Monthly Design Charrette | Midwest Permaculture

Monthly 'Quick Design' Charette

Definition of Charrette: (noun) A public meeting or workshop devoted to a concerted effort to solve a problem or plan the design of something.
Second Sunday of Each Month – 2:00-4:30pm Central
We’ll tackle an actual residential or homestead design, in real time, each month, over Zoom.
Open to the Public!
– Each Month’s ‘Quick Design’ Selected from our Student’s or Participants Actual Projects
– Look over Bill Wilson’s Shoulder and his team as the Framework Design Unfolds
– Free to all MWP Students (Past or Present – Sharpen your design skills)
– $20/Session to the Public – We invite everyone to learn

Charrette Schedule each Month

- 2:00-3:15 ‘Quick Design’ of a Property with Bill Wilson and MWP Design Team
- 3:15-4:00 Open Session to Brainstorm Design Challenges/Questions – Even Yours
- 4:00-4:30 Quick Workshop – Presentation on a Different Topic Each Month

Sign Up each month to get the Zoom Link and that month’s property address.
With the address, you can look up all of the site data yourself ahead of time.
Learn How to do that Here if Interested

2:00-3:15
‘Quick Design’ of Property with Bill Wilson and MWP Design Team
We will start right on time (log in up to 10 mins. early if you like) by sharing all of the site data we will have already gathered and we will talk about what the data tells us.

Learn how to use an adjustable topographical map generator program to help discern water movement

Then, with the site data and the client’s vision for the property defined, we will pull up a Google Slide or PowerPoint with an aerial view of the property already in place. We will start the design process following what is knows as the scale of permanence, to determine how water and other forms of energy (sun, wind, nutrients, wildlife, are moving through the property – a zone and sector analysis). Would it be beneficial to hold some or all of this energy? If so, what are some ways for doing that? What are best access points for paths or driveways? What shows up as being ideal planting areas and what plants are likely to thrive there. And so on.

Submit your property for this design exercise?
Anyone can request that we ‘quick design’ their property for a monthly session. Our PDC and PDMC students will be given a priority but we are delighted to host anyone’s project should we run out of student requests. Whether your are an MWP student or not, send your request for consideration via email to including your address and an aerial photo or map with the property lines delineated. There are no guarantees that we will select your project, student or not. We will select the projects that we feel will have the greatest learning potential for the greatest number of participants.

3:15-4:00
Open Session to Brainstorm Design Challenges/Questions

With any design project there are bound to be questions or comments about various elements that were included. Participants are also welcome to inquire how certain features might apply to their own personal design. We like to be sure there is time for follow-up questions and discussion.

One of the results of putting on so many permaculture courses, we’ve seen how well people respond to interacting with others that are thinking in the same framework as them, especially when it’s as different as what is permaculture helps us achieve. It’s always sad to have the course end, for each of us to have to return to a world where our thinking is unique and different from the mainstream.

In response to this we’ve created the Design Club, a chance for those so inclined to connect and interact with the permaculture community through engaging topics and discussion. By sharing problems and ideas for solutions, we learn by doing and exercising our design muscles. It’s also an opportunity to highlight other voices from the permaculture community. Submit your project and get the chance for our experienced designers to look at it and brainstorm with the group. The Design Club is not only for experienced permaculturists- gives beginners experience on how we approach permaculture designs, everyone can learn from each other.

Monthly Design Sessions Include

Pay individually or subscribe and save!
Monthly meetings, topics will include
- Design exercises & Real designs, brought by the group. Providing real design experience
- Q & A – a chance to not only get questions answered but to hear from the wisdom of the group
- Topical Presentations
- Open Space Technology
- Virtual tours of Projects
- Forum for subscribers

Note to Bill: If we record these we can turn into videos promotional or for sale

Design

Q & A

Projects

Practice your design skills with Midwest Permaculture’s Team

Ask questions on permaculture topics, participate in generating answers as a group.

Learn about special topics like growing mushrooms or fermentation. Learn how to start your own projects.

Topical Presentations will include:

Coppicing & Pollarding
Vermacomposting
Mushrooms
Guilds
Rocket Stoves
Plant Families
Foraging
and More!

Hosted by Bill Wilson – Lead Designer for MWP
Co-Taught by Megan Christian and Milton Dixon

Get Permaculture out into the world
Peak interest for new folks
Help support our own graduates
- Opportunities to design, support one another, research & present special topics
- Learn more about topics hinted at in the course

we also need pictures of Milton and Megan

More possible Text:

We have found with our students that one of the fastest ways for them to learn about permaculture design is when they are looking over our shoulders as we create a real design for a real property for a real person. There is nothing theoretical here. We do this kind of work a lot so why not observe as we consider a framework permaculture design for a different location each month? It’s the real deal.

Something about keeping cameras on….

Text from Megan largely integrated above: Language for design club Key Words: Networking, Ongoing Support, Unique Environment, Brainstorming, Practical Application, Design Experience, Graduates, Beginners

“Ongoing support for our permaculture design course graduates” Connect and interact with the permaculture community through engaging topics and discussion A unique experience- how often do we find ourselves in the same space as many other diverse and oriented people? Shared ideas, we learn by doing and exercising our design muscles Highlighting other voices from the permaculture community Live Q&A, receiving suggestions and opinions from a variety of people Submit your project and get the chance for our experienced designers to look at it and brainstorm with the group Not only for experienced permaculturists- gives beginners experience on how we approach permaculture designs

Registration

Notes/Ideas:
If we use the same Zoom room URL then we only have to give it to students once. Boom.
But if we always only have one room…then there would be no reason to ‘sign-up’ or pay.
So… If we set up a new Zoom each month… and create a new ‘Sign-up’ page each time, then we know who are MWP graduates and who are new from the public.
And when folks register, is there a registration form that would track their name and email address and if/how much they paid?
And if we had the same landing page layout, giving folks the option to pay at different levels or not, then we might get students who will want to pay as well as they perceive the greater value of the charrette.
We can also set up the page like this:

Register to Receive this Month’s Zoom Link
This is set up on the honor system. Pay what feels right to you.

MWP Student (PDC, PDMC, FOP Webinar Series) $0
Posted fee for the public $20
I love this and what you are doing here. $50
I want to support your work. $100
I want to support your work even more. $_______