July 10th - 18th, 2010
Venue: Solscape Eco-Retreat, Raglan
Bookings and enquries contact Nelson Lebo - nfl2@waikato.ac.nz
This course is not an "Advanced Permaculture Design Certificate." It is a chance for those who have taken a PDC to advance their design abilities and learn some important resiliency skills. Each workshop is designed to combine theory and practice while 'up-skilling' participants through hands-on learning. Themes introduced in the first workshop are visited over and over in subsequent workshops in a looping model of instruction.
However, each day can also stand alone as a distinct high quality educational opportunity. As much as possible, each day is designed to respond to participant's needs and interests. Class time is limited to 5 - 6 hours daily to prevent information overload, to allow participants to go for a walk on the beach or in the bush, to read more deeply into topics, or simply to be in a beautiful place with like-minded, hopeful people.
July 10th) Advanced permaculture design: Maximizing beneficial relationships
11th) The essentials of green home design
12th) Low cost, high results, eco-renovation
13th) Solar cookers and solar cooking
14th) Day Off
15th) Human-scale swales, rain gardens and plumbing basics
16th) Chicken tractors and rotational chicken yards
17th) Maximizing vegetable production while minimizing inputs
18th) Best tools and proper techniques, plus important knots and how to tie them
By any standard, the tuition for this course is low for an unsubsidized program. In order to minimize finances from being a barrier for anyone to attend, participants will be involved in cooking and cleaning the simple lunches and dinners we will share. BYO breakfast and tea snacks.
1 to 3 days Tent or van space = $60 per day
Shared accommodation = $70 per day
4 or more consecutive days Tent or van space = $55 per day
Shared accommodation = $65 per day
Email for rates on private rooms.
Daily workshop descriptions:
Advanced permaculture design: Maximizing beneficial relationships
Many people feel overwhelmed by a belief that permaculture is a set of rules to follow, latin names to memorize, and encyclopedic knowledge to acquire. In fact, permaculture is a way of seeing. It is about recognizing and maximizing beneficial relationships, while minimizing harmful relationships and protecting against shocks from outside forces beyond our control. This workshop uses concept mapping and other exercises to develop systems thinking skills, and introduces 4 dimensional design, both of which are essential to high quality permaculture design work.
The essentials of green home design
While engineering tables may be complex, the basics of eco-design a simple and science-based. Understanding how energy moves through a home is a necessary prerequisite to working toward an eco-design of your own or hiring a professional. Having a robust eco-design vocabulary will allow you to interview architects, engineers and builders as an educated consumer to make sure you will be getting what you want. Knowledge is power. We'll look at a number of green designs at Solscape and identify successes and failures.
Low cost, high results, eco-renovation
This workshop is geared toward the DIY approach to eco-renovation. If you are not in a position to build new, there are many affordable ways to improve the energy performance of your existing home. We will use a number of older Solscape structures to explore what approaches are appropriate for different pre-existing conditions, and how to identify the 'low hanging fruit' in order to prioritize investments with future savings.
Solar cookers and solar cooking
The day will be spent building and using different solar cookers. A materials fee may apply if you want to take one home.
Human-scale swales, rain gardens and plumbing basics
Retaining water on the landscape in times of excess is like money in the bank for times of drought. Climate change is predicted to cause extremes in both directions, but a cheap way to build resilience at home is with swales and rain gardens. Many PDC grads feel swales are only appropriate for giant swaths of dry land in Australia, but we have built a high-performing human-swale at Solscape that turns a liability into an asset. We will cover the step by step construction of a human-scale swale and rain garden, as well as learn some practical plumbing basics.
Chicken tractors and rotational chicken yards
These are two ways to harness animal energy to clear land for a veggie patch or food forest. We will use locally-available materials to design and build one or both of these at Solscape.
Maximizing vegetable production while minimizing inputs
Over the last decade I have taken every opportunity to learn and trial approaches to annual vegetable production that minimize inputs of labor and/or money while maximizing food production. Good 4 dimensional design combined with the right tools, timing and techniques have produced very impressive results. I have been running this workshop for 3 years with excellent response from participants. We will use the Solscape garden as we combine theory and practice.
Best tools and proper techniques, plus important knots and how to tie them
Knowing what tool to use, how to use it, and when to use it can save you hours and hours of labor. Keeping tools clean, sharp and well-oiled ensures high performance and durability. We'll spend the day talking about tools, using tools and caring for tools. A rope is an awesome tool, but poor knots can mean low performance or even disasters. I've found that just 2 knots take care of 90 % of my regular needs. We'll practice these over and over, and also learn a handful of others.
