2014 Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC)

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Friday, May 16th, 2014
May 16, 2014 - May 31, 2014

The Permaculture Design Course is an information packed 72-hour intensive course combining theory with practical hands on learning. Completion of the course earns participants a Permaculture Design Certificate � the foundation for further permaculture work and study and a prerequisite for the Diploma in Permaculture Design, offered through The Permaculture Institute in Australia.

Participants will learn Permaculture design principles & techniques. The course includes lectures, discussions, hands-on, slide shows, field trips and design projects. We will examine the underlying assumptions of the current culture of consumerism and economic globalization, and encourage exploration of ways to contribute to the emergence of a culture of sustainability, compassion and equity. The Permaculture Design Certificate course covers a broad range of subjects to provide a holistic overview of Permaculture systems and sustainable living. Some of the topics/ themes to be covered:

- Evidence for change & the ethics of sustainability
- Principles of Permaculture
- Observation & landscape analysis
- Ecological planning & design methods
- Organic food production and food security
- Climatic factors in design
- Soils: Natural soil improvement
- Integrated animal systems
- Water: harvesting, conservation,and management
- Agroforestry & forest gardening
- Appropriate technologies & renewable energy systems
- Mapping & design exercises
- Techniques and design strategies for both urban & rural applications
- Ecovillages & sustainable human settlements

What is the Permaculture Design Certificate?

�Permaculture� is a copyrighted word. Only upon satisfactory completion of this course is an internationally recognized �Certificate of Permaculture Design� issued. Graduates are then eligible to use Permaculture in the promotion of designs, teaching and landscaping. Following at least two years of applied work, you are eligible to apply for a Diploma of Permaculture Design through the International Permaculture Institute.

What will I learn?

- Learn about harmonious integration of land and people in such a way that the needs of food, energy and shelter are met without diminishing the natural world
- Develop design skills including mapping, site analysis and assessment, and site design
- Develop ecological observation skills, learning to arrange and design landscapes that work in symbiosis with nature�s rhythms
- Understand and apply Permaculture design, organic gardening, and natural building techniques into the creation of a Permaculture design project
- Experience & learn about the critical skills of observing, listening, opening and receiving

Students who complete this course will be able to assess human landscapes and dwellings and then provide design solutions towards living sustainably. With practice and mentorship students will develop design skills that may lead to a meaningful livelihood. All students who complete this certification course leave with a much deeper understanding of their impact on the planet and each other, and with the critical thinking skills to lessen or improve that impact.

Participants from over 60 countries in all regions of the world and from all walks of life have called the Permaculture Design Course � life-changing , transformative, and enormously affirming�. In the lively company of a diverse group of engaged and motivated women and men with a common interest in the future of humanity, learning is rapid, multidimensional, and long lasting.

For more information on this course and to register, please visit the O.U.R. Ecovillage event page.