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Inland Northwest Permaculture Guild
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Hello guild members and happy Lunar New Year!
Greetings, big hugs, and warm wishes from your INPG board of directors (Gabe in Washington, Jason in Idaho, and Leonie in Montana) and friends! Another season to grow and learn and share is upon us. Happy new year! The sun is slowly returning but it still feels like that quiet and dark time of year that begs us to reflect on the triumphs of the past year and gather our seeds for upcoming events and projects.
INPC 2022 Review
With that in mind, we'd like to thank all of you who made our 2022 convergence a success. What a beautiful thing to see so many people come together, cook together, sing together, learn together and love together! We are humbled and inspired by the generous spirit of all those who shared their time and resources and helped make this convergence so great. We would especially like to acknowledge Ken Casler, whose land has been our convergence home for these past three years. Aside from offering a magical space for us to gather, Ken was also instrumental in keeping the infrastructure working smoothly. Hosting such a large group of people is no easy feat! We are so grateful!
Here are some of the highlights from the 2022 Convergence.
The Pizza Oven!
Thank you to all the hands that helped build the oven and make and bake the pizza! That pizza was a delicious start to the weekend. Did you know that the sourdough starter used for the pizza dough was brought by Truk and Maricella, who started it at Standing Rock and have traveled with it and nurtured it since? Magic! The pizza oven, known as Rass-mush (the very same one that exploded in the middle of the night at the Hot Springs convergence in 2019)was completely dis-and re-assembled into a legit mobile kitchen and enjoyed its new debut to live music and festivities, delivering hardcore on a good time. It currently is at Uhuru, where it sits waiting to be fired up for the 2023 PDC and INPC.
The Food!
So many people brought food and helped prepare it. There's nothing like sharing in delicious nourishing foods made by so many loving hands. This is truly one of the loveliest aspects of these gatherings. Thanks especially to Brantley and Truk for their extra involvement! Their leadership in the kitchen made a huge difference. Thank you also to everyone who donated food to the kitchen.
The Children's Program!
This may have been the best year ever for the kids! This year Crysta-Lynn blessed us with a robust program. We had more kids than usual and a great time was had by all. Thanks also to Sher Priya for being a big part of organizing and running the program and to all the other parents who pitched in (and Christopher Moon, who doesn't have kids but helped out none-the-less). Fun activities included a pinata and magic potions and nature walks and music and a natural history museum with bones and feathers and nests and all sorts of other magical stuff. Thank you to the families who brought their little ones and made our gathering feel more balanced and whole. The children are such an important part of these events.
The Music!
We had some fantastic evenings of music and dancing by the fire with Dario and his band mates from Heat Speak serenading us once again along with a laid back and lovely open mic and conscious/subconscious grooves by Fungilion. Thanks to all who participated in tickling our eardrums and getting our bodies moving.
In conclusion, the INPC was a splendid time as always and of cultural magnitude.
We all enjoyed quiet time after the convergence. Welcoming new life into the world, celebrating new members and the times. Blessed be all the children for whom we work; those newborn, unborn, and growing and grown among us!
Mark your Calendars! Regional Permaculture Activity in the year 2023
The board assembled on the winter solstice in Hot Springs, Montana with new members and commenced planning on making quality permaculture education available to the inland northwest in the year 2023.
We have been planning a host of other events, including a Permaculture Design Course at Uhuru! See below;
Seed Swap in Colville, Washington
Friday February 3, Colville Public Library, basement. 12:00-3:00 pm
Save and print to put up around town.
Seed Swap in Hot Springs, Montana
March 11th, Saturday, 1-4PM
At the Senior Center on Main Street, Hot Springs
Spokane Garden Expo.
May 13
Skeeter (Michael Pilarski) and Jessica Spurr are having a booth at the Expo to promote permaculture and Skeeter is giving a talk on Landscaping with Fragrant, Multi-Purpose Plants.
INPG Spring mushroom contest
Online competition with in-person mushroom based field day, stay tuned for more information.
Northwest Herbal Fair
June 8 - 11, Skalitude Retreat Center in the Methow Valley.
https://www.nwherbalfair.com/
Spokane Herbal Faire
June 24 & 25
7th Annual Spokane Herbal Faire! Fundraiser for Herbalists Without Borders International
Fourseasonsguild.com
Spokaneherbalfaire.org
Northwest Wildcrafters Rendezvous
July 7 - 9. Probably the Tonasket Barter Faire site.
Contact Skeeter at friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com
Summer Permaculture Design Course
July 17 - 31 at Uhuru in Rice, WA
Come get your training in this profound design science and acquire the tools and learning necessary to competently create holistic life systems based in harmony with nature. We will let you know when registration opens. Check the INPG website for updates.
Two! posters to put up and share around your community:
13th Annual Inland Northwest Permaculture Convergence
September 8,9,10th at Uhuru in Rice, WA
Intern Wanted at Uhuru
An intern is wanted for the 2023 growing season at Uhuru, an off-grid permaculture homestead in Rice, WA. Position starts on spring equinox.
Contact Gabe for more info:fungipermastead@gmail.com
Permaculture Work Parties at Uhuru
Stay tuned for details on upcoming permaculture work parties at Uhuru!
Bezaleel Israel Eco-Village - Visit, maybe stay.
The Bezaleel Israel Eco-Village in northeast Washington is open to new members-- folks who want to do permaculture long term and help esablish a permanent permaculture land trust or folks who just want to visit and lend a hand. More details at bzfarm.org
Please let us know if you would like to be involved in organizing any of these events or if you have ideas for events and gatherings.
Finally, we are looking for the leaders who are stepping up and want to join in other efforts to heal and repair our collective lands and social systems. Join our board of trustees or an advisory committee and let's work together to regenerate our ecologies. Right now the only requirement to being on the board is that you be a member of the INPG and have received a permaculture design certificate or be on your way to obtaining one. Join us and help us make the INPG better than ever!
We hope you are well and can't wait to see you again!
-INPG board and committee
This Newsletter is distributed electronically by the Inland Northwest Permaculture Guild Newsletter Service.
Email: zone1@inlandnorthwestpermaculture.com
Please consider donating to the Inland Northwest Permaculture Guild at the amount you can afford.
Thank you!