The 72+ hours Permaculture Design Course - delivered by Peter Cow

Course context and objectives

The Permaculture Design Course (PDC) was developed in 1979 by Bill Mollison to train people to become permaculture designers, ambassadors and practitioners. Through this course and permaculture literature the movement has spread globally, inspiring and activating people around the world. The PDC continues to this day to be the internationally recognised pathway towards professional and personal permaculture design.Peter Cow's PDC aims primarily to cultivate good design and decision making in the participants. At its heart, permaculture is about making better, more regenerative decisions in all aspects of our lives - finding ways to meet our needs whilst enabling other people and other species to meet theirs, both now and in the future. Participants learn to observe patterns and principles in the wild, in self and in society, and we explore how to use them in designing and decision making.The course trains people to see and think in different ways, and to be empowered to use regenerative permaculture principles and processes in many areas of life - from house construction to gardens to community development. It delivers ideas, experiences and information in diverse and engaging ways - story telling, group work, hands on activities, discussions, time in nature, slideshows, guided walks and design exercises. This variety caters to both visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and verbal dominant learners, supporting everyone to make the most of the course, and have a vibrant journey along the way.

Learning Outcomes

• To observe patterns in nature & apply what we learn to create guiding principles.

• To use permaculture ethics, principles & design tools to create regenerative, sustainable systems.

• To understand the importance of caring for soil & water, & to know techniques for doing so.

• To connect more deeply with nature, and know ways to continue that process after the course.

• To start using permaculture in your own life, towards creating a more sustainable lifestyle.

• To understand how to apply permaculture design to both land-based systems and people systems.

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The course experience

The course is a powerful, opening, community experience, which benefits from Peter's passion for social permaculture. We create a fertile and empowering cultural microclimate where new ideas, thinking, patterns and perspectives can emerge and transformation can be enabled for participants in many areas on their journey to become better designers. The course is not just about imparting information and techniques – there is plenty of knowledge accessible these days. This course also shows you how and where to use the techniques, and supports you in choosing or creating the most appropriate ones.

The course starts with an introduction to permaculture: its thinking, principles and design tools. Peter trained and taught with Aranya in the UK for 3 years, and passes on that lineage of elegant and thorough design tools to foster robust, effective designing. This core theory is then illustrated by exploring practical permaculture solutions for many areas of life: water systems, gardening and broadscale landscapes, lifestyle choices and self resilience, the built environment, community development, financial systems and designing in different climate zones.

During the second week of the course participants also carry out a mentored group designing project for the hosting site. This is a chance to explore, reinforce and hone design skills in the supportive course environment, nurtured by experienced tutor guidance and feedback.

Tutor's background

Peter took his PDC in 1998, and went on to co-found an eco community in Devon, UK, where he lived for 7 years, putting permaculture into practice in all areas of his life and the community. He has been teaching since 2007, and has experience leading PDCs around Europe. His courses are certified by the Permaculture Association (Britain), with whom he is also an active Diploma Tutor.

Peter has wide design experience including woodland management, food forests, eco buildings, community development, personal resilience and event design, in both temperate and Mediterranean climates. Alongside leading

Designing regenerative culture and resilient abundancewww.livingincircles.com

PDCs, he is also deeply engaged in social permaculture, and was co-facilitator with Looby Macnamara at the first ever People and Permaculture Facilitator Training course in 2013.

Peter is passionate about music, travelling, nature connection, helping others to be their best, and exploring and sharing regenerative pathways towards more open, healing, earth-connected living.

Topics covered on the course

Courses draw on the tutor's knowledge, the site opportunities and the shared experience and skills of each unique group of participants. Exact timetables are always tailored to the venue, season, culture and wishes of the hosting site, and a thorough debriefing process steers Peter's ongoing course evolution, whilst keeping it aligned with the traditional PDC curriculum.

The following pages details the core topics you will usually find covered on one of Peter's PDCs. The course may also include some local site visits, and more or fewer site practicals depending on the venue's possibilities.

Day 1 (Evening only)ArrivalsWelcomingIntroductory evening

Day 2Course introduction Course culture designPermaculture history and ethicsIntroduction to designInput output analysisBeneficial relationshipsObservation skillsSit spotObservation debriefPatterns in nature, society and ourselvesOur social landscape and resources

Day 3Systems thinkingResource identificationWorking with limiting factorsThe principles of ecologyMicroclimatesElevation and designMollison's principles of attitudeSite surveying tools

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Day 4Permaculture zonesSector analysisDesign process reviewIntroduction to waterFinding, moving, cleaning, using, treating waterComposting toiletsRainwater harvestingRam pumpsSwalesSite water walkWater practical activity

Day 5 (Free morning)Eco footprintingHome and lifestyle choicesPersonal resilienceSelf observationTalking circle

Day 6Soil introductionSoil life and fertilitySoil compactionCompostingMulchingHugelkultureRegenerative grazing systemsKeyliningArable without ploughingLiquid manuresSoil building practical activity

Day 7Built environmentRetrofitting old housesNew building designEmbodied energyGlobal climate zones introductionDrylands TropicsTemperateMediterraneanUrban permacultureAquaculture

Day 8Trees and woodland

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Food forestsShelterbeltsCommunity and group processCommunication skillsDesign activity tourDesign groups formingBase mappingSite observationsMap makingZones and sectors

Day 9(Free day)Homegrown entertainment evening

Day 10Client interviewIdentifying key functions for each designZone 1 gardeningKeyhole bedsPolyvegContainer growingIndoor gardeningChoosing systems to meet the desired functionsDesigns slideshow

Day 11Exchange systemsLocal trading systemsAlternative currenciesSystems synergisingDesigning placementImplementation plansDesign activity completion

Day 12Design sharingDesign debriefNational and international permaculture networksDiplomaStaying connectedClosingCelebration

Designing regenerative culture and resilient abundancewww.livingincircles.com