1 WEEK PDC // 11 – 18 OCTOBER 2020
Join the Permaculture movement, gain practical answers and solutions for designing your home as well as today's global problems and immerse yourself into a transformative lifestyle that can make a real difference for you, the global community and our planet!
Together we'll bring your project ideas to life during this course.
COURSE OVERVIEW
Our 1 week Permaculture Design Certificate course (PDC) is tailored to those who want to design their land, homestead or project and wish to know more about advanced land design techniques that will create self-sufficient and independent systems. It is also designed to accommodate those who cannot commit to two weeks away from their homes and are looking for a shortened duration of on-location stay while still wanting to have a tactile experience on a Permaculture site.
There are two parts to this PDC. The first is what we call the “residency”. This is when students will, physically, spend one week with us at Terra Alta in which time they will:
Engage in the garden in one daily hands-on session
Provide us with the details of their project
Learn about the core curriculum (Ethics, Principles, and What is Permaculture?)
Learn about the Permaculture land design method called "SADIM" (see description below)
Learn about designing self-sufficient homesteads
And more topics as listed below
Please note that as we will be harvesting information from students during the first week to ensure a tailored experience, we will only inform you of the detailed protocol of the second, remote part of our course, at the end of the first week.
The second part takes place online over the course of three months, when students are back home. Here they will start to design their own project based on what they have learned in the first week. This entire process will be guided using one-to-one mentoring and data exchange. Think of it as a “remote mentorship”.
During this time, students will:
Be granted (lifetime) access to our Slab online knowledge base (see description below)
Have two private consultations with lead facilitator on their project via video conference
Exchange information about their design with the lead facilitator of the course via email and data sharing
It will be self-paced, meaning you get to schedule your private mentoring sessions within a three month period after the first part of the course has ended.
DIFFERENCE FROM REGULAR PDC
Our 1 week PDC differs from our regular one in format and focus. In the 1 week format, students design their own project individually. In our regular PDC students work on case studies and submit final designs as a group. While the core remains the same, certain topics that are covered in the regular PDC are not in the 1 week course. They are both certificate courses.
*Please note the date listed below is for the 1-week residency. The remote portion of this course will be self-paced.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
COURSE FEE
750 euros
This includes food and camping. Upon registering you will be asked for your details and a registration fee of 200 euros to secure your spot. This is a deposit and part of the course fee. You just pay the balance when you arrive. We have a refund policy.
Please note that we require a minimum of 8 participants signed-up to run a course. As such, please book your modes of transportation over with cancellation insurance (rest assured you'll receive your full deposit back should we cancel – which is usually never the case).
COURSE LANGUAGE
All our courses are conducted in English.
ACCOMMODATION
Camping with your own tent - free
1-2 person size tent is 35 euros*
Bell tent is 150 euros* (per availability, we only have 4)
* Total cost for renting for 1 weeks
For regular tents, it is an additional 25 eur for mats and sleeping bags.
For large tents, included in the cost are mattresses and bedding (including blanket and pillow).
The campsite is a semi-wild area where we have created level terraces among the trees, mushrooms, and stones for people to pitch their tents out of view from the rest of the garden.
FOOD
We serve three vegetarian meals per day with ingredients sourced from our gardens. Students are part of the preparation of lunch and cleaning (karma yoga) as this experience is a component of the course. The crew prepares breakfast and dinner.
Video Channel
"Without permanent agriculture, there is no possibility of a stable social order."
Bill Mollison
COURSE TOPICS
The seven domains of permaculture action from David Holmgren
The principles and ethics of permaculture
Permaculture land design process covering topics like surveying, analyzing, designing, implementation, and maintenance.
Orientation to Terra Alta as home and land resource off the grid system
Appropriate technology and sustainable energy systems
Regenerative landscape design
Composting and soil regeneration
Vermicomposting flush toilet system
Introduction to multiple natural buildings techniques
Food Forest design, management, and implementation
Bio Intensive, small scale food production gardens
Building soil and compost strategies
Keyhole gardening, and worms farming
Lo cost and efficient energy systems
Appropriate technology to permaculture, passive solar, solar energy, fire elements
Permaculture Water Management
Permaculture Land and Homestead Design
Students will be introduced to a Permaculture land design method called "SADIM" which stands for Survey, Analysis, Design, Implement and Maintain. We use our land-based project to illustrate this methodology. See our land plan below. Read more about our land features and history of project developments in each area.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
KNOWLEDGE BASE
All students will have lifetime access to our easy-to-use online knowledge base which contains information from the core curriculum presentations, plus additional resources (which we update) to enhance students’ post-PDC self-learning path. This content is meant to be used as a complement to students’ notes taken in class.
MEET YOUR FACILITATOR
Pedro Valdjiu
An agent of cultural transformation and visionary founder, Pedro Valdjiu’s dream to build a model for regenerative culture began with founding the Terra Alta educational center in 2008. 10 years later, his dream has become a reality: Terra Alta has trained hundreds of people through its Permaculture Design Courses and is a model for off-the-grid living.
Within the Permaculture world, Pedro is a certified Permaculture teacher of the UK Association of Permaculture and a project consultant. A student of "rebel farmer" Sepp Holzer and adherent of the teachings of Permaculture co-originator David Holmgren, Pedro hosts and facilitates the PDC's by designing its programs, choosing the team, and giving sessions on the topics he is most passionate about.
He is also the founder of world-renowned band Blasted Mechanism, an award-winning filmmaker, co-founder of Escola da Terra--a Waldorf School that brings a love based education to children in the local community, and father of two beautiful daughters with life long companion Rita Seixas.
MEET YOUR FACILITATOR
PEDRO VALDJIU
An agent of cultural transformation and visionary founder, Pedro Valdjiu’s dream to build a model for regenerative culture began with founding the Terra Alta educational center in 2008. 10 years later, his dream has become a reality: Terra Alta has trained hundreds of people through its Permaculture Design Courses and is a model for off-the-grid living.
Within the Permaculture world, Pedro is a certified Permaculture teacher of the UK Association of Permaculture and a project consultant. A student of "rebel farmer" Sepp Holzer and adherent of the teachings of Permaculture co-originator David Holmgren, Pedro hosts and facilitates the PDC's by designing its programs, choosing the team, and giving sessions on the topics he is most passionate about.
He is also the founder of world-renowned band Blasted Mechanism, an award-winning filmmaker, co-founder of Escola da Terra--a Waldorf School that brings a love based education to children in the local community, and father of two beautiful daughters with life long companion Rita Seixas.
SUITED FOR
This version of the PDC is suited to those who want to begin designing their project as we will be an intimate group of students where you will have individual counseling sessions on your project design.
It is also particularly suited for those who aren’t able to take a two week long PDC in person and who do not wish to take an online PDC.
Small landowners
Homesteaders
People looking for regenerative design knowledge
Project developers
Permaculture designers, artists, architects, and landscapers
Ecologists and restoration workers
Activists
Designers
Landscape architects
Land developers
Artists
Farmers
Urban gardeners
NGO-members
Community members
People in urban and settlement planning
Social workers
Environmental educators
School teachers
People looking for nature connection
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
We treat Terra Alta's off-the-grid site as a teacher in its own right as students get to experience Permaculture daily, learning from our existing projects and being part of our intentional community for the duration of their stay. This hands-on, holistic learning environment is complemented by the collaborative methods of hosting we use. These include: action learning, lecture, walk and talk, games, movies, and think and listen.
This course requires the student to have access to the internet and online and offline technology to complete.
ABOUT THE LOCATION
Terra Alta is a holistic-education host site where students and visitors alike get to see all 12 Principles of Permaculture in action. It’s located in between Almoçageme and Ulgueira, two quaint sea-side villages with easy access to amazing beaches and is relatively simple to reach from Lisbon and Sintra. The following Permaculture elements and functions are on display amongst others:
Small-scale earthworks to capitalize on impervious surface runoff
Extensive food forest of subtropical, temperate, and Mediterranean species corresponding with the earthworks
Hot & cold composting (vermiculture) systems for boosting soil life, picking up on waste streams, and cycling nutrients
Food preservation and supporting the local economy of food production
Small intentional community focused on adult education through permaculture courses but more importantly holistic, Waldorf and permaculture inspired education for the children of the local area
Natural building techniques utilized for dwellings, outdoor cooking, and social spaces
Renewable energy technology featuring solar panels – we provide charging only for mobile phones due to the limited amount of energy
Internet available (limited)
