Ive seen such wonderful posts throughout social media today,  to mark International Women's Day 2016  - #IWD2016 -my favorite was this beautiful film from  www.wiseatheart.com and shared via Permaculture Magazine
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​Inspired by so much of the energy from #IWD2016 I’ve been spending some time reflecting on all the wonderful women who impact my life at the moment – here are some of my thoughts of gratitude 
 
Women who write the books I read,  (and often review);

Women who I rarely (if at all ) meet face to face, but who are my friends and positive connections in the big wide world of social media;

Women who teach me, through courses, workshops, by example,  and the other women who attend those events, with many of whom I stay  friends with long after; 

The global network of women who inspire me with their practice, knowledge and stories;

Many women working at strategic and national levels to generate political changes towards equal, balanced healthy lives, w3that  are prioritised and happen , and women working for grassroots organisations with similar goals;

Women health care professionals I work alongside,  who inspire my passion about quality of life as we die, Many of my patients and their families too ;

Women who design systems for healing and regenerating land, communities and self using permaculture principles and ethics;

My diverse group of friends, long term, and transient;

Women who farm to grow the food I eat; 

My wonderful WISE (Women Inspiring Stories of Empowerment) group whose monthly Skype presence and space has given me so much so far this year, even in its short life;

Women in my local communities who work in local business and run services to help and support me with my day to day life needs;

Women and girls  in my family, present in this world, and those no longer alive - especially my mum, Mo, whose letters wrote before my birth are teaching me about the similarities in politics, adventure in life and compassion we share ;

My Goddess daughter and other young women who inspire hope for your next generation;

​And of course my beautiful partner and soul mate , H x
 

​Last month I completed a 10-day residential course ‘ People and Permaculture Facilitator Training (FiT)’ run by Looby McNamara and Peter Cow, at Ragman’s Farm in the Forest of Dean. I only heard about the course a few weeks before it was due to commence, but the timing and content seemed to fit perfectly with everything else in my life.
 
Being back at Ragman’s was really special for me. This was the amazing permaculture site where I spent time learning much of my core permaculture knowledge from Patrick Whitefield on his PDC in June 2011,  and then again for a weeks course in Organic Horticulture the following January.
 
The whole FiT course was an incredibly special experience, and perfectly timed to coincide with thinking about my next steps as a permaculture designer.

Here is a summary of some of the many positive outcomes of the training  for me: -
 
Spending the duration of the course getting to know the most fantastic group of social permaculture/people centred  designers and facilitators from all over world – being really motivated by the prospect of continued learning and growing alongside them over the next year, and hopefully much further ahead, through regular online meetings and connections.

The FiT training was a very different style and aspect of permaculture learning from Patrick’s courses. Being there in the same landscape with those connected  experiences  enabled me to further widen understanding I had built up in my Diploma, about the importance of putting people care at the core of any permaculture design, for a design to be be resilient and successful. 

A much more detailed and in-depth understanding of using the Design Web as an intentional process for Social Permaculture/People centred permaculture design.
 
Developing skills, confidence and  knowledge in facilitation – exploring the ability to see how this can be applied to and transferred to work and life situations beyond permaculture focused settings.
 
The creation of the first phase of my  Facilitators/Right Livelihood Pathway as an umbrella design to incorporate several other smaller designs.

The FiT course will run again in November 2016 at Ragmans Farm. See the Thriving Ways website for further links and contact.

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