A History of Permaculture Gatherings Held in the United States & Canada

By : 
Michael Pilarski
Original Publication Date: 
Mon, 09/12/2011

Here is a history of permaculture gatherings in the USA and IPCs

The following list of permaculture gatherings, convergences and conferences was obtained by going through the calender sections of 40 out of 73 issues of the Permaculture Activist. Combined with a bit of internet research. This is not a definitive list. Going through the 33 other issues will add more (which I plan to do some day if no-one beats me to it). A very few non-permaculture events are included because they are closely related. In most cases, I give the date, the name of the event, the location and the name of the contact person/center. There is also a section at the end for the international and continental convergences.

I compiled this list as a bit of history for the overall movement. Some of you may be interested. Some of you may be totally bored. It gives us an indication of where permaculture has been most active over the years.

Please send in information on other permaculture gatherings to make this list more comprehensive.

Michael Pilarski
Friends of the Trees Society
michael@friendsofthetrees.net

August 4-7, 1986, 2nd International Permaculture Consultants Convergence, Breitenbush Hot Springs, Oregon.

August 8-10, 1986, 2nd International Permaculture Conference. The Evergreen State College, Olympia Washington. 700 people attended from around the world and around the USA.

November 1989 to March 1990 (to be held sometime between). North American Permaculture Designer’s Gathering. Location to be announced. This appeared in the May 1989 Activist. Sue Colpas-Ross at Nobody’s Mountain, TN was the contact person. Did this ever happen?

October 11-13, 1991, 6th Annual Eastern Permaculture Conference. Standing Stone State Park, Tennessee. Earth Advocates. This means it must have started in 1986.

March 14-16, 1992, Northwest Permaculture Teachers Reunion. Gearhart, Oregon. Jude Hobbs.

October 9-12, 1992, 7th Annual Eastern Permaculture Conference, Central New England, David Jacke.

October 8-10, 1993, 8th Annual Eastern Permaculture Conference, Butler, Pennsylvania, John Irwin.

June 24-26, 1994, West Coast Permaculture Convergence. Orleans, California, Sandy Bar Ranch.

July 29-31, 1994, 1st Annual Southeastern Permaculture Gathering. Celo, North Carolina. Chuck Marsh.

September 26- Oct 1, 1994, Permaculture Designer’s Convergence for Eastern North America, Amesville, Ohio, David Jacke.

June 24-26, 1995, 2nd West Coast Permaculture Convergence, Orleans, California, Sandy Bar Ranch.

July 28-30, 1995, 3rd Annual Pacific Northwest Permaculture Rendezvous and Orcas Island Bog Toss. Orcas Island, Washington, Michael Pilarski.

August 11-13, 1995, 2nd Annual Southeastern Permaculture Gathering. Celo, North Carolina. Gred Gross.

September 4-9, 1996, Eastern Permaculture Convergence. Almonte, Ontario, Maureen McEown.

June 20-23, 1996, 3rd annual West Coast Permaculture Convergence. Orleans, California. Sandy Bar Ranch.

August 8-11, 1996, 3rd annual Southeastern Permaculture Summer Gathering. Celo, North Carolina. Tony Kleese.

August 16-18, 1996. 4th Annual Pacific Northwest Permaculture Rendezvous and Bog Toss. Orcas Island, Washington, Michael Pilarski.

August 30-September 1, 1996, 10-year Reunion of the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute,. Basalt Colorado. CRMPI.

July 18-20, 1997. 5th Annual Pacific Northwest Permaculture Rendezvous, Orcas Island, Washington, Michael Pilarski.

August 7-10, 1997, 4th Annual Permaculture Summer Gathering. Chuck Marsh.

October 10-13, 1997, 1st Annual Lost Valley Permaculture Reunion. Dexter, Oregon. Lost Valley Center.

March 14-15, 1998, Eastern Permaculture Teacher’s Association Gathering. Freeland, Maryland, Heathcote Center.

August 7-9, 1998, 5th Annual Southeastern Permaculture Gathering. Celo, North Carolina, Chuck Marsh.

August 21-23, 1998, Permaculture Gathering, Quebec, Canada. Terra Flora.

October 10-11, 1998, Eastern Permaculture Teacher’s Association Gathering. Freeland, Maryland, Linda Felch.

June 6-12, 1999, Natural Building & Permaculture Convergence. Taos, NM, Permaculture Drylands Institute.

July 30-August 1, 1999, 6th Annual Southeastern Permaculture Gathering. Celo, NC, Tony Kleese.

September 24-26, 1999, Northwest Permaculture Gathering, Dexter, Oregon, Lost Valley Center.

June 25-July 2, 2000, “Build Here Now” Natural Building and Permaculture Convergence. Taos, NM, Lama Foundation.

July 14-16, 2000, Orcas Island Permaculture Rendezvous & Bog-Toss. Orcas Island, Washington, Michael Lockman.

August 3-6, 2000, 7th Annual Southeastern Permaculture Gathering. Celo, NC, Tony Kleese.

September 22-24, 2000, 4th Annual Oregon Permaculture Gathering. Dexter, Oregon. Lost Valley Center.

September 21-23, 2001, 5th Annual Oregon Permaculture Gathering. Dexter, Oregon. Lost Valley Center.

August 2-5, 2001, 8th Annual Southeastern Permaculture Gathering. Black Mountain, NC. Earthhaven Village.

August 16-18, 2001, Skill Sharing & Permaculture Convergence. Williams, Oregon. Seven Seeds Farm.

August 5-8, 2004, 11th Annual Southeastern Permaculture Gathering. Black Mountain, NC. Earthhaven Village.

May 21-30, 2004, Village Building Convergence, Portland, Oregon. City Repair Project. (not specifically permaculture, but permaculture has always had a strong role.)

June 13-20, 2004, “Build Here Now” Natural Building Convergence. Taos, NM, Lama Foundation. [note that this year this gathering did not include permaculture in it’s title.]

July 9-17, 2005. 9th Continental Bioregional Congress. Black Mountain, NC, Earthhaven Village. [The Bioregional Congresses have always had a strong showing of permaculturists. This one was hosted at a prominent permaculture ecovillage.]

March 10-11, 2006, Permaculture Convergence, Occidental, California.

July 25-27, 2008, 5th Bay Area Regional Permaculture Convergence, West Sonoma County, California. This means it started in 2004. http://www.livingmandala.com/Living_Mandala/Bay_Area_Permaculture_Convergence.html

August 2-3, 2008, Permaculture Convergence, Boulder, Colorado, Living Earth Center.

August 29-31, 2008, 1st Annual Southern California Permaculture Convergence, Santa Barbara Permaculture Network.

www.permacultureconvergence.org/

August 29-September 1, 2008, Southwest Drylands & Southern California Permaculture Convergence. New Cuyama, California. Quail Springs.

September 12-14, 2008. 1st Annual Washington State Permaculture Convergence, Belfair, Washington, Michael Pilarski.

January 24-25, 2009. Hawaiian Islands Permaculture Convergence, Hawi, Big Island, Uluwehi Farm & Nursery.

July 3-5, 2009, 5th Northeast Permaculture Network Summer Convergence, East Montpelier, Vermont. http://northeasternpermaculture.wikispaces.com/Summer+Gathering

Aug 25-27, 2009 - 10th Annual Northwest Permaculture and Bioregional Gathering, Eugene, Oregon, Dharmalaya Center.

September 18-20, 2009, 2nd Annual Washington State Permaculture Convergence, Belfair, Washington, Christy Nieto.

September 17-19, 2010, 1st Northwest Permaculture Convergence, Seattle, Washington. www.nwpermaculture.org

October 19-21, 2011, 2nd Northwest Permaculture Convergence, St. Helens, Oregon. http://nwpermaculture.com

April 29-May 1, 2011, 2011 Southern California Permaculture Convergence, in Malibu, California. www.socalconvergence.org

November 4-6, 2011. 1st Inland Northwest Permaculture Conference. Spokane, Washington. www.inlandnorthwestpermaculture.com

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD

August 30-September 10, 1994, 3rd European Permaculture Convergence, Germany.

May 16-19, 1996. 4th European Permaculture Conference. Tourrets sur Loup, France.

March 27-April 4, 2000, 1st Latin American Permaculture Congress. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

November 13-15, 2004, International Ecovillage Designers Conference. Maleny, Queensland, Australia, Max Lindegger.

July 7-12, 2001, 6th European Permaculture Conference, Vrable, Slovakia. Permaculture Institute of Europe.

March 20-25, 2008. 9th Australian Permaculture Convergence,

Sidney, NSW, Australia. Celebrating 30 years of permaculture.

www.apc9.org.au

August 21-23, 2009, Festival de Permaculture 2009. Sambourg, France.

2010. 10th Australian Permaculture Convergence. Cairns, Tropical Far North Queensland.

[Richard Archer in a recent post from Australia said “In Australia there are many small grass-roots

organisations but no national body. The grass-roots orgs are generally specific to a local area, they run PDCs and members help each other out with permie projects. There is not a whole lot of interaction between groups.”

I think that not everyone in Australia would share Archer’s assessment. The Australian permaculturists have held a major national convergence every few years since 1986. I attended the APC in 1995 in Adelaide. It was a great convergence with hundreds of permaculture people from all around Australia. It was evidence of a vibrant permaculture movement with a lot of interconnections.]

Locations of the IPC’s (International Permaculture Convergence and Conference)

The convergence is for design course graduates only and precedes the public conference.

IPC 1, 1984, Pappinbarra and Rowlands, NSW, Australia.

IPC 2, 1986, Breitenbush, Oregon and Olympia, Washington.

IPC 3, 1989, South Island and North Island, New Zealand.

IPC 4, 1991, Biratnagar and Kathmandu, Nepal.

IPC 5, 1993, Gerlesborg (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark).

IPC 6, 1996, Bridgetown and Perth, Western Australia.

IPC 7, 2005, Slovenia and Motovun, Croatia.

IPC 8, 2007, Pirenopoli and Sao Paulos, Brazil, www.ipc8.org

IPC 9, October, 2009. Malawi, Africa. www.ipcon.org

IPC X, September, 2011. Jordan, Middle East Their website is not up as of 12/28/10.

IPC XI, Cuba? The 2011 location was a toss-up between Jordan and Cuba. The Cuban permaculture movement has stated their desire to host IPC XI

We have some great speakers this year! Penny Livingston, Mark Lakeman, Larry Santoyo and Toby Hemenway will be leading the way along with many other local experts in the vast field of Permaculture.

Workshops will include Rainwater Harvesting, Nature Awareness, Kid's Permaculture, Placemaking, and so much more!

In fact, we're looking for more workshop presenters, so sign up at www.socalconvergence.org when you purchase your tickets and get a discount.

You can sign up for the whole weekend, or purchase some of the very limited day passes we have available. Prices range from $55 for a day pass up to $200 for a private room, with all sorts of other prices in between. We also have work-trade available.

Check out the website to learn more,