permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

On 10/23/2010 3:42 PM, paul wheaton wrote:
> Toby,
>
> Suppose you reach 30% of the PDC graduates and they trust you and do
> as you ask:  they stop calling themselves "certified permaculture
> designers".  Then, all of the people that have not heard about this or
> people that don't wanna make this change continue to call themselves
> "certified permaculture designers".

They should not do this, that is if they take themselves seriously as 
CPD's and the CPD educational system and certification seriously. If 
they don't want to do this then they, in the log run, part of the 
problem as opposed to part of the solution.

> Then when people are looking for a designer, they look at the
> different web pages or business cards or whatever and see that some
> people are certified and some are not.  And, these people, not know

Its like:
Certified Financial Planner
Certified Landscape Planner (next door to architect) whereas Landscape 
Designer can be anyone; likewise Permaculture Designer can be anyone.
On the other hand, Certified Permaculture Designer (add Site Planner
to move it closer to the world of landscape architecture) should only be 
one who had 1) taken the required coursework 2) has completed a minimum 
of two years field work.

> what all is behind certification, decide to pick only from those that
> are certified.

That should mean something and remove all doubt.
As always, business should be local at first and there should be a one 
on one relationship
between customer and designer. "Get to know your local Permaculture 
Designer" should be said in the same breath as "Get to know your local 
Farmer (especially market farmers and orchardists). You will always have 
the option to hire one who is certified if that is what you require, and 
that certification should mean something.

> Therefore, people that trust you and follow you on this one get
> screwed.  People that are out of the loop on this (and probably many
> other permaculture things) get rewarded.
>
> I would like to suggest that you embrace the state that things are in
> - allow everybody that has completed a PDC to be a CPD and then come
> up with some new terminology for the more advanced layers.

I do not agree with that at all. Read above again. Go local, get to know 
your PD's (certified or non certified), hire one and move forward,
get the job done. People who have taken PDC's who are serious about 
becoming a professional in the field should have the grace to admit
that they have only a 2 week course and limited field experience,
but they are talented, skilled, informed, knowledgeable, conscientious,
responsible and want to do the best job they can for you, within the 
limits of their training and experience. See it as hanging out your 
shingle as an apprentice. I am sure in this day and time they will have 
many customers, just as self-taught landscape designers/contractors have 
been doing for years (that described me for 16 years). They should be 
able to count their job experience as work toward the field work 
requirement to be awarded a PD Certificate. They can complete their 
coursework while being self-employed.

"everybody that has completed a PDC to be a CPD"
should instead be "everybody that has completed a PDC to be a PD or 
Non-Certified PD". That's the way it works everywhere else in the 
business world and being a PD for hire is being in business.

To me, this is the heart of the matter and where things will often lead
much of the time:

The Permaculture Movement should move forward on all fronts, including
being part of the global mainstream business world, for profit and not 
for profit. Inevitably, permaculture professionals will be requested to 
perform services for civil agencies and organizations, from municipal to 
federal, from non-profit corporations to for profit ones, large and 
small and for small and large local and regional volunteer organizations 
as well as contributing services to one's own community or neighborhood. 
It goes without saying that to work with 90% of the entities in this 
list will necessitate that the professional have some sort of 
accreditation or certification from a recognized body or organization or 
qualified individual.
If US AID, for example, plans to hire a permaculture professional to 
perform services for them in some foreign country they want to know that 
they money is wisely spent and that the job will be done correctly, 
whether it is a one-off or part of a planned project to be replicated. 
They will want that professional to have a resume that will include 
enough coursework and field work to satisfy them that they are able to 
do the work requested and their money is not wasted. If its a
minimally funded project and they have only one opportunity to get the 
job done right, all the more reason to pick someone with credentials.

...:LL