Affinity Circles

Workshops at the Permaculture Gathering are organized into Affinity Circles.  Affinity Circle topics are proposed during the Open Space Planning on Friday morning.  The person who proposes these topics can be experts on subjects or novices seeking help.  Also these circles can be organized to facilitate collaboration or accomplishing a hands-on project at the gathering.

Previous Affinity Circles have included the following:

• Streams of Income vs. One Boring Job (Suzanne)
• The Evolution of Permaculture in the Public Realm (Janell, Lee, Kelly)
• Bringing Love Into the Garden (Turtle)
• Humanure Hob Knob (Monica)
• Indigenous Song Share and Traditions (Onie and David)
• Songs and Chants for the New Tribe (Patricia)
• Radical Sustainability (Alexei)
• Food Forests (Kevin)
• Non-violent Communication for Connection (Cathy)
• Managing Your Site for Healthy Sacred Soil (Goodheart)
• Solar Power (David)
• Storing Our Harvest: Drying, Fermenting, Canning, etc. (Brother Hug)
• Qigong, Negong, and Yoga (Arjuna and Elyssa)
• Making Sustainability Fun (Frank)
• * Mountain Garden Field Trip
• Introduction to Permaculture (Patricia Allison)
• Companion Planting ("King Stropharia" and "Mushroom Jordon")
• Historical Context of the Permaculture Movement (Rob Messick)
• Fun, Easy, Safe Partner Massage Exchange (Kim)
• The Basswood's Old Story: Remembering In the Bioregion (Zev Friedman)
• Fire Cupping (Julie)
• The Business of Permaculture: How to Make Living at What You Love (Mihail)
• Making Mead for Health and Libation (Turtle)
• Biofuels: A Sustainable (Brian Winslett)
• Gardens of Eden: Home Orchards (Goodheart)
• VIDEO: First Earth (natural building) (Arjuna)
• Hellbender (salamander) Field Trip to South Toe River
• Fungi Walk (Liam)
• Fermentation: Cottage Industry and Trouble Shooting (Sandor)
• Song Share (Sarah Anne)
• Women in Permaculture (Isabel)

Here are other examples of previous Affinity Circles

• Applied Intuition: Dowsing
• Arthur Morgan School introduction video
• Ashevillage Building Convergence
• Bamboo gathering and sculpture
• Bee Stewardship
• Effective Micro-organisms
• Embracing the Sacred Masculine
• Emerald Acres Greenhouse
• Flow Yoga
• Flute Making
• Foot massage and washing
• Garden as sacred space
• Global Cohesive Economy
• Green Transit
• Home Orchards
• Humanure- What’s the Scoop on Poop?
• Integral Politics
• Introduction to Permaculture
• Land Trusts
• Landscape Design/Nursery Growers Collective
• Local and Organic Food Systems
• Making Compost Tea
• Mapping
• Mountain Gardens Tour
• Mushroom Walk
• Natural Plant Dyes
• Open Beehive examination
• Organic Agriculture in the Tropics
• Pattern Language
• Plant Walk with Frank Cook
• Plant Spirit Healing
• Playful, easy touch
• Rainwater Catchment Installation
• Raising Food in the Woods
• Raising Poultry
• Rethinking Houses
• Renewable Energy
• Sharing Permaculture Examples
• Shitake Culture
• Soil fertility and Effective Microorganisms
• Soil Mandala (using soil samples from throughout NC)
• Song Sharing
• Solar Power – Now or Never
• Stewarding Creatures (bees, chickens, goats, butterflies, etc.)
• Tai Chi and the Five Tibetans
• Transition Culture
• Trivial Skills
• Truth Forum
• Urban Gardening
• Urban farming with livestock
• Women’s Circle