surpluspermaculturedesignWeekend Permaculture Design Certification 72 hour Course – Spring 2017
February 18 – April 30
Charleston, SC
Join us for the third annual Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) workshop in Charleston, South Carolina!
Are you looking for a creative, empowering way to enhance your life, and truly live the life you want to live? Permaculture is a design system that reconciles human communities with the ecological imperatives of a living planet. Permaculture is a way of organizing knowledge, a connecting system that integrates science, art, politics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and the diverse experiences and resources available in any community.
This course is structured on alternating weekends to allow full time workers, students, and people with families the ability to attend.
The course will consist of a broad range of topics applicable to life anywhere on this planet, yet will be tailored to the needs of the students present as well as the climate of the lowcountry. As part of the course, participants will help to co-create designs for real world projects that include elements such as food forests, permaculture-style gardens, natural building, water catchment, earthworks and social systems
The PDC will teach you how to be a designer, and how to apply Permaculture design to any situation or climate. It is not a course in gardening, although we will cover that. This means that while we will touch on the below topics, and will do some hands-on experiential learning, our focus is to provide you with foundational knowledge. We will make compost, experiment with natural building and build garden beds, but primarily we will be classroom centered. Permaculture is a holistic system that needs to be understood in its entirety, after which you will be ready to go out and do as much practical work as you like!
The following topics will be discussed in class
Philosophies and Ethics underlying Permaculture- Basic Permaculture principles
- Patterns in Nature and how to use that in holistic design
- Methods of design. How to apply permaculture design tools and strategies to your design problems. How to increase your chance on a successful design by following a well defined design methodology.
- Climactic factorsand microclimate design. Learn how to grow plants outside of their hardiness zones
- Trees, forests and Forest gardening. How to mimic natural forest systems to create an abundance
of food, fiber and fodder. - Water: catchment, usage, importance, and conservation.
- Soil structure, minerals, microorganisms, building new soil and preventing erosion. Learn to work with the soil food web to create a healthy ecosystem and regenerate degraded land.
- Earthworks. How to shape the land to help it achieve the goals we are aiming for.
- Aquaculture
Natural Building. How to build structures with materials available on-site.
12. Alternative systems. Community livingand other ways of living differently that works well for people and the planet. Bioregional organization, community development, alternative economic systems, permaculture as aid.
Who is this course for?
- Anyone interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle, creating health and well-being for their community, and working towards an abundant, ecologically responsible future
- Backyard gardeners
- Farmers and agriculturalists
- Landscape designers seeking a more sustainable dimension for their work
- Community leaders
- Environmental Studies students
- Homeowners who want to invest in the long-term productivity of their property
- School garden organizers
- Educators
Dates
| February 18, 19 | March 4,5 | March 18,19 |
| April 1,2 | April 15 | April 29/30 |
Optional Field Trip April 22
*Each weekend will combine hands on sessions with classroom theory sessions*
**All sessions start at 9 am and run until 5 pm. Saturday and Sunday**
Location
The workshop will be held at a developing 2.5 acre permaculture homestead on Johns Island, SC. Classroom studies will take place in an outdoor classroom. Exact address will be provided upon registration.
* Lunch, coffee, tea and snack will be provided daily
“Nick is not only a powerful teacher, he also models permaculture teachings through his devotion and complete surrender to the lifestyle itself. His course is cutting-edge and revolutionary. It is apparent he has researched effective ways of approaching his teaching position, and if you are learned in such areas you will notice this as you tune your ear to him. As is that weren’t enough, he is also authentic, accessible and deeply compassionate. He embraces diversity with genuine nonjudgmental appreciation and he’s a fun loving guy anyone would want to call a friend. His course is about so much more than the amazing knowledge one obtains, it is about peaceful interconnectedness and creating a sense of belonging and community.” Sarah Greenwood, LPCI, M.A. Behavioral Therapist, Charleston SC
Facilitator
Nick Tittle grew up in Washington DC and attended the University of South Carolina where he received a bachelors degree in small business management and entrepreneurship. After school Nick traveled the world visiting farms and gaining valuable insight into indigenous agricultural practices before heading to South East Asia. He spent three years managing volunteers, interns and apprentices at the Panya Project Permaculture and Earthen Building Education Center. Nick specializes in consulting and teaching about a variety of subjects including natural building, organic gardening, forest gardening, soil food web technology, animal husbandry and alternative economic systems. Nick received his Teacher Training certification from John Champaign in 2010 and has consulted in Thailand, China, India, and the USA. He was a featured speaker at the 1st South East Asia Permaculture Convergence, presenting about rehabilitating a monoculture orchard into a perennial polyculture food forest. Nick additionally organized and facilitated the 1st Thailand Permaculture Convergence in 2013. Nick is currently based in Charleston, South Carolina where he is working on setting up an Urban Permaculture Education Center.
To see a list of workshops Nick has participated in: Here
“I heard about PDC from a friend and then found out that it was offered in my neighborhood. I bought 2.5 acres … and wanted to learn more about how to build a sustainable garden there. As I am a facilitator myself and have delivered a lot of training. I tend to be a bit saturated and skeptical as a learner, but this course was pretty amazing. The design was great, the flow made sense, I was engaged the entire two weeks and Nick and Greg not only have a wealth of experience and knowledge to share, but they are also excellent facilitators, holding the space, exploring things from different perspectives and creating a safe learning environment. I left enriched and motivated to put what I learned into practice. Greg and Nick, thanks so much. You both are authentic fabulous facilitators and experts of permaculture.”
Price
Early Bird Discount: $525 – Pay Before January 1st 2017
Full Rate: $ 675 – Pay after January 1st 2017
Student / NGO / Active Farmer : $525
Payment can be made with credit card through eventbrite, or cash or check in person with Nick. Contact SurplusPermacultureDesign@gmail.com if you would like to pay cash or check.
Note, Eventrbite charges a service fee which can be saved by paying in person.
Fundraise for Your Tuition
If you are interested in a creative way to come up with funds for this course, look into fundraising for it through WeTheTrees.com. It is a great way to reach out to your family and friends, let them know what you are up to and give them a easy way to contribute to your education. Don’t let a lack of resources stop you from obtaining this important information!
Click on the banner below to learn more:
How to Register
REGISTER NOW! We expect this course to fill, so get your spot locked in. Community is very important to us, so class size will be limited.
Please send all inquires to : Surpluspermaculturedesign@gmail.com
Fair Share – People Care – Earth Care