Permaculture Voices 2014 Conference - March 13-16, 2014 - Temecula, CA

Permaculture Voices 2014 Conference - March 13-16, 2014 - Temecula, CA -

www.permaculturevoices.com

Tickets on sale now HERE.

PermacultureVOICES is the greatest permaculture story ever told. Many stories coming together as one. Visionaries, innovators, authors, activists, and more all gathering together under one roof, with one message, we can change the world. Their impact has been huge, their words have influenced millions, and their actions have literally changed the world. Hear what they have to say. Then become the change. Together we can change the world. Become a voice of permaculture. Forever.

Current Speaker Lineup Includes:

Allan Savory
Michael Pollan
Dr. Elaine Ingham
Paul Wheaton
Joel Salatin
Toby Hemenway
Larry Santoyo
Jack Spirko
Peter Hirst
Geoff Lawton
Craig Sponholtz
Neil Bertrando
And many more are in the process of being added.



I am still in the process of adding speakers, so the exact program isn’t set yet. But you can expect the conference topics to include things such as:

Dryland Restoration
Biochar
Cover Crops
Reforestation
Follys of the modern food system.
Soil Science
Holistic Livestock Management
Urban Permaculture
Financial Permaculture
Community Building
Water Harvesting
Watershed Management
Agroforestry
And more..

The speakers at the conference will be dropping a huge amount of knowledge on the audience. I don’t want people to leaving thinking, now what? So, one theme that I will try to incorporate into the event is a call to action. I want each speaker not only convey information on a topic, but also how someone in the audience can put that information into action when they leave the conference. Knowledge is power, but knowledge in action is change.

There will also be a lot of networking opportunities at the conference.

Tickets on sale now HERE.

For more information about the permacultureVOICES Conference click HERE

www.permaculturevoices.com

info@permaculturevoices.com

Follow Me on Twitter: @permavoices



"Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.” Bill Mollison

first banner ...

^^ Paul what about Ben Falk? His ideas about rice/duck farming alone are quite interesting.

Diego is the person to suggest to, not me.

My contribution to this conference is several phone conversations and emails with Diego for many months now. Diego is doing all of the legwork and is the conference-mater. I'm just a doofus who has had some chats and is excited to see this coming together.

I hope to see about 800 people there!

Man I would love to go to that but I would have to work a lot of overtime to come up with that kind of money. Hopefully they will sell videos of the proceedings?

Diego is a big fan of video. He's the one that arranged for the video of me presenting in oceanside to come out the very next day.

Brian Jeffrey wrote:^^ Paul what about Ben Falk? His ideas about rice/duck farming alone are quite interesting.

Agreed. Ben has been invited. He is thinking about it. I suggest sending him a note if you would like to see him @permacultureVOICES.

Miles Flansburg wrote:Man I would love to go to that but I would have to work a lot of overtime to come up with that kind of money. Hopefully they will sell videos of the proceedings?

May happen. But won't be determined for a while. As much as I like the idea of it, there are some logistical issues that need to be worked through. And that is lower on the priority list right now.

Looks fantastic!


Are there volunteer opportunities? I am currently a student (aka: no money.)

B Woke wrote: Are there volunteer opportunities? I am currently a student (aka: no money.)

Doubtful. Won't know until February 2014. I would assume not.

Diego Footer wrote:

Brian Jeffrey wrote:^^ Paul what about Ben Falk? His ideas about rice/duck farming alone are quite interesting.

Agreed. Ben has been invited. He is thinking about it. I suggest sending him a note if you would like to see him @permacultureVOICES.

Done and done!


" . . . but none the less as an unpaid unsolicited adviser, do the conference."

I hope I convinced him

Diego Footer wrote:

Brian Jeffrey wrote:^^ Paul what about Ben Falk? His ideas about rice/duck farming alone are quite interesting.

Agreed. Ben has been invited. He is thinking about it. I suggest sending him a note if you would like to see him @permacultureVOICES.

Hey Diego, how about inviting Paul Gautschi? He's doing his part to help promote permaculture and sustainability too! He has a great video called Back to Eden that talks all about it.

Has Mark Shepard been invited? Just because I live down the road from him...

What's the group rate on the hotel?

Ed Johnson wrote:What's the group rate on the hotel?

No group rate. Tried, but couldn't do anything there. Sorry. I would suggest booking earlier than later. Rates go up as occupancy goes up.

Wow. This is unreal. I sure hope there will be a video! I would definitely buy that! Maybe somehow there will be a way to connect wealthy people who can't make it to the conference with all of the permaculture paupers who can't afford to buy bread so that they can go too. =) Otherwise, more power to everyone who can make it, and I only hope there will be a way to share it with the rest of us.

perhaps we should charter a plane or a balloon to get us from up here!!!

Diego, May I suggest inviting Mark Shepard, the author of "Restoration Agriculture"? It might be great to throw his ideas into the mix.
Richard Frame

I hope to see more women presenters!

gani et se wrote:I hope to see more women presenters!

So would I. Other women have been asked that have very unique and strong points of view. They are thinking about it. Up to them at this point.

Emily Aaston wrote:Maybe somehow there will be a way to connect wealthy people who can't make it to the conference with all of the permaculture paupers who can't afford to buy bread so that they can go too.

I think this is part of what we are trying to change on both fronts.

1. If more wealthy people got into permaculture that would be great. Let's face it money gets things done. If you even just doubled the small amount of money going into permaculture designs and installations then that would result in huge changes for the positive - more jobs in the permaculture space, more plants going into the ground, more soil being rehabilitated, more water being saved, more sustainable design, ect...

2. Permaculture people don't need to be paupers and shouldn't stereotype themselves in that way. We live in a capitalist society and it is our job to get permaculture across while operating within that system. There is a lot of opportunity out there to apply permaculture in the business world. A great example is Marco Barrantes' La Loma Development Company. He is doing great permaculture work for people that would have otherwise chosen non permaculture designs. He is filling that niche is his area. There are lot so niches like that and each of us needs to focus on how we can work within a specific niche.

Wow. This looks terrific--most of my favorite people, all in one place! I am applying for jobs and I don't know if I will be able to attend (new hires have low priority for scheduling requests), but as soon as I can figure that out I will be making every effort to attend.

Brian Jeffrey wrote:^^ Paul what about Ben Falk? His ideas about rice/duck farming alone are quite interesting.

I instantly thought of both Ben Falk and Bill Wilson when Diego contacted me. I have offered to introduce him to Bill and I already put him in contact with Ben so it is up to them now.

Diego Footer wrote:
2. Permaculture people don't need to be paupers and shouldn't stereotype themselves in that way. We live in a capitalist society and it is our job to get permaculture across while operating within that system. There is a lot of opportunity out there to apply permaculture in the business world. A great example is Marco Barrantes' La Loma Development Company. He is doing great permaculture work for people that would have otherwise chosen non permaculture designs. He is filling that niche is his area. There are lot so niches like that and each of us needs to focus on how we can work within a specific niche.

Wow! Now I am really glad I said yes! Say that again and again. Permaculture isn't supposed to be about doing without, it is to be about creating abundance. I get so tired of explaining that, "so how do I buy land?", um oh, I don't know get a job, get two, get three, start a business, deliver pizzas and kick ass and make tips, tend bar, do whatever you have to IF IT IS AS IMPORTANT YOU SAY IT IS.

Permaculture doesn't just create abundance in agriculture it creates VERY successful businesses when followed in that world to. I did a whole set of business podcasts on it.

http://www.jackspirko.com/tag/8-forms-of-capital

I don't mean to sound harsh, I mean I am going to the Dave Jacke workshop this summer it is 700 bucks and I am a paying student, I didn't feel right trying to get a seat comped for promoting it in return. I am also donating money to help provide a scholarship but seriously 700 bucks to work with Jacke for 5 days and be a codesigner on a project like the one in Helena Montana, if you really get the value of that you find the money.

This thing Diego is doing, man I am blown away to be part of it. How do you expect a guy like Diego to bring in me, Paul, Lawton, Hemingway, etc, etc, etc and do it on the cheap. Not to sound arrogant but we are all in pretty high demand, charging or at least requiring all travel expenses is one way we can filter and actually have time to run our own businesses and properties and pay our bills. Seriouosly I turn down a few dozen paying engaugements every year. I just can't make time to do them all, and I damn sure can't do them free and pay all my own travel expenses too. I am sure for many of the other speakers my numbers are tiny by the way.

This thing is 4 days 8 hours a day with a ton of the most proven people out there, people that will teach you everything they know. I can't speak for all the speakers but at these events I spend most of my time when I am not speaking, still teaching, answering questions, having lunch or dinner or beers with people and answering everything I can while I am there.

The education this will represent would put a year of college to shame, this is all the stuff that actually works and has been proven to work. Mollison himself said years ago we don't even charge enough for PDCs, I agree when it is a real PDC anyway based on his curriculum vs a revisionist PDC. In this country anyway anyone that it really matters too can afford a solid education in permaculture. Now perhaps a DVD series can be made, but then you have a film crew, butt loads of editing, it makes things a lot harder for the people running the event, etc.

Many times I see people do this with an expensive event and sell the DVDs for say 200 bucks then people want to know why 32 hours of world class expensive to produce material isn't "free on the internet". I just don't get it. Next thing you know you hear "what about the third ethic, share the surplus". I keep saying it, permaculture is about abundance, that starts with INVESTING your surplus by returning it. Manure to the bed, standing corn to the composter, chop and drop the surplus to the ground. It works the same with money. If you really practice permaculture as designed in ALL walks of life you don't stay poor for long. You might not be Richie Rich rich but you will do okay you certainly won't be a pauper.

Yes I know permaculture is used a lot and taught a lot in the 3rd world I have two things to say to that.

1. We don't live there
2. Even there it creates real wealth for the people that do it

jack spirko wrote: If you really practice permaculture as designed in ALL walks of life you don't stay poor for long. You might not be Richie Rich rich but you will do okay you certainly won't be a pauper.

I absolutely recognize this event as an unbelievable experience, and I would love to go, especially since it is in my own neighborhood. I can't stand the thought of missing it, and know that it is valuable beyond the price being asked. I guess I feel the need to defend my position a wee bit. That is, it should have a high price. But some of us need to be paupers for a small period of time before we can get to that place where we can reap the financial benefits of practicing permaculture in all aspect of our lives. If I were to spend $700 or $1000 for educational benefit very often this would add up quickly and I would no longer have much saved in my land fund, and my "pauper-like" state would continue. I have full confidence that I will not be a pauper for long, but this takes focus and effort. I have been, and will continue to work very hard to get to the place where I am reaping benefits. But in order to get to that place, I firmly believe that for me, I must adapt pauper-like characteristics to have the discipline to buy land. I am not a pauper in that I have a modest but significant amount of money saved to buy land, but I need to do just that: save it. And for me that means, continuing to gain permaculture knowledge and experience through volunteer work, reading, practicing permaculture principles in all ways that I can, ... and making my own bread to save money.

I have been wrestling with the idea of buying a ticket to this conference, knowing what an opportunity it is, but I feel I would be compromising the standards I have set up for myself at this period in my life. I certainly don't believe all of these things should be free. I support kickstarters, and pay for many books, videos, and workshops that are in my budget. But I have to draw the line somewhere. I just want to say that it is GOOD to be a pauper for a short period in time in order to attain goals.

That said, I am so excited for this conference and am so happy for everyone who can attend. I see the value in having such a powerful gathering of minds to influence the world on a larger scale. Who knows? I may cave and buy a ticket, but I feel it would be a compromise of my need to live with pauper principles at this stage in my life and later, if an opportunity arises like this again, I will have the means to go, and maybe sponsor a pauper or two.

So, I have been thinking about what has been discussed lately about paupers, and paying for things like this conference. I never meant to say that any of this should be free. All you guys who are putting out free podcasts, writing books, making videos -- you deserve to be compensated, and there should be abundance in permaculture. I think this conference is going to create a wave and I want to do whatever I can to help promote it. I also see that there is a need for educational scholarship money so those who haven't achieved abundance yet can take part in these educational opportunities and become the next permaculture leaders. If, as Jack says, this conference will put a year's worth of college to shame, then there should be scholarship money out there to get as many people there as possible. I see no reason why a college education is supported by innumerable scholarships and grants and permaculture education is not. There has to be a way to connect donors to those who would most benefit from these things, yet do not have the means. If I had it to do over, I would have chosen to trade my $100,000 college education for some high-class permaculture education. The education is already out there, there just needs to be more funding. I am thinking a non-profit Permaculture Scholarship Organization. I have started a thread in the "financial strategy" forum to see if we can't come up with something that could work: permaculturescholarshipfund Good luck with the promotion of this event!

Great idea. And thank you. I am in the process of seeking out sponsors. Hopefully some of them can provide scholarships. I will keep you posted.

Richard Frame wrote:Diego, May I suggest inviting Mark Shepard, the author of "Restoration Agriculture"? It might be great to throw his ideas into the mix.
Richard Frame

I agree that Mark Shepard would be a great addition to the list.

Speaker Neil Bertrando will be teaching an upcoming workshop in June about Holistic Grazing + Keyline Design w/ Owen Hablutzel, Roland Kroos. INFO: http://bit.ly/103gWSX

Hopefully Owen Hablutzel will also be a speaker at permacultureVOICES.

And hopefully we can get someone in the area to host a workshop similar to this around the conference dates.

A new speaker has been added to the already powerful lineup. Owen Hablutzel will be speaking at permacultureVOICES. Read his BIO here.

See Owen give two awesome talks just like this:

There are still a lot more speakers being added. I should be announcing them in the next few weeks.

You can find out more details and updates about the conference on Facebook and Twitter.

https://www.facebook.com/permacultureVOICES

https://twitter.com/permavoices

People's requests have been satisfied.

Mark Shepard is now confirmed as a speaker!

Rotational grazer extraordinaire Greg Judy is also now confirmed.

A few things.

1. WOW. Diego, you're kicking butt. Good on you for putting this together.
2. An acquaintance of mine, Rebecca Thistlethwaite, might be a good female presenter to talk to. She has done all kinds of agricultural education, research, marketing, writing, etc. Also Sallie Calhoun from Paicenes Ranch in CA.
3. I will not be able to attend, but I would certainly pay at least $30 for online access to recordings of these sessions. Maybe a podcast? Maybe use Eco-Farm's audio as an example.
4. Speaking of Eco-Farm, have you spoken to their staff at all? Their list of speakers/presenters might be a good place to look to fill in gaps in your schedule.

A two week PDC will also be taught immediately after the conference, starting on Monday the 17th. Taught by one of the biggest names in PDCs.

Come for the conference, stay for the PDC - stacking functions. This will make 3 weeks of intense permaculture education.

The PDC will be a separate charge, hosted at a SoCal permaculture demonstration site, and the class size will be limited.

More details on the PDC to follow in the weeks ahead...

Sarah Aubrey will be speaking at the conference next March.

Sarah Beth Aubrey has written Starting and Running Your Own Small Farm Business and The Profitable Hobby Farm.

She now finds the funds and applies for the grants that bring dollars to entrepreneurs, communities and businesses. She works in over 35 states and networks with eight federal agencies to research and successfully apply for the funds her clients need. Recently named to the Indianapolis Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list of young professionals excelling in their careers, she moves projects ahead at a fast speed and can do that for you!

As the owner of Prosperity Consulting, LLC, a Certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), Sarah knows entrepreneurs like to do things their own way. Responding to that need for speed, she launched a new training event in 2012 to educate participants in the fine art of ‘DIY’ grants with her 2-day grant funding feasibility and applications basics course. These courses are held live quarterly in Indianapolis and can be customized on site for groups of 10 or more.

I doubt anyone resents an individual making an honest buck.

Implying that individusls are inferior for not being able to afford $700 , turns me off.

Love whst paul and others do for free, and genuinly appreciate every scrap of petmaculture informstion i can find.

I truly believe in permaculture, but if i had one complaint or desire, it would be that more individuals in the movement cared more about education and sharing, and less about making a buck.


I know it takes money, but $700 plud travel exspenses is a very steep investment for many, if not most.

mick mclaughlin wrote:I doubt anyone resents an individual making an honest buck.

Implying that individusls are inferior for not being able to afford $700 , turns me off.

Love whst paul and others do for free, and genuinly appreciate every scrap of petmaculture informstion i can find.

I truly believe in permaculture, but if i had one complaint or desire, it would be that more individuals in the movement cared more about education and sharing, and less about making a buck.


I know it takes money, but $700 plud travel exspenses is a very steep investment for many, if not most.

I don't think that anyone is implying that anyone is inferior. I realize not everyone is going to want to pay for the conference, so I am trying to provide a lot of free information a long the way - such as blog posts, the podcast, and the August 10th webinar. I have also have special where if two people go they can save $200. There is only so much that I can discount the ticket price to make it easier for people. The bottom line is that if someone feels that they will get more than $700 worth of value out of the conference then they will go. Which is why a lot of people have already bought tickets. If it is important enough to your situation and can add enough value to your situation then $700 is not out of reach. Anyone could find a way to save up that money if they felt that it was a good enough value exchange. I think I am giving people a lot of value in exchange for a ticket and compared to a lot of conferences in any space out there $700 is very in line. TED charges $7500 for 5 days at the conference and they sell out. Is that wrong? No, because people are willing to pay that and it adds value in some way to their lives.

In regards to permaculture and making a buck. I am all for that. There is nothing wrong with making a living solving problems, filling voids, and charging for them while operating a business that is environmentally sustainable - permaculture based. If people feel that the price for that service is fair then they will use it, if they don't then they won't. Not everyone is in favor of just giving stuff away for free and ultimately that isn't sustainable. If people want to donate their time and resources for free, I am all for that, but most people can't raise kids giving stuff away for free. And I think it is important that young people realize that you can make a "white collar" living by forming a business under the permaculture umbrella be it design, farming, livestock, whatever.

The bottom line is that I hear your concerns and I understand them. It doesn't sound like the conference is a fit for you, which is fine. It isn't for everyone, BUT it definitely is a fit for a lot of other people. If you ever want to chat more about this, let me know. I am glad to call you and talk to you about these issues.

Diego, I applaud you for all your work. A conference like this does not happen for free and to hear all of these people in one place is definitely worth more than the money you are asking for a ticket. If one was to pay to see all of them individually, I am pretty sure it would end up being more expensive.