Wild, stormy few days spent back in the Yorkshire Dales ....November weather goddess strength at its best, and a perfect time to re read The Earth Path by Starhawk . One of my favourite books ever, I always close the chapters with a new depth of essential understanding about life 

I've spent the last few days back in Yorkshire, in Leeds, with a fantastic group of people, all keen to work as tutors for the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. Led by senior tutor and generally wonderful woman, Hannah Thorogood, and held at the fantastic LILAC (Low Impact Living Affordable Community), the training was 2 intensive days of teaching, reflecting, sharing, weird and wonderful beers from the corner shop, and a fair bit of fun too! 

​As ever with permaculture events I got far more out out of my time at LILAC then simply learning what I need to be a new tutor - being around such inspirational people in a really great setting enabled me to start pushing some my comfort zone edges and creativity in terms of right livelihood and life direction further. Yes, I would like to be a tutor (I'd signed up for the training to gain more information)...Could other forms of teaching permaculture be something I do have the skills and knowledge for?...Is there a need/demand for life coaching/self development work guided by permaculture design? ...were a few of the topics I aim to explore further.

​So I'm now midst spending time processing the last few days..making some kind of sense of my many mind maps and notes, and starting to create my Tutor Learning Pathway, updates to follow!

...end of summer, winter commences....thin veil between different worlds..dreaming, recording dreams....remembering those who have died, how they have influenced who we are now...plans for dark winter evenings , reading, writing, crafts, games, music...pause and regeneration time...further work on edible garden ready for early spring planting ....tree planting...fires to cook, keep warm, reflect and celebrate...

Beautuful artwork by Jaine Rose at jainerose.co.uk

This week, 'Permaculture and the Five Elements', an article I wrote based on one of the designs in my Diploma Portfolio, was published in the Winter (No 86) edition of Permaculture Magazine. Along with some beautiful art work (not mine!), it was really good to see some of my design tools inspired by my Earth Based spiritual connections, being shared with the big global permaculture community.

You can read the full design 'Journey To Spain' here

To find out how you can subscribe to the wonderful Permaculture Magazine click here  

Ive just finished reading People and Permaculture by Looby Macnamara - or should I say re-reading, its actually the 3rd read for me!. I initially read P&P from cover to cover when it was first published, (helpfully as I commenced my Diploma!), and then used various parts of it throughout the designs created for my portfolio. Reading it again in its entirety, a few pages each day, including journaling the suggested activities as I finished my Diploma has been really useful. P&P is one of those books that the more you read and use it, the more you gain from it. But in addition it made me realise how much I had developed and matured as a designer and practitioner throughout my Diploma journey. Alongside reading Looby's latest book 7 Ways to Think Differently, Ive spent time in the last few weeks identifying areas of ‘people care' and ‘social permaculture’ that I would now like to explore further in my design work . Aspects of these very much connect and Edge with the exciting Liberation Permaculture ideas, currently evolving within work undertaken by Nicole Vosper and Graham Burnett in the UK. (Spookily as I write this I’ve just received a questionnaire from Graham inviting me to engage further in the dialogue around Liberation and Permaculture!). I’ve also just signed up to attend thePeople and Permaculture Facilitators Training led by Looby and Peter Cow at Ragmans Lane Farm later this month, which is hopefully going to be a great step in taking my practice to a greater depth.  
 
There are lots of reviews about People and Permaculture out there, and I’m not going to attempt another one here, only to say that its definitely one of the key resources I recommend for any one wanting to learn more about permaculture, and/or wanting to look at personal development design.
 
Many reviews have been left on Amazon  and there is a great one at Permaculture Magazine. If you decide to buy  a copy of either People and Permaculture or 7 Ways to Think Differently then you can order them directly from Looby or support the fab work of independent publisher Permanent Publications by purchasing through Green Shopping.
 
Designs in my Diploma in Permaculture Design portfolio using The Design Web, the framework at the core of People and Permaculture,  are 

Action Learning Pathway
Healing Agriculture 
Journey to Spain