Talk: 17th October > “Bringing Permaculture closer to the locals”
Elodie and Cândida will tell the story of how “Domingos de Permacultura” (Permaculture Sundays), a collective originated in 2019 in rural South Portugal, explored the intention of bringing Permaculture closer to those many people that cannot afford to go on a weekend or 10-day course. Thus were born the monthly sessions in different locations and covering different topics each time. Come and listen to the opportunities and challenges the team faced, and how the co-creation based on applying the many facilitation tools available has made the work a constant learning and growing space, whilst inspiring others along the way.
Biography
Elodie da Silva grew up near Paris but had the chance to spend all summer holidays as a child in the countryside of South Portugal where she could be in nature. She is passionate about soil biology and has done research in many remote areas such as the Amazon rainforest. She studied soil pollution and later focused more on soil health and quality, understanding the need to develop solutions rather than only see the problems.
In 2018, she decided to come to the rural Algarve to connect more deeply with nature and her family roots. Since then she has had the chance to rediscover the beautiful local landscapes while learning about permaculture, regeneration and traditional knowledge. Also, in 2019 after taking different permaculture courses in Vale da Lama she decided to start sharing her experiences locally by co-creating the project “Domingos de Permaculture” and collaborating in the “New Discoveries Project”.
Cândida Shinn was born and bred in the South of Portugal. A Nature-lover from early on, she studied Biology and Aquatic Ecotoxicology, which led her to an international career in research. After much questioning of why there was so much information about the problems in the world but not so much about the urgently needed solutions, Cândida trained in Yoga, Permaculture, and as a facilitator in South America and Europe. Early on in this transformational process she identified the key factor to prioritize in any restoration project: the social element. Cândida now lives back in her homeland, developing educational opportunities in Permaculture and related topics, while co-designing a territorial recovery design for a region that is suffering from extreme lack of Water.
Her dream: to swim again in the Algarvian running rivers on warm Summer days, knowing that the rural environment is again busy with a diverse, thriving and resilient network of professionals from all areas and of all ages. There is much work to be done and we are the ones to make it happen. May less suffering prevail.