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- Permaculture Design
- What is Permaculture?
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- Output 1 Making room for new beginnings; creating conscious space for good design>
- Output 2 Beginning the Design Process; Observing and interacting>
- Output 3 Stacking functions>
- Our current living space; Alex`s house and garden>
- Pete`s house; Turning a monster into an ally!
- Integrating permaculture design into my work place>
- Forest gardening at Margam Park...
- Raising Seth - supporting my son`s journey>
- Extracts from learning journal
- Process reflection
- Appendix
- Appendix ll. Tutor & Peer review
- Output 4 Small and slow solutions>
- Our current living space; Alex`s house and garden>
- Pete`s house; turning a monster into an ally!
- Integrating Permaculture design into my work place
- Forest gardening at Margam Park
- Raising Seth; Supporting our son`s journey.
- Getting to grips with technology!
- Extracts from learning Journal
- Process reflection
- Output 5, Accept and respond to feedback>
- Output 6
- Output 7
- Output 8
- Output 9
- Output 10
- Completed Designs>
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Welcome to my Diploma Portfolio
My Permaculture Design certificate
During June 2011 I attended a 72 hour Permaculture Design Course at the Patch in Attleborough in Norfolk. My Tutor was Richard Perkins.
My Diploma Portfolio will be divided into 10 separate outputs or projects;
Output One Output Two Output Three Output Four Output Five
Output Six Output Seven Output Eight Output Nine Output Ten
What is the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design? The Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design is internationally recognised as the next step for people who have done a Permaculture Design Course.* The Diploma formally recognises and accredits a person’s permaculture practice. This is particularly important for individuals who are teaching permaculture, offering permaculture services, developing and running permaculture projects.
Why is the Diploma important? The Diploma is important for three main reasons:
If you have reached this point you can register with the Permaculture Association and become a Diploma Apprentice.
Who is eligible to do the Diploma? The requirements to do the Diploma are very straightforward. You need to:
*Also known as the 'Full Design Course', the '72 hour Design Course', the 'PDC', the 'Certificate Course', 'Building Sustainable Communities course' (Brighton), and 'Permaculture Systems' (ACS Distance Education).
My Diploma Portfolio will be divided into 10 separate outputs or projects;
Output One Output Two Output Three Output Four Output Five
Output Six Output Seven Output Eight Output Nine Output Ten
What is the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design? The Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design is internationally recognised as the next step for people who have done a Permaculture Design Course.* The Diploma formally recognises and accredits a person’s permaculture practice. This is particularly important for individuals who are teaching permaculture, offering permaculture services, developing and running permaculture projects.
Why is the Diploma important? The Diploma is important for three main reasons:
- Firstly, it is a structured programme of support for people that want to learn more about permaculture. This allows us to develop our skills and become more confident practitioners.
- Secondly it helps to develop the network. Projects can be chosen to support the wider network, and the network of tutors help to connect people via interests and learning topics.
- Thirdly, its our system of quality assurance, that can help people to decide whether someone is competent to teach, design or offer other permaculture services.
- using permaculture as part of paid or voluntary work
- developing a home and garden
- getting involved in a local community or neighbourhood project
- working on a transition town initiative
- developing a sustainable business
- learning new professional skills
- applying permaculture in the workplace to ‘green it up’
- developing a new life plan
If you have reached this point you can register with the Permaculture Association and become a Diploma Apprentice.
Who is eligible to do the Diploma? The requirements to do the Diploma are very straightforward. You need to:
- have successfully completed a Permaculture Design Course; and
- be a current member of the Permaculture Association; and
- be based in Britain.
*Also known as the 'Full Design Course', the '72 hour Design Course', the 'PDC', the 'Certificate Course', 'Building Sustainable Communities course' (Brighton), and 'Permaculture Systems' (ACS Distance Education).
What are the benefits of doing the Diploma? The Diploma helps develop and integrate permaculture theory and practice into your everyday life, it is a real step on from the introductory stages of the craft gained on the PDC. It will help you to:
Is it a taught course? No, it’s not a taught course like the Design Course. The Diploma is an extended period of self-directed learning. It is based around the projects and activities that you are involved in and that you set yourself. Someone working towards their Diploma uses the skills of self-managed study and practice. You are actively encouraged to develop these learning and study skills as you go along.
It is recommended that at the start of your Diploma you consciously apply the permaculture design process to create your own ‘learning pathway’, this can then be reviewed at intervals throughout your Diploma journey. This maps out what you want to do, and when you might do it. It can include tutorials, projects, design work, portfolio development, reviews and time for reflection and new learning. You are unlikely to know everything in detail, so mapping out the first six months is a good place to start. See the website for example learning pathways.
Your learning pathway design can qualify to be included as one of the designs for your Diploma portfolio. It is recommended that you use the action learning model as your learning method throughout your learning pathway.
How long does it take? You have to have been actively practising applied permaculture design for a minimum of two years after completing your Permaculture Design Course before you can be considered for accreditation. The 'Supported Route' (what we are describing in this guidebook) takes a minimum of two years, from when you register, to when you go forward for accreditation. There is no upper limit to how long you can take to complete your Diploma, however there is a small annual fee to remain registered as an apprentice, and you need to remain a member of the Association. The 'Independent Route' is a means for people who have been practising applied permaculture design for a minimum of two years since they completed their permaculture design course, to accredit prior work. (See next heading).
I've got a body of work already, can I get this accredited? Yes, if you have been practising applied permaculture design for a minimum of two years since you completed your Permaculture Design Course, and you have work from that period that fulfils the accreditation criteria, you can do the 'Independent Route'. If this is the case, and you want to go straight to accreditation, go to the chapter titled 'Independent Route'. Most of this guidebook is written for people doing the 'Supported Route', so in that chapter it will tell you which other bits you need to read.
Please note that in our experience, people rarely have a sufficient body of work to successfully accredit within two years, unless they have been very deliberately working towards accreditation from the outset. Previous versions of the Diploma only allowed people working independently to accredit after five years of practical work.
What can I do for my Diploma? You must clearly demonstrate that you have developed your proficiency in the Permaculture Design process through reflecting on, learning from and building on your own practice over time. These designs are generated by the different projects and activities you get involved in. As examples, your designs might include:
Essentially you can do whatever you like – whatever is needed, for people paying you to design for them, perhaps, or for your own family, friends and community.
You can do as many designs as you like. In fact you are encouraged to do get into the habit of doing them as a natural part of what you do. Some might be quick and simple 'back of the envelope', some much more detailed. Eventually you will choose to present a selection of your best designs to accredit for the Diploma.
How much do I need to do for my Diploma?
A portfolio of ten completed designs is recommended as a good guide to the level of sufficient work for diploma accreditation. However this is a recommendation rather than a strict rule, as the level of work for a design can vary greatly, and projects vary enormously in time-span and scale. A single project may have many design opportunities within it.
Personal tutor On the Supported Route, you will have a Personal Tutor with whom you will have your Induction Event and four other Personal Tutorials (as a minimum), these being spread out over the duration of your Diploma Pathway.
The role of your Personal Tutor is to support you throughout your Diploma Pathway and to be your first point of contact if any issues arise. We differentiate between two kinds of support that can be provided in the tutorials.
· There is Action Learning Support which involves helping you reflect on your learning process, and
· there is Design Support which solely focuses on your design work.
Your Personal Tutorials can be used for Action Learning Support and/or Design Support. You agree what the focus of the tutorials will be with your tutor at the start. One of the major challenges and also benefits of the Diploma is that it requires a high degree of self-management; Action Learning support can help you with this by supporting you to reflect on your process through the Diploma and help you plan ahead.
Peer Support If you are following the Association’s Supported Route, you are encouraged to be part of a Learning Support Guild with other Diploma Apprentices. Very often people work with other graduates from their design course, especially if they have done it quite recently. There might also be a system set up by local permaculture tutors for learning support guilds. You might also work with other Apprentices on a joint project, such as setting up a local permaculture group, if there isn’t one nearby.
You can ask other people to help you with action learning, especially if there aren’t many other Diploma Apprentices in your local area. They might not be permaculturists, but could be doing their own action learning for another qualification, or for personal or professional development, or involved in some other 'world change' activity and benefit from a conscious learning approach.
You can also form non-geographically based learning support guilds with other Diploma apprentices nationally. These may be based around specific interests. These guilds can be set up and meet at national Diploma events or other national events and can be maintained through on-line communication.
The Permaculture Association The Permaculture Association office is a point of contact for all diploma apprentices with any queries that your tutor cannot answer. If your query can be e-mailed this is our preferred option. Different queries are dealt with by different staff members, so the list below can help you decide who to address your query to in order to get the quickest response:
We value our Diploma Apprentices and Diploma holders as an important section of the Permaculture Association membership. Once you have registered you will receive quarterly e-mail communication from the central office with a Diploma update, information and opportunities as they arise.
Also as a member of the Association you can make use of all the usual membership benefits. So If you cannot find the answer to your query on the website, you can contact the Permaculture Association office by phone or email with any queries you have. We can support you with identifying appropriate contacts, training, literature and so on. If we can't help you directly we will try to signpost you to another suitable organisation or network.
- become a skilled permaculture practitioner;
- broaden your knowledge and understanding of how to do permaculture;
- deepen your experience of permaculture design by doing it;
- support your own professional quality assurance as a designer;
- create new knowledge about permaculture:
- contribute to the body of permaculture design work available to the national network;
- collaborate with other people locally and nationally;
- connect with education and research work within the Permaculture Association;
- gain national recognition for your work;
- put you at the cutting edge of sustainability!
- become a lead tutor on a Permaculture Design Course;
- become a Diploma tutor; and
- provide independently verified evidence of your skill as a permaculture designer to clients.
Is it a taught course? No, it’s not a taught course like the Design Course. The Diploma is an extended period of self-directed learning. It is based around the projects and activities that you are involved in and that you set yourself. Someone working towards their Diploma uses the skills of self-managed study and practice. You are actively encouraged to develop these learning and study skills as you go along.
It is recommended that at the start of your Diploma you consciously apply the permaculture design process to create your own ‘learning pathway’, this can then be reviewed at intervals throughout your Diploma journey. This maps out what you want to do, and when you might do it. It can include tutorials, projects, design work, portfolio development, reviews and time for reflection and new learning. You are unlikely to know everything in detail, so mapping out the first six months is a good place to start. See the website for example learning pathways.
Your learning pathway design can qualify to be included as one of the designs for your Diploma portfolio. It is recommended that you use the action learning model as your learning method throughout your learning pathway.
How long does it take? You have to have been actively practising applied permaculture design for a minimum of two years after completing your Permaculture Design Course before you can be considered for accreditation. The 'Supported Route' (what we are describing in this guidebook) takes a minimum of two years, from when you register, to when you go forward for accreditation. There is no upper limit to how long you can take to complete your Diploma, however there is a small annual fee to remain registered as an apprentice, and you need to remain a member of the Association. The 'Independent Route' is a means for people who have been practising applied permaculture design for a minimum of two years since they completed their permaculture design course, to accredit prior work. (See next heading).
I've got a body of work already, can I get this accredited? Yes, if you have been practising applied permaculture design for a minimum of two years since you completed your Permaculture Design Course, and you have work from that period that fulfils the accreditation criteria, you can do the 'Independent Route'. If this is the case, and you want to go straight to accreditation, go to the chapter titled 'Independent Route'. Most of this guidebook is written for people doing the 'Supported Route', so in that chapter it will tell you which other bits you need to read.
Please note that in our experience, people rarely have a sufficient body of work to successfully accredit within two years, unless they have been very deliberately working towards accreditation from the outset. Previous versions of the Diploma only allowed people working independently to accredit after five years of practical work.
What can I do for my Diploma? You must clearly demonstrate that you have developed your proficiency in the Permaculture Design process through reflecting on, learning from and building on your own practice over time. These designs are generated by the different projects and activities you get involved in. As examples, your designs might include:
- a design for your home
- a design for your garden (these two design projects are generally excellent places to start if you haven't done them already)
- designs for your smallholding, farm or other land-based project
- applying permaculture to your transition town initiative or community group
- designing aspects of your business operation, or planning a new business
- using permaculture to transform your workplace
- applying permaculture to setting up and running local events or convergences
- working on projects suggested by the Permaculture Association to assist network development
- applying permaculture design to your own action learning pathway
Essentially you can do whatever you like – whatever is needed, for people paying you to design for them, perhaps, or for your own family, friends and community.
You can do as many designs as you like. In fact you are encouraged to do get into the habit of doing them as a natural part of what you do. Some might be quick and simple 'back of the envelope', some much more detailed. Eventually you will choose to present a selection of your best designs to accredit for the Diploma.
How much do I need to do for my Diploma?
A portfolio of ten completed designs is recommended as a good guide to the level of sufficient work for diploma accreditation. However this is a recommendation rather than a strict rule, as the level of work for a design can vary greatly, and projects vary enormously in time-span and scale. A single project may have many design opportunities within it.
Personal tutor On the Supported Route, you will have a Personal Tutor with whom you will have your Induction Event and four other Personal Tutorials (as a minimum), these being spread out over the duration of your Diploma Pathway.
The role of your Personal Tutor is to support you throughout your Diploma Pathway and to be your first point of contact if any issues arise. We differentiate between two kinds of support that can be provided in the tutorials.
· There is Action Learning Support which involves helping you reflect on your learning process, and
· there is Design Support which solely focuses on your design work.
Your Personal Tutorials can be used for Action Learning Support and/or Design Support. You agree what the focus of the tutorials will be with your tutor at the start. One of the major challenges and also benefits of the Diploma is that it requires a high degree of self-management; Action Learning support can help you with this by supporting you to reflect on your process through the Diploma and help you plan ahead.
Peer Support If you are following the Association’s Supported Route, you are encouraged to be part of a Learning Support Guild with other Diploma Apprentices. Very often people work with other graduates from their design course, especially if they have done it quite recently. There might also be a system set up by local permaculture tutors for learning support guilds. You might also work with other Apprentices on a joint project, such as setting up a local permaculture group, if there isn’t one nearby.
You can ask other people to help you with action learning, especially if there aren’t many other Diploma Apprentices in your local area. They might not be permaculturists, but could be doing their own action learning for another qualification, or for personal or professional development, or involved in some other 'world change' activity and benefit from a conscious learning approach.
You can also form non-geographically based learning support guilds with other Diploma apprentices nationally. These may be based around specific interests. These guilds can be set up and meet at national Diploma events or other national events and can be maintained through on-line communication.
The Permaculture Association The Permaculture Association office is a point of contact for all diploma apprentices with any queries that your tutor cannot answer. If your query can be e-mailed this is our preferred option. Different queries are dealt with by different staff members, so the list below can help you decide who to address your query to in order to get the quickest response:
We value our Diploma Apprentices and Diploma holders as an important section of the Permaculture Association membership. Once you have registered you will receive quarterly e-mail communication from the central office with a Diploma update, information and opportunities as they arise.
Also as a member of the Association you can make use of all the usual membership benefits. So If you cannot find the answer to your query on the website, you can contact the Permaculture Association office by phone or email with any queries you have. We can support you with identifying appropriate contacts, training, literature and so on. If we can't help you directly we will try to signpost you to another suitable organisation or network.