training, I knew I had to be there even though it
meant getting on an airplane all the way to California. Every experience
I’ve had with Lisa and Starhawk has been rich with new skills and perspectives.
And Pandora is someone I’ve been wanting to meet and study with.
The short version is that I’m so glad I attended. It was a
“patty-changing” experience – and I’m serious about that. Here’s how the
course was described on Facebook:
“Drawing on the wisdom of ecological systems and indigenous knowledge, permaculture
offers us a vision, design approach, and tools to create a world of health and
abundance. Increased inclusion and support of leadership and perspective from
women of diverse backgrounds is vital to this vision.
In this unique and innovative program, we explore diversity and leadership
while building our confidence. We practice teaching permaculture for various
formats, from introductory workshops, special topics, and short courses, to the
core permaculture design certificate (PDC) course.
This course is open to those who identify as women and/or were assigned female
at birth, who hold a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) or who feel they
have a working knowledge and experience with permaculture design. Women of
color and queer or gender nonconforming women are especially encouraged to
apply.”
One of my practices as a permaculture teacher is to embody permaculture ethics,
principles, and design practices in my courses. As you may already
imagine, this course did the same. Applying the principles of stacking
functions and relinquishing control, as we moved through the curriculum, we
students participated in and eventually led activities that modeled,
demonstrated, and explained social permaculture techniques. Doing so felt
like a growing edge at times but I had decided when I applied that I would live
my ethics of being vulnerable and transparent (thank you, Miki Kashtan), and
courageous. One of our lessons was that impact matters over intention so
I thought about my words and actions more than ever and I’m pretty sure I still
blew it a few times.
(Note: these are complex and nuanced issues that deserve lots more
discussion and reflection than this brief article can do well.)
One of our earliest activities was to co-create a Class Code and decide what we
would do when or if the Class Code was broken. While one of the purposes
of this exercise was to help us consciously design a safer space, it also
helped us learn about each other, and to learn some social permaculture tools
such as “throw glitter, not shade” and “holding the complexity of
intersectionality.” Given that we were indeed a group diverse in race and
age, the complexity of intersectionality was a lived experience. Though
we were united by identifying as women with permaculture skills, I felt that,
at times, we struggled together through the difficulties of differences of
opinion. As a cis-woman who benefits from white privilege, I came away
with a deeper appreciation for the experiences of Women of Color (WOC) – both
those who present as WOC and those who present as white – and the depth of the
oppression of living in our current structure of white supremacy. I
listened intently as the WOC even disagreed with each other at times.
I deeply appreciate that Lisa D. and one of the students co-led an optional
lunchtime discussion group on white supremacy to support those who identify as
white to learn from and support each other rather than placing that burden on
the women of color who were present. I also benefitted from sharing time
with a white housemate with whom I could process and explore.
During the four days, we also learned and practiced various teaching techniques
to support our curriculum development and future work with diverse groups
including the diversity of whether folks are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic
learners. For example, we used The Gallery Walk technique to undertake a
site analysis of the group. Questions written on sticky easel paper were
posted on the walls of our meeting space. We were asked to visit each
question at least twice during the time allotted and to use colorful markers to
write our answers. Then, as a group, we moved from paper to paper for a
group harvest – to collectively review the answers, notice commonalities, and
ask clarifying questions. A few of the dozens of teaching techniques we
learned were: Pair Share, Whirly Tour, Common Ground, Teach Back, and
Mingle Mingle. Along with the struggles to undo racism and oppression, we
had fun while learning and learned how to make our teaching engaging.
For anyone who is considering the value of attending a Teacher Training, I hope
that you’ll be as blessed as I was to find a training that not only supports
your growth as a permie teacher but also supports your growth as a Citizen of
The Earth. I am forever changed and improved by this experience with new
skills that I use daily. I also recommend that you are selective about
with whom you study. While it’s convenient and perhaps preferable Earth
Care to learn locally, our teachers are so influential in our experience that
travelling may very well be worth the sacrifices. (And maybe you can
stack functions like I did – finally hugging a redwood, getting a taste of the
California chaparral and other ecosystems, and seeing the wonders of The Golden
Gate Bridge. I recommend that you visit PAN’s Educators’ Pledge Signers page to learn
if the course teacher has agreed to this voluntary pledge document. If not, ask
them if they will. And, as a teacher myself, I’m guessing that if you
offered to help put together a committed group of students to make the course
financially viable, many teachers would be willing to travel to you!