About This Course
A fermentation class at the Sowing Solutions Community Permaculture Hub in Shelburne Falls
Retreat Center Lounge Area for Overnight Guests
 The View from the Retreat House!
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About This Educational Event: The permaculture course is a training for people of all ages who are interested in designing their own home and community landscapes so that they are abundant, healthy, diverse, and contribute to a beneficial legacy for the future. During the course we share extensive resources about creating landscapes and habitats that grow medicine, food, building products, etc, and that are also capable of sequestering carbon so that carbon returns back to our soil and our living earth systems (where it belongs, rather than in the atmosphere). Our teaching staff is a team of leading professional designers and educators from the northeastern USA. The students who attend our program are typically between the ages of 17 and 80+, and the experience and background of each person contributes a unique perspective to the learning group that we form over the weekends together in class sessions. This permaculture course is an educational event full of information sharing, skill-sharing, hands-on learning, and empowerment. These skills of permaculture are one effective way that we can act on behalf of this ecosystem and home that we call Earth. Our Course Dates: The Permaculture Design Certification Course is offered seasonally as a weekend series program with Sowing Solutions Permaculture Design & Education in Western MA, USA. ✨Our Summer 2023 Course Dated will offered as a 4 day weekend in June (June 9-12) two evenings (Thursday June 22 and Wednesday June 28), and a 5 day weekend in July (July 12-16). Attend all days to complete your certification. Some sessions are interactive and online via the comfort of your home, while most sessions are offered during in-person weekends! The Permaculture Design Course will be a unique opportunity to practice design for a local site in the Village of Shelburne Falls. You will be guided by a team of professional designers to conduct a design from initial site visit to final presentation. All that we practice in the class for the design project can be mimicked at your home landscape. Learn from Western MA Permaculture Demonstration Sites: Studying permaculture homes, land associations, homesteads, a world-renowned ecovillage, and local farm sites offers you a chance to witness existing and proven permaculture strategies and techniques. You'll learn first hand about: four-season greenhouses, naturally built homes, forest gardens, annual & perennial raised bed vegetable gardens, community decision making, conflict resolution practices, food storage, renewable energy systems, soil improvement, compost strategies, waste recycling, and more! Our permaculture course offers you an opportunity to visit, observe, & evaluate numerous well-established permaculture systems, and learn from them. Course Topics: * Mapmaking *Site Analysis of Sunlight/ Water/ Access/ Soil/ Microclimate/ Experience of Place/ etc. *Ecological Design Process *Permaculture Ethics and Principles *Rainwater Harvesting *Soil Improvement Techniques and Strategies *Deep Ecology *Agroforestry Systems *Forest Gardening with Perennial Foods/ Medicines/ Fuel/ Habitat/ etc *Fungi Inoculation *EcoVillage and Community Life *Seeding and Greenhouse Tasks *Natural Building *Carbon Farming *New Garden Creation *Practical Skills for Permaculture in Your Home *Fermentation and Food Preservation *Nature Connection, etc.... The Certification: A Permaculture Design Certificate signifies that one has completed a 72 hour design course, a study of the ethics, principles, and design practice of Permaculture. It means the holder of the certificate holds applied permaculture experience and a profound toolbox of permaculture techniques, strategies, solutions, resources, and skills. Our Course Locations: We are thrilled to be offering our course at the following local and inspiring location:
Learning Environment: We offer extensive design time and practice, as well as skill shares. In this course you may be: mapping, working with solar light reading tools, sheet mulching, preserving and fermenting food, mixing earth plaster, designing a forest garden guild, making oxygenated compost tea, preparing herbal medicine, tending to a masonry stove or cob oven, etc. During class time we will integrate the methods of storytelling, slide shows, films, discussions, hands-on design activities, etc. College Credit is Available: Our course qualifies for 3 or 4 college credits from UMASS Amherst, available to all students who are enrolled in the 5 College Consortium. Tuition: Our Program will be offered at a sliding scale of $1250-$1450. If you are able to pay a higher tuition fee, the surplus funds will support another student in the course. Fees for Optional Accommodations & Meals: Accommodations are available for those who wish to stay overnight for additional fees. We have reserved a local retreat house that is spacious, safely distanced, with options for private rooms, for students who wish to stay in the area for the long weekends. Commuting is also an option. Send us an email to request an information packet for accommodation details and pricing. Local organic breakfasts and dinners are also prepared for overnight guests ~ you can sign up for one or for all of these meals. Local organic lunches can be arranged for all students. |
Watch this introductory video about our course ~ This brief video is made by Emmett Brennan, one of our course graduates ~ He is one of the filmmakers who created the film 'Inhabit, A Permaculture Perspective'!!!!