permaculture

[andylang <andylang@gn.apc.org>]

I'd like to jump into the conversation about Diplomas, Teacher Training, 
accreditating courses, standards, organizational coherence ... Andrew 
Langford from Gaia University here - www.gaiauniversity.org.

We have been plugging away in the background with a design for an 
International Diploma of Permaculture Design. We launched our IDPD last year 
in February (the IDPD is based on earlier work in the UK, since 1993, when we 
launched a Diploma program there).

During the design phase (beginning in 2009) we consulted with Scott Pitman, 
Larry Santoyo, Jude Hobbs, Toby Hemenway, Dave Jacke, Mark Krawczyk, Ethan 
Roland, Peter Bane, Fingerlakes Permaculture, Benjamin Fahrer and more.

Open Portfolios

Our plan was/is to create an online Diploma process that has each 'student' 
developing an ePortfolio which is peer and professionally reviewed and then 
visible, if they choose to make it so, to the wider public. This, we feel, is 
the transparent way to go - accessible, online Diploma portfolios. It has 
only really been possible the last few years since open-source ePortfolio 
software has come of age.

One issue for the existing systems out there is that they were designed and 
built before the age of ePortfolios and these are surely game-changers - but 
they do need: - 

Infrastructure

a) a good systems administration team,
b) some folks who are fluent with using the platform who can teach other 
people with less digital literacy to use it well (via templates these days) 
c) an organized review system with well-thought out rubrics, trained 
reviewers, speedy response times and competent mentors
d) an, active, persistent and agile un-institutional organizational form 
capable of making sure the system gets the support and attention it needs to 
develop and thrive.

Liberating the elders

When we checked around in the USA* we noticed that there was some wonderful 
groundwork laid, for example, at the Permaculture Institute that Scott and 
Toby have been holding and yet, in 2009 anyway, The Institute did not have 
nearly enough resource to handle the demand and, in any case, had a long way 
to go before it could be described as a Diploma 2.0. 

It also looked to us that systems like this had the tendency (like Bill 
Mollison's original Diploma system in Australia) to demand our deeply skilled 
permaculture elders spend hard-to-find chunks of time on administrative and 
procedural work if the system is to keep up to speed.

Our (Gaia U) view is that we'd much rather have these elders leading advanced 
trainings, mentoring Masters degree students and otherwise being strategic 
leaders for our movement than have them obliged to administer Diploma systems.

*You all know, of course, that the US permaculture network lacks some 
coherence - it is very hard to know who to talk to, who to look for and so 
on, even when you have helpful US'ers in the organizing team as we did (Zack 
Mermel, who was interning with Peter Bane and the Permaculture Activist at 
the time, Ethan Roland with his extensive north-east USA connections  and 
Doniga Markegard in Half-Moon Bay, CA who was pioneering Earth Action Mentors 
at the time all opened up their mailing lists to help in this process). 
Sometimes, too, we got a sense that the presence of person or org x in the 
scheme of things meant that persons y and orgs z would not join in, 
especially once the international lid is lifted.

Connecting with YOU

Anyway, the sum total of this is that we have this IDPD up and running and WE 
DO NOT want to be the permaculture experts who do the reviews of portfolios, 
or who do the expert mentoring. We are professional educators and 
organization developers with permaculture backgrounds, not professional 
permaculture designers and practitioners.

We want YOU -  for example, the Permaculture Institute, PINA, Benjamin 
Fahrer's teachers group on Wiser Earth, Fingerlakes Permaculture and other 
significant permaculture nodes to take up these critical expert role. And as 
paid work, not as volunteers. 

Income to nodes

The Gaia U system has been designed to return 60% of the tuition back to the 
permaculture groups that provide these expert services once the local teams 
have skilled-up. That's the core of the design, to have a transparent, 
international diploma system with coherent standards generating income at the 
regional level whilst being backed up by good, persistent and adequately 
resourced professional admin - these last invisible systems being, of course, 
vital to the long term efficacy of any professional development system that 
wants to claim credibility over time.

Additional interest

International interest in this approach is developing nicely. Chile has 
recently come on stream with Gaia U (Diploma in Spanish). A team in Columbia 
is in training. Israel is investigating whether to convert its Diploma system 
to be consistent with the Gaia U approach and more partners are inquiring as 
to how to participate.

And, as an aside but to illustrate, Gaia U has just signed an agreement with 
The Transition Network in the UK to build a Diploma program for their people 
(they are considering making a PDC a pre-requisite to this Diploma) so our 
Gaia U ability to deliver progressive, online mediated programs is getting 
attention and credibility in the wider ecosocial regeneration field.

The world PC network needs the US'ers

It makes a lot of sense for the USA Permaculture regions to come on board 
too, to provide some much needed global permaculture leadership in time for 
the IPC in Cuba. Now would be a great time to show up and get organized in 
this way. 

Conference call

Maybe some of you will have questions - I'd be pleased to answer them - 
follow the link that follows to join a conversation on Saturday 16th March, 
12 noon PT, about next steps on this route towards increased professional 
development for permaculture practitioners and teachers - 
http://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register/YSGPV8YAUOR944US. 
Invite your friends too …

Thanks for your attention …

Andrew