Permaculture 1

Permaculture is the conscious design of landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fiber, and energy for the provision of local needs. In this 2- day workshop we will cover ethics, principles, and design methodology of permaculture to create a sustainable now. We won’t spend any time on rehashing negatives but will focus on grounding people in a paradigm of sanity and empowerment. The workshop will be held at our farm that has been designed utilizing the ethics, principles, and design methodology of permaculture. We will explore our design and see first hand how all the systems operate. These 2 days will end with groups creating and presenting a permaculture design for a specific site.

When: January 26 and 27
9am–5pm
Cost: $75 or one day work trade¹

Permaculture 2

In this 2-day workshop we will delve deeply into the permaculture agenda exploring two connected topics; systems thinking and ecological agriculture. We will begin by exploring a new way of knowing that is holistic and biological. One way to describe permaculture is landscape design based in systems thinking. It is just about the opposite of how most of us were trained to think. How we think is so deeply ingrained in us that most of us don’t ever realize there are alternative ways of knowing. The limits to the dominant way of knowing in our culture, namely reductionism, is becoming increasingly evident as human and ecological systems continue to degrade. Thinking in systems is the foundation upon which regenerative, ecological, and social solutions can be implemented. We will relate this new way of knowing to agriculture, politics, and communication to come up with a pattern language for a regenerative society.

We will finish with an in depth look at ecological agriculture. Topics will include: forest gardening, aquaculture, integration of systems, animals large and small, ecology, Gaia, natural history, indigenous land management techniques, implementation strategies, and more. In this course we will look at agriculture with a systems perspective and see how we can design our gardens and farms in the image of an ecosystem.

We hope people will leave the course with a better understanding of the framework of their thoughts (assumptions) and an understanding of a new way of knowing that will empower them to look at old problems with new lenses and come up with holistic solutions that solve them.

​When: February 9 and 10 9am–5pm Cost: $75 or one day work trade¹

Lunch and dinner will be provided as an option on both days for winter courses. Five dollars is asked for each meal.