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IPC9 Concept Note |
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THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL PERMACULTURE CONFERENCE & CONVERGENCE (IPC9)
PLAN AFRICA FOOD & EMPOWERMENT
Malawi 2 to 6 Nov 2009
With site tours of Permaculture projects in Malawi, Zimbabwe and South
Africa and International PDC at Fambidzanai Centre, Zimbabwe
Global Context:
Humanity's future is at risk unless urgent action is taken. Over the
past 20 years, almost every index of the planet's health has worsened,
whilst personal wealth in the richest countries has grown by a third,
with unprecedented economic gains for developed nations, which, for
many people, have masked the growing crisis.
In the last 2 decades the financial wealth of the planet has soared by around a third. Yet, at the same time much of the 'natural' capital upon which so much of human well-being and economic activity depends – water, land, the air and atmosphere, biodiversity and marine resources – have continued their seemingly inexorable decline.
The systematic destruction of the Earth's natural and nature-based resources has reached a point where the economic viability of economies is being challenged – and the bill we hand on to our children may prove impossible to pay. Permaculture design and planning offers an accelerated effort to reform the way we collectively do business on planet Earth,
(Source: UNEP's Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4) October 2007)
Background:
The 9th International Permaculture Conference (IPC9) will be hosted in Africa, with the Conference and the Convergence happening in Malawi from the 2nd to the 6th of November 2009. The IPC has been hosted every two years since 1996. Past host sites have been Australia, USA, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Nepal, Croatia and Brazil.
IPC 9 comes at a critical time for Africa’s development where existing paradigms are being challenged and there is an ever increasing demand on the planet’s resources. Permaculture provides a practical and common sense approach to identifying and maximizing our available natural and social capital, to empower an African renaissance.
The global PC community organizes a biennial conference and convergence to share experiences, network and fast track development solutions. The International Permaculture Conference (IPCa) is the public interface of this gathering while the International Permaculture Convergence (IPCb) is a closed meeting for the PC enthusiasts.
The African continent has never before hosted these international events despite the impressive work that has been done since Bill Mollison, the founder of PC, trained a group of Africans in Botswana in 1987 and later in South Africa in 1991. Attempts for Africa to host the conference in the 1990’s did not succeed and therefore there are high expectations for the 9th International Permaculture Conference and Convergence (IPC 9) to be hosted for the first time by Africa in 2009.
The decision to grant Africa the right to host IPC 9 was deliberated and decided at IPC 8 in Brazil in 2007 and Africa was the popular choice. A large international committee was formed to assist Africans to prepare for IPC 9.
What is Permaculture?
Permaculture (PC) is an holistic design science that is being used as a tool for promoting sustainable living by a growing number of people worldwide. It is an ecological design science that outlines an approach to living, which takes its inspiration from nature. Its goal is to feed, house and create economic opportunities in an inspiring and environmentally responsible way.
It is a philosophy and development strategy that weaves together climate, plants, animals, building design, soil, water and energy management into cohesive sustainable social systems.
Permaculture applies techniques and principles from ecology, cooperative economics, appropriate technology, sustainable agriculture, and the wisdom of indigenous people to create sustainable human environments, at home, at work, at play, and in our communities. As such, the promise of Permaculture extends far beyond food production systems to explore new potentials and horizons for a sustainable life on Earth.
In Southern Africa the Permaculture movement has been steadily growing since the early 1990’s, with key players becoming more professional, embracing a wide range of issues from food production to utilizing Permaculture as a developmental planning tool for large-scale earth restoration and social regeneration. There are Permaculture projects in our schools, prisons, clinics and communities all over Southern Africa.
The Conference and Convergence:
The 9th International Permaculture Conference and Convergence (IPC9) will be hosted at Kumbali Village, Lilongwe, Malawi in the first week of November 2009. The conference has been hosted every two years since 1996, with past host sites including Australia, USA, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Nepal, Croatia and Brazil.
IPC9 comes at a critical time for Africa’s development where existing paradigms are being challenged and there is an ever-increasing demand on the planet’s resources. Permaculture provides a practical and common sense approach to identifying and maximizing our available natural and social capital, to empower a New African Era.
The Theme:
The theme for IPC 9 is Plan Africa ~ Food & Empowerment and is based on inspiring, informing and enabling a development strategy for Africa that seeks to understand our natural heritage and the inherent wealth that it contains and find ways of unlocking value so as to create strong sustainable regional economies that are in harmony with nature.
The Conference and Convergence will serve to highlight ways of empowering marginalized communities out of poverty through concerted well-designed social and economic development. The starting point is learning to manage our precious water resources so as to use rain water as the basis for run off agriculture as Africa simply doesn’t have enough water to rely on irrigated agriculture to feed, clothe and power us. Once the water management is sorted out the focus shifts to soil conservation and improvement, preparing the way for the agro-forestry system. Then we look to see what plants, shrubs and trees we can utilize that are indigenous to an area and that will extract maximum economic value for the surrounding communities. Creating jobs through harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting and adding value to the natural capital we are creating.
Thus we start to see a value chain of opportunities unfolding where none previously existed providing the food, fuel, fiber and medicine that are the cornerstones of our industrialized economy. This theme weaves well with the cross cutting issues of education, gender, green economics, disaster preparedness, health and HIV & AIDS which are particularly important for us to take on board as we move forward.
Expected outcomes:
a) Strategies for strengthening Permaculture education and training in Africa
b) Increased awareness of the strategic importance of the alternative development paradigm among the young generation and the policy makers
c) Increased confidence and motivation among the Permaculture teachers and farmers in Africa.
d) Improved networking and organizational development for the Permaculture movement in Africa
e) Raised profile of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and the Natural Resource Management (NRM) model for endogenous development
f) Increased awareness among African farmers of the alternatives to the ‘green revolution’ approach
g) Increased understanding in the international (Permaculturalists and others) community of the issues around development in Africa
h) Higher recognition among the government officials, funding community and other key stakeholders of the huge potential of Permaculture in transforming lives, landscapes, the development outlook of Africa
i) Practical solutions for global challenges described
Conference Speakers:
The Conference will host international speakers to present plenaries, workshops and case studies that are directed towards designing, planning and responding to the immediate challenges that Africa faces.
The presentations will focus on the need for rapid and fundamental transformation of the way we do business on Planet Earth. With solutions highlighting how we can use Permaculture as a design tool for creating economic and social value from existing natural capital.
It is envisaged that the conference will have representatives for a cross section of global bodies representing key new thinking and experience in developing sustainable realities.
Who Will Attend?
The Conference is aimed at African Government ministers, bureaucrats, Company decision makers, Strategic planners, Non Governmental & Civil society organizations, Businesses, Development workers, Health Professionals, Green architects and designers, Farmers, Academics, Extension workers, Development Workers, Media Personnel, Policy Makers, Permaculture Trainers and Practitioners. The Convergence will bring together the global Permaculture movement with African Permaculturalists standing out proud.
It is envisaged that the conference will be attended by over 500 people including school children from nearby schools, with an additional opening event and a Sustainable livelihoods EXPO open to the public. We will design a detailed marketing and information strategy to communicate the new ideas and solutions to the widest possible audience utilizing all media and marketing channels. It is envisaged that the participants will come from all five continents with the majority being from the African states.
Relationship Building:
The IPC 9 Conference is an opportunity to build relationships between civil society, government and business; it has the potential to unlock new ways of dealing with age-old problems at a time where we are battling to find a way forward.
We are looking to develop relationships with a key sponsor or sponsors who feel they can align with our mission to create a sustainable Africa that preserves our natural heritage and builds our people and our collective dreams in a truly sustainable way.
Dates and venues:
International Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) Course (IPC9c)
18 to 29 October 2009
Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe
9th International Permaculture Convergence (IPC9b)
2 to 5 November 2009
Kumbali Village, Lilongwe, Malawi
9th International Permaculture Conference (IPC9a)
6 November 2009
Kumbali Village, Lilongwe, Malawi
9th International Permaculture Conference Site Tour (IPC9d)
7 to 30 November 2009
A tour of Permaculture projects in Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa
IPC9 Coordination:
For event coordination and contacts, please click here .
Conclusion:
Permaculture offers an appropriate bottom up and holistic approach development solution to Africa’s impasse. Its strength relies on and builds on the foundation of indigenous knowledge and locally available resources.
IPC 9 is an opportunity for Africa to awaken the full potential that we see in ourselves, in our outlook, perception and design, to manifest a civilization that we create, where people are the transmitters of an integrated self teaching ecological learning organism. The possibility exists for Africa and humanity to design ourselves into oneness and harmony with the natural world and together we can make it happen.
This conference provides an opportunity for Africa to vision the future it wants. It’s time for the Permaculture community to focus on the reality that we want to live, design it thoroughly and implement the visions. The time is now; it is up to us . . .
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