How it works
PermaBrella is a living regional switchboard — not a catalogue of noise, but a connective layer for practical action in the Northern Rivers.
The vision
Our next stage brings together shared equipment, formal membership, practical learning and dedicated coordination. These services are coming soon; you can already register membership interest, explore the planned equipment library or contact the team. Meet the partners helping establish the network.
We are building toward a region that grows more food, shares more generously, and weathers disruption with stronger local relationships. PermaBrella exists to help people, land, skills, tools, events, and knowledge find each other — so dormant capacity can become active capacity.
Success is not measured by how much content sits on the site. It is measured by what happens in gardens, halls, working bees, seed swaps, and neighbourly exchange when the right connections are easier to make.
A hub in the communal fabric
Healthy communities are woven from many nodes: community gardens, groups, blitz crews, land shares, workshops, and informal networks. PermaBrella does not replace those nodes. It aims to be one evolving networking hub — a place where signals cross: who needs help, who has surplus, what is on, where land or skills might meet.
Like mycelium under the forest floor, the value is in linkage and circulation, not in owning the whole landscape. The site will grow and change as the region uses it; your listings, questions, and participation are what keep the fabric alive.
What you can do here
Each area of the hub supports a different kind of matchmaking. Browse or post as it fits your situation:
- Events & workshops — skill shares, working bees, and gatherings you can join or list.
- Offerings, Wants & Exchange — surplus, tools, seeds, and requests in one circulation loop.
- Land connect — landholders and growers finding fit with clarity and care.
- Community groups — organisations already on the ground, so newcomers can plug in.
- Community grants — funding and programs that support local resilience.
- Community Q&A — practical questions by topic; human knowledge first, with AI-assisted replies clearly marked where used.
Keep listings fresh together
Anyone signed in can edit public details for Groups, Grants and Land Connect listings, including food resources in Groups. Open a listing and choose “Edit this listing”. Add reliable public sources, explain what you changed and flag anything uncertain. Your changes appear immediately with your public display name and the time. Before-and-after versions remain in public edit history, and administrators can restore earlier content. Community edits are marked “To be verified”; they do not confirm availability, funding or eligibility. Please share only contact details intended for public use.
Trust and clarity
We care that you can see what something is, who it is for, and what to do next. Where AI helps with synthesis or drafting, we aim to keep that visible so human observation and local judgment stay primary — especially for land, weather, plants, and place.
Ready to add a signal to the network?
Listings are public; sign in when you post so we can keep the switchboard accountable and useful.