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Permaculture Design

What is Permaculture?

“The use of systems thinking and design principles to provide the organizing framework for implementing sustainable culture.”
David Holmgren,

Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability – 2002

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Ethics 

Permaculture is based on three ethics:

  1. Care of the Earth

  2. Care of the People

  3. Fairshare

 

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The 12 Principles

  1. Observe & interact

  2. Catch & store energy

  3. Obtain a yield

  4. Apply self-regulation & accept feedback

  5. Use and value renewable resources and services

  6. Produce no waste  

  7. Design from patterns to details  

  8. Integrate rather than segregate

  9. Use small & slow solutions

  10. Use and value diversity

  11. Use edges & value the marginal

  12. Creatively use & respond to change

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And now for a fun musical interlude...

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Internationally renowned tutor, Robina McCurdy teaches the Permaculture Design module of the Golden Bay Sustainable Living Course. You will learn how to design and live in a sustainable and regenerative way.    

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This module of the Golden Bay Sustainable Living Course asks of us to fully engage our head, our heart and our hands. It deepens and extends the standard 2-week international Permaculture Design Certificate curriculum over an extended period.  This additional time enables us to offer a broader experience including more community building, hands-on skill-building activities, mini-design exercises, and visits to inspirational properties which demonstrate permaculture in practice.

 

Permaculture Module Content

Land Use Design - designing for regenerative biological and physical systems including:

  • Food forests

  • Sustainable animal systems

  • Water capture systems & usage

  • Designing for climate change

  • Property design from small urban to large rural
     

Other elements of landuse design normally covered in a PD course are covered in these modules: 

  • Organic gardening and soil replenishment in Organic Growing with Sol Morgan.

  • Natural building, alternate energy systems & technology in Alternative Building with Graeme Scott.
     

Design For Community Resilience
The following are taught in Community Resilience by Robina McCurdy and Thalea Tane

  • Social permaculture - the application of permaculture principles to the design of sustainable social systems, for the creation of a healthy, well-functioning society where all can thrive.

  • Transforming our invisible structures eg alternate economic models 
    and equal power governance systems

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We teach in an interactive way which taps into all learning modalities - visual, auditory & kinaesthetic - making learning easy and fun.  The permaculture foundation of the Golden Bay Sustainable Living Course culminates in a comprehensive land-use and social design group project called the Main Design Project which is done for a real client. This provides a mentored opportunity to utilise a substantial amount of the learning gained and publicly present it back in a sequential integrated way.  Project presentations are held in the evening following the completion of the projects. Dinner is provided. 

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Permaculture Design Certificate Requirements

Upon completion of all modules in the Sustainable Living Course and a Main Design project, a Permaculture Design Certificate will be awarded in addition to the Sustainable Living Certificate. 

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