The Digital Circle celebrates 10 years of work and we want to take a moment to celebrate!
The Digital Circle started in 2016 and since then we have been exploring, testing, and prototyping digital tools for permaculture. Over the years, many people have contributed to this work. Some have helped with websites, servers, systems, documentation, research, governance, community support, tool testing, open source advocacy, hosting, troubleshooting, and countless behind the scenes tasks that often go unnoticed but make the work possible.
To all past and present contributors: thank you.
The Digital Circle exists because people keep showing up to ask difficult questions about technology. Who owns the tools we use? Where is our data stored? What happens when community infrastructure depends on extractive platforms? How can we make digital systems easier to understand, easier to maintain, and more aligned with care for people, care for the Earth, and fair share?
Within the circle, there is also a micro-enterprise team: supporting permaculture projects, organisations, and aligned initiatives with practical digital services, including ethical hosting services, Nextcloud collaboration spaces, app development, tech support, digital infrastructure advice, and guidance on open source tools.
This work is rooted in open source and free software, open hardware, privacy-first tools, resilient systems, renewable and lower-energy hosting, and appropriate technologies that serve communities.
You can learn more about the Digital Circle and its services here:
At the moment, the Digital Circle is also actively contributing to the Grow Project through several connected areas of work:
CollectiveImpact, GRP1 Through our Permaculture Convergence Aggregator team, we are participating in this research project which includes building a repository of existing permaculture research and contribute to buildling a collective impact framework elevating permaculture as a viable answer to today’s global challenges.
EthicalSoftware, GRP2 Continuing the Digital Circle long-standing work of researching, testing, and promoting ethical digital tools, including open source alternatives that better match permaculture ethics.
PermaGlobalSpace, GRP3 Contributing to the development of shared digital spaces where permaculture practitioners and aligned projects can connect at a strategic level, collaborate, and find each other across regions and borders.
Community Owned Startup Incubation, GRP5 The Digital Circle Services is supported to develope our Micro-Enterprise through participation in the Community Owned Startup Incubation programme identifying areas for improvement and investing time and energy to address these.
DigitalLit, GRP8 Building digital literacy is a core activity for the Digital Circle so that more people in the network can understand, choose, and use ethical digital tools with greater confidence.
Techservices, GRP9 The Digital Circles offers practical technical support and digital services to CoLab members, circles, projects, and aligned organisations that need reliable, ethical infrastructure on a day to day basis.
Digital infrastructure shapes how we communicate, how we organise, how we share knowledge, how we build trust, and how accessible our work is to others. The Digital Circle helps provide the ethical tools to do so. If you are interested in ethical digital tools, open source software, digital infrastructure, appropriate technology, or supporting permaculture projects with practical tech skills, you are warmly invited to join the CoLab and our circle, or send us an email to contact@thedigitalcircle.org to inquire about our services.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this work over the years.
The International Permaculture CoLab is actively looking to appoint 2 people for the Emergent Festival within the GROW Project. Perhaps one could lead and the second could support.
The Festival Coordinators Team will be comprised of people who are skilled facilitators with experience in coordinating within a self organized system.
We anticipate this position will be paid on an hourly basis on an equitable wage rate and will require around 20 hours of time over the next few months from mid-March until end-October. With a total maximum budget for both roles of 1000 GBP.
The positions will be active until the Emergent Festival is finished.
Role & Responsibilities:
Keep the festival running smoothly on time and on budget
Manage admin tasks on CoBudget / Community Space– training for this will be provided
Manage communications & assist Festival Rockstars & Ravers to actively participate
Host fun Festival Events within timelines provided – see timeline
Feedback into the festival setup for future improvements
Complete quarterly & end of project monitoring reports as per other Next Steps projects
Use Leantime to track tasks and hours worked
Having 2 people on this team enables an opportunity to co-design events and assign tasks between the crew as needed.
The GROW admin team will be on hand to provide support and induction training.
Make your application here between March 18th– 25th. Applicants must be active CoLab members – https://www.perma.earth/onboarding-journey/ and familiarity with how the CoLab works is considered an asset.
Please read the policy carefully before submitting your application which includes a full list of festival events and the timeline.
The Diversity Coordination team will be comprised of at least 2 persons (coordinators) who are themselves eligible for a diversity stipend and have interest and motivation to attract and support projects and individuals in supporting the diversity and inclusion in the CoLab. The coordinator will work alongside the GROW Admin team (who is paid through their group budget line).
Your experience in the International Permaculture CoLab, in the Permaculture movement and previous relevant work experience is desired. Please tell us about these in your application. Previous experience leading efforts to reduce barriers to participation, and helping those who would otherwise be excluded to participate is relevant. This includes cross-cultural communication skills, and an understanding of power dynamics, structural inequality, decolonization, anti-oppression and anti-hierarchy principles. Please include previous experience with this in the application as well.
This opening is for the Diversity & Decolonization Community Pot Coordinators.
We anticipate this position will be paid on an hourly basis on an equitable wage rate and will require 15 – 20 hours time per coordinator per year from March to November 2026 – 2028.
The positions will be active until the Diversity Community Pot is exhausted. The total budget for these 2 positions is 1400 GBP total per year.
Role & Responsibilities
Support groups & individuals to apply for a diversity grant / stipend
Encourage applications for the grant and stipend by communicate with CoLab members about the potential of this grant /stipend
Review applications for completion upon submission within 48 hours (2 working days)
Forward applications to the #grow-project sub-category along with up-to-date % of pot remaining and % of total pot that this application represents for e.g. 1000GBP 20% of total fund, 80% remaining to be allocated
Alert applicant of any pending clarifying questions / objections
Link successful applicants / contributors with the Digital Circle for set up
Report to the community in #grow-project sub-category any issues that arise
Provide and pass on feedback of this process in order to improve it
Make a commitment not to disclose details about personal circumstances applicants might share.
Follow up with contributors to complete the end of year report
Use Leantime to manage tasks and log hours worked
The GROW Admin team will be on hand to provide induction training and ongoing support.
How to Apply for this position
Read this document well from beginning to end and ask questions is anything is unclear.
Record a short video (not more than 5 minutes) outlining who you are and your relevant experience and one of the following:
In a nutshell – What is the Diversity & Decolonisation Community Pot?
Give 1 example of a possible Grant and 1 example of a possible Stipend
Post your video with a short text in the Recruitment thread for this position on the #next-steps-project channel for this position include a link to your LinkedIN profile.
Share your professional Linkedin profile, CV or similar.
Let us know what your understanding is of power dynamics, structural inequality, anti-oppression and/or decolonization and how is this relevant in this role.
Please include prior experience in similar roles. Including cross-cultural communication, leading efforts to reduce barriers to participation, and helping those who would otherwise be excluded
Deadline for Applications: open until filled
Recruitment Process: All applications will be visible to all CoLab members. They will be able to comment and ask question of candidates within 2 weeks of submission. There may be a recorded informal interview in this period.
Onboarding and training for the role will be conducted during the first 2 weeks after appointment.
Location: Remote Timeline: 3-year commitment (initial focus: Year 1 module build, March–November 2026) Team: CoLab E-Learning Team
We are building accredited, modules of the Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) pathway for CoLab and allied networks.
Our vision over the next three years is to develop peer-reviewed, badged PDC modules that are recognized across permaculture networks and partner institutions. These courses will remain available as open, on-demand learning resources at no cost to the learner.
To bring this to life, we are seeking a digital illustrator (human-created work only, not AI-generated art) to join our E-Learning Team.
Your Role
You will serve as the visual orchestrator of our course modules.
The design team will develop and structure the module content. You will:
Translate curriculum into cohesive visual learning assets and design specifications
Create original diagrams, illustrations, learning visuals, and layout elements
Support clarity, accessibility, and coherence across the e-learning experience
Collaborate closely with the design team to finalize delivery on the platform
You will become a team member contributing to this educational program.
Commitment
Remote collaboration
Participation in team meetings when requested (in alignment with CoLab accountability policy) in the afternoons and evenings in CET, Monday to Friday
Ability to commit to the broader 3-year vision of modular PDC development
Estimated capacity: approximately 25% of the project budget allocation c. 1500 GBP p/y paid per hour at your equitable wage rate: https://perma.earth/equitable-wage-guide/
The design team is currently scheduled for structured build sessions twice weekly Thursdays and Fridays during the initial development phase. Your engagement will align with module handover cycles.
We’re Looking For
Strong digital illustration portfolio (educational or systems thinking experience preferred)
Ability to visually communicate ecological and relational concepts
Comfort working within collaborative, values-aligned teams
Commitment to equitable wage principles
Interest in long-term ecosystem building rather than short-term gig work
Preferably: Someone who has attended one or more Permaculture Design Certificates and has previously done permaculture design work before.
First published on Medium – Aug 20, 2022, written by Aimee Fenech
Bringing my question whilst being myself, listening with my experience, my identity, my context and my emotional state.
When the starting point may already be laborious, in cases where we already know before sitting at the table that there is no shared language, for example, making it necessary for ground work to be done before any debate can really commence.
Even when we think we have a shared language, it may transpire that in fact we need to do the clarification work as we go along and to keep checking in to ensure we are on the same page.
If we take, for example, the term abortion, many of us will have our own understanding of this, and we use the word in our discourse as advocates for and against access rights to this procedure. Now consider that different countries legally allow for the termination of a pregnancy up until different stages, and here comes the use of additional terms in order to distinguish between these late-stage terminations at x weeks and early-stage terminations before x weeks. The weeks here are a determinant clarifying term in that as a people we share an undisputed understanding of the 7-day week. Early stage by itself is again not specific enough. Another scenario to consider is an incomplete miscarriage, which is when the pregnancy is terminated by the body, but the fetus is not expelled, and therefore a procedure is needed to remove the fetus. Here’s an example where clarification for an unfamiliar term is provided; that’s not to say it couldn’t benefit from further clarification.
This process of clarification is essential to build a common base of understanding. Often public debate is not based on a common understanding and this is where a lot of energy is spent without arriving at any reasonable conclusion other than: “someone is wrong on the internet”. People shouting over each other, we leave debates with contempt and anger with each other and we perpetuate this over and over again.
Keeping abortion here as an example, this is critical because laws are defined to limit or increase access to this procedure. In some places, no type of abortion is legal, but people protest and express the right for access rights to be introduced as a right to health care.
Creating safe spaces on common understanding
Sitting with the other in discomfort is hard, but if we build a common base, there is already a part of us that feels safer, more grounded and perhaps more ready to be in conversation rather than waiting for the other to finish to have our turn.
Forming words and expressing ideas in a space which feels safe may bring to light things that may not be expected, even to ourselves.
Expressing how it feels in our body and how it reminds us of our experience brings people into a relational space, and this creates a container for being personal. For a more in-depth position beyond the expression of ideals and beliefs merely as a statement, but as a perspective built from experience.
Being present and sharing that for example: “Hearing you talk about your ideals and what that means to you, reminds me of the time when…. Hearing you say that I feel…”
What on your side are your troubled by and what do you find of value on the other side? —
Acknowledging that our position may not be totally for or totally against positions, but more nuanced in that we may agree on the yes when situations arise and not when limitations arise. Although we may advocate for a particular position, we may acknowledge that we still have questions, and we still need clarification to identify with these specific parameters.
For example, we may acknowledge that ethical production and consumption of food is something we advocate for, but we acknowledge that defining these parameters and the support needed around that needs further and more lengthy debate. Indeed, diverse action depending on the context, perhaps even an overhaul of the agri-food industry, and perhaps even economic and financial systems that need significant changes to get to the ideal state of ethically sustainably grown produce for all.
If we put the topic on the table and ask, “What if we view ourselves as a being that is not entrenched in the cause and rather view ourselves as independent individuals with our experiences that arrive here with curiosity?”, how might that change our experience of the debate? How do we see the other who is arriving here in the same spirit?
Below is a link to a podcast bringing together opposing views into a generative debate.
Aimee Fenech is a permaculture teacher and student, she is co-founder of Eco Hacker Farm and a project manager at Finca Verde where Permaculture principles are applied on a day to day basis. She is an experienced teacher, group process facilitator and public speaker, an advocate and activist for open source, open knowledge and passionate growing permaculture into the world. Within the International Permaculture CoLab she is an active members of many projects, circles and micro-enterprises.
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