The new Jordan Valley Permaculture Project (left foreground)
aka ‘Greening the Desert – the Sequel’, September 2011
Photo © Craig Mackintosh
Do you think it’s time to look at the world from a different perspective? Do you know what the problems facing humanity are but have no idea how and where and what to start with? Do you want to change your life to a more sustainable, self-sufficient and enjoyable experience?
Or maybe you only want to learn about organic home food production, eco-friendly home design and construction, energy conservation and recycling, or water harvesting and management.
Well, a PDC, short for Permaculture Design Certificate course, is probably your best starting point. Now if you don’t know what permaculture is in the first place, you can easily Google it and have many explanations of the word and practices involved, including permanent agriculture, or permanent culture, and the design of ecosystems to be productive while working with mother nature not against her, remembering that we need diversity to give more stability and resilience for the ecosystem we are designing and living in.
Now if you ask me, permaculture is a way of life and the only solution to the problems facing the generations coming after us.
We are part of the earth’s ecosystems, but we are the only species capable of endangering and destroying the ecosystems we depend on for our own existence.
The most important task through humanity’s history was to figure out ways to extract resources from the ecosystems in which people lived in to maintain life — food, clothing, shelter, and energy. The problem was that these human societies through out history didn’t balance the various demands against the ability of the ecosystem to withstand the pressure of extraction.
Earth is a closed system, with only one energy input, sunlight, and photosynthesis being the only process by which this energy is transformed into living matter in plants and certain types of bacteria.
So the only saviors for our human existence and all ecosystems we live with are photosynthesisers (plants), and the only way to guarantee their survival is to learn how to grow them and manage them in resilient ecosystems far from the excessive use of fossil fuels and fertilizers, and starting your own localized food chain from these photosynthesisers instead of depending on fossil fueled protein resources from across our earth. That is why I consider permaculture a way of life.
You can be an accountant and a Permie, you can be a bus driver and a Permie and of course you can be a farmer and a Permie. A PDC is something that all these Permies share. So if you want to be part of this circle of Permies, which is getting bigger and bigger by the day, have a look at the link below, and don’t hesitate. It will be two weeks that will change your life forever.
This video shares details of Geoff Lawton’s work in Jordan. And this 40 minute video is a tour with Geoff Lawton around the ecosystems and design elements at the PRI’s Zaytuna Farm, Australia.
The link below is for more information about the PDC that will be held in Al Jawfa in the Jordan Valley this October. If you can’t make it, help the earth by at least spreading the word, and we might see friends of yours with us in October!
Hope to see you there with them.
For more information and to book, please click here.
Joshua Finch says
Keep up the good work! Can’t wait to come for a PDC as soon as I can afford one.
Ingrid says
Can we please see some more photos from Jordan and an updated photo of the site? I’ve been following the project for over a year now and whenever I come to this site I’m always hoping for updates on the Jordan site. It’s really a great fun to see what can be done over a short period of time with correct management.