We are drawing the the close of another PDC and spent some time this week teaching implementation. This module is not part of the recognised curriculum. We added it to our PDC after applying the permaculture design model. We noticed that the individual plans that students complete during a PDC often languish in a bottom … Continue reading Is implementation the missing link?
Category: Permaculture Teaching
Choosing a design site for your PDC
How to choose a site for your permaculture design course
Want to get a PDC in exchange for helping people on their property?
A while ago I was contacted by two lovely Permies, Dylan and Martin, wanting to discuss the idea of a different kind of PDC. Experienced people could sign on as mentors and teach as much or as little of the PDC curriculum as they wanted, and interns would come to their properties and learn in … Continue reading Want to get a PDC in exchange for helping people on their property?
The other (other) design cycle!
The day before yesterday I published something I boldly declared as my current favourite design cycle. Bold, but premature. In a process familiar to anyone that designs, I subsequently found myself awake at 2.00am with a new and improved version circling my imagination. Long experience has taught me that when this happens the only thing … Continue reading The other (other) design cycle!
Why it’s hard to replicate social permaculture enterprises
This post started with a conversation I had with Rich Bowden from Permaculture Plus. We had just finished a Zoom interview for his upcoming online conference. We were both talking about Lis Bastian's amazing work with the Blue Mountains Pluriversity and Rich commented that he'd like to replicate it. I said something like this: I … Continue reading Why it’s hard to replicate social permaculture enterprises
Group work in the PDC
It's traditional in most PDC's for learners to be asked to complete a design project as a group. There are good reasons for this. As designers we will always be working with other people. While the opportunity to work collaboratively with other designers or professionals is limited, we will usually be co-creating with clients. Our … Continue reading Group work in the PDC
The pyramid of wisdom
This is a photograph of board notes from a recent permaculture fundamentals course. It represents a logical progression of knowledge and I thought I'd write a post about it in the hope that others find it useful. So let's work from the base to the top before I reveal the story behind the flying … Continue reading The pyramid of wisdom
The safety to make mistakes
One of the challenges of teaching adults is overcoming our established patterns around learning. Most of us came through a school system where we were rewarded for 'right' answers and humiliated if we got something 'wrong'. These environments were also highly competitive. We were graded and stacked along a bell curve, proud to be at … Continue reading The safety to make mistakes
Permashare and the PDC
This entry is dedicated to Rowe Morrow. When I wrote and told her about our training she asked me to write it up and make it available to others. So here we go. With the latest PDC over it's time to review. We always do this. Nature's patterns are cycles and not straight lines. Things … Continue reading Permashare and the PDC
Wait…Are there three ethics? Or four? Or five?
Lately I’ve been thinking about the ethics of permaculture. I became aware that there are now whole branches of permaculture using ‘future care’ as a third ethic, and revisiting David Holmgren’s Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability reminded me of his very specific definition of ‘fair share’ and how that definition seems to have been softened … Continue reading Wait…Are there three ethics? Or four? Or five?
SMARTER THAN CROWS 