Some years ago, I was approached about becoming a mentor at the Nordic Permaculture Academy (NPA). We had a short conversation about the role. One aspect that stood out to me was the strong emphasis on sociocracy as a required framework. While I appreciate structured governance models, this raised some initial questions for me about flexibility and diversity of approaches.
Over the past years, I’ve been deeply involved in shaping permaculture education in Finland and beyond. I’ve served as chair of the Finnish Permaculture Association, acquired a Diploma in Permaculture Design 2021 and then taught PDCs.
This email exchange shows how valid concerns about process, conflict of interest, and accountability were dismissed or reframed as personal attacks.
I publish this to document what happens when a culture resists clarity — and how ethics like transparency and fair share are easily overridden in the name of “sociocratic process.”
This is not about attacking individuals. It’s about showing patterns that hinder progress and erode trust.
In 2022, I raised concerns about permaculture certification processes being shaped by people without the relevant qualifications — specifically, the Diploma paths being discussed by non-diploma holders at Suomen Permakulttuuri Yhdistys.
The thread below is from the assosication's Slack workspace. I’m sharing it to document the origins of a conflict that eventually led to my resignation from the Finnish Permaculture Association.