Northeastern Permaculture is a mutual aid and resource-sharing network that promotes the principles and practices of permaculture design in northeastern North America.

About the Network

Since January 2005, permaculture activists throughout the Northeast have been meeting and actively creating a network for mutually supporting each other and advancing permaculture solutions among the wider public in our area.

As permaculture designers we strive to recognize existing resources and create beneficial relationships between them. Farmers, teachers, designers, authors, researchers, extension agents, and other pc enthusiasts have all met face-to-face or otherwise communicated to collectively envision a complex symbiosis where we share experiences, information, and resources, identify and meet each other’s needs, and recognize and advance permaculture skills and ethics as a new cultural paradigm.

Our discussions have involved members of the ‘Western Massachusetts Permaculture Guild’, ‘Hudson Valley Permaculture’, and ‘Finger Lakes Permaculture Guild’; permaculturalists from Vermont, New Hampshire, New York City, Maine, and Quebec; and students and staff from UMass, Marlboro College, UNH, Dartmouth, UVM, and other institutions.

In addition to the new friendships forged and better awareness of what’s happening in the region, we've been meeting needs with others' yields, had an organizing weekend with David Holmgren, created this 'Northeastern Permaculture Wiki', and are having another permaculture activist’s gathering this summer.

At an initial meeting, we employed a consensus-oriented visual voting scheme to determine our goals and priorities. Standing out among an impressive list of objectives were six things:

1. Increase connection among people practicing, teaching, or otherwise active in permaculture in the Northeast.

2. Support, create, and inform the public and each other of permaculture demonstration projects.

3. Spread "bio and brain matter"! That is, establish plant and seed banks or databases to share plant knowledge and genetics. We wanted to know who has what where and who needs what; to develop a system for barter, collaboration on breeding and improving appropriate varieties for the region, and for advancing awareness and knowledge about under-acknowledged multifunction plants.

4. Support and advance permaculture and forest gardening research, scientific trials, and case studies.

5. Develop and organize regional conferences and events.

6. Last, but not least, reach out to the broader sustainability movement, marginalized groups, and a "mainstream" audience, to share and further develop permaculture knowledge and skills.