- A two-week comprehensive introduction to permaculture principles, design practices and their application, with a particular focus on permaculture in community.
- Permaculture is about living lightly on the planet and making sure that we can sustain human activities for many generations to come, in harmony with nature.
- Certified by The British Permaculture Association, the course is a one-of-a-kind wonderful opportunity to learn about permaculture design theory and apply it to a relevant design project at Findhorn.
The 72 hour Findhorn PDC is guided by Bill Mollison’s curriculum and delivered in collaboration with a registered ScotLAND Centre. The training is split into approximately: one third classroom time, one-third practice and design time and one third site visits, games, reflection and group sharing time. The Permaculture Design Course encourages participants to observe permaculture principles in action, and experience how these processes influence systems and site development in an experimental living environment.
Participants on the course will have the unique opportunity to base their design projects on actual developments taking place within the Findhorn community. The course gives participants ample time to digest the theory, get hands-on experience and become part of the daily rhythms of the Findhorn community.
Key themes:
- Permaculture Ethics: Care for the earth, care for others
- Permaculture Principles: Attitudinal and ecological
- The Permaculture Design Process: Skills, tools and methods
- Design Practice: Group work on design projects
- Design Presentation: Demonstrating and evaluating coursework
Topics include:
- Soil: Food web, macro/microorganisms, mulching, composting, tilling, soil sampling, erosion, mycorrhizal and bacterial associations
- Water: Hydrology cycle, rainwater harvesting, natural wastewater systems, drainage, water as energy store and water use
- Plants and Trees: Tree species, energy transactions, forest gardening, shelterbelts, indicator plants and orchards
- Food Production: Organic farming, bed creation, food preservation
- Built Environment: Ecological buildings, retrofitting, transport, renewable energy, and urban contexts
- Resource Use: Ecological and carbon footprints, asset assessments
- Social Systems: Personal and community resilience, communication skills, economics, land tenure, governance, and decision-making.
Additional topics unique to Findhorn:
- Community Building: attunements, team building, morning meditation, and group singing
- Community Service: kitchen cleanup and duty rotas
- Local site visits and invited guest presenters
Permaculture is about stability, about deepening soils and cleaner water, thriving communities in self-reliant regions, biodiverse agriculture, and social justice, peace and abundance.
Bill Mollison , Father of Permaculture
A very enriching, filling, nourishing experience from the topics, the speakers, the activities, but most especially from the energy of the group and the staff team involved. I would not have experienced this diversity in a PDC back home.
Rosemary , PDC July 2016
Trainers
Craig Gibsone
Craig is a long term Ecovillage member and an influential community elder. As an active life long learner Craig’s everyday life is infused with creativity, productivity and contemplation. An avid meditator Craig draws on his three years spent in meditation at the Samye Ling Tibetan Centre to guide and direct his daily engagement with the Spiritual roots of the Ecovillage. Holding a diverse portfolio of leadership roles in our Ecovillage including chairing the management team of the Findhorn Foundaiton, launching and upholding Permaculture in our community and co-founding the original Findhorn Ecovillage curriculum, Craig is an active specialist in Ecovillage living education.
Gabrielle Haworth Buist
Gabrielle Haworth Buist was born and raised in the Findhorn EcoVillage returning over twelve years ago to run a multitude of sustainability programmes, also project managing some very inspiring teams and strategies of the Findhorn Foundation. She recently moved Westward and has founded a project called KatewellHabitats to enhance biodiversity and draw down carbon in the Scottish Highlands. Gabrielle has a lifelong passion for wildlife and thriving habitats and supporting people to find their connection with nature. As a teacher of Permaculture, she works closely with those principles in designing sustainable lifestyle solutions for people and organisations.
Maria Cooper
Maria Cooper, MA, studied International Relations at the University of St Andrews specialising in environmental social movements. There she was the coordinator for the local Transition group, Transition University of St Andrews, and has been involved in the Transition and Permaculture movements internationally, nationally, and locally since 2011. She moved to Findhorn in 2016 where she is now working for Findhorn College and involved in running Permaculture Design Courses, Ecovillage Design Educations, and other climate-related behaviour change projects, as well as running a homesteading and exploring small-scale self-sufficiency. The latter is now a recognised LAND center.
Course Fees
- £1,590
- £1,375
- £1,150
The fee includes tuition, outings, materials, food and accommodation and membership of the British Permaculture Association. The higher fee helps support others to attend, the middle fee covers costs and enables course development, the low fee is the minimum cost of the course. A reduced fee is available for those choosing to camp. Please contact us if you are interested in camping.
Application Information
When your booking is approved, a £100 deposit is required to secure your place. The remaining fee is due six weeks prior to the course start date.