Dear Friends, this visionary and permaculturist who i have the pleasure of introducing you to is Robina McCurdy. I met her in New Zealand. She's coming to the US, and is looking to give amazing and informative workshops in all aspects of permacuture (sustainable development/living with nature) and nature attunement, etc.. Read below. She's fabulous and perhaps you could forward her info to anyone interested in having this type of workshop. Thanks for your time...let the good work move on!
Love you, kaija-krista Smith


Greetings Friends & Colleagues in the USAWarm regards from summertime, where the days are long, the ocean isswimable, the season is festive, the air is pungent with the fragrance offlowers and fruit is abundant on the trees..I am writing regarding some educational opportunities I want to offer in USAand Canada, sometime between early July and mid September 2004, if there issufficient interest.I am offering a smorgesboard of workshops which I have taught over the past5 years, for interested people/organisationsto select from. Below are thetitles of each workshop. The accompanying attachment has a description ofeach workshop (also attached in RTF also for non-MacIntosh users) plus myphoto. I can also custom-design workshops to meet the needs of yourorganisation/group.Fees are not included as they will be negotiated with each organiser. Ourorganisation (Institute of Earthcare Education Aotearoa), uses a slidingscale under the following categories, based on which strata of society wework
with: 1. corporate/government/local authority2. educational institutions/small businesses3. NGOs/community & specific interest groupsCould you please forward this email to any organisation or individual youthink may be interested. In order to synchronise workshops and make travelplans, I need to receive all registrations of interest by 8 February 2004.As USA is a huge country, it will only be viable for me to come to areaswhich host longer workshops, or where a series of shorter workshops can beheld within the same or neighbouring bioregions. This can be determined whenall responses are back. My preference is to operate in Washington andCalifornia states, however I am open to other parts of USA if the return onworkshops makes travel costs are viable.For people interested in following this up, in your response, I wouldappreciate an indication of your prefered timing, plus the timing which isnot possible for you, and the typical amount of money people pay for thiskind of workshop in
your area.Please respond to my email address: robina@win.co.nzIf you want to speak with me personally, my phone number is: +64 3 5258488Best wishes for a happy, regenerative and fruitful 2004for your friends & family, your bioregion, your country and our planet earthRobina McCurdy Earthcare Education AotearoaMY BACKGROUNDI am a New Zealander and a planetary citizen, a co-founder/resident/trusteeof Tui Land Trust & Community and founder/trustee of the Institute forEarthcare Education Aotearoa. I trained as a state and Steiner primaryschool teacher, and have a Permaculture Diploma in Trusteeship, Media andEducation, as well as qualifications in Seed Technology. For three decades Ihave been engaged in broadscale community development, and for the past 18years in permaculture design & teaching, organic growing, the development ofenvironmental education resources and the creation of participatoryprocesses for decision making and collective action. I taught and appliedthese powerful
community-building methods with households, neighbourhoods,schools, farms, ecovillages and bioregions, in Aotearoa/New Zealand,Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Brazil and USA.I was the originator/coordinator of Golden Bay's 'PLANET Organic', ayear-long vocational training in community-scale sustainable landuse design,management & facilitation. Throughout my life, I have worked with minimalresources to bring about significant changes in the lives of people, theircommunities and their environment. Consequently, human capacity building isone of my special skills - inspiring, guiding and offering specific toolsand techniques for people to access their gifts, develop their potential,build their resourcefulness, and manifest their dreams.Organisations which I have financed my work include: the New Zealand HighCommission, NZ Natural Heritage Foundation, DANIDA (Denmark), Fundacio GaiaNGO, Rio Grande du Sul and Santa Catarina Education Departments (Brazil),Village Development, Novalis
Institute and Abalimi Bezekhaya (South Africa),PELUM (Zimbabwe) and the British High Commission.----------------WORKSHOP SUMMARYEVENING SLIDESHOWS - I am offering a range of 14 slideshows compiled frommy work in permaculture & community development around the world. Theyserve as an introduction to a workshop theme, an inspiration forpracticalwork and a catalyst for dialogue.WORKSHOPS(* = longer than 1 week, and typical broad programme is outlined)PERMACULTURE/SUSTAINABLE LANDUSE- The Instant Organic Garden (2 days)- Gardening with Little Folk ( 1 day)- Design your own Organic Urban Property (1 eve + 2 days)- Design your own Organic Rural Property( 1 - 10 acres: 3 days, 10 - 30 acres: 5 days, 30 - 80 acres: 7 days, 80+acres: 9 days)- Sustainable Landuse Facilitation Techniques (1 - 3 days)- Creating a Seasonal Calendar (1 day)- Permaculture for 3rd World & Indigenous Peoples (2 - 5 days)* Organic Growing, Permaculture Garden & Orchard Design (5 - 10 days)(7 - 10 day
Practical Programme: detailed permaculture design, soilfertility, crop rotation, plant guilds, pests & diseases prevention, seedsaving, water systems, food forests, agroforestry, shelter, integratedanimal systems)EARTH/NATURE RELATIONSHIP- Nature Attunement (1 - 3 days)- Design in Partnership with Nature (1 - 3 days)- Council of All Beings (1 - 2 days)* Earth-Spirit Nature Retreat (2 weeks)(Programme includes: eco-literacy, deep ecology, land-energy dowsing,meditation/reflection, journal keeping, yoga /tai chi, solo vision quest,group support work, biographies, wildcrafting.SPECIFIC PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - Empowering Life Direction (1 - 2 days)- Earth as Healer (1 day)- Creating Sacred Space & Personal Ritual (1 day)- Co-creative Living (3 - 4 hours)- 'SERVE' - Leaping Beyond the 'Me' Culture (2 - 4 days)COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT- Wholistic Goal-Setting Process (1 - 2 days)- åTaking Down the Fences<pi> - Creating Community from åjust where you are! (1 - 2 days)- Resource
Centres for Community Outreach (1 - 2 days)- Design for Bioregional Sustainability: an introduction (1 - 4 days)- Creating a Culture of Abundance (1 - 2 days)- Group Harmonising (consultancy - open duration)- Sustainable Social Organisation* Introduction to Ecovillage/Sustainable Community Design & Development(7 Day Programme: The Formation of an Ecovillage, Participatory Approachto Designing Ecovillage & Intentional Community, Skills for Living in anEcovillage/IntentionalCommunity, Heart-Sharing Circle. Wholistic Goal Setting Mandala - 7 days)* Design for Ecovillages & Sustainable Communities ( 2 - 5 weeks)(4 - 5 Week Programme: Design for Cultural Sustainability, Design forPhysical Sustainability, Design for Nature Conservation & Food Security,Design for Sustainable Organisational Structures, Integrated Eco-villageDesign Practicum)CHILDREN<pi>S ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION- åPixie Play<pi> (for children - 1 day)S.E.E.D. (Schools Environmental Education & Development)- School
Grounds Design (Consultation of 1 - 2 days)- School Grounds Design (for the whole school community - 4 days)- Bringing Gardens and Grounds into the School Curriculum (for schoolteachers & principals: 2 - 3 days)* åTransforming Schools into Productive Learning Environments å-(Comprehensive S.E.E.D. Programme - for environmental educators, landscapearchitects, permaculture designer/facilitators, and green-fingeredgardeners with a love of children)(2 Week Programme: Introduction to the SEED programme, Introduction toPermaculture Design, Permaculture within Environmental Education, 'SiteSurvey' Demonstration and Landscape Design Practice Day in Schools,Creating an Integrated Whole School Development, School-Community, Practiceof Facilitation methods, School Grounds Development, School GroundsImplimentation Practicum, Putting it All Together.