TextYou will learn through a variety of classroom-based lessons & discussions, outdoor exercises, practical activities & by completing a design project. You will gain new knowledge, learn new skills & make new friends. Because permaculture focuses on positive responses to the world’s challenges, many graduates report an empowering & transformational experience. Graduates of permaculture courses take a range of paths: from using the principles to get out of debt, & managing projects to reach a sustainable outcome, to starting their own sustainable business, & making their farm more productive & resilient in the face of a changing environment & economy.

Completion of the full Permaculture Design Course provides recognition as a Permaculture Design graduate, & enables you to go on to study for the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. According to the Permaculture Institute, if you intend to teach permaculture, you will need a completed PDC & Diploma.

Our courses include multiple opportunities for hands-on learning at our beautiful purpose-designed training centre, field trips, practical projects, &  visits to permaculture demonstration sites within the surrounding communities. We offer internationally recognised permaculture certification with experienced permaculture facilitators – Bongi Mndzebele, Sam Hodgson, Gabsile Kunene & Emma Granville who have practiced permaculture since 2009 & a stellar teaching team: all of whom practise permaculture at work & at home.

Our Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC) material was originally developed by Bill Mollison, co-founder of permaculture, to teach the principles & foundations of sustainable design. All PDC courses offered throughout the world follow the same format (see course syllabus) to assure that the integrity of the certification process is upheld. 

 
Topics covered

  • Permaculture principles, ethics, design methodologies, & pathways to sustainability
  • Patterns & processes in nature, biome approach to sustainable management, essential earth systems science & understanding global climate influences
  • Soil ecology, organic soil management, mulches & compost
  • Water management planning, collection, storage & conservation, earthworks & aquaculture
  • Forest ecosystems & design of forests for food, forage, fibre, structural materials, habitat, conservation, wildlife, tree-cropping & farm forestry
  • Food producing systems for home gardens, small holdings, urban systems to broad acre farmlands
  • Design to reduce vulnerability to fire, drought, natural disasters, & impacts of global climate change
  • Appropriate technology, renewable energy systems, & passive solar house design
  • Bioregional & community development strategies, urban renewal, eco-village design, community economics, legal structures, community gardens & city farms.

Skills & Knowledge you will learn

  • Integrated approach to earth systems science, working with ecological processes & planetary life sustaining systems
  • Practical design for low energy productive urban & rural environments: domestic to broad-scale
  • Holistic approach to sustainable land-use planning, conservation & resource management
  • Creative problem solving & participatory processes to facilitate positive change
  • Tools for community building, bioregional sustainability & transition initiatives
  • Strategies for individual, enterprise & community response to peak oil, climate change, globalisation, & challenges of the 21st Century.
Participants of Permaculture Design Courses that complete all subjects covered in the course syllabus & at least one design project or design vignettes will receive Permaculture Design Certificates from their lead instructor(s) upon completion of the course. The certificate attests that the recipient has acquired certain knowledge of the subject, & it enables the recipient to start using the word ‘permaculture’ in their livelihood and professional practice.

When using permaculture strictly in their personal lives, students are able to begin applying their knowledge right away. Those wanting to use permaculture in a professional capacity must complement their certificate with an additional two years of acquiring practical knowledge & hands-on experience as well as pursuing a Diploma. However, those students who come to PDC with substantial previous experience might be considered by the permaculture community as being ready for professional practice without a Diploma. 

 
TBC. Please contact us for more information. 
 
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Gubapermaculture design course