UPDATE on Educational Structures in Ireland

Update: How have the Educational Structures in Ireland changed in 2012-2014?

The article is written by Monika Frank, and it is based on the interview of Davie Philip, CULTIVATE Ireland, May 2014.
Ireland has no national organisation of PC education and only two diploma holders. The partner of the EPT was CULTIVATE Ireland, a NGO based at an ecovillage and learning centre.
The EPT has helped to learn as well from already established educational systems like in Britain or Germany as well as from emerging structures like in Bulgaria, what a national association can be and do. This resulted in talking to other parters in IRE to create a loose national association in order to ensure a diploma pathway. Davie is enrolled on the pathway of the British system.

Other useful: As we design PDC, we have two accreditaed PC-courses (for unemployd people); shared with the EPT, accreditation reviewed, and reviewed the content, partnership has helped.

Despite the economic situation in Ireland going dramatic, the interest in Permaculture has not increased, people are not taking initiative to change their lifestyles and become more self organised. ?Permaculture is often not the best term? thinks Davie. The content and the benefit for the participants is not obvious. Sometimes it is better to undertitle it ?a course in ecological design to make it more mainstream and more accessible.

More permaculturists have stepped up to teaching; people who have come to the EPT meetings are more confident to teach now. The meetings have also identified teachers from other countries to come and teach in Ireland.

CULTIVATE has learned how to structure courses and how to teach certain elements in a more impactful way.