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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] PCD course prices

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  • From: "Graham Burnett" <grahamburnett@blueyonder.co.uk>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] PCD course prices
  • Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 20:45:54 +0100

The same issues came up on the Plants For A Future list the other day. The
original post is on top, my reply is beneath. Beyond this i don't think
there's anything else I can add to this thread, some folks here are
obviously stuck in their own perceptions and are clearly not interested in
being moved from that position. Other than this I'd suggest looking at the
UK Permaculture Association website for all the latest on how us Brits
fleece naive farmers and gardeners and ensure that we ring fence our
intelectual property;

Permaculture Association (UK) information on design courses ;
http://www.permaculture.org.uk/pcasite/mm.asp?mmfile=educationpcdc

Permaculture Association (UK) information on introductory courses;
http://www.permaculture.org.uk/pcasite/mm.asp?mmfile=educationintroductory

Permaculture Association (UK) Diploma accreditation criteria;
http://www.permaculture.org.uk/pcasite/mm.asp?mmfile=dipcriteria

Subject: Re: Permaculture Design Courses are we being fleeced?


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--- In pfaf@yahoogroups.com, "the_green_garden"
<the_green_garden@h...> wrote:
> I'm currently investigating the possibility of doing a
permaculture design
> course, but from what I have found out so far,none of the courses
> offered,despite often costing a great deal of money.Have No
statutory
> educational and or governmental body formal recognition in the
European
> Union.So from what I can gather so far, any Tom, Dick or
Harriot,can claim
> to set up a permaculture design course offering Diplomas etc which
in
> reality will be worthless bits of pretty computerised paper
recognized by no
> one but the person running the course.So the question begs an
answer are we
> all being fleeced and would we be all better off just studying and
putting
> into practise the works of Bill Mollison's Permaculture A
Designers Manual?
> Other readers of this forum are encouraged to offer their opinions.

Depends how much value you place on the 'formal' education system.
I've been on 'approved' mainstream courses that have been tedious,
boring, unimaginative and have no interest whatsoever in developing
the participants' creativity. You get a little piece of paper at the
end of it, but personally my Permaculture Design Course certificate
is one of the most valuable qualifications I have, even though that
in itself will never get me a job. On the other hand the skills,
insights, practical experiences, self-development, etc I gained from
the course and my ongoing work in and with permaculture are of
infinite help in developing sustainable and self-reliant futures for
myself, my planet and the communities I work with. Mr Blair and his
cronies in the 'education' establishemnt may not be able to measure
permaculture with his targets and goals, but a PC Design course is
about something much more exciting than his small vision, and
personally I hope that permaculture will always remain outside of
the mainstream with it's inspectors and league tables.

Yes any 'Tom Dick & Harry' can set up a course and call it
a 'permaculture design course', but one of the core foundations of
Permaculture is that it is about being ethical, thus for such a
course to be recognised by the Permaculture Association it must be
led by teachers who have themselves done a design course, and by at
least one person who has the diploma in permaculture. The PC
Association is doing ongoing work in accrediting PC design courses,
including by the Open College Network but it's early days, so watch
this space on that one. For more info see
http://www.permaculture.org.uk/pcasite/mm.asp?mmfile=educationpcdc

All the design courses that I know that are running or coming up
(I'm talking about in the UK here) are being run by committed,
knowledgable and experienced people, and if 'fleecing' people is the
intention I can think of easier scams than giving up 2 weeks of time
and energy (not including pre-course prepatation, creating
publicity, etc) for a finacial gain that usually works out at far
less than the minimum wage. I know that we are all working bloody
hard on preparing the next Naturewise Design course despite the fact
that we are pretty unlikely to make any money at all from it, so
forgive me if I sound pissed off by your implication that I'm out to
rip people off.

Yes you can go away and read all the books about permaculture, but
this doesn't compare with the 'immersion' that comes from the
course, the value of working with others, building community,
sharing experiences, working out solutions togther.

Cheers Graham www.spiralseed.co.uk


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