Free Course: Introduction to Permacuture Design: Matcham NSW

Learn permaculture for free over two weekends with highly qualified and experienced teachers on an established permaculture property in exchange for your practical support.

Permaculture is an ethically based pattern for designing and evolving systems that increase ecological health while providing for human needs. Meg McGowan and Graham King are both qualified permaculture designers with many years of practical design experience. We are 'Permacoach'.

At Permacoach, we're passionate about spreading permaculture as part of the solution to many of humanity's problems. We noticed that an introduction to permaculture course will cost people somewhere between $300 to $500. While we think that's money well spent (because permaculture is awesome) we also know that many people can't afford it, so we offer an alternative. We call it Permashare.

Would you like to spend two weekends learning permaculture in exchange for  helping us around our garden? You'll develop practical skills on a property that has been under permaculture for over 20 years, and we'll get help with the mulching, weeding, tidying and pruning. Yes, you will need to be physically fit to sign on. Past students tell us that the time in the garden is as educational as the face to face teaching and your help is valuable to us.

Learn to build top soil, grow healthy food, cycle nutrients, design out the need for irrigation, draw down carbon and create habitat for wildlife. Reconnect to the natural world and learn how to cooperate with nature, all without using synthetic chemicals or lots of expensive trips to the hardware store. 

DATES:
Saturday 19 September
Sunday 20 September
Saturday 3 October
Sunday 4 October

We keep our groups small to ensure high quality training. There are only 8 places available and we usually book out very quickly. Please check the dates to make sure you can join us for the whole of the course. If you can't make it this time there will be another opportunity in the future. The information builds from day one to day four. You won't get much out of it if you miss a day. 

The course starts on the Saturday 19th of September 2020 with an overview of the entire permaculture model, including a brief history. We'll give you the big picture, from the goals, ethics and principles through to the design process, and all the way up to the strategies, tools and techniques that we use in permaculture to work with nature rather than against it. The rest of the course will be spent exploring this framework in greater detail. In the afternoon we will be working in the garden. On Sunday the 20th of September there will be an in depth tour of the various permaculture strategies we use on our property. These will include growing food, nutrient cycling, water management, integrated pest management and forest gardens. In the afternoon we'll be back working together in the garden. 

We'll give you some suggestions for extending your knowledge between this weekend and the second weekend of the course which happens a fortnight later. Learning between the two weekends is self-directed and entirely optional, but it will help to deepen your understanding. 

On Saturday the 3rd of October we'll be looking at how permaculture design can be applied to the whole of a property, including how our homes are designed, and there will be a walk through of the entire design process from start to finish.  The afternoon will be spent gardening. The same pattern will be used on our final day, Sunday the 4th of October, when we will give everyone the opportunity to play with a simple design task and consider design strategies and elements, as well as an appreciation of social permaculture.

All days start at 9.00am and finish at 5.00pm. There are two half hour breaks for morning and afternoon tea and a one hour break for lunch. Please bring your own vegetarian meal (because it's better for the planet) and avoid bringing any single use plastic, or anything that requires heating or complex preparation.

We will provide fruit, tea, herbal tea and coffee for breaks. 

The focus of this course is on designing garden-based permaculture systems. Permaculture is so much more than gardening, but this is where most people enter the world of permaculture. We look forward to welcoming you to our home in the beautiful Matcham valley. We'll forward our address to everyone once the course is full. 

Is this course for you? Here is a check list:

I am available for all of the course dates.
I am physically fit and able to work in a garden.
I am interested in learning about permaculture. 

This course is stand alone, but it can also be used as the foundation for progressing to a full permaculture design course (PDC). If you are interested in taking your permaculture design skills to the next level you'll find details of our next PDC here:

https://events.humanitix.com/p...

NOTE: We choose to use Humanitix because it is aligned with the ethics and principles of permaculture. They provide their platform for free to those of us offering free events and donate a portion of profits to charity for paid events. We have included a donation option for one of their charities; they provide scholarships to indigenous Australians, helping to close the gap that they face in obtaining quality education. You do not need to make a donation to enrol in our course, but please consider doing so if you can afford it. Thanks.