Often we read or hear about how awesome a permaculture design course can be. It is usually described as a great informative experience, where all participants are very impressed and fascinated by the amount of knowledge that they achieve in so little time.
However one may also think that all those fine words and enthusiastic remarks are simply used for some “nice talk” about permaculture values and principles, but that they are seldom put into practice instead.
Have you ever wondered what happens when the course ends, the lights go out and everybody goes back home, back to their daily life? Do those permaculture notions and design guidelines find an application in reality or do they get “lost in space”, as a reference to a mere utopia?
In order to find and to answer these tricky questions, we have contacted some of the students who attended in March 2015 a PDC run by Rhamis Kent and Ignazio Schettini in Southern Italy. They all have a very different background as to their nationality, age, education and job. Anyway there is one thing for sure that they have in common: attending a PDC has given them a tangible input for action.
Let us read their actual stories featuring their plans, hopes and achievements. And most of all let us thank them for taking the time to share with us their experiences and pictures.
MARCELLA from the UK:
I was doing a lot of study off the internet, and there’s an enormous amount of info on Permaculture, heaps of it for free. It still blows my mind how instantly available it all is, knowledge that would have taken our ancestors millennia to accumulate. But I felt just ‘knowing stuff’ wasn’t the be all and end all of it – I needed something else to see me on my way.
I signed up for a PDC earlier, in March, hoping the course would crystallise and deepen all that I had gleaned from the internet. It did just that, of course. And some. But it gave me the sort of spiritual validation that I realise I had been looking for. I know my ideologies and why I am drawn to Permaculture and the whole ‘be more responsible for your existence’ ethic but I needed to immerse myself in its spirit, coming face to face with others embarking on the same journey. The payoff was huge. I felt inspired, truly excited about what I was doing. The class dynamic was great. We were from all over the place and we were welcomed by, and intermingled with, the salt-of-the-earth pugliese. No dry study can enthuse you like meeting folk (teachers, fellow journeymen) who make you tingle. It was a brilliant experience, out of which formed special friendships, and I will hold it all dear for a long, long time.
A month later I started my new life, making the choice to move to the Baroque SE of Sicily. A stunning part of Italy (but what part isn’t…), with a climate a little bit Ozzie, a landscape a little bit Derbyshire. And a unspeakably rich culture. And a waning agricultural industry that can be readily reborn, Permie-style… I am searching for my little plot, exploring the different zones in this diverse area. In the meantime, I am growing my summer’s salad greens and herbs in some of the empty vases around my lodging, some planted, lots arriving spontaneously uninvited. I am also nannying a small nursery – baby pioneers, and infant orchard trees, that will help fertilise the rather chalky soil I am seeing on my reckies. So not long, kiddies, before we can finally put own our roots…
GIUSEPPE from ITALY
My name is Giuseppe and those who know me, are aware that I am a professional in this field. I am an agronomist with a very extensive knowledge achieved at one of the most important institutions in the world in the field of organic farming and the quality of food and agricultural products. I used to work also as a manager for big agricultural companies.
I am also a designer and I have taught several courses concerning this topic. I´ve been practising permaculture and biodynamic farming for many years now and I was really looking forward to attending a PDC. Anyway I still hadn´t found an appealing course, so I was almost ready to fly to Australia in order to attend a class held by Geoff Lawton. But then one day I saw a post on Facebook by Ignazio Schettini, an agronomist like me saying that he had just come back from Australia and was wishing to exchange some Tagasaste seeds. So I contacted him straight away and found there was a great sympathy between us. In return for the tagasaste seeds, I sent him some very ancient purple corn seeds, which I´ve been collecting for a long time along with other species. I felt I could trust Ignazio, so I booked the PDC to be held by Rhamis Kent. During the course I felt like living a dream, as my years of research and questions were finally finding an answer thanks to a very high technical competence, also considering the great extent of the subject and topics that were discussed in such a short time. Moreover I also loved the group of well-matched participants, so full of enthusiasm. Once back home, I immediately started working on my demonstrative urban site, but I won´t tell you about this yet, because there are still so many sharp changes going on here after the PDC and thanks to it. All I can disclose at the moment is that I´m working in close cooperation with the MediPerLab…… so be ready and stay tuned, because greater things are yet to come!
GORAN from SLOVENIA
It all started in 2013 when I mentioned to my friend Luka that I bumped on topic about permaculture. Since Luka is always full of various information, he soon gave me a lot of books and videos about permaculture on a USB. From then on we were changing a lot of information on permaculture. First books I’ve read were from Fukuoka, Holzer and Mollison. In my opinion these are the three writers that you simply must read. From then on there was no turning back. It seemed so logical to me that by observing nature, we can use natural patterning to design and implement ideas and systems that build on natural processes with energy efficient, low cost and high yielding results. It was just the matter of time when I will attend PDC course. Soon I decided to attend PDC in Italy and Luka signed up for Geoff Lawtons’ online PDC course.
On 7th of March 2015 I was travelling by car near Adriatic coast to the south of Italy to a city named Altamura, in the beautiful Antica Masseria Dell´Alta Murgia to be exact, where I planned to participate in Permaculture Design Certificate course featuring skilled teacher Rhamis Kent. Our host Ignazio was brilliant. Although PDC was translated by Ignazio, I didn’t mind at all. This is how I learned a lot of Italian words. The atmosphere was very good. For me PDC course was fun and at the same time intense learning experience I have ever had. It is difficult to explain with words how great experience for me that was. This course helped me bring random pieces of information together and put into a framework. I met a lot of awesome people on course, who I attend to visit with my family. I hope they will all also visit my place and our beautiful Slovenia. To Rhamis and Ignazio I can only say Thanks for being such inspiring teachers, I am very lucky to have met them. I feel so lucky to have been a part of this PDC in Altamura. It helped me and my family to make some big decisions for the future. I would suggest to all future participators to attend PDC in Altamura to gain unforgettable knowledge, experience and to also have best time in their lives. Below, you can see, the pictures of Luka’s urban garden. His plans are to attend PRI PDC Teacher diploma in 2016, when his girlfriend finishes Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, as they attend to go together. Right now we are planning on establishing 1,5 Ha demonstration site on an eco-touristic domain called Happy Village, surrounded with pure nature, where in the near future we would also like to organize a PDC course in cooperation with Rhamis Kent and The Permaculture Research Institute and with the help of our friend Ignazio. Permaculture is a dynamic, living philosophy which is continuing to evolve. We just need to spread the word. You, too, can become a permaculture practitioner! Take a PDC Course!
SIMONE from ITALY
To me the PDC experience in Altamura has been a keystone for actualizing all that I´ve been studying so far. Being an agriculture student, I was already interested in permaculture and I had read a number of books on this topic, but attending a PDC is a very different thing. It does not take much to obtain tangible answers about the functioning of permaculture principles as a whole. From the very first day the class has had a flywheel effect for personal enhancement and the course itself, despite being quite intense, allowed an easy understanding of notions.
Everything was simply perfect. How could one ever object to permaculture? Within those twelve PDC days so much has changed in me, much more than during entire months and years. When I went back home, I was more sure than ever about running my own farm, like I had always been dreaming of… except that now I have more friends that share, understand, or at least try to understand and apply this kind of “permaculture insanity”, as many people would call it, as well as much more evidence for the concreteness of this method. I would really recommend a PDC to everybody, because basically everybody owes this kind of experience to themselves.
MONICA from ENGLAND
Attending the PDC held by Rhamis Kent and Ignazio Schettini has deeply changed my perspective on the role of human beings within the ecosystem. Actually I´m a graduated environmental engineer and the very aim of this course was providing some solutions to the problems of pollution and harm created by humans in the environment. As a matter of fact Permaculture is all about implementing patterns that respect and appraise nature.
In my own opinion there is not much need for new technologies, but for a new way of living as to the choices we make in our daily life.
So I´ve decided to radically change direction in my life: going back from the city to the countryside, from the hectic schedules to the patience of nature´s timing. This shift has made me want to explore different realities all around Italy, giving me the chance to see that many people are committed to building a little sustainable world.
In the end let me say that this PDC is a kind of gateway for those who want to access to those practical solutions which are necessary for addressing the current environmental crisis.
All these stories give us a quite clear impression of what happens after attending a PDC: once you´ve gained new knowledge and skills, changing perspective and way of living comes naturally. You feel the need for action; you are willing to shift priorities.
Those wishing to have the same experience may still apply for the next PDC to be held by Ignazio Schettini and Rhamis Kent from 11th to 23rd October 2015 in a breathtaking part of Southern Italy called Salento. Don´t miss the chance to join the class and learn all about permaculture principles and ethics! Because attending a PDC is a mind-blowing opportunity for real change.
(For more information about the course and booking please send an email to the following address: [email protected])
