Looby Macnamara

Looby Macnamara is an author, designer, gardener, song leader, mother, and artist. She is the author of four books: "People & Permaculture," "7 Ways to Think Differently," "Cultural Emergence," and "Strands of Infinity." She has been teaching permaculture for over 20 years, including 18 teacher trainings and many specialist courses. Looby wrote the first book globally to translate permaculture to people. While writing "People & Permaculture," Looby created the Design Web - an organic dynamic design framework which has been used to create thousands of designs around the world on many scales.

In 2016, Looby co-created the Cultural Emergence toolkit with Jon Young, which is growing into a global movement. Cultural Emergence brings together innovative models for behavioral and cultural change, weaving together systems thinking, cultural awareness, design, and nature connection. In 2023, Looby created the CEED - Cultural Emergence Empowerment & Design deck. Looby runs Applewood Permaculture Centre in Herefordshire, UK, with her partner Chris Evans, where they run courses and demonstrate both land and people permaculture. Looby is part of the international Mother Nature project empowering mothers as natural leaders.

Looby got a BSc in Human Sciences from the University of Sussex. Looby was a trustee and chairperson of the Permaculture Association Britain from 2001-2006 and chairperson for the last two years on the board. Looby is one of the senior tutors for the Permaculture Diploma in Applied Design.