Here it is, the opportunity you’ve been waiting for!
Spring 2007 Permaculture Design Certificate Course
At
Quail Springs Permaculture Farm and Learning Oasis in the Cuyama Valley of Southern California (dry land agricultural setting)
DATES: May 14-27th, 2007
LOCATION: Upper Cuyama Valley in the Southern California Mountains
COST: $1200 for registration paid in full by September 30, 2006; $1350 for full payment received by January 31, 2007, and $1450 for payment after February 1, 2007. (camping and meals included)
To register or for more info, contact:: Quail Springs, P.O. Box 417, New Cuyama, California 95254, (805) 886-7239, info@quailsprings.org
“All the world’s problems can be solved in the garden.”
Permaculture is a holistic approach to land use design, based on ecological principles and patterns. It aims to create stable, productive systems that provide for human needs, harmoniously integrating the land with people. Permaculture principles can be applied to any environment, at any scale - from dense urban settlements to individual homes, from farms to entire regions.
This world-recognized, 72-hour course provides an introduction to Permaculture as set forth by movement founder Bill Mollison. Students are invited to bring details of their own sites or potential sites and explore site-specific Permaculture solutions. The course serves as the foundation for further study and is a prerequisite for a Diploma in Permaculture Design, awarded by the Permaculture Research Institute. To date, hundreds of Permaculture designers worldwide have been certified through the course, creating a global network of ecological activists influencing major corporations and creating new soft-energy business alternatives. The course covers sustainable living systems for a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with special emphasis on arid zones.
Course Content
The course includes the application of Permaculture principles to food production, home design, construction, energy conservation and generation, and explores alternative economic structures and legal strategies supporting Permaculture solutions. Specific topics include:
· Theory and principles of Permaculture
· Nature-friendly house placement and design
· Energy conservation techniques for cold climates
· Recycling and waste management
· Soil rehabilitation
· Organic food production
· Water harvesting and management, including earthworks
· Ecological pest control
· Drought-proofing
· Soil rehabilitation and erosion control
· Animal husbandry
· Aquaculture
· Catastrophe preparedness and prevention
· Windbreaks and fire control
· Aspects of eco-village design
· Community
· Invisible structures
About the Instructors
Geoff Lawton is the Director of the Permaculture Research Institute in Australia, assuming the position from Permaculture founder Bill Mollison. Lawton has worked for clients that include communities, governments, aid organizations, non-government organizations and multi-national companies. Lawton has served clients in 17 different countries, including Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, USA, Mexico, Macedonia, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, England, Denmark, Australia and the South Pacific. A recent project in Jordan is documented on a video called Greening the Desert available for viewing on his website (www.permaculture.org.au).
Nadia Abu Yahia (Lawton) was born in the Dead Sea Valley in Jordan. She learned traditional ways of land use from her father, an expert farmer and herbal healer of Palestinian, Bedouin descent. She later went on to complete her Permaculture diploma in design, education and site development and has recently become a registered Permaculture teacher.
Possible guest lectures by other relevant professionals
Quail Springs is a land-based project of True Nature, a non profit organization, dedicated to the learning and sharing of essential living skills which support personal, community, and ecological health and balance. We accomplish our mission through the offerings of family camps and life skills workshops, vocational and mentoring programs for teens, and internships and service learning at our Permaculture designed farm setting and learning oasis in the Cuyama Valley of California where life-long learning is nurtured in an atmosphere of community support.
We live on a 450-acre farm at 3600 feet (approx. 1100m) elevation and are shaping the land and our lives towards a model of self-sufficiency. This property is in its third year of development with community-built structures, a spring-fed gravity flow water system, a dam, swales, food gardens, tree plantings, food forest, animal systems, and a great community spirit.
Learn and live Permaculture design and development while camping onsite. In addition to primitive camping facilities and compost toilets, participants should also be prepared for some cold evenings and mornings.
This 72-hour certificate program is a 13-day, residential design course with a one-day break in the middle and a celebration at the end.
There is an a special offer for those who would like to learn specific Bedouin culture artesan food preservation, presented by Nadia Abu Yahia on the 20th (day off). Additionally there is an option of immersing yourself in Permaculture work after the course by staying on at Quail Springs, for $50 a day.
Quote about the course
“I thought I was coming to learn about gardens, and instead I learned about life, and the importance of community and interdependence.”
Kolmi Majumdar
Resident Caretaker
Quail Springs Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm
info@quailsprings.org