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  • From: lbarnes <lbarnes@primeline.com>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Cc: trees@temcomplus.net
  • Subject: [permaculture] 99 WA Pc course
  • Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 07:55:46 -0500

PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE

METHOW VALLEY, NORTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON
NORTH CASCADES

JULY 6-20, 1999

A two-week course on sustainable design.
Held in the beautiful North Cascades

INSTRUCTORS:
Michael Pilarski, Ted Butchardt, Suzanne Martin, Simon Henderson, Jerry
Johnson, Ed Welch, George Wooten & others.

This course will emphacise:
sustainable forestry, agroforestry,
medicinal herbs, lesser-known crops, and native plants.

A two-week residential course
at Herb'n Relief Farm on the Methow River.

Sponsored by
Friends of the Trees Society

Course site & Facilities:

The course will be held at Herb 'n Relief Farm, Peter & Ali Vogt's
70-acre property outside of Twisp, Washington. The farm includes river
frontage on the Methow River at an elevation of 1,650'. Facilities
include several buildings including a large, beautiful lodge where we
can
hold classes. We will also set up an outdoor teaching area. We are
outside quite a bit anyway with hands-on activities and field trips.
Shower facilities are available. For those hot days, we have a pond and
the river to cool off in. A sweat lodge will be available.

Course fee: $850

About the Course: The main purpose of the course is to impart
permaculture principles and methodologies which can be applied anywhere
in the world. Through lecture, discussion, observation, field trips and
hands-on activities, permaculture design students will develop the
practical skills and knowledge to design and implement sustainable
systems that are in harmony with the natural world. Course participants
will work in design teams to produce a permaculture design for the
70-acre Vogt property. We will cover dozens of crops which can provide
family needs or cash income. Medicinal herbs will be a major focus.
Although this course's focus is on the interior Northwest, participants
from other bioregions are also welcome. Permaculture principles, design
methodology and many of our techniques are applicable around the world.

Permaculture is an integrated systems approach
to designing sustainable homes, farms and communities.

IINSTRUCTORS:

Michael Pilarski has lived and worked in eastern Washington and north
Idaho since 1972. He has extensive experience in organic farming, seed
collecting, plant propagation, horticulture, wildcrafting medicinal
herbs, teaching, and international networking. I have taught seventeen
permaculture design courses thus far including in the cold northern
climates of British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Wisconsin; the temperate
climates of Puget Sound, Oregon and California; and the subtropical
climates of Hawai`i, Nepal and Belize. I am excited to be offering the
first permaculture design course held in the Interior Northwest in six
years.
In 1986, I hosted and graduated from a Permaculture Design
Course taught
by Bill Mollison near Cle Elum in eastern Washington. Mollison is the
founder of permaculture and one of the world's leading authorities on
sustainable settlement in arid and semi-arid lands. This was the first
design course taught by Bill which focused specifically on "Drylands
Permaculture". We will use & adapt Mollison's Drylands Permaculture
Design Course curriculum.

Suzanne Martin is the co-founder of Kikta Design, a permaculture design
and consultation firm in Kitsap County.

Ted Butchardt is founder of Greenfire Permaculture. He is an architect
who has specialized in straw bale structures (the leading builder and
teacher of straw bale building in Washington State. He has co-taught a
number of permaculture courses. Ted will join us for several days to
present on straw bale, cob and local building materials, including some
hands-on. He'll also do a session on large-scale climate patterns and
microclimates.
.
Simon Henderson has studied traditional agriculture systems in many
parts
of the world (great slide shows) and was permaculture instructor at the
Bear Tribe near Spokane for many years. One of the veteran permaculture
instructors in the Pacific Northwest and currently a bamboo specialist.

Jerry Johnson manages his family property for cattle, grain and wildlife
habitat in the channeled scablands southeast of Spokane. He is a
permaculture course graduate and teaches classes in the Spokane area.

Ed Welch is a long-time Methow organic farmer growing vegetables and
medicinal herbs who also has an organic alcohol distillery. He is
familiar with many esoteric farming methods and is a local pioneer in
culturing and applying beneficial soil microorgaisms.

George Wooten is a local botanist with a broad knowledge of native
plants
and essential oils.

Other guest presenters to be announced. Course participants will also
bring a wide range of knowledge and experience.

Course topics:
* Permaculture principles
* Permaculture methodology
* Organic gardening
* Organic agriculture
* Agroforestry systems
* Straw bale building
* Natural building
* Ecosystem restoration
* Livestock raising
* Urban permaculture
* Appropriate energy
* Village development
* Intentional communities
* Observation skills
* Site analysis & design
* Water harvesting
* Irrigation
* Arid land strategies
* Edible landscaping
* Tree crops
* Windbreaks
* Medicinal herbs
* Wildcrafting
* Seed collecting
* Erosion control
* Aquaculture/ponds
* Sustainable forestry
* Integrated pest management
* Networking & research
* Formal & informal economies
and much, much more . . .

Methow Ecosystems: The Methow river riparian zone is dominated by
cottonwoods. Semi-arid low-elevation sites only recieve 12-15" annual
precipitation and support shrub steppe with sagebrush (Artemisia
tridentata), bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) and rabbitbrush
(Chrysothamnus nauseosus) as well as bunchgrass ecosystems. Aspen
groves,
ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests occupy the zones above. Higher
still in the mountains are wetter subalpine forests and meadows and then
timberline, krummholz, and alpine tundra. We will make field trips to
many of these local ecosystems up to as high as 7,440' Slate Peak in the
North Cascades. (if the snow melts in time). Methow ecosystems are
similar to plant communities found throughout the interior Northwest.
Mongolia, the Altai Mountains and parts of central Asia and Far East
Russia have analogous climates and many flora affinities. Eventually we
should have some farmer to farmer exchanges with this region and joint
permaculture courses.

Accomodations: There may be a few indoor accomodations but most
participants from outside the valley will have to set up their own tent
or utilize one of the several tipis on site. Participants can bring
their
own tents, vans or live-in rigs. Local participants can commute from
their homes if they wish.

Food: Three tasty wholesome meals a day will be provided with an
emphasis
on local, organic food. Be sure to note any health needs or dietary
preferences on your registration.

COURSE TUITION:
Tuition for the course is $850. This includes instruction, meals,
lodging, curriculum materials, and use of facilities. Several partial
scholarships are available with preference given to Third World or
Native
Americans. A $250 dollar deposit is required with registration. $100 of
the deposit is non-refundable. Single day attendance is possible at $75
per day. Participants will be sent an information packet upon
registration.

About Permaculture
* The term "permaculture" was coined in 1978 by Australians Bill
Mollison
and David Holmgren as a contraction of "permanent agriculture". It can
also be defined as "permanent culture".
* Permaculture is about self-reliance, growing food, and building
energy-efficient structures from local materials.
* Permaculture establishes multiple-story, agroforestry systems using
tree crops, shrubs, vines and herbaceous plants in symbiotic assemblages
which are highly productive.

Certification: Course graduates will be certified as Permaculture Design
Trainees, and after two years experience will be eligible for Applied
Permaculture Design diplomas. Graduates are entitled to use the term
"Permaculture" in pursuit of livelihood, and for educational purposes.

Friends of the Trees Society
PO Box 4469,
Bellingham, Washington 98227
Tel: (360) 724-0503. (after 5/24/99 call (509) 997-9200
Email: trees@telcomplus.net

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