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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] 9-day PDC???

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  • From: tom <tom@honeychrome.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] 9-day PDC???
  • Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 19:37:38 -0400

Could this be a first order error of the PDC course concept and design? It seems to me that the problems, extant and potential, that are being discussed and worried about are a result of the naming and structure of the PDC course as it currently exists. A 72-hour course and one is handed a design "certification" with the somewhat vague exhortation to please not call yourself a designer without spending some time interning, volunteering, etc., etc? Certainly I know of no other field of endeavor in which one can get a 'certification' after a scant 72-hours. Years of study are spent in other design fields which have nothing like the breath of information and sub-topics permaculture encompasses (not to mention the significance and imperative immediacy of permaculture). Perhaps it was the pressing demand to 'get permaculture out there' that led to the flawed structure of the 'certification' aspect of the course, but I wonder if building further structures on top of this flawed foundation is the best solution. Why not fix the foundation- admit that, well OK, a 72-hour course does not a permaculture designer make, and therefore the designer "certification" element is somewhat meaningless. Assumptions were made at the time the model was created that have proven to be less than accurate and the time is arriving when those inaccurate assumptions are undermining the overall structure. If we take the stand that the PDC course as it is and has been named/ structured is now institutionalized and permanent (calcified?) are we not violating some of the basic permaculture principles and spirit? Further institutional structure as a means to remedy flaws in the foundation strikes me as problematic and unstable. Renaming the PDC course to reflect what it really is- an intensive foundational introduction to permaculture concepts should be considered. Then additional requirements, etc. can be considered for true permaculture 'designer' certification.

Just $.02 or .03




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