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Permaculture Design Certificate Course

with tutors Jo Pearsall, Bryan Innes and friends


What is Permaculture?

Permaculture is a far-reaching ecological idea.

Permaculture means designing and maintaining a way of life that has the diversity, stability, resilience and self-organising qualities of a natural ecosystem.

Permaculture is the harmonious integration of the land and people in such a way that the needs of food, energy and shelter are met without diminishing the natural world.

Permaculture design works with the cycles of nature and is relevant in all human activity.

 

What does the certificate course include?

Observation and understanding natural systems

Renewable energy systems

Theory and principles of whole systems design

Water harvest, storage, reticulation and purification

Design for urban and rural land use

Life cycle analysis

Design for catastrophe/disaster mitigation

Growing food and designing gardens, orchards, forests and conservation areas

Appropriate strategies for different climates, microclimates

Organic soil improvement and rehabilitation techniques

Energy efficient and healthy building

Animal management in permaculture systems

Design for community

Appropriate economic and legal structures

 

 

Aims of the design certificate course

  • To learn some design solutions for living with reduced energy and resource needs

  • To deepen your understanding of ‘sustainability'

  • To be part of a supportive network for participants

  • To learn some practical skills

  • To create a learning community for permaculture practitioners.

 

Friendly, relaxed learning...

Bryan Innes and Joanna Pearsall create an opportunity for course members to earth themselves in nature. The sense of belonging, of “knowing” is a result of the ecological grounding of permaculture and can be transformational. Jo and Bryan use accelerated learning techniques and a nurturing community building process. The course includes field trips and practical work such as building in earth, designing edible landscapes, making compost and worm farms. We spend time each day, as part of the PDC course, experiencing and learning about co-operative living in action and the critical skills of observing, listening, opening and receiving.

The benefits

The growth in trust and risk taking generates co-operation and alignment, encouraging flair and creativity in design. This is reflected in the excellent quality of group work in design and other exercises by participants.

There are no pre-requisites for any of the courses

We encourage people of all age-groups, backgrounds and experience to participate. Diversity enriches the quality of the course. The sharing of our collective wisdom benefits us all.

Pathways to new possibilities

Just as the world is at a point of change, so too are most participants. These courses can empower you with tools, ideas and visions to make clear choices about purpose and actions.

Permaculture helps us deal with today’s issues:

 

  • Maintaining food security - healthy food for each meal

  • Strengthening our communities – co-operating in many ways, with diverse groups and individuals

  • Including other species in our definition of community

  • Developing strong local economies

  • Creating and maintaining clean air, soil, and water- for ourselves and future generations

  • Promoting diversity and beneficial relationships.

  • It is a time when we are searching to equip ourselves with the skills, knowledge and spirit to find our way to a positive future. Permaculture is very beneficial for this journey.

 

 

For any certifcate course we run we try to make options for people.

Options: 15-day Permaculture Design Certificate course

1-day and 2-day Introductions

6-day intensive

1 day Hands-on workshops

 

15-day Permaculture design certificate.

What the Certificate means

 

This Certificate Course fulfils the standard requirements of the international curriculum and includes

field trips.

All participants who complete the course will receive a permaculture design certificate.

Graduates are entitled to use the word ‘Permaculture’ in the pursuit of their livelihood and for

educational purposes.

Graduates from the Certificate Course may pursue a Diploma in Permaculture and participate in advance courses.

Cost:Please enquire

One day introduction

This one day course is designed to introduce the basic concepts of permaculture design. At the end of the day participants will know about the philosophy, the ethics and the principles of permaculture design and sustainability.

 

Two day Introduction

The 2 -day course allow the student to go deeper and learn more of the language and meaning of permaculture design. At the end of 2 days the participant will be able to explain some of the principles of permaculture, have some understanding about reading the landscape, observing patterns and landforms and a start for implementing some ideas into their own lives.

 

Six-day intensive

The 6 -day intensive is designed to give participants a grounding in permaculture design. It is for those who cannot at this stage take the time to complete the whole certificate course. By the end of 6 days the participant will, in addition to the tools from the first 2 days, know more about topography, soils, climate, microclimate, siting plants and structures in the landscape, building biology, and about water- harvesting, storing and reticulating for use and reuse. They will have an introduction to invisible structures, such as organisations and money and their relevance to the natural world. It may be possible, for intensive participants, to complete the design certificate course at a later stage with Jo and Bryan.

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