On 22 November, the Nordic Permaculture Academy (NPA) permaculture diploma apprentices and  holders met at Holma Folkhögskola in southern Sweden. The NPA usually organises two diploma gatherings a year, one in March and one in November. This time around 25 Academy apprentices from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Estonia were present, together with mentors Cathrine Dolleris from Denmark and Andreas Jonsson from Sweden. From Finland, Miina Ant-Wuorinen, Henna Jämsä, Marja Nuora and Erkki Pöytäniemi attended the gathering.

Gatherings are organised to give apprentices from different Nordic countries the opportunity to meet each other and network. The gatherings make it easy to be inspired by other people’s diploma designs and to overcome obstacles in one’s own work. The Permaculture Diploma pathway consists of independent and self-directed study, with no externally imposed timetable. Keeping the process active sometimes requires self-discipline and effort. Meeting other like-minded people in the same situation is a good way to gain strength and confidence to keep going and to find new and surprising perspectives for the designs. It is also often possible to get advice on the designs from experienced mentors.

Holma Folkhögskola is a folkhögskola in Höör, Skåne, which organises a lot of education on sustainable living, permaculture and sociocracy. Since the beginning, NPA has often met at Holma’s premises, as one of NPA’s mentors, Andreas Jonsson, is an employee of the school. Holma is the perfect place for such gatherings, as the school has a big pile of mattresses and pillows in the attic, which can be conveniently spread out in the rooms floors, providing a place to sleep for a large group of participants. 

This year’s gathering was historic as the first NPA apprentices graduated. Mette Madvig and Marie Cox had successfully completed all 10 of their diploma designs and presented their portfolios at the gathering. Both presentations were stunning and inspiring, and it was great to see how the graduation process had opened new doors for both of them and changed the direction of their lives. I guess there really is magic in permaculture design!

Mette Madvig lives with her family in an ordinary suburban house with a 1000 m2 yard, which she transformed into a food-producing green oasis. She and a friend also set up a CSA garden where they grow food for 60 families. In addition, she designed a role for herself in the Nordic Permaculture Academy by working with two other graduates on a design for onboarding new apprentices. 

For Marie Cox, the diploma path was a very significant change in her life. The audience was particularly impressed by the final plan in the portfolio, in which she creates a closer and more authentic relationship with nature using permaculture design tools. Along the way, she felt that she had achieved her goal of being her authentic self, despite the pressures of her environment. We were also impressed by the way she had designed and built her own tiny house into a functional whole, using permaculture design tools in an innovative way. 

In the evening, a party was held for the new diploma holders. Each participant was invited to sign up for either the decoration, programme or ceremony group. This made it easy for the party to be organised by the group and for everyone to get into celebration spirit. Everyone had brought food to the common table. The programme started with a ceremony, where the whole group walked hand in hand, blindfolded, into Holma’s forest garden to a bonfire. There, Mette and Marie were invited to throw something they wanted to leave behind into the fire. Next, each participant read aloud a wish written for both new diploma holders, which were then collected in envelopes for them to take home.

Finally, both diploma recipients were gifted with handmade woollen caps on which spiral patterns had been inscribed as a symbol of permaculture. A new tradition was also born: the NPA family tree, on which each diploma holder was represented with a leaf with their name embroidered on it.

On Sunday, Emma Skamris and Camilla gave their mid-term presentations of their diploma designs after having completed their first five designs. Emma had structured her diploma path in a pyramid, with the lowest level supporting her own life development, the middle level focusing on the environment and the top level on sharing what she had learned. Camilla is a biologist and artist, some of her diploma designs are works of art. 

Seeing designs at different stages of the Diploma Pathway also gave us good ideas for working on our own plans, for innovative use of design tools and for designing the Diploma Pathway.

At the end of the weekend gathering, the whole team cleaned up and about half of the team moved to nearby Backagården for two more days. Some worked on their diploma plans, sometimes discussing them in a peer group. Mentoring was also available if needed. NPA mentors Cathrine and Andreas, as well as the longer-term diploma apprentices, spent their time in Backagården mainly planning the Academy’s activities and future. Apprentices around halfway through their diploma pathway can be accepted as working members of the NPA. Graduate diploma holders, on the other hand, have the opportunity to apply for a mentor position in the NPA. One of the graduates, Mette Madvig, was accepted as a mentor and secretary of the NPA. Erkki was given a role in developing NPA communications. 

This time NPA had received funding from Nordplus for the gathering. One of the Academy’s main ideas is that networking and meeting people from different countries and opens up new opportunities and networks for all participants and is part of creating an international learning community. This time, too, we were able to compensate for the travel costs of the gathering, so that we long-distance travellers could participate more easily. The next NPA Diploma gathering will take place on 21-23-25 March 2025 in Karjalohja, Finland, and travel costs will again be partly compensated. Mark your calendars for the spring gathering and join the merry band! (If the group isn’t having fun, it’s not permaculture.)

Miina, Henna, Marja and Erkki wrote the report on their way home in the train to Stockholm.