Permaculture Design Course

BERG-EN-DAL PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE

Our next course runs from 4 October to 15 October 2010.

Berg-en-Dal Ecovillage was founded in 1999. It is located in the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains outside Ladismith. The village has been designed and is under development using Permaculture principles, and provides the ideal context for a PDC as Permaculture can be seen and experienced. Participants will be living a Permaculture lifestyle for the two weeks they are at Berg-en-Dal.

WHAT IS PERMACULTURE?

Permaculture is a conscious design system bringing together concepts, ideas and components into a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms. It seeks to provide a sustainable and secure place for all living things on this earth.

“A design is a marriage of landscape, people and skills in the context of regional society”. (Bill Mollison)

Permaculture systems are based on the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems, which have the diversity, stability, and the strength of natural eco-systems. It is a harmonious combination of land and people, supplying food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without sustainable resource management there is no possibility of a sustainable human culture. Sustainable human cultural and economic systems are built on this sustainable resource base which makes available renewable natural capital as the core and energy source for society.

THE ETHICAL FOUNDATION OF PERMACULTURE

Permaculture is guided by four broad ethics, these are…

CARE OF THE EARTH: Look after our planet, and everything that lives on it.

CARE OF THE PEOPLE: Look after each other.

SHARE OUR RESOURCES: Use our extra resources to help others reach a sustainable lifestyle so they too may live healthy and prosperous lives.

PROMOTE LIFE: All forms of life have a right to exist. Our efforts as designers are directed towards enhancing and promoting life in all its wonderful and diverse forms.

COURSE OUTCOMES

- The development of integrated systems thinking and design skills that can be applied to any situation in any part of the world. Permaculture designers will have a range of principles, ethics and skills at their disposal that can be applied to the following:

- Design of urban homesteads, farms (small or large scale), community based natural resource management systems, sustainable community development programmes, village and city design (Ecovillage and Ecocity), integrated business planning and design, design of integrated and appropriate social and legal system. It is an ideal tool for regional and local planning for NGO and government workers in all fields of sustainable development.

- Development of integrated systems management and assessment tools to bring disparate and non-communicating elements of any environment together into organic processes that self replicate and evolve.

- Discover how to turn problems into solutions.

-Retrofit by applying Permaculture ideals and methods to existing systems. (Home, office, industry, forestry, schools, etc)

- Assess systems for sustainability.

- Develop business plans based on outputs from sustainable systems.

- During the course each participant will develop a design of an area of his or her choice. This can be your home, a site at Berg-en-Dal, a community garden or village. It is up to you. This design will be a response to the circumstances of the chosen area, and manifest practical pathways for realising the potential of the design. It will take the form of maps, pictures, text and models. Materials for the design will be provided.

- Upon completion of the course you will be provided with an internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certificate.

FACILITATORS

Kent Muhammad Tahir Cooper, Alex Kruger and Guests….

Berg en Dal is a Section 21 Company focusing on Permaculture training and networking. We aim to share Permaculture with as broad a range of people as possible, in as many contexts as possible. We are a group who has been involved in sustainable development for about 17 years, with skills ranging across earth building, land-use, appropriate technology, organic agriculture, personal development, the arts and other applications.

COURSE CONTENT

The course runs over 12 days with a field trip/rest day. The learning process is based on Permaculture principles and makes use of a wide range of group-based and creative accelerated-learning methods. Learning becomes a dynamic pleasure rather than a task. Much of the course content is hands-on and practical: we take you through the design process in the context of a drylands Permaculture environment. By the end of the course you will have developed your own design, focusing on an area of your choice. Many of the techniques and methods used in implementing Permaculture systems will be covered in some detail, but as this is a design course, the focus will be the design process.

THEMES IN THE COURSE

  • Ecology and Integrated Systems Thinking

  • Sustainable Culture versus Consumer Culture, and the Emerging Culture of Energy Descent

  • Nature of Dryland Ecosystems or Brittle Environments

  • What is Permaculture?

  • Ethics and principles of Permaculture

  • Design Process. Land and Ecosystem observation skills, mapping, Sector, Slope and Zone planning…

  • Ecovillage and Community Design

  • Phases of Pioneering Succession

  • Soil:

    • Analysing and understanding soil

    • Principles of soil management

    • Conditioning practices

  • Water:

    • Principles of water management

    • Broad scale holistic water catchment systems Design: Infrastructure design and management. Keyline Design and other Run-off infrastructure design strategies for dryland production.

    • Domestic water management

  • Plants: their uses and selection for environment

  • Access roads and pathway design and management

  • Animals in Permaculture (focus on small animal systems)

  • The Sustainable Home and Natural Building (Cob, Rammed Earth, Straw Bale, Adobe)

  • Natural Energy Technology (Appropriate energy and technology solutions)

  • Food Garden design and management

  • Waste recycling

  • Propagation structures and methods

  • Permaculture Orchard design and management

  • Staple food systems

  • Cash cropping with indigenous plants and herbs

  • Agroforestry and broadscale production systems

  • Holistic Management

COSTS

This twelve day course cost per person is R5500, which includes the following…

- Vegetarian lunch & teas and four evening meals

- Permaculture Course Manual and course materials and DVDs

- Basic organic toiletries – shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and soap

- Accommodation costs are not included

We have one entertainment evening, which will be catered for, and three design evenings which will also be catered for – these costs are now included in the course costs.

We will also supply you with organic products so that we can ensure that these are used on the farm. Please note that your hair may need two washes to adjust to the new products.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU MUST BRING WITH YOU:

  • A to-scale map of your home or project area that you want to design. Please use a tape measure and compass when generating this map, which must be oriented North. Take compass readings on all boundaries as well as on buildings. Also bring climate records for your area, prevailing wind directions over the year, soil types, water sources, vegetation type and cover, etc.

  • Topographic/Orthophoto/Google Earth maps and contour maps of your design site are also necessary. You can get maps from the Surveyor general in your area, and the title deed for the property you are working on will also contain useful data.

All this accurate information means that you are able to produce an accurate design during the PDC.

ACCOMMODATION

Berg-en-Dal offers the accommodation options below. If they do not suit your needs, then a range of options are available in Ladismith and surrounding areas. Phone or email us and we will provide you with details.

All accommodation is rudimentary and rustic. There is solar lighting in most of the accommodation options, and lamps will be provided in those that do not have power. Please bring a cell phone charger which can fit into a car lighter socket so that you can charge your cell phone.

Firewood is free of charge. Only biodegradable cosmetic and cleaning products are allowed on the property, as all wastewater is recycled. We will provide you with the basics listed above. Smokers will be provided with containers in which to store all their butts. Throwing cigarette butts on the ground is not tolerated at Berg-en-Dal. We would prefer if smokers smoked non-filter or hand rolled cigarettes while on the farm.

All prices quoted are per night and are subject to change after each course.

CAMPING at R50 per person includes an indoor kitchen with a fireplace, gas cookers, pots and lamps. Your ablution facilities are under cover and comprise the famous Firebath, hot shower and compost toilet.

A SELF-CATERING “COTTAGE”, with a double bed at R120 per night for a couple or R80 per night for single person. The room is attached to a kitchen/dining space with a gas stove, solar lighting and a fireplace. All cooking equipment, cutlery and crockery is supplied. Ablutions include a hot shower, Firebath and compost toilet.

Adjacent to the cottage is a WOODEN CABIN that sleeps 3 at R60 per person. Cabin guests share kitchen and bathroom with the cottage.

CARAVAN on a neighbouring farm (10 minute walking distance from lectures) with a shower, compost toilet, cooking facilities, small fridge and electricity, can accommodate 1 person, or a couple. It has a lovely porch looking out on to an Acacia grove. The rate is R110 for one person and R160 for a couple. Depending on the occupants of the caravan, there is also the option of one person camping under the acacias near the caravan at R60 per night.

OLIVE COTTAGE is a small dwelling with a large cobbed-in porch. It has a double bed, and a fully equipped small kitchen unit in it, an outdoor fireplace and a composting toilet outside. A hot shower is close by on the farm, and there is a fire-bath on the premises. This facility is R60 for a single, R100 for a double per night. There is also the option of pitching a tent here, at R50 per night.

A TIPI in the agricultural valley can accommodate two, and has a Firebath, shower, small tea kitchen, and will share the toilet and kitchen at the backpacker’s cottage for breakfasts and dinners. This is priced at R60.

SHOPPING

Ladismith is a 15km drive (about 15min) from Berg-en-Dal and has everything you will need from supermarkets, bottle stores, and mechanics to Internet café.

WHAT TO BRING?

Please bring all basic food stuffs and other necessities. We provide top-up shopping trips during the course. We also provide an off-site laundry service at R30 per small load.

  • Good walking shoes

  • Hat

  • Clothes for cold and heat (the Ladismith area can experience temperatures ranging from 3 to 35 degrees C in October, although the weather is normally very pleasant at this time of year)

  • Hot water bottle

  • Rain gear and gumboots

  • Pens, pencils, coloured pens and a ruler

  • Swimming gear

  • Water bottles and containers

Participants staying on the farm will need the following…

  • All food and other shopping (bio-degradable toiletries please)

  • Bedding (mattresses provided in the cottages)

  • Cooler box (ice can be purchased in town)

  • Torch

  • Mosquito repellent or nets (not a serious problem)

  • Cell phone charger with car lighter fitting

HOW TO BOOK:

Please download and use the Excel document on the bookings page to do your booking as well as calculate the costs of the course, and then email it to permaculture.education.africa@gmail.com. Please save the file in your name otherwise our downloading it becomes difficult.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO ARRIVE ON SUNDAY 3 OCTOBER BEFORE 5PM – ESPECIALLY THE CAMPERS. THE COURSE FINISHES FRIDAY 15 OCTOBER AT ABOUT 7PM, SO YOU WILL BE DEPARTING ON SATURDAY THE 16th.

As we have had many enquiries, we will be able to deal with applications on a first come first served basis. Your place is confirmed ONLY on receipt of your deposit. Your deposit covers the implementation costs of the course.

Please confirm your place on the course by 6 September 2010 latest, with a deposit of R2750.00. If you cancel after this date, deposits will not be refunded. Should the course be cancelled by us, we will refund you in full. It is unlikely that we will cancel the course.

Please bring the balance of your bill with you to the course or make an electronic deposit, and bring the proof with you.

Also please put your initials and surname in the recipient reference box, in both instances of payment, so that we know who you are! Email us a proof of payment too. You can also fax us proof of payment on 086 540 8997.

Our banking details:

Permaculture Education Africa Karoo

First National Bank

Ladismith

Branch code: 200213

Cheque account: 62269863926

It is preferable if you contact us by email as this is the form of communication most easily accessed by us on the farm as we have no phones in our homes or cell phone signal.  If you cannot mail, please try the numbers below:

COURSE ADMIN: Marliese at (028) 55 11 678 (you will get an answering machine, please leave a message) or 082 413 4907 (sms only, limited signal)

FACILITATORS: Alex 0722411514 (sms only, limited signal) or Tahir 0844213848 (sms only, limited signal)

Email: permaculture.education.africa@gmail.com