To bring forth the Research, Education and Training Circle fleshing out what the circle mission, aims and activities for this up and coming circle. Centering around bringing together existing resources by building on permaculture research and furthering permaculture education and training, building on the valuable work already done in this domain all over the CoLab, making this a cohesive effort working with and collaborating with other Circles, projects and working groups to make this happen.

Team Objectives – Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound, in line with the International Permaculture CoLab vision, mission and aims and within the scope of this grant

We have come together to bring forth the Research, Education and Training Circle fleshing out what the circle mission, aims and activities will be, we have some ideas around this and have already had some conversations and circle meetings.

We will become an established circle like the Digital and Funding Circles, creating opportunities in research, education, and training domains. We will bring together existing resources by building on permaculture research and furthering permaculture education and training, building on the valuable work already done in this domain all over the CoLab, making this a cohesive effort working with and collaborating with other Circles, projects and working groups to make this happen.

We are asking for your support to help fund a part of the incubation process which requires a large number of volunteer hours.

A podcast series that wants to inform, share, and create an archive about Permaculture Convergences and how the very existence of the CoLab is linked to those in real life events that try to keep the momentum in an ever changing fast-paced world. Our team will interview various key figures in the Permaculture movement with the objective of sharing their journeys, collecting testimonies, and offering once more the case for coherence in the global movement. 

This project will open a conversation with organisations aligned with permaculture to explore how existing maps and datasets can be linked. By doing so, it supports collaboration, reduces duplication and makes the movement and its allies more visible and accessible worldwide. Ultimately, it helps communities see the many initiatives driving change, all in one shared map. This builds on important work already developed for the existing Global Permaculture Map and involves moving it to a platform where hosting costs are covered, helping reduce ongoing expenses while ensuring long-term sustainability.

Current map can be found at https://map.perma.earth/

Details of the previous project that produced it can be found at https://perma.earth/project/global-permaculture-movement-map/

Permaculture has developed one of the most coherent frameworks for regenerative land use design available; yet it remains largely absent from formal policy discourse. Meanwhile, agroecology is gaining traction at national and international levels, appearing in food sovereignty frameworks, national agricultural strategies, and UN-aligned policy instruments. Permaculture is occasionally referenced as a subset of agroecology, but this framing undersells its design methodology and risks reducing it to a loose set of practices rather than a systems-level approach to land, resource, and community design.

This project examines the interface between permaculture and agroecology policy. We will review two to three national policy documents that formally integrate agroecological principles, mapping where permaculture’s design framework either already intersects with or could meaningfully strengthen those policy positions. From this analysis, we will develop a set of concrete recommendations for how permaculture as a distinct and rigorous design system might begin to enter policy conversations at national level.

The work is exploratory and analytical rather than prescriptive. The team will determine the specific countries and documents reviewed, but the output will be a structured, evidence-informed document that CoLab members and permaculture advocates can use as a foundation for ongoing policy engagement.

The Permaculture in Africa (PIA) circle exists to create a space of support and connection for permaculturists coming to the CoLab from Africa. We are working on three connected pieces of work:

The first is reviewing and testing an onboarding guide that was developed last year and has since been updated to reflect the CoLab’s new community discourse space. The guide is designed to support smoother onboarding for CoLab members based in Africa, and is also relevant for members from the Global South more broadly, as well as those with higher accessibility or tech needs. The review process will involve testing the guide with real users and incorporating feedback to improve it.

The second piece builds on a local networks database that PIA developed last year. This database maps permaculture networks across Africa that can offer on-the-ground support to CoLab members, since the CoLab itself does not provide this. The work here is to move from a basic directory to active outreach: identifying key contacts, introducing them to the CoLab, and inviting them to join. We will also promote the database internally so PIA members know it exists and how to use it. The hope is this will strengthen our strategic connections and partnership allies across Africa.

The third piece is providing advanced onboarding and extra support for new members who come in through the outreach process, working alongside the Welcome Circle.