No English courses are planned for 2024
The PDC course teaching continues in Latvia. In 2015 and 2017 Norwegian and Swiss trainers have led three PDC courses in Latvia. Since 2021 Latvian Permaculture Association with Diploma holder Thomas Krueger started organising PDC courses. In 2022 there was a PDC course with two working languages - Latvian and English.
The course is open to all, regardless of any previous experience or literacy levels. We will follow the international guidelines to cover the course syllabus in full. The content and teaching style is aimed at those wishing to apply permaculture in any setting, although it is particularly suitable for those interested in developing livelihoods and enterprises. We want to help you apply permaculture thinking to a wide range of applications, in a flexible way. We aim to provide you with the tools to facilitate family and community-based projects of all kinds. Many of our students go on to set up permaculture-inspired initiatives of their own.
Our course is very practical and we are out in nature as much as possible. That is well regarded in the 2017 and 2022 course feedback videos. The fundamentals and theoretical knowledge is covered in the first days and other shorter moments throughout the program. We emphasize social permaculture ("People care") in several workshops through the course.
The course is open to all, regardless of any previous experience or literacy levels. We will follow the international guidelines to cover the course syllabus in full. The content and teaching style is aimed at those wishing to apply permaculture in any setting, although it is particularly suitable for those interested in developing livelihoods and enterprises. We want to help you apply permaculture thinking to a wide range of applications, in a flexible way. We aim to provide you with the tools to facilitate family and community-based projects of all kinds. Many of our students go on to set up permaculture-inspired initiatives of their own.
Our course is very practical and we are out in nature as much as possible. That is well regarded in the 2017 and 2022 course feedback videos. The fundamentals and theoretical knowledge is covered in the first days and other shorter moments throughout the program. We emphasize social permaculture ("People care") in several workshops through the course.
The PDC course takes place one week in late May and one week in late August
The total costs for the 72-hour, two-week course, catering and (simple) accommodation are kept as low as possible.
The course is limited to a maximum of 20 participants so that adequate training can be guaranteed.
The reservation fee of 100€ in advance is necessary to reserve one of the coveted 20 places and that will be offset against the course fee.
It is possible to pay for the course in settlements and must be paid in full by the end of the first course week.
The total costs for the 72-hour, two-week course, catering and (simple) accommodation are kept as low as possible.
The course is limited to a maximum of 20 participants so that adequate training can be guaranteed.
The reservation fee of 100€ in advance is necessary to reserve one of the coveted 20 places and that will be offset against the course fee.
It is possible to pay for the course in settlements and must be paid in full by the end of the first course week.
As experience from 2021 and 2022 has reassured us, we will hold a two-part PDC course again next year – a week in May and August. The division in two has several advantages:
- The participants are not away for a longer stretch from home, farm and family;
- Practical work in spring can be examined in late summer and conclusions made;
- The first practical exercises and learning experiences in the first week can be worked on within the individual projects over the summer and these can be discussed in late summer;
- The absorption capacity of each individual decreases considerably after 7-8 days;
- However, in comparison with weekend PDC courses, two full weeks allows for much deeper and better focus, possibly transforming some of our perspectives/paradigms; as well as much closer and trustful group dynamics develop.
What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a way to cooperate with the living world, instead of trying to dominate it. Indigenous and other Earth-based people have practiced “permaculture” for generations, without calling it that. In fact, the field of permaculture is simply one modern set of tools, vocabulary, and techniques for remembering this original relationship between humans and the greater-than-human world. As permaculturists, the living world is our guide when we design living landscapes, human settlements, organizations and our lives.
Permaculture is an interdisciplinary approach to ecological design. That means it involves lots of different tools and techniques; from mapping and measuring, to watching the movement of water, to gardening, botany, building, and even human communication. It’s a way of looking at, understanding and engaging with living systems that takes into account both the big picture and the minute details. The goal is to help us make smart choices about how to design and interact with the environment around and within us. In practice, permaculture involves identifying the interrelationships of living systems and engaging specific tools and techniques to guide what we do with respect for those systems.
This class will empower you to become an effective ecological designer. You’ll learn tools and skills to integrate permaculture ethics, principles, and whole-systems thinking into any landscape and situation. We follow the Permaculture 72-hour curriculum, which is based on permaculture founder Bill Mollison’s model. To this we’ve added more time covering aspects that we find especially useful, including design considerations for the Nordic bioregion and interactive, hands-on learning and social permaculture.
Permaculture is a vast area of study. A whole lot of information and skills are packed into the PDC course curriculum. Each day of learning is very full, including morning and afternoon sessions, plus project work and studying that you can do in the evenings. We incorporate breaks into the flow of the class, but keep in mind that it is intensive. You’ll be living, breathing, and probably dreaming permaculture during the course. As one student put it, “I really really loved this course so much and never could have guessed that we would cover so much in so little time!”
Permaculture is a way to cooperate with the living world, instead of trying to dominate it. Indigenous and other Earth-based people have practiced “permaculture” for generations, without calling it that. In fact, the field of permaculture is simply one modern set of tools, vocabulary, and techniques for remembering this original relationship between humans and the greater-than-human world. As permaculturists, the living world is our guide when we design living landscapes, human settlements, organizations and our lives.
Permaculture is an interdisciplinary approach to ecological design. That means it involves lots of different tools and techniques; from mapping and measuring, to watching the movement of water, to gardening, botany, building, and even human communication. It’s a way of looking at, understanding and engaging with living systems that takes into account both the big picture and the minute details. The goal is to help us make smart choices about how to design and interact with the environment around and within us. In practice, permaculture involves identifying the interrelationships of living systems and engaging specific tools and techniques to guide what we do with respect for those systems.
This class will empower you to become an effective ecological designer. You’ll learn tools and skills to integrate permaculture ethics, principles, and whole-systems thinking into any landscape and situation. We follow the Permaculture 72-hour curriculum, which is based on permaculture founder Bill Mollison’s model. To this we’ve added more time covering aspects that we find especially useful, including design considerations for the Nordic bioregion and interactive, hands-on learning and social permaculture.
Permaculture is a vast area of study. A whole lot of information and skills are packed into the PDC course curriculum. Each day of learning is very full, including morning and afternoon sessions, plus project work and studying that you can do in the evenings. We incorporate breaks into the flow of the class, but keep in mind that it is intensive. You’ll be living, breathing, and probably dreaming permaculture during the course. As one student put it, “I really really loved this course so much and never could have guessed that we would cover so much in so little time!”
Who should attend the permaculture design course?
Our participants share the permaculture ethic of care and respect for all the living systems on the planet, together with a desire to put right any damage caused in the past. People from all backgrounds are welcome, we are not asking anyone to change any of their beliefs, just to consider the evidence in front of them.
There are no other particular requirements or qualifications that you need before you can join us on this course.
If you are a more "practical" person, you can use the opportunity to be more reflective. If you are more of an ideas person, then this is the chance to start putting those ideas into practice.
Whatever your background and your experience, you are welcome to attend. If your experience is around homes and gardens, your work is important, and we would hope to make your activities even more effective. If you work in farming or forestry, have a craft or trade, you could explore how to develop your business further. If you are a professional, an architect, an engineer, a teacher, you can work out how to make your practice meet the challenges of a changing world.
Many of our participants have found the course useful in helping them get more organised and run local projects more effectively.
Our participants share the permaculture ethic of care and respect for all the living systems on the planet, together with a desire to put right any damage caused in the past. People from all backgrounds are welcome, we are not asking anyone to change any of their beliefs, just to consider the evidence in front of them.
There are no other particular requirements or qualifications that you need before you can join us on this course.
If you are a more "practical" person, you can use the opportunity to be more reflective. If you are more of an ideas person, then this is the chance to start putting those ideas into practice.
Whatever your background and your experience, you are welcome to attend. If your experience is around homes and gardens, your work is important, and we would hope to make your activities even more effective. If you work in farming or forestry, have a craft or trade, you could explore how to develop your business further. If you are a professional, an architect, an engineer, a teacher, you can work out how to make your practice meet the challenges of a changing world.
Many of our participants have found the course useful in helping them get more organised and run local projects more effectively.
Permaculture is a way that one person or one small group can make a real impact on the fate of the world. Our permaculture courses will empower you with tools and skills to work with your environment – wherever that is – to create oases of balance, harmony, beauty, function and sustainability.
Permaculture classes that prepare you to create the future you want to live in.
This hands-on permaculture design course (PDC) engages the mind, body, and heart. Students get to see permaculture in action in a wide variety of settings, from urban gardens to forest farms. Throughout the program we get our hands dirty and engage all of your senses; it’s about learning by doing. Every one of the instructors incorporates permaculture into their landscapes, businesses, and day-to-day lives. You’ll learn from their successes and failures, as they share candidly about diverse experiences applying permaculture principles to real-life situations.
As already mentioned, we will continue to make the course very practice-oriented.
Permaculture classes that prepare you to create the future you want to live in.
This hands-on permaculture design course (PDC) engages the mind, body, and heart. Students get to see permaculture in action in a wide variety of settings, from urban gardens to forest farms. Throughout the program we get our hands dirty and engage all of your senses; it’s about learning by doing. Every one of the instructors incorporates permaculture into their landscapes, businesses, and day-to-day lives. You’ll learn from their successes and failures, as they share candidly about diverse experiences applying permaculture principles to real-life situations.
As already mentioned, we will continue to make the course very practice-oriented.
Once you’ve completed the course and presented your final design, you will earn your Permaculture Design Certificate. This recognizes all the work that you’ve put in, and all the skills that you’ve learned and demonstrated throughout the course. It’s a jumping-off point to your unique integration of permaculture into your life, whether you plan to design for a living, or just want to work on your own land. If you do plan to make a career out of permaculture, we advise that you first invest a significant amount of time applying your skills with real-world landscapes before you advertise your design skills.
The permaculture design certificate marks the beginning of the road for a professional permaculture designer!
The permaculture design certificate marks the beginning of the road for a professional permaculture designer!