Be part of creating a better future.

A one-weekend-per-month format for the internationally-recognized full Permaculture Design Certificate Course, running November 2013 through March 2014 in Southern Maine (locations w/in 30 min drive of Portland). This course is recommended for home-owners and renters, farmers and gardeners, landscape professionals, planners, architects, engineers, tradespeople, community activists and anyone interested in charting a new course for themselves and their communities.  This course is staffed by experienced permaculture designers and practitioners with a proven track record of implementing permaculture design in our ecoregion.

Expected Outcomes:

• Gain a thorough understanding of permaculture origins, ethics, principles and design methodologies.
• Enhance your ability to build soil, capture water, reduce energy consumption, generate energy, grow and store food, read the landscape and create edible perennial ecosystems.
• Become a resource for your family and neighborhood, building resilience at the personal, household, enterprise and community levels.
• Be able to approach any property and apply a permaculture design methodology and set of applied techniques to achieve increased resilience and true sustainability.
• Learn how to start transforming even challenging properties into healthy, high-yielding systems of abundance that require little to no fossil fuels.
• Build connections and relationships with a supportive and developed local permaculture community.

Past students are recommending the Permaculture Design Certificate Course course because...

"This entire experience has been phenomenal. Not only would I recommend this course, I already have. I am so grateful to have found the meetup and this class. I learned tremendous amounts about permaculture, the dynamics of the universe, and teaching. So many things from the class resonate with me on a daily basis, and I am sure they will continue to do so into the future. The learning environment, first hand experience, diverse group and yummy food all contributed to a learning experience that I looked forward to every month. Thank you." (Sarah Bryan)

"I would recommend this course because not only does it expose those who participate to the philosophy, principles, and techniques of Permaculture, but also you will learn in a nurturing and joyful environment." (Rael G.)

"It is tremendous and life altering and revolutionarily simple in it's brilliance and because you discover the tools within you to create the change that you know must happen in this great big beautiful injured world."(Sarah Bostick)

"It game me a much deeper appreciation of permaculture principles and some really valuable hands on practical skills that I could implement immediately. The material was always clear, well-organized, and relevant. Overall, it was a great experience." (Tom Beckley)

"This course has offered me more than I could've imagined. I went into this course thinking I was going to learn about landscapes and design as though they were elements separate from myself. But what I've come to understand is that the landscape starts from within ourselves, our zone "zero zero". In order for us to be effective units of change on the outside we need to understand what is happening on the inside. And this course has allowed me to reach in and acquire the tools I need, in order to lead a life with a clear path and a directed intention, in which my outside landscape will inevitably feel the positive ripple. Truly 'whole systems thinking.'" - Dave Schroeder

"It was the perfect combination of the social and economic concepts of permaculture, the actual design process, and permaculture planting, landscaping and building techniques. So much information was presented through a nice variety of formats, and there was plenty of time for getting to know the other students and soak in the knowledge and experience each person was bringing to class. My time in this course was filled with unexpected "aha!" moments and so much of what I learned and was exposed to has impacted my life in ways I never could have expected. This course has changed the way I see the world and how I want to spend my time in it. Not to mention all of the concrete skills I've acquired. I started this class with very little knowledge of gardening, building, or landscaping, and now I feel equipped to design, plant and implement permaculture systems on my own property as well as others." - Kate Bathras

"Many of us seek to improve our World but few of us have the practical skills needed to manifest the desired outcome. Taking the Permaculture Design Course I learned not only specific skill sets but had the amazing experience of working with other people from all walks of life who share this common goal. Charles, Julia, and Lisa were inspirational expert instructors who took the time to ensure each student's progress while providing the very best course material" (Kiarna Boyd)

"Permaculture is an amazing skill set to have as we move forward into a world where fossil fuels will be more scarce, where we need to re-learn to rely on each other and work together as a community, where we can come together to teach each other skills old and new, and where we will need to be growing more of our own food close to home and relying more on earth's natural abundances rather than borrowing from our children's and grandchildren's futures. Lisa is an amazing, eloquent, incredibly knowledgeable, and skilled teacher, as well as a wonderful resource. Her passion for working together as a community instead of approaching our uncertain future from a fear-based attitude of lack is inspiring, and something we can all learn from. I can't recommend this course more highly. I feel like it was worth many times what we paid for it, and I am so incredibly grateful to have had this experience, grown my permaculture community, and to have a new skill set to put into practice so that I can go on to help others myself. A thousand thank-you's- It was truly phenomenal!!!"  (Hannah Fogg, Pownal, ME PDC member Winter 2011-2012)

Permaculture Design Certificate Course Details

Where: This course will take place at various locations throughout Southern Maine and near Portland and will include several field trips to sites relevant to permaculture.  This is intended to be a "commuter" course but we can assist with lodging and homestays for any attendees coming from far away.

When: This course will be held on one weekend per month November 2013 through March 2014. Course dates are: Nov 17-17 | Dec 14-15 | Jan 11-12 | Feb 8-9 | Mar 1-2 | Mar 28-29.  This works well for those who cannot take extensive time off from work or home responsibilities. Class time generally runs 9am to 5pm with optional films/speakers on the Saturday night of each weekend.

Cost: $1095 ($995 early registration). Payment plans can be arranged. Course fee includes full course materials and certification, coffee, tea + am/pm snacks and refreshments, handouts, over 20 gigabytes of course reference materials (digital format), access to the 200+ volume physical permaculture library, field trips, guest instructors and support between class weekends. One evening meal per weekend is provided and lunches are potluck/BYO.  $250 Deposit holds your spot in this course.

Want to reduce your fee?

1. Register and pay in full by August 15th ($100 off)
2. Hour Exchange (and reciprocal time bank) members can use up to 10 hours toward $200 off tuition (not including the deposit).
3. For every enrolled student that you refer, receive $50 off your total tuition for this course.
4. Consider becoming a Community-Supported-Permaculturist by fund raising a portion of your course fee.  Here is a sample fund raising letter that you can modify to suit your needs.

Class Size is limited.  This course typically sells out.

What: This course consists of the traditional 72-hour PDC course + approx 40 additional hours (plus homework and self-directed study) to ensure we cover hands-on activities, regional examples and timely developments. You will participate in this course through a combination of lecture, hands-on exercises, guest speakers, field trips, homework, video, discussion and a group design projects. There will be pre-work before the course and 2-3 hours of "homework" between course weekends. Students must attend all sessions and complete the group design project in order to receive their certificates of completion.

NEW! Permaculture Design Course graduates - beginning in 2013 - gain automatic membership to the Maine Permaculture Designers Guild for one year (at the Apprentice Designer level) at no additional cost!

Registration:

Use this page to register and make your deposit with a credit/debit/prepaid card or paypal.

Or, use this form to send a check.  Remember, $100 off if fully paid by August 15th!

Pre-work:

There are two recommended books to purchase and two articles to read before the start of this course. Please visit http://www.postwire.com/page/508a86a85e0e1f02e80000b6 for details on the pre-work. Thanks!

Topics Include (but not limited to...)

• Permaculture Background & Context
• Permaculture Ethics & Principles
• Patterns in Nature / Pattern Literacy
• Reading the Landscape
• Intro to Site Assessment
• Living Soils & Soil Health
• Sheet Mulching Techniques
• Building Your Permaculture Toolkit
• "Synergistic Garden" & Fukuoka Methods
• Permaculture Design Analysis Methods
• Viewing a Property Through a Permaculture Lens
• Permaculture Plants for the Northeast
• Polycultures, Guilds and Forest Gardening
• Keyline Design, Chisel-Plowing and Swales
• Coppice Agroforestry
• Animals in the Landscape
• Water in the Landscape
• Biodynamics & Permaculture
• Renewable Energy for Home & Farm
• Retrofitting Buildings for Resilience
• Affordable Green Building/Examples
• Retrofitting Existing Neighborhoods
• Urban Permaculture Applications
• Permaculture & Community "Invisible Structures"
• Social & Economic Permaculture
• "Broadacre" Permaculture Opportunities for Farms
• Becoming Permaculture Resources in Your Community
• Design Methodologies and Conventions
• Mycelial Permaculture Connections to the World
• Design Practicum + Presentations
• Carrying Permaculture Forward

Lisa Fernandes will be the lead convenor of this course.  The teaching team will include many guest experts joining along the way to provide a unique learning experience tailored to our ecoregion.