In permaculture surveying is one of the first things we do when starting to make designs. What it means is to collect information about some aspect... in this case, it's will be the aspect related to people, places, and organization in your area!

The purpose of this little survey is to equip you with information about who and what is around that can support some of the designing we have while you are here. We are asking you to start making a “working list” (a working list is one which won't necessarily be complete , and can be added to). You can make this survey in anyway that is meaningful to you (e.g. Mind-map web-style, list, brainstorm, physical map, excel-sheet etc.)

Here is what you're surveying:

• Other groups and organizations (businesses, non-governmental organizations, educational organizations, societies, clubs, informal learning study groups etc.)

• Individuals (people who you may personally know, or not, who are working towards something related to an interest you have or in relation to your project).

• Networks (online networks for information sharing (list-servs or webpages, etc); skill-share networks in other cities; or regional networks that cater to specific movements (eg. Transition town network, permaculture online network)

• Physical spaces, events, other resources (cafes, public spaces you can use, events, community spaces, or other spaces/resources useful to you.

  All of these may be helpful allies in developing a current project, or be useful contacts when you're setting out to create your next projects.
   

-If you do not have a project in mind (a project is defined as some activity that you're working on, either it is just an idea or it has already been launched), this survey can help identify what is needed, or is available in your area.

-If you do have a project in mind, you can use this survey to think about what kinds of people, places and organizations are around you that may be helpful, or working on something similar or related.

Every place will be different and for some of you it might be more useful to list everything happening in a neighbourhood in your home town, or a whole city. For other people it might be regional, and for others it might be national or even European. If there is not much happening that you can list, then that in itself is useful information.

While you're working on this survey, some useful questions to ask may be:

• What is out there already?
   
• What gaps or are things missing?
   
• Who are involved people or players, and how am I related to them?
   
• Who else might know what I need to know?

As an example living here in rural southern Spain, Kirsty (one of the course organizers) had to travel a long way to meet other people who shared her values and were active in the types of interests she had. When she lived in Manchester, a big UK city, there were many, many organizations and groups existing alongside each other, all easily accessible to me.

Please bring whatever you have come up with from working on this activity.