permaculture

[Robyn Francis <erda@nor.com.au>]

On 1/6/07 11:26 PM, "Sean Maley" <semaley@yahoo.com> wrote:

>>  the Permaculture Institute (Bill Mollison)
>> should be the gateway for Permaculture.com.
> 
> Don't you mean Geoff Lawton?  See permaculture.org.au for details.  Bill is
> still out there, but Geoff has been running the Institute for some time now.
> As best as I understand, Bill's health has improved greatly.

The Permaculture Institute founded by Bill Mollison continues to operate in
Tasmania together with Tagari Publications.

Geoff's PRI is simply another permie institute like the many dozens around
the planet, running courses and doing project work.

Most pc institutes are run as trusts and as such have no democratic
membership basis. I think an overall pc portal should be managed by
democratically operated membership-based organisation to ensure it can't be
used to promote selectively or exclusively any particular group or
individual's agenda.

Perhaps Permaculture International Ltd could provide this function as it is
a not-for-profit democratic membership-based/owned organisation which was
originally founded in 1977 by Terry White as the first permaculture
association to publish the International Permaculture Journal, and
incorporated in 1987 as member-based not-for-profit company.


> While we are discussing such things as this, who has sent in their $25 and 
> PDC
> class notes to Tagari for certification as a Permaculture Trainer?  There 
> are
> less than 30 certified teachers world wide.  I understand Bill and David not
> being listed, but all should consider this step in terms of consistency (PDC
> course content consistent with the Design Manual and presented by someone 
> who
> took the PDC themselves).

There are many longterm permaculture teachers who choose not to register
with the Permaculture Institute. Up until a few years ago Bill always urged
us to establish our own institutes and issue our own PDC certificates of
completion - many excellent teachers simply choose to continue to operate in
this way. 

There are also PDC teachers who don't fully agree with the Institute's
current policy that the Designers Manual is THE curriculum and that
everything in the book and nothing else should be included in a PDC. This
effectively negates the body of ongoing permaculture development and
innovation, and related earth science that's evolved and emerged since the
book was written in 1988.

The Designers Manual is definitely the central reference book for informing
the areas of eco-literacy and permaculture applications that need to be
covered in a PDC but as an educator of 30 years experience, a text book, no
matter how seminal it might be, does not constitute a course curriculum.

This was under discussion at the recent IPC8 (fantastic and inspiring event
and truly international with delegates from 42 different countries)

One of the things that came out of IPC8 discussions was the need for a
global PDC framework and guidelines that all teachers and institutes can
agree with, a set of core protocols should also be developed as
unfortunately there have been cases of questionable ethics of behaviour in
some pc courses over the years.

Ciao
Robyn
-- 
Pathways to sustainability through
Accredited Permaculture Training
Certificates III & IV and Diploma of Permaculture
Erda Institute Inc

PDC and advanced training programs

Robyn Francis 
International permaculture design
sustainability consultant, educator & facilitator

Djanbung Gardens 
Permaculture Education Centre & Demonstration Farm
PO Box 379 Nimbin NSW 2480
02-6689 1755  /  0429 147 138
www.permaculture.com.au