Start and grow your passion project into a booming business- with financial success and big impact. -A panel discussion with AJ Marino and Eniko Olah

Description: A panel discussion on the startup, growth, and success of your business using examples from 2 successful startup businesses in the heart of St. Petersburg; Beech Kombucha and Sans Market. These two business owners, AJ and Eniko have taken their business dreams from part-time market level sales to creating store fronts and becoming foundational pillars in their communities.
This panel discussion will be monitored by Michelle Ott by asking a few pre-set questions on what advice they have for start-ups, followed by plenty of time for questions from the audience.

Eniko Olah spent more than a decade working in the consumer packaged goods (CPG), but after seeing all the waste created in the production of everyday household products she decided to leave and start her own business. 6 years later, Sans Market has become a staple of downtown St. Petersburg FL and helps the community live ‘sans’ plastic, packaging, and toxins.

Start and grow your passion project into a booming business- with financial success and big impact. -A panel discussion with AJ Marino and Eniko Olah

Description: A panel discussion on the startup, growth, and success of your business using examples from 2 successful startup businesses in the heart of St. Petersburg; Beech Kombucha and Sans Market. These two business owners, AJ and Eniko have taken their business dreams from part-time market level sales to creating store fronts and becoming foundational pillars in their communities.
This panel discussion will be monitored by Michelle Ott by asking a few pre-set questions on what advice they have for start-ups, followed by plenty of time for questions from the audience.

AJ Marino began brewing kombucha 12 years ago in the pursuit of finding alternative healing modalities for his mother battling cancer. He took his 10 gallon “closet kombucha” from a spot in the living room to being sold in over 30 restaurants, bars and stores. He founded St petersburg’s first and only kombuchery, meadery, cidery, and botanical garden and brews over 1000 gallons a month.

Chef and all around extraordinary human being – this wonder woman is back holding down the vegan / salad kitchen. 

@themadmycologists, is a locally-oriented, small business start-up based in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Our mission as a science-driven company is to produce the highest quality mushroom extracts for people to incorporate functionally into their lifestyle & routine. We plan to infuse our extracts into a line of intentionally-crafted supplements that we plan to release in the near future. Until then and even after, our goal will always be education; by sharing knowledge about integrating mushrooms into people’s lives

Josie will be sharing her incredible wisdom with us. Curandera Remedies is an indie wellness brand created by Josie Castaneda, certified health coach and yoga therapist. Offering artisanal, apothecary remedies for modern times along with a curated selection of service modalities to harmonize your inner being.

Kayla is very excited to be workshopping the funky world that is wild yeast and sourdough! She has taken an interest in food as medicine over the past couple of years, which has led her down many paths, one being the world of ferments! Through curiosity and trial and error she has learned all that goes into making delicious loaves of sourdough bread that are not only yummy but also beneficial for our bodies.
Kayla currently resides near Asheville, NC, after finishing up with a Dance and Art Degree at school in Florida. She has spent many years as a dance teacher, and has spent time working as a teacher at Waldorf-Montessori based nature schools. In her free time, when not baking, she enjoys dancing, creating music, cooking, and foraging.💚

“Powerfully Share Your Voice and Vision without ‘Marketing Ick’ “. Kelsey Greene is dedicated to mending colonized disconnection through dialogue and design for collective healing and growth. She works with individuals and organizations to help people deepen their relationships with themselves, others and their environment by showing up with authenticity, curiosity, and awareness of broader systems. Her approach is informed by her rural upbringing and professional experience spanning media production, strategic communications, curriculum development, and business operations. Originally from Western NY, she left snowy winters behind and now lives in sunny St. Pete, FL. It is a privilege to have @kelseyreclaimed sharing her experience and wisdom at the convergence. 💚

Alana Bliss is a seasoned practitioner of holistic sustainable solutions with over 20 years of experience. Certified in various aspects of Permaculture since 2005, including Design, Natural Building, Teachering, and Social Design, she has a proven track record as a community builder, entrepreneur, and project manager dedicated to regenerative systems. Co-founder of the Fruition Center for Holistic Ecology in Costa Rica, she led initiatives to explore hands-on regenerative lifestyles and foster connections between people and their environment. Alana has been a presenter at many festivals and events throughout the world, sharing her expertise and passion for sustainable living. Upon returning to Minneapolis, Alana and her husband established an Ecological Design and installation business, transforming urban spaces into sanctuaries for both people and wildlife. Additionally, she contributed to nonprofit efforts distributing free organic food throughout the Twin Cities. Currently residing in eastern Tennessee, Alana is actively involved in co-facilitating a community farmstead and developing a village-scale community guided by principles of health freedom, respect, and thrivability.

David Ahlgren uses a listening and observation of nature model of coaching/consulting. After observation of land and humans in many ecosystems, David believes the most abundance and restoration both in human and land ecosystems comes with most ease when we enter each system with humility and a listening and learning sprit. This practice of befriending and listening to nature has been the recipe for restoration of abundance throughout all of history and across all landscapes.  David along with many other colleges across the world use, modern appropriate technology and research to both gain scientific situational awareness and foster restoration to abundance.

When the patterns are observed and used in humble harmony, abundance becomes a simple task to flow with into an oasis of abundance and peace.

Melissa’s grand mission is guiding the children of the new generation to live in harmony with the earth . From working in Waldorf schools in Naples Florida to living with and teaching children in the mountains of Appalachians , one of her favorite ways to be creative with children is primal earth skills. On Saturday Melissa will be offering a cordage class made from local palms. From practicing cordage as a form of meditation or creating arts and crafts , learning to make natural cordage has many benefits and is a fun way to connect with the nature around us. Melissa will also be assisting Brielle Águila with facilitating the children programs and prayerforming with fire at night. Looking forward to connecting with you all & weaving together

PhD, ATR-BC is a board-certified therapist, certified educational leader and owner of a two-acre, Florida permaculture farm complete with hundreds of species of edible plants, free-roaming chickens and 26 beehives. Dr. Pike serves as Education Chair for the Palm Beach County chapter of the Native Plant Society. As a local 4-H program facilitator, Dr. Pike helps make food forestry an accessible and practical landscaping option for the community. Her food forest currently provides an average of 70% of her family’s daily meals.💚 @florida_food_forests

Growing & using grains in Florida. Growing grains and staple crops can be difficult in our Florida climate, but there are so many delightful grains, roots and tubers that offer great nutrition and are easy to grow, harvest and process in our humid, changeable climate! Learn when to plant what, and how to properly harvest, thresh, and prepare grains and the best way to store roots and other starchy vegetables. 💚 @angieminno

Kristofer Edler is the Founder of PermacultureFX and has been practicing regenerative agriculture for 15+ years.  Edler has lived in multiple growing zones from the snowy winters of Northern Michigan to the extreme seasons of Kansas City.  He was a founding teacher of a private school in Kansas City, which taught permaculture to K-12 students on an 18-acre property.  As a business owner, his former wedding venue also practiced permaculture with community garden connection and compost production from post-event food waste.  Currently, Edler is actively practicing and teaching permaculture in Central Florida.  He is a certified instructor and was trained by Geoff Lawton (and other permaculture patriarchs).  He is especially passionate about making permaculture principles palatable for those in suburban settings and enjoys finding ways to integrate sustainable practices into many diverse scenarios.  Over the last few years, he conducted hundreds of property consultations in Central Florida to help new homesteaders get started on their land.  All this to say – Edler is a nerdy dirt ninja with a passion for humans and food forests.

Keri Evjy facilitates healing for people and the planet through nature-inspired land and life design. For more than 20 years, she has been an educator and designer observing natural patterns and demystifing holistic life design practices to cultivate abundant and resilient lives and landscapes for individuals and organizations. Her transformative programs include group curriculum and one-on-one coaching experiences through Regenerative Life Design. Her book, Regenerative Life Design Playbook, an earth-inspired multimedia toolkit to flourish in life, career and relationships, was released July, 2022. Keri is also the founder of Healing Roots Design, an edible and medicinal landscape design, install and maintenance company. For more information on programs, services, events and info, please visit: www.regenerativetraining.com
She thrives in Asheville, NC.

Joseph Pierce aka “Micanopy Joe” has been a permaculture teacher, consultant and designer in Florida since earning a PDC certification in 2009. He currently owns and operates a bakery/coffee shop and permaculture demonstration food forest called Mosswood Farm Store located in Micanopy Fl. He specializes in bananas, bamboos and gingers as well as being knowledgeable in the areas of composting/soil building natural construction and earthworks for water management.

Sharing wisdom in the form of play! She will also be providing acupuncture services throughout the weekend as a vendor – very exciting.
Paikea is an acupuncturist, regenerative medicine practitioner, and wild foods educator. Prior to acupuncture, Paikea obtained a Masters degree in Computer Science, a Masters in Electrical Engineering, and fellowship training in Genomics. Her advanced knowledge, combined with a compassionate nature, makes her an effective healer. Moreover, Paikea helps modern individuals to reconnect to three things, to be fully healed and fully alive: 1) Intimacy with the natural world. 2) Intimacy with the “inner wilderness.” meaning curiously explore the childhood, societal, and ancestral trauma that we all carry, to recover Wholeness within. 3) A community to recover and play with. So Paikea organizes Earthskills gatherings, practices the latest regenerative medicine with a holistic heart. And she actively teaches, learns and grows with the community, to stay happy and fully alive, to walk the Earth like our good ancestors did. You can find her work in Kentucky and around the country at www.Paikea.Love/events @logicalgirls

Lonny is a wealth of information on everything from natural building to growing just about anything. He has inspired and taught so many people to grow food one plant at a time, and we are excited to have him back in a whole new area – cooking with fire. Join us and take your skills to the next level! 💚 @thereidfarm

A huge thank you to Brielle Aguila for sharing multiple gifts with us. She will be teaching several kids classes on Saturday as well as facilitating our kids program. On Saturday she will be sharing her music with us at a dinner concert. Brielle is a permaculturist, medicine musician, forager, intentional mother , Waldorf gardening teacher and Earth guardian who resides in South Florida on Tequesta Land. Brielle also helps people in their commUnity turn their yards to “ yardens “ through designing and installing food. She facilitates an event monthly in Florida called “ Permaculture Paradise “ where people can come learn and take action together to help create a regenerative culture in different lands around Florida. She also host nature children’s classes, foraging walks, composting classes, cacao medicine music ceremonies, and a vegan market in her backyard. She and her partner offer wild -foraged fresh coconuts and locally crafted herbal medicine to their commUnity and will at our event as well! Their organization is called “ Everything Earth Tribe” Follow their offerings and stay connected at @remembering_source and @tree_standing 

 Michelle Ott. Michelle has gifted her time previously to helping organize and facilitate the convergence and we are so fortunate to have her sharing her wisdom at this year’s event. Learn the top 20 methods of transforming your wild foraged foods into medicines, foods, flours and more.
Okay so you’ve collected your harvest…now what? Nature, unlike a grocery store, isn’t pre-packaging your food ready to eat. If you don’t take a few extra steps to preserve your pickings, you find a pile of dried up mess and all your efforts frustratingly wasted! Learn exactly what methods you can use to capture the power of mother nature for your pantry and apothecary in “Preserving Your Wild Harvests”.

Teacher: Michelle Ott
Michelle is a self taught forager and nature lover. After going to school in the Appalachian mountains she descovered the power of plants as she healed from a plant rich diet. It was game on from there as she self study educated herself on what nature has always offered us: bounty, medicines, shelter, food, and richness. Michelle moved to St. Pete in 2019 and enjoys the heat, tropics, beaches, and community of her city. Find her in the kitchen making healing foods for others, making kombucha, working in her urban organic food forest, or out and about St. Pete finding the next tropical fruit harvest. 💚 @michelle_deboraw

We are honored to have Johnny Dame at the convergence this year. He is intimately connected with Florida ecosystems and water systems – he ignites and inspires with his wisdom and a vast amount of experience with real Florida. Sharing his passion with us is a true blessing 

A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolation from other populations of the species. @seedthestars is going to take you way past heirloom and organic to the use of plants adapted specifically to our local growing conditions. 

We are talking natural, treatment free bee keeping with live bees! Want to incorporate bees into your homestead? This is your opportunity to learn from the best. Grateful to the bees and our lovely wrangler.