Organised by Cultivate in association with The Village
Friday 19th – Sunday 28th August 2011 | The Village, Cloughjordan, Tipperary, Ireland | Check out our blog that supports this course | €550 (Book Online) or pay deposit of €100 (Book Online) and the balance by 19th July
The Permaculture Design Course in Cloughjordan offers the unique opportunity to learn permaculture embedded in a real living community. Tutors, more to be announced, include: Graham Strouts of Kinsale College of Further Education and Davie Philip and Ben Whelan of Cultivate.
Permaculture equips you with the skills needed to thrive in the new millennium. The certificate course is probably the most important training that anyone involved in Transition or building sustainable community could take. This is a fully accredited seventy-two hour Permaculture Design Certificate Course.
Why do the course?
The permaculture design course has become one of the benchmark accredited courses in sustainability and, as such, is an essential part of the toolkit of real and practical ways to face the difficult challenges of our times. Whether your area is community or business development, horticulture or engineering the principles of permaculture are equally relevant and will bring new direction to your work.
No prior knowledge is necessary to take the course, although, as permaculture is such a wide ranging discipline, it is recommended that participants do some basic research.
Course Highlights
The permaculture course in Cloughjordan aims to be as fully comprehensive and up to date as possible. Through a balanced mix of theory and practice participants will learn how to apply the principles of permaculture to many aspects of their own life and that of their community. The Cloughjordan course includes focused sessions on natural building, local economics, forest gardening, renewable energy, ponds and aquaculture, ecovillage and bioregional design along with new areas such as eco-enterprise, biochar and resilience thinking.
Accreditation
Graduates of the course will be fully accredited by the UK Permaculture Association.
Venues
To be confirmed.
The Ecovillage is a unique and innovative project that is striving to create a fresh blueprint for modern sustainable living. Created on beautiful land in Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, the ecovillage will include 130 homes, renewable energy for heating, land for growing food and trees, an enterprise centre and community buildings.
permaculture
Cost
The course costs €To be confirmed (Some concessions are available. Please contact Davie at cultivate dot ie about eligibility and details). This includes, tuition, course notes, DVD and breakfast and lunch each day. Accommodation is not included.
Accommodation
While accommodation is not included in the cost of the course there are a range of good value options to choose from including the new Village Hostel, free basic camping, rooms in local homes and B&Bs. We will work with you to find the most suitable space for your needs and budget.
Materials
Participants should bring their own stationery. We will supply course notes and all equipment needed for practical work. All students will receive a copy of Cultivate’s ‘Powerdown Show’ DVD to take home.
Food
A light breakfast and lunch will be served every day; for dinner, participants will either prepare food together or eat out.
Transport
Situated 143km from Dublin (Cork 156km, Limerick 57km) Cloughjordan is easily accessible from all parts of Ireland by train, bus or car. Cloughjordan has its own train station and is just off the M7 motorway where Bus Eireann buses serve the nearby town of Moneygall every hour.
Tutors
Graham Strouts has been involved with Permaculture, sustainable design, gardening, woodlands and woodland crafts, and edible forest gardens for 20 years. Since 2005 he has been course co-ordinator of the 2-year FETAC course in practical sustainability in Kinsale. Graham has been developing edible forest gardens in his smallholding near Bantry in West Cork since 2001 and teaches short courses widely around Ireland. He writes a blog on Permaculture and Peak Oil: www.zone5.org
Davie Philip manages the Resilient Communities Programme at Cultivate. He was a founding member of both FEASTA: the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability and Sustainable Projects Ireland LTD the company behind the sustainable community project in Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary. Davie facilitates many courses and learning programmes on sustainability and resilience, including ‘Community Powerdown Training: Leadership, Livelihoods and Local Resilience’ and is currently developing a new course called Transition To Resilience training with a number of European partners.
Ben Whelan is a founder and the Managing Director of Sustainable Ireland Cooperative and set-up the Cultivate Centre. Ben currently sits on the management committee of The Greenhouse, the new venue for sustainability in Dublin that Cultivate founded with ECOUNESCO. Ben is a founding member of the Regional Centre of Expertise in ESD in Ireland, he is on the board of EASCA (Ireland’s Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association), is a founding member of North Tipperary Green Enterprise Park and is the Coordinator for ‘Building the Local Economy’ working group at the Cloughjordan Ecovillage. Ben has taught and published in many areas of sustainability including permaculture, bioregionalism and the local economy.
Permaculture is about creating sustainable human habitats by following nature’s patterns.” It uses the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems to provide a framework and guidance for people to develop their own sustainable solutions to the problems facing their world, on a local, national or global scale. It is based on the philosophy of co-operation with nature and caring for the earth and its people. Permaculture is not a set of rules; it is a process of design based around principles found in the natural world, of co-operation and mutually beneficial relationships, and translating these principles into actions.
“As a permaculture novice I had little idea of what to expect at Cultivate’s Permaculture Course in Cloughjordan. I was thoroughly engaged from the outset as the course carefully blended theory and practice to give me a rich overview of the principles of permaculture design.”
– Niamh Brannigan, Communications Manager, Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative
Please see the new blog that supports this ‘PDC’ (“permaculture design course”).
