PERMACULTURE
DESIGN COURSE
Frequently
Asked Questions
WHAT IS A PERMACULTURE
DESIGN CERTIFICATE (PDC)?
A PDC is a 72 hour course that introduces a wide range of permaculture
principles and practices. Many, although not all, PDCs are residential
over the course of two weeks. Cydonia Permaculture runs PDCs in both
two-week and weekend formats. The curriculum of a PDC
is based on Bill Mollison's Permaculture:
A Designers' Manual, and
gives participants the knowledge and skills required to become
competent permaculture practitioners. All aspects of sustainable living
are covered, including personal, household, community and economic
strategies, as well as the knowledge required for creating a design for
any specific piece of land or living situation.
WHY DO A PDC?
As with anything else, there are numerous ways to learn about
permaculture. There is a wonderful array of good permaculture books on
the market and there are many experienced permaculture practitioners to
talk to, as well as other resources such as the internet, DVDs and
other course formats. However, a PDC is a tried and tested format for a
solid grounding in permaculture. It provides the opportunity to benefit
from the knowledge and
experience of practicing permaculturalists, both in the formal learning
sessions and informally over meals. You will be part of a group of
like-minded people, all of whom will be focused on
permaculture and sustainability, making it an unsurpassed learning
environment. It is very common for participants to regard their PDC
experience as 'life-changing'.
WHY DO OUR PDC?
Diversity is a very important part of both permaculture and learning,
and one of the
things makes this PDC especially fulfilling is the wide
range of tutors and fieldtrips we offer. All our tutors are
experienced, enthusiastic and very keen to share their
knowledge, and are regarded very highly by participants. A wide range
of tutoring styles and techniques are offered allowing all participants
to engage with the material covered. Classroom sessions and
fieldtrips, as well as informal discussions, with David Holmgren, one
of
the original founders of the permaculture concept, are regarded by
participants as one of the highlights of the course. Likewise, our
fieldtrips
cover a very diverse range of settings - large and small pieces of
land, public and private spaces. All are interesting in their own right
but, as each participant is different, this wide range allows each
participant to gain the most from their experience. Some other
PDCs are taught almost entirely in the classroom!
HOW IS THE WEEKEND PDC ORGANISED?
This PDC is run over a series of weekends, of both two and three days.
All three day weekends take advantage of Victorian public holidays.
Weekends are held in different areas around Victoria so as to get a
wide range of fieldtrips and experiences. Some accommodation is
included in the price: we arrange accommodation for the nights in
between consecutive training days i.e. Saturday night on two day
weekends, two nights on three day weekends. Lunches, and morning and
afternoon teas, are provided. Students are expected to work on a design
project in their own time, outside of the PDC hours. This will be
presented to the class on the last day.
WHAT SORT OF
ACCREDITATION DOES THIS COURSE HAVE?
Permaculture Design Courses are not Nationally Accredited in themselves
but provide a pathway to Accredited Permaculture TrainingTM
(APT) courses
such as the nationally (and internationally!) recognized Certificates
III, IV and Diplomas. A PDC will enable you to continue on to APT
courses. For more
on APT see the Permaculture International website www.permacultureinternational.org
Some PDCs have accreditation from Bill Mollison's Permaculture
Institute. This requires teacher registration and a strict
curriculum. Although we cover all aspects of the Bill Mollison's
Permaculture
Institutes's curriculum, we
have chosen not to become accredited with the Permaculture Institute.
The only thing that
sets Bill Mollison's Permaculture Institute PDCs apart from other PDCs
is that you can
gain
a Diploma of Permaculture through Permaculture Institute only with a
Permaculture Institute accredited PDC. Permaculture Institute
accreditation is certainly not a requirement for gaining a Diploma of
Permaculture through National Accreditation.
I LIVE IN A DIFFERENT
CLIMATE TO CENTRAL VICTORIA. SHOULD I DO THIS
PDC?
Permaculture is applicable across all climates, with the principles
being able to be applied anywhere, and a PDC reflects this. That said,
because we have many fieldtrips on our PDC, much of what you will be
experiencing is by its nature quite specific to local climates. We do
have
fieldtrips over a range of climates within
central Victoria however, from cooler, moister Hepburn to inland
Mediterranean
Bendigo. Generally,
we would recommend that if you have a PDC with fieldtrips running
in your area (see our links page for suggestions) then this would be
the
one to attend, but if you don't have a local one, or your local one is
very theory based, this one is a very good option.
ON THE RESIDENTIAL
PDC, DO YOU GIVE DISCOUNTS FOR LOCALS IF WE DO NOT USE THE
ACCOMMODATION?
We encourage all participants on the PDC to stay at the accommodation
with the rest of the group, as this enriches the participants'
experience as well as allowing them to better focus on the course
without distractions from 'normal' life. There are some evening
activities; formal, informal and spontaneous, and most participants
find that they learn just as much from informal discussions with other
participants as they do in classes. Living together for two weeks
facilitates this interaction.
But we do understand that for some people it is just not possible to
stay full time. Unfortunately, there is a minimum number required
for
our venue - if we don't get this many staying we still have to pay the
full fee. If we do get enough enrolments, we may then be able to
provide a small discount to those not staying, but we will not know
until much closer to the date. Please let us know if you want to be
kept posted on this one.
