In June of 2026, I had the privilege of visiting Applewood Permaculture Centre in the UK and learning from Looby Macnamara. For those of you who have taken courses with me over the years, I reference Looby’s work fairly often. Looby Macnamara is the co-founder of the Applewood Permaculture Centre as well as the author of several books, including People & Permaculture, Cultural Emergence: A Toolkit for Transforming Ourselves and the World, and Design Adventures. She is one of the reasons why we even talk about social permaculture and the application of permaculture principles to our own lives, human relationships, and society.
In this video, I talk with her about why she wrote both People & Permaculture and followed it up with Cultural Emergence. In our conversation, Looby talks about how we need to widen our understanding of permaculture beyond land-based systems, given that so many people don’t have access to land, and the need for culture shifts at both a personal and societal level. With the tools in both of her books, as well as the Cultural Emergence – Empowerment & Design Deck, we can all have some agency, cultivate hope and widen our circle of influence and care.
If you want to learn more about Looby’s Macnamara’s work or purchase her books, go to www.cultural-emergence.com. To learn more about the Applewood Permaculture Centre, go to www.applewoodcourses.com.
Stay tuned for a couple more videos with Looby where we talk about Applewood Permaculture Centre, the 5-day course I participated in, as well as her newest book, Design Adventures!