permaculture

["SEED PEACE" <seedpeace@hotmail.com>]

Permaculture Design Certification Course and Eco-Tour in Costa Rica

(Registration Form/Photos/More Info at: www.permacultureportal.com)

Join us February 14 - March 7, 2001 for a diverse, intensive, and fun learning experience – combining the standard Permaculture curriculum with a tour of Costa Rica’s homegrown sustainability practices. Along the way we will enjoy recreational activities, while also learning about the ecology and culture of Costa Rica. This course is part of the Gandoca-Manzanillo Permaculture Trail Project – the project will contribute to protecting the vital biological corridors of the primary rain forest and rehabilitate deforested areas, while demonstrating ecologically sustainable livelihoods for local Costa Ricans.

Punta Mona Permaculture Center

Beyond the reaches of the automobile or the telephone, the 30 acre Punta Mona (Monkey Point) Permaculture Center is located on a coconut fringed crescent beach extending for miles, where monkeys, sea turtles, iguanas and birds are more common than people. We will live and learn where tropical gardens merge with the rainforest.

We will encounter dolphins, monkeys, exotic birds & butterflies, corral reefs, beaches, waterfalls, hot springs, and much more . . . all in our journeys on lush tropical trails.

You can spend your free time relaxing on the beach, swimming in the Caribbean Sea or trekking through the surrounding primary jungle! A palm-thatched lodge, cabinas and platform tents provide ample shelter should a tropical storm pass through.

Course Format

During the first week of the course we will learn Permaculture design theory through observational walks, hands-on projects, lectures, discussions, and multimedia presentations.

The entire second week will be an educational field trip to other Permaculture farms, agricultural experimental stations and nurseries, an extensive medicinal herb farm, an indigenous reserve and a rare tropical fruit farm. We will also go white water rafting through a cloud forest and visit an active volcano.

On the third week we will return to Punta Mona to apply what we learned during the first two weeks to hands-on Permaculture design projects for the benefit of the local community and ecosystem.

Projects will include: Permaculture designs Nursery establishment Poultry forage rotation Tropical tree crops Useful palms Perennial tropical vegetables Natural building and thatching Water catchment Solar energy systems Small-scale aquaculture systems

Curriculum

As part of the standard Permaculture curriculum students will learn:

Permaculture Design Principles & Methodologies Patterns in Nature Reading the Landscape & Site Analysis Natural Time Cycles & Successional Planning Indigenous Cultivation Traditions & Practices Ecosystem Restoration / Toxin Bioremediation Soil Building, Erosion Control, & Earthworks Hydrology & Aquaculture On-site Waste Disposal & Recycling Biological Pest-Control Home Gardens & Edible Landscaping Forest Management & Agroforestry Integrated Animal Systems Design for Catastrophe Building Design & Energy Conservation Natural Architecture & Alternative Construction Renewable Energy Resources Appropriate Technology Financial & Legal Structures / Strategies Urban Permaculture & Village Design Alternative Economics & Local Self-Reliance Bioregionalism & Network Activism

Course Instructors

Douglas Bullock, our primary instructor, helped design and develop his site on Orcas Island - which has been described as the best example of Permaculture in North America. With decades of teaching and practice across the globe, Douglas has extensive experience in all aspects of Permaculture design.

Bruce Hill, Costa Rican born, has practiced Permaculture in Argentina, Bolivia, Tennessee, and Maui among other places. He teaches regularly with Doug Bullock and he has an "encyclopedic" knowledge of plants from around the world.

Stephen Brooks, director of Costa Rican Adventures, has lived in Costa Rica for five years, leading tours for a variety of interest groups, and cultivating The Punta Mona Permaculture Center into the lush sanctuary of biodiversity that it is today.

Lucas Mayorgo is a member of the Bribri Indigenous Tribe and lives within the Kekoldi Indigenous Reserve. Although never officially schooled in Permaculture, Lucas and his people have practicing their form of Permaculture for thousands of years.

Florentino Grenald is Afro-Caribbean and grew up on the Caribbean coast long before electricity, phones and even a road had ever known the small fishing village of Manzanillo. His knowledge of the local flora and fauna is extensive.

Additional Instructors:

Sylvio Bonomelli is Italian and has been living in an isolated community in the mountains on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. He has extensive knowledge about alternative building materials, extremely low impact living and organic gardening.

Assistant guest speakers involved with the Gandoca-Manzanillo Permaculture Trails Project and local practitioners will add to discussions and offer special presentations.

Local Benefits

This course is part of the "Gandoca-Manzanillo Permaculture Trail Project." The Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge is the beneficiary of the course’s surplus revenue. Your group design projects will center on this trail and we will produce an influx of fresh ideas and motifs for its growth. The Permaculture Trail Project is sponsoring thirteen Costa Rican students. The students will stay on after the course and apply their knowledge to complete "the trail of beauty and bounty that leads to community sustainability."

Academic Credit, Apprenticeships, & Scholarships

Academic credits are often available to college students attending a Permaculture course; which easily satisfies environmental science requirements and could be assigned to other disciplines in this inclusive multi-disciplinary field. Students who are interested in academic credit should petition their counselor; ask us for suggestions.

Apprenticeship opportunities are available for students who show an interest in pursuing long-term experiential training in Permaculture. We will have plenty of good work after the course for people who wish to apply the information at the Gandoca-Manzanillo Permaculture Trail, and at other related Permaculture sites around the country. Apprenticeship, with food, water, & lodging, are offered; in exchange we ask for committed participation in community building and environmental restoration.

Scholarships will only be available to thirteen local workers who are committed to implementing the designs for the Permaculture Trail at Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge (probably residents of Gandoca or Manzanillo; but, open to all native Ticos).

"Permaculture" is a copyrighted word; only upon completion of a certification course does one have the right to employ the term Permaculture for their goods and services. With this basic certificate one is considered a design trainee and after two years of field practice one may apply to the International Permaculture Institute for a Designer’s Diploma, whereupon one has the authority to teach, consult and represent Permaculture. Permaculture is a rapidly expanding profession and ecological movement, with more active practitioners around the globe than the entire US Peace Corp.

Food, Lodging & Transportation

We will offer three meals per day, plus foraging in the gardens and fruit from the trees. Please inform us of your dietary needs and preferences in the registration form. Hotel rooms will be provided during the tour. If you would like to camp outside be sure your tent is waterproof and preferably large enough for your comfort, easy to disassemble, yet compact enough to transport. Air-travel and all ground transportation will be arranged by Costa Rican Adventures. You may contact Costa Rican Adventures if you want them to arrange your plane flight at (800) 551-7887.

Costs, Registration & Contact

The cost of this program, including meals, field trips, certified instruction, and all course materials, is $1475.00 - airfare not included. If you pay by December 20th, you receive a $125 discount. To register, please print, fill out and send the Registration Form on our website: www.permacultureportal.com. While we encourage payment in full at the time of registration we will accept an $300.00 deposit, with the balance due upon arrival. If you pay the balance due when you arrive, you do not receive the pre-registration deadline discount of $125. Please make check or money order payable to Costa Rican Adventures.

Mail To:
Costa Rican Adventures
13225 Biscayne Island Terrace
North Miami, Florida, 33181, USA

Contact Michael Paine at (877) 901-6120 or justinpaine@hotmail.com

Visit www.PermaculturePortal.com for Photos and More Information

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