Typically two-days long, our Introduction to Permaculture course provide an overview of permaculture principles, examples of permaculture in action & an overview of the network & how to get involved. Click here for more information.

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 PDC Outline) to assure that the integrity of the certification process is upheld.

The course provides a minimum of 72 hours of direct contact with instructor(s), in addition to group design time, homework assignments, self-study time, hands-on projects, visits to demonstration sites & other learning activities. Click here for more information.

If you are wanting to use permaculture in a professional capacity you must complement your permaculture design certificate with an additional two years of acquiring practical knowledge & hands-on experience as well as pursuing a Diploma.

The Permaculture Diploma is not a course, but evidence of professional excellence. It is awarded to individuals who meet certain education requirements, achieve excellence in permaculture practice, demonstrate their commitment to permaculture ethics, & submit adequate evidence of their work to a committee of peers (College of Diplomats) for review & recommendations.

Permaculture Diplomas are offered in the following fields of practice: Education, Design, Site Development, Community Service, Media, Research, Appropriate Technology, Work with Children & Finance. A diploma issued in one field does not imply diploma in other fields.

The Permaculture Diploma signifies that the recipient:

• has achieved professional excellence in his or her practice,
• has demonstrated commitment to permaculture ethics & standards of practice,
• has had his or her work evaluated & acknowledged by peers.

For more information click here to download the eligibility criteria & contact the Permaculture Institute.

Through our networks of friends & like-minded people, we are keen to offer a platform to promote permaculture, exchange information on the most inspiring projects & practices on a blog. We haven’t the time capacity to deliver this within Guba, which is why we need YOU! And, it’s a great way of practising all sorts of useful skills & gaining confidence in using them.

Become a Permaculture Ambassador & our team will support you in your new role & help you to make a real impact with your actions! If you think this is the right thing for you, drop us an email with Permaculture Ambassador written in the subject line, stating:

1. Who you are
2. Why you want to be an ambassador
3. Availability for an informal skype/phone chat about the programme.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Guba is delighted to offer you Kaya, a storybook for 3 to 10 year olds about a girl called Kaya, whose adventures guide us through what permaculture is all about: caring for the Earth, caring for people, & creating a fair share. Beautifully illustrated by our very own preschool teacher, Hannah Johnson, this book promises to take you & your child on an adventure. With grass on your elbows & mud on your knees, join Kaya as she steps into the trees, crossing the divide into the other side…

For every book you buy at E150.00, another copy of Kaya can be printed & given to local school for more children to access. Contact us to buy yourself a copy…or two!

Kaya’s Playbook

Kaya has been designed alongside Kaya’s Playbook, an interactive, hands on, shoes off manual packed full of fun activities & games for all ages & styles of learning. This Playbook was intentionally created as a tool for teachers, parents, storytellers & permaculture facilitators everywhere to playfully engage children more deeply in Kaya’s world as she learns from nature, growing more & more resilient in herself & her community. If you are interested in buying either books, please contact us.

donate items 

We are always seeking a number of items which are of real help in improving the quality of some of the services we offer our community members. Some of these are:

• Heirloom seeds grown in similar climate to ours
• Secondhand office equipment like photocopiers, laptops, office chairs, memory sticks/USBs, etc.
• Kids outdoor clothing – ages 2.5 to 6 years old
• Kids educational toys & books in good condition – ages 2.5 – 6 years old
• Horticulture equipment like trowels, secateurs, planting spikes, etc.

If you would like to donate an item but it is not listed here then please get in touch & we can let you know if it’ll be of use at Guba. If not, we may be well-positioned to point you in the right direction.

Please get in touch if you would like to give a gift in kind!

 

make a donation

At Guba, our approach could be said to follow the proverb,

Give a man a fish & you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish & you feed him for a lifetime.

This is why we take a holistic approach to the services we offer while emphasis is on an exchange of knowledge for active participation.

Any donations made can be directed to a specific service or it can go toward the delivery of all our services. Donate now or make a regular donation by setting up a standing order. By making a regular gift to Guba you can help us bring long-term solutions to complex issues. Please contact us & we will send you a direct debit form.

Unfortunately, Swaziland is not eligible to apply for a PayPal account or similar service that enables you to pay, send money, & accept payments without making an electronic funds transfer (EFT). We have a UK & Swazi bank account to help reduce bank charges depending on where you are located. 

Swaziland bank account

• Standard Bank Swaziland Ltd.
• P.O. Box 90, Matsapha | Swaziland | Southern Africa
• S.W.I.F.T. Address: SBIC SZ MX
• Account Name: Guba
• Current Account No: 0140062980401
• Branch Code: 66-34-64

UK bank account 

• Guba – Swaziland
• HSBC
• Sort code: 40-19-19
• Account no: 11467263

For the more adventurous, get involved in a fundraising event to support Guba’s work! From marathon running to money box filling, sky diving to swimming – you can help raise vital funds for us at home, at work & at school to put toward a project of your choice.

Tony Hodgson (pictured below) is one of our most regular fundraisers. He has run the London Marathon to raise funds for Guba every year since 2010. Every year his support has toward an integral part of our annual long-term food security training: growing resilient communities: part 1.

Whoever you are & whatever your interests, we need you to get involved & help us to make a difference to some of the most disadvantaged people in Swaziland.

For an information pack please contact us.

Learn, share, connect.

Come & see the appropriate solutions we’re finding in response to the needs of our communities.

The Guba Farm is a living example of the sustainable solutions we have researched, verified & adapted in response to the issues faced by our communities.

We showcase appropriate technologies with a focus on improving quality of life using local materials that can be adapted to the different climates & needs prevalent in Swaziland.

From greywater filtration systems to compost toilets. From natural, cheap pest control to organic fertilisers. From solar to rocket mass heaters, showers & stoves. All our solutions care for the Earth, care for people & close the energy loop to generate fair, sustainable solutions.

We’re always happy to receive feedback so if you’ve come for a tour of Guba or attended one of our training opportunities please do get in touch with us & let us know your thoughts!

connect with people & the earth in exchange for your time & energy 

People choose to volunteer for a variety of reasons. For some it offers the chance to give something back to the community or make a difference to the people around them. For others it provides an opportunity to develop new skills or build on existing experience & knowledge. Regardless of the motivation, what unites them all is that they find it both challenging & rewarding.

We find the benefits of hosting volunteers are multifold. Cross cultural exchange & skills transfer probably rank highest on our benefits list.

Like many in our communities, most members of our team did not finish school or hold jobs before coming to Guba. So skills are usually limited to natural talent & gumption without specific development in areas related to our work. This is why Guba continues to focus on in-house skills development & has shaped the organsiation to promote the natural flare of our team members wherever possible. When reviewing a volunteer application, we will ask for the skills you have in order to match them with particular skills we are looking to strengthen within our organisation.

Travel is also predominantly limited with most of our team having never left Swaziland before starting with Guba. So hosting volunteers at Guba brings different perspectives, experiences, history, culture, religions & ultimately, challenges us to better ourselves by either justifying or refuting certain beliefs/behaviours.

“When you push yourself out of your comfort zone & take the time to really see a different culture, you start to sip at the antidote of life’s poisonous attitudes.”

~ The Life Lessons Travel Teaches You & Why It’s Important To See The World, Huffington Post

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Our volunteer programme is a service-oriented program in which participants offer a helping hand for Guba’s ongoing projects onsite & within the communities, alongside members of the local community.

Generally, volunteers’ time is shared between daily activities geared toward maintenance & improvement of the farm centre & community projects. Long term volunteers (six months or more) will have the opportunity to get more involved in the site operations & community life.

Our volunteer programme offers the opportunity to learn & share experiences in all things permaculture through work plans that are tailored to volunteers’ learning objectives as well as Guba’s own needs. For example, you could be supporting our sustainable agriculture, Permaculture design & planning, natural building techniques, participatory education, seed saving, appropriate technologies, & much more.

Projects could include:

• Maintenance and improvement of gardens, nurseries & production systems.
• Appropriate technology projects (e.g. buildings, solar showers, terraces, paths).
• Systematisation & documentation (e.g. inventory & labelling of plant species).
• Seed bank support (e.g. germination tests, seed catalogue,  packing of seeds for sale, selection & preparation of seeds).
• Artistic projects.

We are looking for volunteers with:

• Permaculture (preferable depending on tasks)
• Carpentry
• Appropriate technologies (e.g. wind, solar, hydroelectric)
• Aquaculture
• Apiculture
• Fungiculture
• Water & irrigation systems
• Computer maintenance
• Web communications and design
• Writing grant proposals

What do we look for in volunteers?

• A preference for volunteers who are from Swaziland or have lived for at least 6 months in Swaziland. If you have only lived in Swaziland a short time, we hope you have grasped that you will have little understanding of Swazi culture, & that you will need to listen & learn from your Swazi counterparts.
• Minimum 1 month commitment, or an alternative schedule as negotiated with the team.
• Independent, self-motivated, open-minded, inventive & resourceful attitude.
• Commitment to the environment, people & sharing.
• Commitment to listening & learning without judgement.

Accommodation

Our accommodation is onsite at the Guba farm, located in beautiful surroundings & easily accessible to the road, only 15 mins walk from the nearest town/shops. The building is safe & secure, made using modern natural building techniques which makes it a very comfortable space; cool in the summer, while retaining heat in the winter.

There are two large bedrooms: currently a shared room with extensive views of our food forest is available for volunteers. There is a shared kitchen/living room with plenty of outdoor space & easy access to our kitchen & herb garden. The house will be shared with other volunteers from time to time.

We are committed to covering all work expenses related to your agreed tasks, including the provision of all materials, computers, & any other materials deemed necessary for the volunteer to undertake their assignment duties.

Costs

Volunteers are provided accommodation, tea & snack & lunch during a working day onsite. Volunteers are expected to cover the costs of travel, food & utility needs, including fuel for the showers, candles, & other living necessities.

Application Procedure

Guba has many different areas that volunteers can get involved in. Contact us & write “Volunteering with Guba” in the subject line, with the following information:

1. What expertise can you bring to Guba that you think will be useful?
2. What areas of Guba are you most interested in (please prioritise)?
3. How long have you planned to volunteer with us?
4. When do you want to start your voluntary position with us?
5. What do you expect to get out of your volunteering placement?
6. What is your understanding of permaculture?
7. Have you got permaculture experience?
8. Have you travelled before? If so, what is the most important advice you would give for a new traveller arriving in a different culture?
9. Are you a team player? Please provide an example good teamwork from your experience.