Convergence of Intentional Communities, Bioregional Gathering, and It Takes a Village Education and Music Fest

September 10–13, 2026 · Sirius Intentional Community · Shutesbury, Massachusetts

Hosted by Sirius Community in partnership with Permatours, the Foundation for Intentional Community, and the Convergence of Intentional Communities Planning Committee.

Community, Mutual Aid, and Bioregional Resilience. A participant-powered, four-day gathering to strengthen the relationships, shared learning, and collaboration needed to grow a regenerative Northeast bioregion.

Join land stewards, intentional communities, organizers, artists, educators, healers, builders, funders, and families as we connect across projects, share resources, and build the relationships that make regional resilience possible.

Whether you're already rooted in a community or land project, or looking for your place in this growing movement, you're welcome here.

From Community to Bioregion to Celebration

Each day widens the circle.

We begin by strengthening relationships among intentional communities and land-based projects, expand into collaboration with bioregional organizations and regenerative initiatives, and conclude with a day of music, art, and celebration that honors the culture, connections, and collective future we're building together.

Convergence of Intentional Communities (CIC)

Thursday, September 10 & Friday, September 11

Strong communities need strong regional networks.

Created by and for people living in intentional communities, ecovillages, cohousing neighborhoods, living cooperatives, religious communities, and land-based projects, the Convergence of Intentional Communities cultivates relationships, shared learning, and systems of mutual aid across the Northeast.

We'll carry forward the spirit of previous CIC gatherings through community introductions, needs-and-offers exchanges, project presentations, practical problem-solving, and conversations about how we can better support one another across communities. Participants will have opportunities to learn about existing projects, explore pathways into community living, and build relationships that extend beyond the gathering itself.

Programming will be participant-driven and co-created, with plenty of space for informal networking, evening activities, and meaningful connection.

Meet Your CIC Facilitators & Community Weavers

The Convergence will be held by facilitators, organizers, and community builders bringing decades of experience in intentional community, cooperative economics, movement building, liberation arts, and relational practice. Together, they will help create a space for connection, shared learning, honest conversation, and imagining what becomes possible when communities work together.

Saman Dashti | Community, Theater, & Liberation Arts Facilitator

Saman Dashti is an expressive arts facilitator, arts educator, and practitioner of the Afro-Brazilian art of Capoeira. His work centers on building community through arts education, with a particular commitment to serving disenfranchised communities. Saman is active within the intentional communities of central Virginia, where he facilitates creative and participatory experiences that invite connection, expression, and collective learning.

Throughout the Convergence, Saman will help guide the flow of the gathering while facilitating Theater of the Oppressed and the Liberation Arts Circle.

Sabrina Simon | Community Facilitator & Network Weaver

Sabrina Simon is a community facilitator, relationship builder, and founder of Liberation Learning, a documentary and educational initiative exploring how intentional communities learn from one another. Through her work with the Foundation for Intentional Community and her lived experience, she has spent the past several years supporting the intentional communities movement through education, program development, and network building.

Sabrina brings a warm, participatory approach to facilitation, creating space for people to connect, surface shared questions, and imagine what becomes possible when communities learn together.

Quanta (herShee/Crone) | YAS4US Circle Weaver

Quanta Cutler has lived in and contributed to the intentional communities movement for more than five decades. She is President and Co-founder of Yashapi, serves on the FIC Board of Directors and the Board of the BIPOC Intentional Community Council, and is a founding member of Olamina MicroVillage and Commons and the YasVille Assembly.

Rooted in a lifetime of cooperative living and social restoration, Quanta draws from deep practice in relational eldership and guidance, ritual design, interpersonal circle practices, and transformational community care. The YAS4US process cultivates personal expression, deeper connections, and collective integration.

Jade Futterman | Federation & Communalism Facilitator & Sirius Organizer

Jade Futterman is an organizer and member of Sirius Community whose work explores the potential of intentional communities to build stronger, more cooperative systems. He studies with the Institute for Social Ecology and brings a background in Social Thought and Political Economy.

His work explores direct democracy, community governance, sociocracy, communalism, solidarity economy, mutual aid, and the social and cultural foundations needed for these systems to thrive. Jade has also been working with FIC to explore the possibilities of greater federation and collaboration between intentional communities.

Brandon Collins | Solidarity Economy Facilitator & Sirius Organizer

Brandon Collins is a cooperative business and economic specialist who works with community enterprises to strengthen their operations and financial sustainability. His experience includes supporting the cooperative businesses of Ganas Community and founding Special Musicians, a nonprofit providing music education to underserved special-needs students.

Today, Brandon works with the team at Sirius Community's retreat center and Commoner Woodlands Collective, an ecological land-tending business. At the Convergence, he will help explore solidarity economy and how communities can build greater economic resilience through cooperation and shared resources.

Hillary Hepp | Yoga Facilitator & FIC Community Connector

Hillary Hepp is the Deputy Executive Director of the Foundation for Intentional Community, a yoga teacher, community-centered civil engineer, and passionate advocate for more connected and regenerative ways of living.

Hillary will offer morning yoga and welcome participants at the FIC Community Tent throughout the Convergence, creating space to connect, learn more about FIC, and explore opportunities to become more involved in the broader intentional communities movement.

Bioregional Gathering

Saturday, September 12

On Saturday, the gathering expands to welcome bioregional organizing groups, regenerative projects, worker cooperatives, mutual aid networks, educational institutions, land stewardship initiatives, food sovereignty efforts, solidarity economy projects, restorative justice organizations, Indigenous-led initiatives, and other values-aligned partners from across the Northeast.

Through project showcases, presentations, workshops, skill-shares, and facilitated networking, we'll explore how communities and organizations can collaborate more effectively to strengthen regional resilience.

This day is designed to help participants discover shared goals, exchange resources, build strategic partnerships, and support the growing ecosystem of regenerative work already taking root throughout the region.

The learning continues into the evening with opportunities for music, social connection, and celebration.

It Takes a Village: Education, Music & Celebration

Sunday, September 13

After three days of relationship-building, learning, and collaboration, we close the weekend in celebration.

It Takes a Village brings together live music, educational offerings, local food vendors and artisans, family and children's programming, healing arts, and interactive experiences in a joyful gathering open to the wider community.

The day will also include dedicated unconference space, creating opportunities for participants to host spontaneous workshops, discussions, skill-shares, and conversations inspired by the relationships and ideas that emerged throughout the Convergence. Whether you're sharing a project, exploring a challenge, or gathering collaborators around a new possibility, the unconference offers a place for participant-led learning and connection.

More than a festival, it's a celebration of the relationships, projects, and possibilities cultivated throughout the Convergence—a chance to experience the culture of connection, creativity, and collective care that sustains this work for the long term.

Why Bioregional?

A bioregion is defined not by political boundaries, but by the living systems that connect a place—its watersheds, forests, soils, and communities.

We gather in the Forests of the Northeast because regeneration is rooted in place. Lasting solutions emerge from strong local relationships and the communities that share a landscape.

Our society doesn't just need resilient communities—it needs resilient networks between them.

This Convergence is designed to strengthen those networks by helping communities, projects, and organizations share knowledge, resources, labor, and support. More than a weekend gathering, it's an opportunity to build lasting relationships and systems of mutual aid that continue long after we return home.

What to Expect

Because much of the event is co-created, programming will continue to evolve. Topics may include:

Permaculture Design & Food Sovereignty
Natural Building & Ecological Infrastructure
Water Systems & Renewable Energy
Governance & Conflict Transformation
Community Land Trusts & Cooperative Models
Restorative Economics & Regenerative Finance
Indigenous Stewardship & Land Rematriation
Herbalism, Healing Arts & Somatic Practices
Family & Intergenerational Programming
Communication & Relational Skills
Music, Art, Storytelling & Cultural Celebration

Mapping Our Regional Network

Throughout the gathering, we'll collaboratively map the people, projects, communities, needs, and resources present.

By making visible what we're building, what we're seeking, and what we're able to offer, we can identify opportunities for collaboration and strengthen the web of support across the region long after the event concludes.

Who This Is For

Intentional communities, ecovillages, cohousing neighborhoods, cooperatives, and stewards of regenerative land projects
Land stewards, farmers, and ecological practitioners
Mutual aid organizers and community builders
Food sovereignty, restorative justice, and solidarity economy initiatives
Educators, researchers, and students
Artists, musicians, storytellers, and healers
Funders, technologists, and solution-builders supporting community-led transformation
Youth, elders, families, and anyone seeking meaningful connection and a role in building a more regenerative future

Help Shape the Gathering

We're inviting participants to co-create the event by:

Offering a workshop, training, or discussion
Sharing music, art, or cultural offerings
Presenting a project or initiative
Volunteering behind the scenes
Supporting childcare, logistics, or hospitality
Simply showing up with curiosity and a willingness to connect

Together we'll create a gathering that reflects the strengths, needs, and aspirations of our region.

Logistics at a Glance

Tickets: Sliding-scale passes are available for the full 4 days, or for individual sub-events: CIC (Thursday and Friday), Bioregional Gathering (Saturday), and It Takes a Village or Education and Music Fest (Sunday). The CIC is currently invitation-only, intended for those living in intentional community in the Forest of the Northeast Bioregion. If this portion of the event calls to you and you haven't received an invite, please reach out to brandon.collins@siriuscommunity.org or gabriel.futterman@siriuscommunity.org

Work-Trade: Limited work-trade tickets are available. Apply here for work trade opportunities.

Scholarships: Limited financial assistance and reduced-cost registrations will be available, prioritizing BIPOC access. Apply here for a Scholarship.

Lodging: Tent camping, tent platforms, and indoor accommodations available. Lodging information and pricing will be available on the registration page.

Meals: Vegetarian meals with gluten-free and dairy-free options. Meals are included in the CIC portion of the event, and can be purchased separately for Saturday and Sunday.

Children: Family-friendly programming and childcare support will be available.

Accessibility: Limited ADA-accessible facilities available onsite.

Dog Policy: No dogs allowed. Service dogs only.

Join Us

The Forests of the Northeast Convergence is a space for learning, connection, collaboration, and celebration.

Come build relationships. Share your gifts. Strengthen the network.

Let's build a resilient Forests of the Northeast Bioregion together.

We want to hear from you. In the forms linked above, please tell us who you are, what you’re passionate about, and what you’d like to bring.
This helps us shape the gathering with you.

We also welcome aligned sponsors, foundations, and community partners to help us make this gathering more accessible, equitable, and impactful.

IF COST IS A BARRIER:

We’re committed to making this Convergence a welcoming and accessible space for all and especially want to uplift BIPOC community members in this gathering. If cost is a barrier, we’re offering a limited number of discounted registrations to support your participation. If you're excited about this event, we want you there! Contact Scotty at scotty@permatours.org to inquire.

PERMATOURS EVENT AGREEMENTS:

We value active participation in all facets of Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share.

We treat the land and all beings with love and respect.
We do not tolerate hate language, discrimination, or violence of any kind.

We support an accessible and equitable environment for all beings.

Equality is not an assumption, and we strive to promote equitable access.

Consent is required for all: commitments (including time/energy expectations), verbal interactions, physical contact, emotional support, desire for intimacy, etc.

We encourage curiosity to be a leader against assumptions.
We support the use of the acronym FRIES to share concisely that consent is:

F - freely given
R - reversible
I - informed
E - enthusiastic
S - specific

Permatours is dedicated to holding containers (intentional spaces) that remain free of alcohol, powders, pills, and gasses. Your presence, in times of joy and difficulty, is welcome here!

We support a space of interdependence, and mutual aid. We trust that when we arrive and are able to do for ourselves what we can, with the inter-standing we may not be able to do everything, we are better aligned to receive the aid we truly need, and aid others in areas of their needs. Building mutually beneficial relationships and working together in symbiosis are key aspects of being able to thrive physically, emotionally, and spiritually, as a community.

We support a space of radical self-reliance, encouraging everyone to show up able to meet most, if not all, of their own needs. The community is here to support them when/if needed.

We observe the 4 Agreements, with the inclusion of the 5th Agreement, by Don Miguel Ruiz.

Be impeccable with your word.
Don’t take anything personally.
Don’t make any assumptions.
Always do your best.
Be skeptical, but learn to listen

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ABOUT PERMATOURS

Permatours offers hands-on permaculture action experiences that nurture the regeneration of self, communities, and the Earth.

Our events support mutual aid and wisdom-sharing across the Northeast Bioregion and beyond.

Permaculture principles grounding our work include earth care, people care, and fair care.

At Permatours, we believe everyone has something valuable to offer, and we invite you to bring your skills, creativity, and heart to help grow this movement.

If you're called to co-create regenerative experiences and community-powered change, we’d love to connect. Permatours.org

Contact the host of Forests of the Northeast Convergence