permaculture

[kelda@riseup.net]

Hi all!
And thanks for the support. I tried not to take the 'over-priced' comment
personally, especially since we've been working so hard to keep this
cheap.

BUT, on a positive note it reminds me of something I wanted to share with
this listserve: The Tacoma group I work with applied for Workforce funds
this spring to run PDCs free to low-income/underemployed. We were in
conversations/run-around with the state for about two months, and we ended
up not getting the money, not because it was granted to someone else but
because the state agency was worried they weren't getting as expected from
the feds (the money dried up).

Out of that conversation though we had to come up with hard data about
what job prospects there are to folks after a PDC. We couldn't find hard
data, and tried at length to get info from the APTs happening in
Australia. (What jobs do people get? What are the wages?) So we created a
survey, which many of you took. THANK YOU!!

The overall results were this:
Permaculture trainings are by job re-training/industry standards
incredibly 1) cheap 2) fast 3) flexible (2 weeks, or weekends, evenings,
etc) AND about 1/3 of the people who get involved with Permaculture end up
creating their own businesses to meet needs they see locally (though
'living wages' at that is still another conversation). And all the job
stuff is usually icing on the cake because people get involved with
Permaculture because they want to learn for the fun of it.

This are incredible results. I think some conventional data I was looking
at showed that after an expensive 10-month training in warehouse equipment
something like 8% of people get jobs. To think that permaculture empowers
people to actually Create jobs was almost so fantastical that the state
agency had a hard time believing it.

Anyway, we're on the right path.
Kelda

PS. I'll try to attach the survey results (its just a draft though as our
criteria changed soon after and we did the final in a completely different
format which doesn't sum up so nicely).
---------------------------------------------

Tacoma's 2nd annual Permaculture Design Course!
With a focus on Urban Issues, Advanced Design, & Social Permaculture
Eight weekends spread between September 2011 and February 2012
Sliding Scale $900- $700. Some worktrades available.

... Permaculture is a solutions-oriented approach to sustainable living.
It honors diverse earth-based traditions while nurturing a positive vision
of our collective future.

Topics:
perennial gardens
self-reliance skills
food forests
wildcrafting
emergency preparedness
pattern design
soils & composting
analog ecosystems
appropriate technology
natural building
animal habitats
design for villages
right livelihood
urban watersheds
all with an urban focus

When: Fridays 7-9pm, Saturdays & Sunday 10am-5pm on the following weekends
9/9-11, 9/23-25, 10/7-9, 11/4-6, 12/2-4, 1/14-16, 2/3-5, 2/17-19

Where:
Most Friday evenings: Kings Book's, 218 St. Helens, Tacoma
Weekends: First Congregational, 918 Division, Tacoma

Cost: $900-$700 Sliding scale. Includes tuition, handbook, lunches.
Contact: Patricia 253-565-2599 sustainabletacomapierce@gmail.com
Childcare available: we're still working out details

Website:
http://www.divinearthgp.com/ and
http://www.sustainabletacomapierce.net/

Attachment: Permaculture Intake Demographics and Outcomes Survey.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document