SEED Accredited Permaculture Training

Day 16 -20 Permaculture design and Facilitation Application

2009-03-26T16:55:00.007+02:00

This is the week we get to see how much we have learned. We worked in groups to design different areas of Rocklands Training Centre and we delivered Permaculture lessons to educators and learners from the school.
The design process was thorough and involved stakeholder analysis, needs assessment and then baseline mapping, sector mapping and then drawing up the design for presentation.
The Permaculture lesson also involved educator interviews and needs assessment. Lessons were taught in groups of two.

Day 15: More implementation and planting

2009-03-06T16:16:00.003+02:00

Day 14: Green building and more planting and implementation...

2009-03-05T20:57:00.003+02:00

This morning a terrific presentation by Ruth and Moloto on pest management, followed by a presentation on green building.

In the afternoon we hit the garden to make liquid manures, do some direct seeding and modifications to the outdoor classroom.

And back to the drawing boards...

Day 13: Planting up the beds...

2009-03-04T11:56:00.007+02:00

Day 12: Sustainable agriculture theory and garden bed shaping...

2009-03-03T22:43:00.000+02:00

The road to sustainable agriculture...treat the cause not the symptoms.

Preparing the new garden beds...

And then mulching to prevent the soil drying out...

Day 11: Organic gardening, worm farm, compost pile, preparing for new garden

2009-03-02T22:41:00.002+02:00

This morning we heard from Kirsten about her experiences in food gardening.

We learned how to properly make a compost pile, and worm farm.

We then prepared the ground for layout of our new garden.

Hout Bay Green Faire

2009-02-28T21:32:00.000+02:00

What a beautiful day! The Hout Bay Community Centre was filled with an incredible array of technologies, groups, and food vendors committed to moving towards a sustainable world.

After the fair some of us made a quick stop at one of Kirsten's food gardens...

Day 10: Planting up the swale and tree pan guilds...

2009-02-27T16:11:00.000+02:00

Five guilds going in! Three wild olives (Olea africana) and two figs each in tree pans with comfrey, wild garlic and yarrow.

Day 9: Swale and tree pan implementation..

2009-02-26T16:10:00.000+02:00

Bood and Lynn presented their review of water.

In the afternoon we discussed wind break species and began digging our first swales...

Day 8: Holistic resource management and practicals...

2009-02-25T22:19:00.001+02:00

Today we received inspiration in the form of a poem from Khaya. Gabriel and Faith delivered their presentation.

We followed up the presentations with a discussion of the foundation blocks of ecosystems...the gospel according to Alan Savory, author of Holistic Resource Management.

In the afternoon we headed outside to learn about using a-frames and water levels to mark contour lines on slopes. We'll use these contour lines later this week to dig swales.

Day 7: Sectors and elements...

2009-02-24T22:08:00.000+02:00

Today we spent the morning researching and preparing in pairs for presentations that will run daily for the rest of the course. Our inspiration came from Nici Richter, a story she wrote herself, inspired by Sun Tzu.

Before lunch we covered the concept of sector analysis followed up by observations of sector considerations at the Rockland site. Over lunch we watched, "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil" to much fanfare.

In the afternoon we looked at element selection in our permaculture systems. We used the bee as an example, what are it's inputs or needs and what are its outputs. By understanding that element's interactions it helps us understand where to place the element in the system for greatest efficiency and effectiveness.

Day 6: Facilitation continued...

2009-02-23T22:01:00.000+02:00

The second and final day of facilitation training began with, "What are the characteristics of a good facilitator?" Participants came up with one minute presentations on any topic with a focus on body language, voice, interaction, etc. We continued into discussions about the brain, the different learning modes, and cultural sensitivity. I think we were all thoroughly inspired and have seen improvements in our confidence and skills.

Day 5: Facilitation with Grant Swanby...

2009-02-20T21:44:00.000+02:00

This was the first day of two in facilitation training with Grant. He kickstarted us with his contagious enthusiasm as well as plenty of games and tools.

Day 4: Baseline mapping...

2009-02-19T21:09:00.001+02:00

Today we split the school grounds into sections, measured and mapped the area where we'll be working.

Day 3: The ethics and site audits...

2009-02-18T21:00:00.000+02:00

A quick lecture on marketing and branding by Nici Richter. Take home message..."Nothing can be sold to you that you don't want."

We then looked at how the application of the permaculture ethics of Earth Care, People Care, Surplus Share can affect the various spheres of our lives: spiritual health and well-being, culture and education, the economy, land tenure and community governance, tools and technology, land and nature stewardship.

In the afternoon we split into groups to take stock of what we have to work with for our design of the Rocklands site...our natural resources, existing site resources, water and a stakeholder analysis.

Day 2: Ecology...

2009-02-17T22:25:00.001+02:00

Today's focus was ecology. We began with ”the can game”, where we ordered the various elements of our surroundings in terms of their importance, in order to better understand our place in the earths ecosystems. Bood Carver's summary, “The sun is most important, we are the least important. It’s okay to be cannibals…as long as we don’t eat Permaculturalists.” The game was reinforced with a viewing of a section of BBC documentary The Secret Life of Plants with David Attenborough. We followed him to the forests of Borneo, and the Namib desert, the remote island of Palau, among others as he examined the complex interconnection of living things in nature.

After lunch we took a trip to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden where we visited the scent garden and the medicinal garden on the way to a small forest by a cool shaded stream; here we took note of the structure of ecologies looking for patterns and niches.

Day 1 - Let it begin...

2009-02-16T22:45:00.011+02:00

Every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Today twenty eager participants took their first step on a journey of exploration in permaculture practice and facilitiation. They join us from Cape Town and the Garden Route to as far as Polokwane in Limpopo province, Malawi, Mdumbe, Durban, Johannesburg, the UK, Holland, and the United States for this landmark event…the first accredited permaculture trainer course in South Africa! Successful participants will leave the course accredited with three SAQA unit standards. This qualification is designed to empower community development workers and facilitators, with all requirements certified by SEED director Leigh Brown and local organics guru Kirsten Zsilavecz.

We began the morning with registration, a welcome by Rocklands Primary principal (and permaculture champion) Kevin Pretorius, as well as introductions. What’s your name? Where are you from? Why are you here? What are you passionate about? We followed up with a discussion of our hopes for the course, and then viewed the seminal video ‘In Grave Danger of Falling Food’ by permaculture originator Bill Mollison.

We were served up a terrific local, organic and in season lunch display by Talfryn Harris and Galiema Begg, all cooked on solar parabola and wood saving stove. The afternoon focused on alternative economies as we navigated South Africa’s network of LETS (Local Exchange Trading Scheme), known in Cape Town as ‘talents’. For more info on LETS check out www.ces.org.za

Accredited Permaculture Training Course...starts Monday, February 16th, 2009

2009-02-12T13:26:00.002+02:00

ACCREDITED PERMACULTURE TRAINING

This month-long, full time course is relevant for anyone interested in Environmental Education (teachers, agricultural extension officers, biodiversity conservation officers, community workers). This training focuses on developing Permaculture professionals through applying Permaculture principles and practices to the to the sustainability challenges facing society today.
The APT will enable participants to help communities make the transition to sustainable futures. Our approach combines Permaculture skills and design techniques, on-ground application of the design and the latest in participatory facilitation methodology.

Whether you are grafting Permaculture skills onto an existing career, starting your working life or starting fresh, our course can give you the foundation skills to work as a sustainability professional in a meaningful career in a rapidly growing field.

COURSE DESIGN
The APT covers the following unit standards.
116221 Identify and apply Permaculture principles
116279 Implement a Permaculture site design
117871 Facilitate learning using a variety of given methodologies

Coming soon:
The first 20 day course is scheduled for 16 February - 13 March 2009 in Cape Town. Please find application forms on the Documents and Downloads page of www.seed.org.za