FERN and Nature First Jointly announce,
Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC)
Focusing on Ecological Design and Diversity Friendly Farming
from 11th January to 10th April 2025 (Online & Offline)
Conducted by Seema Hardikar and Harshad Ainapure
- This PDC is a unique blend of online version and standard field sessions combined together for a wholesome learning experience.
- This course is divided into classroom sessions to learn the basic concepts and a week long field session to actually carry out practicals; followed by a Final Design Exercise.
- The online classroom sessions will cover Permaculture ethics and sustainable practices, basics of building the integrated systems, methods of design, flow and patterns, soil, water cycles, climate, zone and sector analysis, landscape effects, earthwork, plants, kitchen gardens, polycultures, irrigation systems and drylands, orchards and forestry, free ranging animal systems and design practices in different climatic conditions in Indian context like humid tropics, temperate and dry lands, aquaculture, and more..
- Lectures will be followed by a 7-days field session with practicals at our permaculture sites in Ratnagiri, Shahapur and Murbad.
- Participants will have to complete one model design exercise to demonstrate their understanding after completing the field session.
- You will receive your Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) once your Final Design Exercise gets approved.
- At the end of the course, you will be equipped with the basic knowledge and understanding of the permaculture principles, methods of design and a step by step guide to how to go about designing a system.
- Once you get your PDC, you can teach permaculture or practice it as a consultant. You will be confident enough to take up your own sites and start building sustainable systems.
- The course starts from Saturday, 11th January with online classroom sessions which will be held every Saturday 6:30 to 9 pm and every Sunday 3 to 6 pm. till second week of September 2024.
- All the sessions will be online on Zoom Cloud Meetings and will be recorded. The links of recorded sessions will be shared if you miss any lecture for you to cover up.
- A week long field session will be from 4th to 10th April at at Nate Village, Dist - Ratnagiri Maharashtra, India
- It is compulsory to attend the field session to complete your PDC course.
- After the field session, participants will have to demonstrate their understanding by submitting their Final Design Exercise (FDE).
- Once your model design is properly reviewed and approved by our team, you will receive your PDC certificate.
- Total Course Fees- Rs. 47,500/- (Fees can be paid in two installments)
You can make payment by NEFT to following bank details:
- Beneficiary Name : FERN
- Bank Name : Thane Bharat Sahakari Bank Ltd.
- Branch : Vishnu Nagar, Naupada, Thane
- Account Number : 002110000005947
- IFSC Code : TBSB0000002
You can also make payment by Gpay or Paytm to 9326166338 (Nature First). UPI ID- 9326166338@okbizaxis
Registration Form Link- https://forms.gle/UEuZYhgWLYNCZ2HbA
Contact us: 9326166338/ 9324011274
FAQs
Facilitators
Q. I would like to learn more about the facilitators of this PDC.
A. Seema Hardikar is an Agriculturist, Environmentalist and founder of FERN. Harshad Ainapure is a Botanist, Horticulturist and co-founder of Nature First. Both of them have done their year-long PDC conducted by Geoff Lawton. ‘Kokan Permaculture’ is their joint initiative. Follow the link learn more about the facilitators and their credentials- https://kokanpermaculture.com/about.html
Curriculum
Q. What curriculum will this PDC follow?
A. Curriculum of our PDC is the same as recommended by Bill Mollison in his PDC guidelines which cover all the Topics of Permaculture Design Manual. The structure of this PDC is inspired from Geoff Lawton’s version of PDC; at the same time there will be plenty of information provided in the Indian context.
About the format.
Q. How is this combined online and offline format beneficial?
A. Permaculture is a comprehensive multidisciplinary field on its own. There is so much content to learn and absorb. According to our experience and judgment, proper online lectures on every weekend over the period of three months will do justice to the entire curriculum. Also we will be able to fully concentrate on the practical aspects of permaculture during a seven day field session.
Eligibility
Q. Who can attend this course?
A. There is no eligibility pre-qualification required to attend PDC. Any global citizen can join this course who wishes for a sustainable future, food self reliance and a meaningful naturalistic life; you could be a farmer, an architect, a naturalist, a homemaker, a teacher, a student….
Regarding farmlands:
Q. Do I have to own farmland in order to do PDC? Do I have to be a farmer to do PDC?
A. It is not necessary to own farmland in order to do your PDC. It is also not mandatory to pursue farming after completing your PDC. The principles of permaculture are applicable to everything you do in life, even if you are living in the heart of a big city like Mumbai.
Recording:
Q. What if I miss any of the classroom sessions; will there be a recording?
A. Yes, all our sessions will be recorded, and the recording will be available for all the participants in case they are not able to attend the live session; and also for their future reference and revision.
Notes:
Q. Will you be providing notes?
A. Yes. Detailed study material will be provided for each module in PDF format. Also the course presentations will be shared with you along with the videos.
Field session:
Q. Can you tell us more about the field session?
A. The field session will be held at our a permaculture sites, first at Hardikar Baug, Nate village of Ratnagiri (4 days), followed by Shakuntal Permaculture Farm, Murbad, Thane (3 days). It will be an extensive session that will cover major practical aspects involved in implementing a permaculture design. In order to complete your PDC, this field session is mandatory.
PDC certificate:
Q. When will I receive my PDC certificate?
A. After the field session is done, we will give you one month to demonstrate your understanding with a Final Design Exercise. Once your model design is properly reviewed and approved, you will receive your PDC certificate.
Registration fees payment:
Q. What are all different payment methods to register for this course? Can I pay in installments?
Although Total fees are Rs. 47,500/-, You can pay it in two installments. First installment of can be paid at the time of registration & second installment can be paid in mid September.
You can make payment of by NEFT to following bank details:
Beneficiary Name : FERN
Bank Name : Thane Bharat Sahakari Bank Ltd.
Branch : Vishnu Nagar, Naupada, Thane
Account Number : 002110000005947
IFSC Code : TBSB0000002
You can also make payment by Gpay or Paytm to 9326166338 (Nature First). UPI ID- 9326166338@okbizaxis
Visit our website to learn more about us- www.kokanpermaculture.com
