From Sandy Cruz of High Altitude Permaculture:
PINA — the Permaculture Institute of North America — officially launched its organization and began accepting members in late August at the North American Permaculture Convergence. Much more about this new professional permaculture organization, including membership details, may be found at: http://
PINA is a professional organization designed to support students and experienced practitioners of permaculture in North America. PINA’s goals are:
• To raise and maintain professional standards in permaculture design, teaching, and additional permaculture disciplines.
• To support permaculture education through a certifying process that recognizes achievement and excellence.
• To provide a structure for communication among Permaculture Design Course graduates.
The PINA Board of Directors will begin accepting applications from members for the Diploma of Permaculture Design and the Diploma of Permaculture Education on October 1st. PINA’s professional diploma programs are open to PDC graduates as well as more experienced practitioners. Applicants will be assigned a regional field advisor to assist them in working through the diploma process. PINA will grant diplomas retroactively and at no cost to members who qualify as senior permaculturists, on the basis of past achievement.
I will serve as PINA’s first field advisor for the Rocky Mountain region, and additional field advisors will be added once the process has stabilized. The first few diploma candidates will help PINA to work through any kinks in the process.
PINA is also working to establish regional permaculture organizations that span the continent, which will eventually become PINA’s governing bodies.
To learn more about PINA, the permaculture network it seeks to establish, and PINA’s professional diploma programs, please visit http://