Ghana’s GPI goes for Sustainable Goals

Anyone who has recently followed the development of the Ghana Permaculture Institute knows: the warm-up phase ended long ago, now the game is in full swing and first milestones have been reached. The finish line is in sight: establishing the first Ecovillage as the core of a West African Permaculture-Network. The Institute, moving surely and… Continue reading Ghana’s GPI goes for Sustainable Goals

Pedagogical Resources

Books Freire, Paulo. Education as a practice of freedom Booth Sweeney, Linda, Meadows, Dennis. Systems Thinking Playbook Vygotsky. Zone of Proximal development Rogers, Carl. Student Centred Approach Clayfield, Robin  and Skye. Manual for Teaching Permaculture Creatively

More Action on the North Eastern Front

 by Jillian Hovey Permaculturalists from the North East of North America recently gathering for their 3rd Annual Retreat.  Our host, Omega Institute for Holistic Living, is located a two-hour (150km) train ride up the Hudson River from New York City.  For decades, this renovated summer camp has been a mecca for people seeking knowledge about… Continue reading More Action on the North Eastern Front

Permaculture Educators’ Course

The Permaculture Educators’ Course (Permaculture Teachers’ Training) is held at Friland eco-village in Denmark by Andy Goldring. It is an 8 day teacher training for permaculture educators. It takes you through learning and teaching theory, a lot of practice on microteach sessions, lots of games, fun, interaction, excursions and how to design and convene courses, how… Continue reading Permaculture Educators’ Course

Community Building with Playback Theatre

Playback theatre (PT) is a tool to share personal stories that are performed by PT actors. Audience and stage are at the same level and the link between them is the conductor/facilitator who creates a safe/welcoming atmosphere and invites people to share their stories. Main goal of PT is building community but is can be… Continue reading Community Building with Playback Theatre

Permaculture Course Formats

During the third of the seven EPT meetings held at Quinta do Vale da Lama in Algarve, Portugal, teachers from all over Europe extensively discussed various course formats for teaching Permaculture to beginners: Introduction to Permaculture Permaculture Design Certificate Courses (PDCs) Further Introductory Permaculture Opportunities There are also advanced training opportunities  for Permaculturalists (who have… Continue reading Permaculture Course Formats

Weeds or Wisdom? Latvian Eco-Health Farmers on the Road to Resilience

by Guntra A. Aistara, Central European University July 4, 2014 Condensed summary of chapter published in Environmental Anthropology Engaging Ecotopian Imaginaries: Bioregionalism, Permaculture, and Ecovillages for a Sustainable Future, Berghahn Books, 2013. On a tour of organic farms in Austria in 2006, one farmer proudly showed off her raised garden beds brimming with a diversity… Continue reading Weeds or Wisdom? Latvian Eco-Health Farmers on the Road to Resilience

What is “microteaching”?

(…) Invented in the mid-1960s at Stanford University by Dr. Dwight W. Allen, micro-teaching has been used with success for several decades now, as a way to help teachers acquire new skills. (…) Micro lessons are great opportunities to present sample “snapshots” of what/how you teach and to get some feedback from colleagues about how… Continue reading What is “microteaching”?

Strategies to Widen Participation : Survey Results

For this small survey, responses were given by only eight EPT partner countries (ES, GE, FR, BG, SLO, CZ, NL), whose educational activities are conducted in more than 17 countries in Europe and other parts of the world. Spain is exceptional in this case with reaching people in 4 continents through on-line teaching. Educational activities… Continue reading Strategies to Widen Participation : Survey Results

Widening Participation

Permaculture education should be accessible to everyone, if we – Permaculture teachers – are aiming to steer the whole society to a new way of thinking and acting in the near future. Therefore it is a big question and a real challenge: “How to reach out to as many diverse groups of society as possible?”.… Continue reading Widening Participation

10 PDC handouts – design

by Aranya SADIMET design process (click here to download mindmap)  Limiting Factors in Design (click here to download mindmap) Methods and Approaches to Design  (click here to download mindmap) Themes in Design

Program of the York Introduction to Permaculture Course

York Introduction to Permaculture Course 17-18 April 2004 Tutor: Andy Goldring We will start promptly at 10am on both days, please try to arrive around 9.30 so we have time to settle in before we start. Bring food to share for lunch, magazines, books or other materials of interest, and warm clothes as we will… Continue reading Program of the York Introduction to Permaculture Course

Design Course Exercise: What do I eat?

In this exercise, which can be used in a PDC, students try to identify and evaluate their involvement in and impact on food cycles. After evaluating the impacts, students are asked to implement an action plan to reduce the food consumption and sourcing from sustainable sources. The full description of the exercise can be dowloaded… Continue reading Design Course Exercise: What do I eat?

Permaculture Design Process – 10. Design presentation

by Aranya The following pattern is a guide to what you might cover during your design. Either follow this through as described, or use it as a basis for your own ideas. Observations Describe your site Explain the context of your design, where it is located, size of site etc. Show your base map and… Continue reading Permaculture Design Process – 10. Design presentation