Hello permaculture interested folks!
The Washington State Permaculture Convergence is open to the following people:

Permaculture teachers, practitioners, consultants who live or work in Washington State.
* The 500 + permaculture design course graduates who live in Washington State.
* The 5,000 + people in Washington state who are strongly interested in permaculture.
* The 50,000 + people in Washington state who know a little about permaculture and think it is a good idea to learn more.
* Permaculturists who live in surrounding states and provinces as well as from other parts of the North America and the world are warmly invited.

With 3 weeks to go before the convergence we would like to ask all of you to help spread the word.

Anyone interested in permaculture can attend. Please pre-register, especially if you would like indoor accommodations. We have unlimited camping space and can accept everyone who shows up at the last minute. If you plan on coming and want to pay at the door, at least send registration information to our registrar.

CONVERGENCE GOALS

To strengthen information flow and cooperation between permaculturists in Washington; and create a vision of how permaculture can better serve the people and land of Washington state. (How can more permaculturists make their living doing consulting, installation, teaching, etc?)

This convergence will have some aspects of an organizational meeting for the permaculture community as well as be an educational event.

Workshops on gardening, water catchments, forest gardens, terra preta soil, wildcrafting, bio-diesel and other topics of interest for seasoned permaculturists and interested members of the general public will be presented.

The final format of the event will evolve depending on who shows up. We expect that there will be advanced as well as basic level workshops.

The convergence is for professional permaculturists, permaculture design course graduates and people newly involved.

The weekend's offerings will be diverse and will include:

* Workshops by knowledgeable presenters
* Panel discussions
* Plenary sessions
* Demonstrations
* Hands-on activities
* Round-table discussions
* Regional caucuses
* Informal networking and friendship making.
* Music and entertainment. Bring your musical instruments songs and dancing shoes. Self-reliance in entertainment.

Permaculture Convergences are held at international, national and regional levels. Convergences have been held in Washington in the past, but this is the first one in more than a decade.

PRESENTERS

Charlotte Anthony - www.victorygardensforall.org
Marisha Auerbach - www.herbnwisdom.com
Reed Ellis Aubin - www.understory.org
Michael Becker
Dave Boehnlein - www.permacultureportal.com
Susan Buis
Deston Denniston - www.abundancepermaculture.com
Chuck Estin - www.permaculturenow.com
Toby Hemenway - www.patternliteracy.com
Brian Hindman
Mike Maki
Kelda Miller
Jenny Pell - www.permaculturenow.com
Michael Pilarski - www.friendsofthetrees.net
Albert Postema - www.wiseearth.org
Pat Rasmussen
Ankur Shah
Gil Schieber - www.borealislandscape.com/www.panearthdesigns.com
Micheal Sundanda
Bruce Weiskotten, and many more!
Anyone can schedule a workshop, presentation, demonstrations, hands-on activity, or meeting. You can schedule beforehand or at the event.

We will be doing some scheduling in advance of the event, but we are deliberately leaving room for the combined participants to help plan the event. We trust in the spontaneous ability of the participants to share and relate to each other in the moment. You get a large group of permaculture people together and a lot of synthesis and knowledge exchange is bound to happen and be a whale of a good time.

CONVERGENCE FEES

$60 to $100 sliding scale. All weekend activities and meals.

Single day: $30 to $50 sliding scale.
+ $50 for private room (weekend)
or $25 for a bed in a dorm room (4 to 6 people)

No extra fee for tenting or staying in your RV/vehicle.

SAHALE LEARNING CENTER

Sahale Learning Center is a beautiful venue specializing in transformational education and green events.
* A remote, rural location on the lower Tahuya River on the southwest tip of the Kitsap Peninsula.
* 11 private rooms.
* 26 beds in dormitory rooms.
* Commercial kitchen, dining room and outside patio.
* Big 40 x 60' circus tent with plywood floor for large plenary meetings.
* Various small meeting rooms.
* Unlimited camping space.
* A building with 4 hot showers in the camping area.
* 1 large and 1 small hot tub.
* River with pools and sweat lodge.
* Sahale is into permaculture! They hosted permaculture design courses in 2004 and 2005. They are incorporating permaculture into their land development.
* Sahale is exploring setting up an ecovillage on the site.
* Sahale seeks site input from convergence participants.

Located just 25 minutes from Belfair, Washington, Sahale is an easy drive from Seattle, Tacoma, and the Olympic Peninsula. You can get to Sahale from Olympia; from the Fauntleroy ferry terminal in west Seattle, by going over the Narrows Bridge in Tacoma or by driving south from the Hood Canal Bridge.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE TIMES

Thursday, September 11: 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm.
Early registration.
Participants may arrive early to help set-up and familiarize themselves with the site.

Friday. Registration open all day.

Saturday. Registration open all day.

Sunday. Registration open till noon.

Sunday 5:00 pm. Closing circle.
People may stay over on Sunday evening if they are helping with clean-up.

SCHOLARSHIPS

We would like to offer a number of scholarships to interested people representing disadvantaged communities, peoples or tribes.
Send us an email or write us a letter if you would like to apply or represent someone.

FEEDING OURSELVES

Growing food is one of permaculture's biggest features, so we are going to rely on the participants to donate the food that will feed us. This is one of the ways we are able to keep the convergence fees affordable. September is peak harvest month in Washington State. What familiar or exotic food can you bring from your garden or your wildcrafting? We expect to see a wide range of vegetables, fruits, berries, grains, nuts, and all manner of food products and beverages. Bring your best to impress the rest. Please let the registrar know what you plan on bringing so she can relay the information to the head cook. We are asking everyone to take a shift in the kitchen to help keep convergence fees low.

PUBLICITY

Please help us spread the word through word-of-mouth, flyers, emails or mentions on websites or in print. The WSPC seeks someone to manage a website, chatroom, listserve, etc to enable communication between Washington permaculturists for WSPC and beyond.

Calling all permaculturists in Washington State!

This convergence is an opportunity for anyone
interested in permaculture to expand their knowledge.

Would you like to attend?

REGISTRATION

Contact Christy Nieto for more information
360-820-8586
fieldsofgreens@earthlink.net

or Michael Pilarski
michael@friendsofthetrees.net

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