permaculture

["Michael Kramer" <MKramer@hawaii.rr.com>]

> Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005 21:14:35 -0700
> From: Scott Pittman <pci@permaculture-inst.org>
> Subject: [permaculture] Re: permaculture Digest, Vol 25, Issue 29
> To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Message-ID: <42268F2B.8030205@permaculture-inst.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed

> It was and never has been the intention that the certification course be
> 72 hours "only".  If you read the information written by Bill
> Mollison he always said 72 hours "class time".   There is still the
> practicum, the design exercise/critique, and the talent show included
> in the course curriculum.  The course was originally a three week
> course, and still is with some instructors, and reducing it to two weeks
> was consindered the miminum time necessary to adequately cover all the
> materials.

I still think that a course that ran from 9-6 with an hour for lunch would
give time in the evenings for the other activities of a design course. It
might not be "ideal", but in my view it would qualify as a certification
course.

> The time argument is the same as the money argument, people are just too
> busy or too poor to take the course so we should accomodate them
> by giving it away over a weekend.  I glad that we don't have the same
> criteria for determining the amount of time to learn to do brain surgery,
or
> build a bridge.  I think this attitude has more to do with teacher
> convenience than with a real desire to convey information.  Of course
> you can teach
> any thing you want over any time span you want for any amount that you
> want, my concern is that you not call it something it isn't - a
Permaculture
> Design Certification course.

Many people are too busy to take off two weeks or more in order to take this
course. This is the reality of modern existence for most people who are not
self-employed. Given this, and our desire to reach as many people as
possible with the permaculture message, it would behoove us to make the
course as accessible as possible. This is why varied formats of a
certification course are valuable.

> I beg to differ with you, sir.  The rules of certification have been
> very clearly laid out in numberous publications and, for the
> most part, been adhered to by most teachers of permaculture since the
> early eighties.  That continuity has been what is responsible
> for what little consistensy  that exists in the permaculture movement
> and is what still allows us some credibility as teachers and prac-
> ticioners.  There have always been specialty  courses given on every
> conceivable aspect of permaculture; finance, social, legal, pruning,
> gardening, forestry, and etc. and to my mind no one has wanted to call
> these courses certification courses, because they aren't certifi-
> cation courses.  There is also the diploma program that allows for a
> diploma in specialty areas like invisible structures, should one choose
> to apply for that certificate.  We are talking apples and oranges here,
> certification versus intensive specialty courses.

I could very easily design a certification course that is different from the
current model which focused on the design of a business, a political party,
or a school. It is possible to cover the permaculture design process without
needing to cover issues such as water, climate, trees, soils, etc. For
permaculture is not about these things, it is about design, and design
covers numerous aspects of human existence. I love the certification course,
but it is narrow in focus.

Regarding the issue of consistency, I used to think we had that, but there
are too many people who are unaware of the so-called rules, which is why
more and more educational offerings don't reflect the earlier versions of
the design course. There's a lot more diversity now than I think we are all
aware.

> Most people that I have known and taught in the permaculture
> certification course wouldn't have the temerity to go out and
> teach or start a design practice without considerable self education and
> practice following the course.  The course has never
> claimed to do anything but give one the basic way of thinking about and
> understanding our place in the world and a beginning
> process to address those issues with positive and constructive
> methodologies.  Just as all other professions require an internship
> period so does permaculture.

I wish people didn't have such temerity, but they do, and it has been a
painful discovery on my part to encounter students who have been "certified"
but who truly lack a fundamental understanding of permaculture design. Most
people, and therefore most teachers, spend more time on techniques and
strategies, despite the inclusion of the design charette and presentation. I
don't see that design is what the students retain, for some reason.

> I am constantly reminded of the old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix
> it" in these conversations.  The permaculture certification course
> has been taught around the world for near on thirty years with thousands
> of graduates and practitioners quietly, and not so quietly going about
> the business of healing the Earth and each other and there is always
> some nay sayer who is looking for a short cut or a quick fix to a system
> that is working just fine.
>
> Scott Pittman
>

I guess this is where we must agree to disagree, Scott. I see too many
examples of it being broken. The permaculture certification course has been
taught for a long time to many people, but this does not mean it cannot be
improved or adapted to certain circumstances and populations. There is no
magical one-size-fits-all curriculum on any topic of human existence, and of
all the interdisciplinary movements on the planet, ours certainly has the
mission of encouraging diversity in all its forms. Our courses work for
some, and not for others. The most responsive thing we could do as designers
is consider these forms of evaluative feedback in the redesign of future
educational experiences; we can expect people to meet us where we are, or we
can adapt to where they are. I am all for honoring the integrity of
permaculture, and the fact that teachers today are changing things is
welcome in my view.

Michael Kramer