Permaculture Visions Design Course
	What Are The Topics In A PDC? Why Do A Course? When Can I Start? Our Graduate Standard our Accreditation and Providence

What Topics Are Covered In A Permaculture Design Course?
Following the Original Guidelines by Bill Mollison and the Permaculture Institute.

Why do A Permaculture Design Course?

The Permaculture Design Course PDC allows you to ethically and possibly legally use the term permaculture in your business and home activites.  The PDC has been an industry accepted level of competency since 1970s when it was introduced by Bill Mollison.  If you do not have any industry accepted level of attainment you may be in breech of the trade practices act in that you may be purporting to be "knowledgeable  and trained" in the topic, but may not be able to show due diligence if challenged.

The traditional PDC course runs over 72 hours. When you study online with us you choose how to schedule these hours, e.g. over 3 weeks or 3 months or more.  Our students choose their hours, homework tasks and set their timetable. We offer very flexible interaction to bring out the uniqueness of student real-life situations and build wealth of shared of knowledge in Permaculture. Some students are isolated (hospitalised or on a remote property) some are living in a busy city. Each student is different and we aim to cater for this diversity.

When do the courses start?
Because our tuition is one-to-one you can start on any day and pace the learning to meet your needs.  You have up to 2 years to complete the course. This can and has been extended for people with special needs.  Some participants have completed the course in as little as 2 weeks, most take 3 months part time.

Our Graduate Standard: We have very high standard of graduates and are proud of them. Many graduates are active practicing permaculture in their lives, writing, manufacturing, or teaching and implementing new projects in permaculture. Because of our committment to Student focused learning the student responses were and are put back into the course as this is a unique and succesful feature of our teaching. This has served to reduce isolation, enhance interaction and build a support network. Students are encouraged to form groups with our other students and contacts in their area or on the internet. We now have students in more than 50 countries: Argentina, Australia - (every state), Azerbaijan, Brazil, Botswana, Bulgaria, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Canada- BC,ON, NL, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Finland, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Holland, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jerusalem, Jordan, Kuwait, New Zealand, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Republic of South Africa, Qatar, Slavokia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, UK, USA (Alaska, CA, FL, KS, HA, IA, IL, IN, TN, ME, MT, NC, NM, MO, OR, PA, SD, TX,VT, WA, WI), Venezuela, Wanica. Can't find your nation? Get on board.  We keep a Register of our Graduates online.

Below are the outlines for our Permaculture Design Course. They are based on  guidelines recommended by The Permaculture Teaching Community, and were approved by the Bill Mollison's Permaculture Institute in the 1990s.  They are a well-tested Plain English Set of Course Notes and can be used alone or as accompaniment to the Permaculture Design Handbook by Bill Mollison. There are numerous valuable contributions from successful students and graduates. The course notes are regularly updated in our response to student feedback.  We aim for a continual quality loop involving our relationship with our students and now have students and graduates worldwide with some Translations in Spanish, Russian and French. Since 1993, this course has been in a constant process of dynamic evolution: working hard to meet growing student needs.

About the Course

• plan and implement a permaculture system for yourself
• assist in designing systems for others
• incorporate relevant permaculture ideals and methods into existing systems (home, office, industry, reforestation sites)
• assess systems for sustainability 
• start your research in particular food-stuffs/technology/strategies
• develop personal interests in permaculture 'products/outcomes'
• Increase community interest in activities that center on true (and not just economic) growth and development.
• On successful completion of the course, graduates are accredited by the Permaculture Institute and awarded a Certificate of Permaculture Design.
• After two years of applied work, graduates may apply for a Diploma of Applied Design. This can also be conferred through another permaculture institution. Diplomas have been awarded by peer review upon a presentation to other PDC graduates (as in APC10)
• Higher degrees in Permaculture studies may be pursued at various institutions both in Australia and overseas.
• Traditionally, it is not necessary to do any more than the design course in order to use the term PERMACULTURE in your activities/business.  The design course should enable you to have a thorough understanding of Permaculture and be able to teach others.

Module 1: Introduction to Permaculture - Goals and Methods

Permaculture Ethics

• "Care of the Earth" including all living and non-living things, such as animals, plants, land, water and air.
• "Care of People" promoting self-reliance and community responsibility. Self reliance is distinct from self sufficiency.
• 'Dispersal of surplus' ensures that our surpluses (labour, money, information) are shared with others. Our relationship with others becomes the basis of community caring.
• "Life ethic" that we view all living creatures as 'not only a means but an end'. Living things have both instrumental value to humans and other living organisms as well as an intrinsic worth. Permaculture is an ethical system, stressing positive approaches to problems and cooperation.

  ---

Recycling and Waste disposal (Domestic).

• 6R's: Re-design, Reduce, Re-use, Re-use by Modifying, Repair then Recycle
• Making a No-Dig garden
• Biological cleansers, Filters , Bioremediation, Bacteria as industrial cleansers, Blue-Green Algae
• Toxins: Heavy Metals
• Use of waste water, Greywater
• Social and Physical Energy Management (housework and Co-living strategies)

  ---

Natural System And Design Principles

Introduction and Application of theory about the guiding principles of permaculture design:

TABLE: Heirachy of Principles insprired by Dr Karey Harrison Lecturer (Communications) Faculty of Arts University Southern Queensland.

A resource is an energy storage which assists yield. The work of the permaculture designer is to maximise useful energy stores in any system on which they are working, be it house, urban property, rural lands, or gardens. A successful design contains enough useful stores to serve the needs of people.

The Web of Life is the relationship of diversity to stability and the importance of connecting elements in your design.  Society, gardens, whole systems and human lives are more productive without disorder and opposition.  Therefore, the aim of the permaculture designer is two-fold: To use only that amount of energy that can be productively absorbed by the system and to build harmony, as a cooperation, into the functional organisation of the system.

Cultivated Ecology

• Use of Zones for planning a system..Zones ensure that the user can easily manage the design.
  Everything is placed within easy reach of its needs and waste-use.
• Permaculture uses guilds. Similar needs help to group plants, animals and services.
  Companion planting, insect attractants, deterrent plantings, disguised plants.
• Comparative nutritional value of different vegetable and fruit species and varieties.
• Animals, (native and domestic) in the system.

Module 2: Understanding Nature

Soils

Soil Analysis and Interpretation.  Tests and prediction of soils, effects on plant choice, dealing with soil extremes and toxicity. Mechanisms of Soil Degradation, The Nitrogen cycle. Carbon cycle.  What is Humus, how does it enrich the soil? Central role of Nitrogen. Difficult soils Platin soil, Caliche soil, Water resistant soil, Clay. Analyse what soil and persistant vegetation types you have and learn the different ways to deal with them. Plants for different acidities. Composting, mulching, green and animal manure and worm farming. Increasing fertility of your site naturally. 

Forests and Trees

Trees as energy transducers: wind, sun and rainfall. Wind and Forests: Understanding how trees deflect wind, absorb it's impact, affect temperature change ( type of chill-effect).  Light and Forests. Design for absorption and transmission or reflection of light by trees. Understanding the use of light, photosynthesis by trees and more.

Rain, trees and ground water tables

• Prevention of erosion, transportation of nutrients.
• Function of taproots.
• Value of litter from trees.
• How ground water is filled.
• The role of trees in transpiring ground water.
• How rain is made, including cloud seeding.
• Why trees put out condensation at night.
• Negative ions from trees - what they do.

The Different Types of Forest

• Fuel
• Food (traditional orchards, classic vines and trees, indigenous fruit crops)
• Forage
• Shelterbelt and animal barrier
• Structural forests
• Natural and Conserved forests
• Establishment of Forest
• Forest management
• 'Weeds' of the your local native Bushland or Forests.  
• Identification and organic removal options. And staging plans for widespread weed infestations.

Vital Water in The Landscape

Water is a rare mineral and the world's most critical resource.  Learn how to manage water, ensuring that it is contained and filtered, not polluted and recycled as many times as possible by your system.  Learn to use water as many times as possible before it passes through the system.  Slow water to reduce erosion. The Duties of Water: to procreate life,  to develop productive water systems,  to develop hydraulic uses for energy production.  In particular we can: Increase surface storages, Reduce run-off, Decrease evaporation.   

The essential techniques are:

• Soil storage (rehabilitation of compressed and/or sealed soils)
• Swales (soakage to high groundwater)
• Mulch (prevention of evaporation)
• Small surface storages (dams and tanks)
• Dams and natural swimming pools
• Evaporation strategy
• Large roofed tank
• Irrigation Systems and rules (arid regions)
• Managing Waste Water
• Clearing polluted water; Greywater.

Aquaculture and Mariculture

Aquaculture is the employment of water systems for food production.  Mariculture is the management of salted water for food production.  These include mangroves, estuaries and tidal areas. Learn how to select species (plant and animals) for pond size. Set up self-forage Polyculture systems for fish.  Pond sizes and productivity.  What to avoid and how to be successful on a small scale.

Wildlife Management and Biological Pest Control.

Buildings and Structures

Housework: Design for ease of permaculture activities such as recycling, seed saving, gardening, and housework. Permaculture aims to reduce waste - your time that may be wasted also counts. People friendly homes can be designed for reduced housework (maintenance) load and more time to be productive.
Commerce and light industry in home, Function of the Garden, Kitchen and Wet Zones, The Indoor/Outdoor relationship of people-friendly homes.

Module 3: Invisible Structures.

Waste Disposal and Recycling

The use of water and different plants as cleansers of system pollution.  Waste reduction and Recycling methods: domestic, commercial, community recycling of materials and other resources.  (see also TOPIC: Recycling in the Community).

Design for catastrophe

Appropriate Energy Conserving Technology

What Is Energy? The history of human 'energy' use.  Forms of Energy. Why Change To Renewable Energy Sources?

• The effects of climate change on plant and animal species.
• Oxygen, CO and the greenhouse effect
• The two Ozone layers
• Transport, the car and the mobile society
• The cost of our waste and the mounting problems for future generations.

Domestic energy use: Behavioural

• Lifestyle choices: Including: Cooking, holiday choices, night activity, power independent entertainment, meal sharing.
• House design: (as discussed extensively in Buildings and Structures the house must be designed for climate, utilizing energy conserving siting, use of plants and use of structures such as greenhouse, shadehouse, ponds etc.)
• Transport: the hidden costs of current transport choices.
• Technological: energy generation and choice of appliances
• Climate control and room heating options;
• Hot water supplies; Electricity and lighting; Photovoltaics, Windpower, Energy-conserving lights, Hydroelectric power, Gas and Kerosene lighting.
• Cooking and cook-stoves, food preserving methods.
  Why each person should become part of their food production processes (cooking, preserving) - and Kitchen design and use to encourage interest in cooking and nutrition. Refrigeration and cooling.
• Washing and drying clothes.
• Water conservation Water tank off roof, ideally located uphill from the house, Grey water catchment designs; Compost toilets; Dual-flush toilets; Hydraulic Systems; Pumps and waterlifts; Hydraulic rams and pumps; Water wheels; Water turbines; Hydro-pneumatics (air compression); Harnessing tide or stream flow.
• Biothermal systems Composting toilets etc. are discussed in Waste Disposal and Recycling, Compost heat, biogas, solar ponds, wind kettles, etc.

Permaculture System Supplies.

Seed saving - collection and exchange.  Perennializing annuals - how to reduce the need for seeds.  Need for specialised, permaculture nurseries for unusual plants, e.g. bamboo, palm, cacti and forage species. Seed companies -why you should buy from small, non-hybridized stock. Books, association, magazines and centres. Government bodies providing advice.  Developing Local Contacts.

Classical Landscape Profiles

Recognising different landscape profiles and how this affects the design. Reading the landscape can help anticipate natural disaster, the use of 'fill' on commercial properties, flood potential and more. Learn to work with all landscape types including Volcanic, High Islands, Low Islands, Coastlines, Wetlands, Estuaries and

Humid Landscapes: Keyline system of water control, Treatment of Individual Slopes, Flatlands.  Arid Landscapes: Swales, Dams, Mulch, Pits, Shade.  Climatic Differences in soil fertility; growth patterns; energy needs. Learn about the most productive methods for different landscapes and climates. Permaculture designers are equipped to work further afield, from deserts to atolls.  

The Use of Pattern in design

This is an important part of Permaculture Design. Observation skill development and awareness is the basis of evolutionary design. The value of different patterns in your design work. Observing patterns in natural ecosystems. Design for growth and predicting patterns of change. Understanding the Edge effect and how to use it. 

Flow Patterns

River flow patterns can be used to scour deep ponds, aerate the water, to accumulate mulch on edges, and to build up a layer of silt.  Flow patterns need to be appreciated in order to work with water and wind systems.

Recycling in the Community

This section is two parts:

1. Recycling of materials, advantages of large scale community systems, and

2. Recycling of goods and services by control of the common exchange medium - money.

A worthwhile goal of any community is to keep the money saved and earned cycling within itself. The only way to do this is to establish financial and economic systems in the community, such as credit union, revolving loan fund, or local currency.

Wealth is stored energy and Energy is wealth.

Community economics falls into 2 broad categories:  The informal economy, e.g. barter. and The formal economy, subject to accounting procedures.

Learn about your local money/exchange structures. Are you a member of your local LETS network? Where are the local Co-ops. Choose which bank should have the privilege of your money. Learn about Earthbank and 'ethical investment' , community land access schemes and much more.

• Producer-Consumer cooperatives
• Community savings and loans
• Bioregional currency systems- Local currencies
• Earthbank
• Leasing systems
• Land Access And Urban Systems:
• City Farms
• City as Farm; Gleaning
• Farm Link
• Farm and Garden Clubs
• Commonworks
• Trusteeships and land trusts
• Legal Forms:
• Discretionary trusts
• Non-profit, Education, Charitable trusts
• Subscription trusts (investment trust)

Permaculture Village Development

Why not cities?

Towards new Eco-cities; renovating exisiting cities. Limiting factors to the growth of cities. City attractants - why people move to the main cities. The role of agriculture in supplying cities, and the dependence of cities on fossil fuels for production and transportation costs of its consumables.

How to design and set up a Permaculture Villages

• Permaculture Village infrastructure and activities.
• Design for Diversity : occupants; needs and interaction.
• Design for all ages to be active members of the community. From care for the aged through to care and design for children.

Small business opportunities and Permaculture

• Potential Enterprises and Occupations (Commerce)
• Co-operatives and Decentralised work places.
• The Role of 'Cash' crops in Third World and developed Nations
• Setting about in Small business as a Permaculturalist.
• Strategies applicable to small business.
• What makes a small business successful?
• Eco - tourism: what are the costs and benefits to the environment and the community?

Permaculture and Industry:

• Leading arguments in the Environmental Quality Systems,
• Quality Assurance
• Total Quality Control and the issues relating to reduction of waste (human and material resources)
• Environmental Quality Systems

How Permaculture Trainees Operate.

Only Graduates of a permaculture design course are entitled to operate a small business using the word 'Permaculture'.  Graduates of a permaculture design course can teach the design course to others and are encouraged to be active in their community either: passively by sharing their better lifestyle practice; or actively teaching and encouraging others.  Graduates of a permaculture design course are designated by the Permaculture Institute as "trainee permaculture designers" and must complete at least 2 years work in any permaculture field (as designated below) in order to graduate to your Diploma. You can qualify for your Diploma in any one of 11 different fields. Diplomas are issued by the continental Permaculture Institute (see references). Higher degree may be obtained; contact Bill Mollison at Permaculture Institute, Australia. All design course graduates should maintain a subscription to the Permaculture Journal to keep abreast of news and changes.  Report-writing and client needs, Learn how to write and design permaculture systems professionally for your clients. Also, how to avoid common errors in Design for clients, Creating work

Student's contribution.

Student work examples are included in all topics.  Students are encouraged to indicate future work and ideas, volunteer for responsibilities, etc. (Student privacy is respected by the institute).

Graduate's assessment of the Course.

Students are encouraged to give a broad assessment of the course and tutors. This shall complement the ongoing student assessment records provided at the close of each session.

Accreditation

In The Foundation Year-Book of The Permaculture Academy compiled by Bill Mollison Edition 1993 Updated 2003 it was written: “OWNERSHIP OF THE COPYRIGHT OF THE WORD “PERMACULTURE” (P.C.) The word Permaculture was defined and copyrighted by publications in the Organic Gardening and Farming Society’s newsletter in Hobart, Tasmania in 1975. The word itself was coined by Bill Mollison, as no succinct word or publication had previously been applied to whole system design. In 1978, the publication of Permaculture One established the first book on conscious design of whole landscapes, and again established the word Permaculture as unique. Ownership of the copyright is equally invested (by Bill Mollison) in the Permaculture Institutes and its graduates from a Certificated Permaculture Course. It cannot be given away except to graduates. Copyright was deliberately sought, and the unique name coined so that this system of education could not be pre-empted by existing institutions or government agencies, but belongs to certificated individuals and Permaculture Institutes (as corporate bodies). The intention of the copyright is to keep the educational area (with its considerable goodwill) to those who know what a Permaculture course consists of! No person who is not a course graduate can use this name for profit; all normal uses for purposes of reviews, discussion, news items and so on is permitted, and graduates (but only graduates) of courses can register for-profit enterprises or corporations using this name. Likewise, Permaculture graduates who are appointed to or who belong to other teaching institutions can teach courses; that institution itself, however, cannot use the name for profit, or for raising funds, if its directors are not graduates, nor should any such directors be appointed to Permaculture Institutes or their boards. Non profit Permaculture associations freely use the name, as can any association of people with a common interest in Permaculture, but not for paid or certificated courses. Where non certificated teachers offer paid courses on Permaculture they have been successfully challenged by several graduates, but also invited to attend a full course and to later continue their teaching. Such pirate courses have been found to be more akin to organic farming or ‘new age’ mysticism than applied design, so that the necessity for copyright has been validated. This publication also clearly delineates the controls we must demand for higher degrees, and gives additional facilitation to our graduates by the establishment of a College of Graduates; in effect, a professional association of experienced people."

In 2010, Tagari removed it's teacher registration facility but a list of former approved Tagari Teachers is available here. Permaculture Visions keeps a Register of Permaculture Visions Graduates. Graduates from Permaculture Visions courses may apply to teach using our course notes through the Permaculture Visions teacher support project.   Permaculture Visions has international copyright of it's online and published material.

Learn more here about: 

© Leisure Coast Permaculture Visions For more information, e-mail us at