PINA PERMACULTURE DESIGN CONTEST 2026
Designing for Positive Action in the Places We Live.
Backyards, front yards, community spaces, farms, schools, and systems. If you can influence it, you can design for it.
_______________ Submissions Go Live August 15, 2026 _______________
Streamlined submission process NEW for 2026
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Help Us Spread the Word
This Year’s Theme
Positive Action in the Places We Live
Permaculture does not begin with perfect land.
Or unlimited funding.
It begins where you already live.
The 2026 PINA Permaculture Design Contest is about practical action in the spaces you can influence right now — a backyard, a rental, a school, a farm, a community space.
You don’t need ownership.
You don’t need credentials.
You need clarity, intention, and permaculture ethics put into motion.
How the Design Contest Works
We’ve structured this year’s contest to be clear, supportive, and grounded in real-world action.
The submission process opens on August 15, but the planning starts NOW!
Step 1: Choose a Project That Fits the Theme
This year’s theme is Positive Action in the Places We Live. Start by selecting a space or system you can meaningfully affect, whether that is a backyard, front yard, shared rental, school campus, community space, or even a lifestyle or social system you participate in. You do not need ownership, you need influence and intention, and your project should show how permaculture ethics guide real action in a real context.
Step 2: Make Sure You’re a PINA Member
Participation in the Design Contest and member voting requires at least one active PINA membership per submission. Collaborative projects are encouraged — individuals, teams, and PDC cohorts are all welcome to apply. Only one member of your team needs to hold an active PINA membership in order to submit a design.
Membership connects you to a network of practitioners, educational resources, voting rights, entry into the contest, and ongoing professional visibility. If no one on your team is currently a member, simply join PINA before submitting your design.
Step 3: Strengthen Your Design Skills & Start Designing
This is the time to actively develop your design and prepare it for submission. If you want to strengthen your technical skills along the way, explore PINA’s Permaculture Digital Design Course, which is FREE for all PINA members. The course supports clear site analysis, stronger systems thinking, improved visual communication, and more professional design presentation as you bring your project together.
Step 4: Submit Your Concept
Submissions are open August 15 through September 15, 2026. During this window, you will submit a concept level design that includes a sketch or diagram, a short written explanation, a brief reflection on how permaculture ethics and principles informed your decisions, and a description of the site or system you are designing for. This phase is about clarity and thoughtful design thinking, not perfection. View the list of deliverables we are expecting for each submission.
Step 5: Judges Review Submissions
From September 15 to October 15, 2026, a panel of experienced permaculture practitioners reviews all submissions. Judges evaluate ethical grounding, context awareness, feasibility, and potential for meaningful ecological or social impact, then select five finalists per track, with finalists sometimes asked to clarify or refine elements before voting. View the Judges Voting Rubric here to help guide your design.
Step 6: Member Voting
From October 15 to October 31, 2026, finalist designs will be published publicly, and active PINA members review and vote. This step strengthens community accountability, gives designers visibility, and deepens engagement, while complementing the judges’ evaluation rather than replacing it.
Step 7: Winners Announced and Projects Move Into Action
Winners are announced on November 1, 2026 and receive implementation funding, public recognition, and support during implementation and documentation. Winning projects are then captured through film, photography, and written case studies, helping build a living archive of positive action across North America.
Final reminder: You do not need a massive site, perfect drawings, or a big budget. You need a place you can influence and a design grounded in permaculture ethics.
The Design Contest is open to PINA members only so if you’re not a member, why not sign up?
Rates are reasonable. You’re supporting a good cause. And you can win a lot of money to implement your best design ideas!
Past Design Contest Winners
A New Recognition for 2026
PINA’s 2026 Design Mentor Award
Great permaculture design is not created in isolation.
It is mentored, refined, and encouraged.
This year, PINA will honor the teacher behind the winning design.
If a student or cohort from your PDC wins either track, you will receive:
$500 Honorarium and recipient of:
PINA’s 2026 Design Mentor Award
Your name will be featured in:
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The public winner announcement
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PINA’s website
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Contest recap materials
PDC Teachers — How to Participate
Participation is simple.
You do not need to redesign your course.
You do not need additional paperwork.
All you need to do is encourage your students to submit their designs during the contest window.
Students may submit:
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Their final PDC design
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A refined course project
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A collaborative cohort design
That’s it.
If one of your students wins, you share in the recognition.
Help Us Spread the Word
The Jury
Our esteemed permaculture design contest jury will evalute all projects using a standard judging matrix. Highest score wins! Then, our top 5 finalists will be featured on our website and put up for a member vote. Who’s design will win? It’s up to YOU.
Peter Bane, PINA's Executive Director
Elizabeth Lynch, PINA's Administrator
Jono Neiger, Regenerative Design Group
Past Winners
Our past winners have submitted designs that encompass a wide array of permaculture ideas.
Take inspiration from the best.
Contest Rules
Interested in entering the 2026 Permaculture Design Contest? Then check out the full rules to be sure you don’t miss anything.
Submit Your Design
Submit your Permaculture Design for the chance to win up to $7500 in cash prizes and bragging rights as 2026’s Best Permaculture Design.