On Saturday August 23, D Acres in Dorchester, New Hampshire will be hosting a gathering for permaculture practitioners, supporters, and the general public. The event will take place rain or shine from 9 AM to 5 PM at D Acres.
Tickets are available for online pre-registration through August 15 for $20, and $30 thereafter. Lunch is included with ticket purchase. Networking, skill-sharing, tours, and workshops for every level, from curious beginner to experienced permaculturist, will be offered.
About half a dozen Andover residents are planning to attend the event, including Sophie Viandier of Pay It Forward Farm. Sophie will be at D Acres before the event for a week-long Permaculture Teacher Training certification course, and as her final assignment she’ll be given a topic to present to attendees at the gathering on Saturday.
Permaculture is a design methodology that utilizes a set of ethics and principles to create living systems for a more sustainable future. The basic tenets of “Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share” guide the philosophy into on-the-ground practice.
Permaculture in New Hampshire is gaining momentum as planners, homesteaders, builders, and community organizers are learning the design principles and putting them into practice. This gathering will feature the many hands-on skills, knowledge, and expertise that are actively present in our state.
The list of presentations is immense, with over 35 educational educational offerings, including:
- Coppicing, with Dave Jacke, author of Edible Forest Gardening
- Green Burials: Live Green, Die Green, with Lee Webster
- Education for a Paradigm Shift, with Valerie Piedmont
- Bio-Char Demonstration and Explanation, with Doug Clayton
- Natural Building, with Bryan Felice
- Preparing for Climate Change, with Chris Skoglund
- Tour of D Acres, with Josh Trought
- Mushroom Foraging, with Dave Wichland
- Hand-Hewing Timber, with Ben Kaufhold
- Biogas Revolution: Anaerobic Digesters at Small Farms in Mexico, with Alex Eaton
- Alternative Fuels, with Peter Dow
- Sadhana Forest in India, Haiti, and Kenya, with Aviram Rozin
- Machines and their Appropriate Place in Permaculture, with Andrew Jenks
- Herb Walk, with Jessica Cole
- What Birds and Insects Can Teach Us About Biodiversity and Permaculture, with Paul Miliotis
- Self-Care on the Permaculture Homestead, with Kym Feltovic
- Blacksmithing Demonstration, with Steve Ash
- How I Renovated My Old House to a Zero Net-Energy Building, with Kim Quirk
- Beginning Bee-Keeping, with Amy Antonucci
- Integrating Alternative Energy and Food Production Systems, with Morgan Casella
- Rocket Mass Heaters, with Sam Schreier and Ray Dudley
- Livestock Q&A, with Dot Perkins
The day will conclude with several evening activities. At 5 PM, Bread and Puppet Theater will perform Fire, Emergency Performance for Gaza, a revival of the 1966 show Fire, followed by a potluck meal to be shared by all at 6:30 PM and ending the evening with special musical guests, West African drumming ensemble Sayon Camara and Landaya.
To register for the gathering, visit DAcres.org. Volunteer opportunities are available by contacting D Acres at Info@nullDAcres.org or 786-2366.