Permaculture First Responder Course

Carmel Valley, Big Sur, CA

Dates
:    August 18-27 and Oct 13-15

Location: James Creek Farm in Carmel Valley and in Big Sur

Description;      Come gather the necessary tools for
responding in times of natural disasters and technological shifts
using Permaculture principles, ethics and practices.
This 96 hour course will certify participants in Permaculture design,
CPR and First Aid. Students will develop skills to respond as communities undergo stress and extremes do to changes in the environment. These include  eco-base camp design, organic gardening, soil building, water catchment,natural building, eco-forestry, mycorestoration, group facilitation and conflict resolution, appropriate technologies, herbal remedies, wilderness awareness, emergency response and much more!. 

Instructors: The RITES Team, Benjamin Fahrer, Kat Steele, Erik Ohlsen, Starhawk, Brock Dolman, Trathen Heckman and Wilderness Medical Institute Instructors

                 Tuition-    $1125-$1550
                 Organic meals and camping included
                 Contact:    The RITES project
                                    707-360-7060
                                    www.urbanpermacultureguild.org/pfr.



**Extended info and details of this course below


Permaculture First Responder                            PFRDC
Design Certification Course                             P.O Box 96
Occidental, Ca 95465
(707) 360 – 7060
www.urbanpermacultureguild.org/pfr


For the first time ever, a certification course in Ecological Design and Permaculture, including Wilderness Medicine, CPR, and First Aid  will be held in Carmel Valley/ Big Sur  this August and October.

This diverse course will empower its participants with skills to design, prepare  and respond with confidence and efficiency using ecologically sound practices and principles.

What if three days of stored food and water just wasn’t enough?  As the climate shifts, our planet has responded with more frequent and dramatic natural events such as Tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and droughts. We need to prepare for a shift towards a society less dependant upon fossil fuels. As communities, we need to be able to respond quickly and effectively when calamities hit locally, as our government and public services have increasingly shown us they are severely under-equipped to handle these events on their own.
“Given the critical state of our planet’s life support systems, as well as the precarious nature of our oil-based economy, it’s vital that we learn the skills to cope with climate change and community crisis,” says Kat Steele, founder of the Urban Permaculture Guild. “This course will provide participants with the practical knowledge and the confidence they need to organize our communities towards more sustainable systems – from growing their own food to more thoughtful use of water and energy.”

What and How:   Permaculture is a design system that is part of the solution rather than the problem.  The Permaculture First Responder Design course (PFRDC) is set up in such a way that it merges all the topics and curriculum of a Permaculture Design Course with the format and practical skills of a Wilderness First Responder course. http://www.nols.edu/wmi/ Combined, this format provides valuable training, a diverse skill set, and empowerment to those members of the community willing to become the key people best suited to actively stabilize situations and to come up with an appropriate regenerative design plan to implement solutions. These skills include organic farming and soil building, natural building, eco-base camp design, water catchment and aquaculture, bioremediation and mycorestoration, group decision making, facillitation and conflict resolution, renewable energies and appropriate technologies, plant guilds, wilderness awareness, primitive technologies, and emergency response.

Why: Given the natural disasters that have occurred worldwide in the past few years, we are at the precipice of an amazing opportunity. By utilizing bioremediation and permaculture principles we can learn to transform our most pressing challenges in any situation.  Let’s reclaim our power to create a better world for ourselves and future generations. Ever since I discovered the exponential power of living systems to regenerate water and soil, and transform pollution into solutions, I have dedicated my life to exploring, learning, and teaching about the mutually beneficial relationships found in nature.says Mia Rose, co-founder of The RITES Project.

Who:  This training is for people who recognize it’s time to step up and take positive action for care of our culture and our planet. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned practitioner of permaculture, this course will offer you new insights that are sure to be beneficial in many different settings and scenarios.
Instructors:  Benjamin Fahrer, Katherine Steele, Erik Ohlsen, Starhawk,  Brock Dolman, Mia Rose, Patrick Garretson, Devin Stubblefield, Trathen Heckman, Heidi Hampe, Marty Falkenstein, and WMI instructors.

Where:  The setting for this training is located at. James Creek Farm (JCF ) in Monterey County, Ca, on the road to Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, JCF is situated at the headwaters of the Carmel River at 3850 feet over looking both the Carmel, Big Sur and Salinas watersheds.  The 12-acre farm has 1.5 acres in bio-intensive market garden production and is part of a 145-acre private ranch that borders the Ventana Wilderness. and Los Padres National Forest. Breathtaking views span over the Santa Lucia Mountains, the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas valley. Field trips include: hiking in the Ventana, a day visit to the Buddhist Community of Tassajara, including visiting hot springs and local homesteads, the Ecological Restoration practices of Rana Creek and training Scenarios in both Carmel Valley and on the Big Sur Coast. This is a remote location, therefore a Bio-diesel shuttle to and from the Bay Area is being made available.

When : This training is to take place over a 10 day intensive, August 18 –27, and a 3-day completing weekend, October13-15 of 2006.  In between these two dates action plans and design projects will be worked on and implemented, including community education, preparation, and empowerment. These projects include a permaculture design  at Tassajara and a Biodiesel caravan going to Burning Man in order to create a permaculture camp there. If you can’t make this course, we are planning on offering this training through collaboration with organizations and colleges such as the New College of California and in Jamaica in the Spring 2007. We will also be giving a series of free talks around the Bay area.  Check our website for updates.

Cost: $1125 - $1550
All Organic Meals and Rugged Lodging Included
If you would like to donate a Tax Deductible donation
to our scholarship fund please contact us

Registration: www.urbanpermacultureguild.org/pfr


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