Didactics

Examples of an introduction course can be ound in the two entries below: 

• Danish: Introkursus hos Tove Bang på Friland 
• English: Introductory Course Description  

The Permaculture Educators' Course (Permaculture Teachers' Training) was held at Friland eco-village in Denmark by Andy Goldring.

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 used also with other aims (therapeutical, problem solving, arising conciousness about a particular issue and so forth).

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 a PDC):

(...) 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. (...) 

• What: York Introduction to Permaculture Course
• When: 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 be going for a walk on Saturday.

Saturday

Timetable (PDF) for the PDC held at Paddock Farm, Yorkshire (UK)

By the end of the session the students will be able to:

• Get familiarized with permaculture principles
• Find permaculture principles everywhere
• Give examples of how permaculture principles can be applied in any design

Duration: 30 min 

Once the group is built, you can invite them to some relaxing activity such as massage. 

This one includes some dancing also, so you will need some music and a comfortable place where the students can lie down.

In this article I offer a “junior teacher's” perspective to selecting content and methods for a two day introductory course. I also asked Graham Bell, one of the most experienced permaculture teachers, his take on designing a full Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course. 

See a separate article with timetable, core curriculum and Graham Bell's thoughts, here.