For almost 40 years Rosemary has worked extensively with farmers and villagers in Africa, Central and South East Asia, and Eastern Europe. Rosemary has especially dedicated much of her efforts to the people of war-torn nations such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and East Timor, and to communities experiencing the serious effects of climate change like the Solomon Islands, and the effects of the GFC, as in Greece, Spain and Portugal.

Marguerite is an artist, Permaculture designer and educator, and is cofounder of the Association Con MOI, an informal group of Italian and migrant citizens who strengthen social and human bonds through sharing food, skills, time and mutual attention. One of Con MOI’s first actions was to stimulate reciprocity and reduce waste in an urban community with the recovery and redistribution of surplus food that could no longer be sold, without any exchange of money. In her work Marguerite creates models and prototypes to stimulate cultural change.

Ruth is a horticulturist/garden designer, teacher, artist and writer from Australia. She spent three months in Greece in 2016, where she co-founded a school in a refugee camp, where she sought to integrate teaching English to refugee children through the experience of making and growing; the following year she joined Con MOI in Torino in Italy to run permaculture workshops and weekly cinema in refugee housing. She considers bringing a permaculture approach to refugee situations as a vital move to both make life in camps productive and meaningful, and improve transitions into the wider community.

Antonio is a permaculture educator and designer based in Barcelona, Spain. Antonio has a Diploma in Applied PC Design. Cofounder of Cambium Permacultura en Formación Association and of the first Spanish Transition Hub in Barcelona. He has had experience teaching undocumented people from Africa and South America and recently (2019) in a refugee camp in Greece. Antonio is also part of the teaching staff of the Gaia Education Design For Sustainability online program and co-founder of the Academia de Permacultura Íbera. More info: http://www.permacultura-es.org/formacion-en-permacultura/2166-facilitacion.html

John is a cofounder of NatureDesigns; using permaculture principles in helping to design and develop sustainable systems in diverse and divergent situations, in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, South America, Africa and Russia. Situations including wasteland regeneration, school environments, home sites, farms, and reforestation. He has worked with flood victims of the Indus river deluge, and is currently working with Sicilia Integra, focusing on integrating boat arrivals from Africa with students and unemployed youth in productive ecological projects. www.naturedesignsjohnfranci.com

Sarah is a regenerative solutions designer weaving experiences in environmental education, cultural heritage, peacebuilding, and humanitarian assistance. After responding to conflict and natural disasters, she was inspired to form Green Releaf Initiative to support community leaders in regenerative solutions after emergencies in the Philippines. She also specialises in ecovillage and permaculture design for development as former staff and now consultant for the Global Ecovillage Network. As both artist and development specialist, the heart of her lifework is inspired by the power of creativity as a restorative tool in designing whole systems for resilience. www.greenreleaf.org, www.mandalaearth.org

I’m an educator, facilitator and Permaculture designer, living between Italy and Australia. I have a scientific background as Agronomist Engineer with an holistic and wider approach to land and community regeneration and management. Permaculture was “love” at the first encounter, when I met it in 2007 coming back from Auroville, one of the larger intentional communities in the world, where I lived for a while. Permaculture created a significant shift in my approach to work, which enabled me to think and act in a more integrated and systemic way. I co-founded NatureDesigns with John Button, with whom I have worked and co-taught extensively in Europe, Asia and Africa. I also apply Permaculture to my work with adults and children in educational projects (http://childreninpermaculture.com). My professional experience in combination with my skills in organization, logistics, work structuring, problem solving, with compassion, and joy to be in service and resilience, give me the strength and opportunity to face different working and life situations. I have also taught refugees during PDC’s and short courses in Italy, and work to create and strengthen community harmony.