Afternoon Workshop
Randall Jamrock – How Community Can Respond to Global Climate 
Change
And His Report on the International Permaculture Convergence hosted in Cuba, Nov.
Randall Jamrok practices permaculture in Northwest Indiana and took his permaculture certificate training from Midwest Permaculture here in Stelle, IL. He recently attended the International Permaculture Convergence (IPC) in Cuba.
It was his goal to bring what was the theme of the conference “Permaculture Solutions to Climate Change” back to his community and to the greater Midwest. This presentation is about the permaculture solutions to climate change that he learned while at the IPC and while touring many Cuban urban gardens and organoponicos (organic farms that came about during Cuba’s special period).
After returning from Cuba, Randall put together a booklet based on the knowledge he took from the convergence: “Permaculture Solutions to Climate Change: Pieces of the Puzzle Learned at the IPC 11 Cuba.” It includes five main solutions and sixty seven additional solutions for communities to implement that are presented in a checklist-style format which can be used to prioritize and set goals. In the booklet he explains that it is imperative for communities to redesign the social system they use in their interpersonal communication first, since a dysfunctional community will likely fail at the important task of creating sustainable agricultural systems. The booklet is a tool that communities can use for taking on collective projects that will effect systemic change.
Pictures from the urban gardens and other permaculture sites in Cuba will be featured and discussed as well.
This workshop will benefit those interested in community-building and community redesign (e.g., Transition Towns), social permaculture and redesigning food and shelter systems, as well as learning about Cuban urban gardens and their history.
To prepare for the coming changes we will likely change some of the ways we live by becoming conscious of–and by cooperating with–each other and the natural world. Therefore, the discussion at this workshop will tie in with Midwest Permaculture co-founder Bill Wilson’s Agraria concept: combining the best aspects of suburbia and the farm to create a new tiny-village concept.
Mary-Kate Carter is a current intern who has been working to implement features of the permaculture design on the CSC property. She will share our progress in the garden, pond, and chicken production, as well as her perspective in the continuing journey of building permaculture systems in the Midwest. 
Please join us for Stelle’s annual Celebration of the Earth this May 5th. As tradition goes, various members of our community wish to share and educate others of their gifts and talents that are recognized as being inspired or modeled after some of the wonderful patterns and processes that the Earth shares with us.
Take an in-depth look at how to build resiliency, one neighborhood at a time. We will explore both cases of applying permaculture to the landscape–backyard examples as well as community endeavors here in Stelle. We will demonstrate scaling-up:
