PAN has heard for a few years now that what the northeast network needs is a training in how to make our permaculture courses and events more relevant to communities of color. As it stands now, the demographics of our network are fairly homogeneous, and that is understandably how the permaculture movement has started. PAN is offering this professional development opportunity in service to that larger goal of making our work more relevant to a diversity of communities.
We are very excited that Relational Uprising will be facilitating the diversity training at the beautiful Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. Here’s a bit more about them:
“Relational Uprising is a training and coaching project that supports activists, organizers, movement builders and changemakers from diverse fields to build healthy,
interdependent, relational culture. We believe it is time for a new era of social change work in which we bring an intentionally humanizing, relational culture to our lives, organizations and movements. It presents a nuanced approach to issues of identity, intersectionality, and privilege using an embodied, relational practice of narrative and somatic movement.
The Culture of Radical Engagement (CRE) framework is based on an integration of social capital research, social neuroscience, radical relational theory, community organizing, and somatic education. It presents a nuanced approach to issues of identity, intersectionality, and privilege using an embodied, relational practice of narrative and movement. Training modules include: Stories of Separation, Stories of Connection, Ecology + Diversity, Support for Conflict Resolution. Originally incubated at The Relational Center from 2012-2015, Relational Uprising is now its own training and group facilitation project for changemaking communities.”
This training, all by itself, has a degree of importance, but so do the other facets of this retreat:
Day 1: Diversity Training with Relational Uprising
Day 2: Developing Community Derived Standards of Quality in Permaculture Education
Day 3: Peer to peer module and curriculum exchanges
Our goal is to support permaculture teachers in our region to continue improving the 
quality and outcomes of our educational offerings and experiences in service to our region.
WHEN: Sunday October 16th (afternoon arrival / dinner / opening greeting Sunday eve) through Wednesday October 19th (am closing session followed by lunch and departure)
WHO: Up to 30 individuals from our region (NJ/PA up through Eastern Canada) who self-identify as permaculture teachers and organizers who derive some portion of their livelihood from the design and delivery of permaculture educational events.
COST: $200-300 per person. Pay according to your means. OMEGA is graciously subsidizing the cost in solidarity with the permaculture community. The true cost of running this event is about $250 per person to cover both Omega expenses and the cost of the facilitators.
The time to register is now! We’re delighted you’re here.