Second San Diego CONVERGENCE! Learn, trade, co-create core permaculture group!

NOTE: please purchase your ticket here (http://sdpermaculture.eventbrite.com/) before RSVPing!!!! Thanks!

WHERE: We will gather in Julian at Green Owl Farms for an amazing, inspirational, mind-bending permaculture event (and we'll get to know each other as we carpool there ;-)

Our follow-up Convergence will occur on September 8, 2012, and allow us to check the fruits of our learning and labor on the land.

CLASSES:

From Desert to Edible Oasis: The Permaculture Approach to Rainwater and Greywater - Josh Robinson Financial Permaculture Think-Tank: Managing MeetUp Money for Prosperity and Organic Green Growth - Claudia F and you! Dessert and Cheese Making with Irish Moss: Feel the fear and use it anyway! Ann Hough Make a Solar Cooker and Learn How to Use It! - Sharon Clausson Planting Fruit Tree Guilds - Mary Prentice How to Grow Organic Kiwis - John Henry Winter-Nolte The Urban Chicken Grower - Britt Cool Bringing Your Soil To Life - Alden Hough Sharing What I've Learned about Aquaponics - Charles Cairns Laughing Yoga - Marianne West FOOD: Vegetarian Pot Luck Lunch (Please try bringing organic food, and do bring your own plate/glass/silverware)

EXCHANGE: your organic produce, jams, seeds, cuttings, recipes, clothes, books, anything you want, for free!

TRADE: If you have sustainable/organic items or services in line with permaculture you would like to sell, please contact us. We support like-minded businesses.

BYOD, BYOC, BYOBV= bring your own plate/silverware, bring your own foldable chair, bring your own brilliant vision please.

COST: PLEASE FIRST BUY THE EVENT TICKET, THEN RSVP.

$ 19.95-50.00 donation recommended. We are asking that you donate as much as you can so that we can cover expenses and keep these events going. THIS EVENT REQUIRES PURCHASE OF A TICKET AT:

http://sdpermaculture.eventbrite.com/

If you are unable to pay $ 19.95 (you may have a family of 4 and you all want to come, in that case, it does add up!), please contact us to contribute other ways. If you cannot contribute financially more than $ 10, please ask about a work-exchange. We need you, want you, and nobody is turned away for inability to pay!

An exact transparent accounting of all of our $ transactions can be seen by clicking here. (https://www.meetup.com/SanDiegoPermaculture/money/)

CLASSES DESCRIPTION and INSTRUCTORS BIOS:

From Desert to Edible Oasis: The Permaculture Approach to Rainwater and Greywater

Instructor: Josh Robinson

Description: This presentation will inspire participants to begin using the abundance of water resources available on every home site to create an edible abundance of perennial plants.

Bio: Josh Robinson has been designing and installing rainwater and greywater systems for over 8 years and has professionally installed dozens of systems including gardens featured in Art Ludwig's greywater bible, "Create an Oasis with Greywater" and Toby Hemenway's "Gaia's Gareden." Josh currently lives and gardens in San Diego at "Higher ElevationPermaculture (http://www.edenonearthlandscaping.com/higher-elevation-permaculture/)," an urban permaculture demonstration site.

Financial Permaculture Think-Tank: Managing MeetUp Money for Prosperity and Organic Green Growth

Facilitator: Claudia F and you!
Description: Open Discussion Group - This is a leader-ful (everybody leads) open discussion meeting. Claudia believes in organically tending to the three Ps (People, Planet, and Profit). If we neglect one of them, we do not live in balance. What do you believe? We will discuss how to:

1. Manage and allocate the meet-up income

2. Share ideas for financially healthy harvests in the field and in our wallet

3. Be money-wise while tending to our our Ps

4. Create plentiful harvests so that in the future we may fairly compensate hosts, organizers, speakers, and offer scholarships to permaculture events anywhere in the world to members who volunteered in the past

5. Support each others visions and work

Hopefully we will be able to raise some strong seedlings through this event. What is your idea? Please come to our discussion. Claudia F is the organizer of the San Diego permaculture meetup. You too can organize this group with her, and strengthen your leadership muscle while sharing the glory and shunning away paparazzis! Just let her know you want in :-)

Dessert and Cheese Making with Irish Moss: Feel the fear and use it anyway!
Instructor: Ann Hough
Description: Irish moss seaweed is a miracle food with a wide range of health benefits. This workshop will show you how to use it in both sweet and savory foods. Tastings included!

Bio: Ann started to eat a high raw food diet for health reasons four years ago when doctors told her there was nothing they could do for her serious health conditions. What started out as a way to improve her health has become a much loved way of life. She trained as a gourmet raw food chef so she could enjoy the best raw food diet possible and loves mucking around in the kitchen and sharing her recipes with friends.

Make a Solar Cooker and Learn How to Use It!
Instructor: Sharon Clausson
Description: Any age welcome. There will be a short question and answer session on solar cooking. Materials will be distributed with directions. I will show each step as the class follows along. Lines are drawn then cut or folded as needed. Foil will be glued to appropriate pieces. When everyone is finished I will demonstrate how to focus for maximum cooking heat. During class there will be food cooking in the solar cookers outside. You will leave with your own fully functioning solar cooker.
Bio: Sharon has been making solar cookers for many years. She took metal shop to make her first Solar Cooker. She has made 25 different solar cookers from plans in books and on the internet. She cooked in each of them and took notes. Sharon has been a member of a local solar cooking club for 2 years and done demos of her cookers at the meetups. She and her husband were California Licensed Landscape Contractors for years. During all this time Sharon has been designing and making adorable wooden toys which have been sold at Harvest Festivals. She designed the low cost ($5-$10) solar cooker being made at this workshop. It cooks as well as commercial solar cookers costing $200 to $275 and withstands gusty wind better. When done it fits in a standard grocery bag and weighs about 8 oz. Sharon regularly cooks 3 frozen chicken breasts in 2 to 2 1/2 hours. All that is needed to cook with this solar cooker is a dark pan and a tight fitting glass lid or dark metal cover.

Planting Fruit Tree Guilds
Instructor: Mary Prentice
Description: The ideas and practice of growing fruit trees in guilds will be presented. Specifics as to what and where to plant plants around trees that attract pollinators, fix nitrogen in the soil and act as nutrient accumulators for fruit trees. This is a hands-on workshop where guilds already planted will be observed and an apple tree with guild plants will be planted during the workshop.

Bio: Mary is practicing Permaculture on 4.25 acres in Julian. She has planted 16 fruit trees using guilding as a guiding principle. She is currently a trainee in the 2012 Master Gardeners class and hopes to share with others in her community about sustainable gardening practices.

Bringing Your Soil To Life
Instructor: Alden Hough

Description: In this hands-on workshop we will learn how to build healthy soil by nurturing the soil food web that supports the life and health of plants and ourselves. We will cover different ways to mineralize our soil and grow nutrient dense food, and examine different methods of preparing soil including whether or not to till, and the benefits of raised and sunken beds. For our hands on project we will use different techniques to prepare a couple of beds.

Bio: Alden is garden manager and instructor at Sky Mountain Institute; a non-profit organization in Escondido which offers monthly workshops teaching people how to live more sustainably. Alden spent 6 years working and traveling in Asia. That experience led him to want to live a simple life and treat the earth as if it really mattered. Alden is a graduate of the internationally renowned Center for Agro-ecology and Sustainable Food Systems program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is committed to organic gardening practices, regenerating the soil and social justice. Programs take place at their seven acre family homestead and focus on hands-on training and demonstrations covering such areas as soil regeneration, water harvesting, sustainable living, permaculture practices, helping others to develop organic gardens and localize food sources, and backyard food networking and information sharing.

How to Grow Organic Kiwis
Instructor: John Henry Winter-Nolte
Description: Lecture: Explanation of kiwi history, how to plant and grow, irrigation, pruning, and harvesting.
Hands on: Setting up trellis/wire system, pole for vine, planting kiwi plant, goals for training to grow for easy harvest and maintenance.
Bio: From August 2009-August 2010, I volunteered with The Silva Project, http://thesilvaproject.org , on the island of Corfu in Greece. For much of my time there, I worked on a five acre organic kiwi farm in the town of Kalafationes. Working there for 12 months allowed me to learn all about the kiwi vine from planting to harvesting year around.

The Urban Chicken Grower
Instructor: Britt Cool
Description: FUN, REWARDING, AND TASTY. LEARN WHAT IT TAKES TO RAISE CHICKENS IN AN URBAN SETTING. CITIES ARE CHANGING RULES IN FAVOUR OF URBAN FARMING

· Raising chickens is fun and rewarding.

· Cities are allowing residents to raise their own food.

· Chickens eat bugs and weeds in your garden.

· Chickens produce high nitrogen fertilizer.

· Chickens produce beautiful and delicious eggs.

· Learn to raise chickens organically.

· Learn about coops and housing.

· Learn about feeding chickens.
Bio: Britt is in the business of rainwater and graywater harvesting, the owner of San Diego Water Recycling (.com). She is a Master Gardener and Master Composter, a Certified Water Use Efficiency Practitioner, and has a Permaculture Design Certificate. Britt began her business by setting up a rainwater harvesting system and recognizing the value of using rainwater in the garden. She carries the products to set up a low cost rainwater and graywater system in your home. She has been an organic gardener for 35 years, is a beekeeper (her honey is wonderful, contact her if you want to obtain some), teaches vermicomposting workshops at the South Bay Botanic Garden at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, and is an Organic Garden Coach, helping residents get rid of that lawn and put in a food producing landscape.

Biodynamics of the Cosmos, and Spiritual Science

Instructor: Dr. Tazo

Biodynamic gardening takes organic gardening to a new level, creatively incorporating the dynamic forces and energies of nature. This holistic approach recognizes that the earth is a self-regulating, multi-dimensional ecosystem, and seek to reproduce this on the land and in the community.

Bio: Author of The Secret Teachings of the Lost Land of Eden, Rosicrucian Mysteries Revealed, and The Secret Teachings of Eden:Christian Mysteries Revealed. Head of the Rosenkreutz Institute, an on-line School of Spiritual Science,and Rosicrucian Christology and studies of the Holy Grail. Dr.Tazo is Head Pastor for the Church of the Holy Rose Cross and lecturer on Biodynamics of the Cosmos, and Spiritual Science, also a musician, song writer, poet, and story teller along with numerous audio and video publications.

Sharing What I've Learned about Aquaponics

Instructor: Charles Cairns

Description: I have been researching aquaponics, and am just returned from a one week session at the Friendly Aquaponics Center in Hawaii. I have also contacted a range of people locally who have experience and information. This session will be a general overview of what I have learned and why I think this form of food production may be well adapted to future conditions... particularly diminished water resources and higher average temperatures.

Bio: Charles is a general contractor here in San Diego. Previously in Northern California he homesteaded 76 acres, built structures, and created gardens and orchard, all off the grid and incorporating solar greenhouse, solar and hydro power, solar & wood fired hot water. His current home in Ocean Beach has a variety of fruit trees nourished by a grey water system. He is actively researching aquaponics as a transitional business.

Laughter Yoga

Instructor: Marianne West

Description: Laughter Yoga is a unique form of exercise developed by Madan Kataria, M.D., a medical doctor in India, where people gather in a group and participate in fun and simple breathing, stretching, laughing, singing, and other playful and beneficial activities. Each session ends with a period of relaxation. During the laughing portion, laughter is generated from the body without jokes or comedy and quickly turns into real, genuine laughter.

Research has documented laughter’s many physical, emotional and social benefits, including:

Physical: Laughter strengthens the immune system, improves heart and lung function, provides pain relief, and aids digestion.

Emotional: Laughter decreases stress, anxiety and worry by decreasing the level of cortisol (a stress-causing hormone) and increasing endorphins. Laughter is helpful for people suffering depression.

Social: Laughter breaks down social barriers, helps connect people, and makes one fun to be around!

Instructor: Marianne West

Bio: Marianne Hornlein West was introduced to Yoga when pregnant with her first child almost 30 years ago. She practiced Yoga on and off and finally, after turning 50, she fulfilled her long standing dream of becoming a Yoga teacher. Marianne has completed her RYT 200 training, is registered with Yoga Alliance and is well on her way towards the 500 hour certification. She also is a certified Laughter Yoga Leader and laughter Yoga Teacher– hahaha. Early in 2010, Marianne was offered an opportunity to teach a children’s class. Having homeschooled her own children and taught diverse classes in the community, she felt a completion of a circle started many years ago. Teaching Yoga to children is rewarding and challenging in a completely different way from teaching adults. All senses need to be stimulated and above all, a sense of fun and playfulness is at the core of each class. Using props, music and crafts allows her to combine many of her interest to create a dynamic class. She has completed a teacher training with Rainbow Kids Yoga and is currently enrolled in the teacher training program offered by YogaKids.

While visiting her mom in Germany, Marianne read in the German Yoga Journal several articles about Hormone Yoga. This Therapy was created by Dinah Rodrigues of Brazil. She has conducted many trainings in Germany, Canada, Brazil and many European countries and Hormone Yoga Therapy has helped countless women to experience menopause without uncomfortable symptoms and maintain a youthful countenance in the years after. Dinah herself is well over 80 now and is still traveling the world, holding seminars and certifying Yoga Therapists. Marianne was fortunate to be able to attend the very first of her trainings held in the United States and is now one of only five certified Hormone Yoga Therapist in the USA. She is teaching several ongoing classes and is conducting seminars all over the United States. Since completing her initial training, Marianne has taught hundreds of hours of Classical Hatha Yoga, Children’s Yoga, Hormone Yoga and Laughter Yoga to students ranging from 3 to 94.

MOST UPDATED Schedule for Permaculture Meet Up on March 10th (updated March 4)

Time

9:00 - 9:15

Sign in & Preview Schedule - Living room

9:15 - 9:30

Introductions-Living rm.

9:30 – 10:15

Tour of Green Owl

10:30 – 11:30

Bringing Your Soil To Life – Lecture and hands on bed building workshop Location: Garden Patio Instructor: Alden Hough

Dessert and Cheese Making with Irish Moss: Feel the fear and use it anyway! Demo and Tastings Location: Kitchen Instructor:Ann Hough

Make a Solar Cooker & Learn how to Use It! Location: Garage Instructor: Sharon Clausson

11:30 – 12:30

Bringing Your Soil To Life – continued

From Desert to Edible Oasis:The Permaculture Approach to Rainwater and Greywater Location: Upstairs

Yoga room -Instructor: Josh Robinson

Make a Solar Cooker & Learn how to Use It - Continued

12:30 – 1:30 Lunch & Community Exchange

1:00-1:30 Intro: Biodynamics of the Cosmos, and Spiritual

Science – Dr. Tazo Location: Upstairs Yoga room

1:30 – 3:00

How to Grow Organic Kiwis – Lecture and hands on workshop Location: Living rm. & outside Instructor: John Henry Winter-Nolte

Permaculture 101- Overview of principles & description of perma culture design course Location: Upstairs Yoga room Instructor: Josh Robinson

Building Fruit Tree &Guilds – Lecture and hands on workshop

Location: Garden Patio & Orchard Instructor: Mary Prentice

3:00 – 4:00

Laughing Yoga

Location: Upstairs Yoga room Instructor: Marianne West

The Urban Chicken Grower Location: Garden Patio Instructor: Britt Cool

Aquaponics: A basic introduction Location: Living Room Instructor: Charles Cairns

4:00 – 4:15

Wrap Up Location: Living room

4:15 – 4:45

Clean Up – Volunteers Appreciated!

4:45 – 5:15

All are invited...

Financial Permaculture Think-Tank: Managing Meetup Money for Prosperity & Organic Green Growth Location: Living room Facilitator: Claudia and YOU!