Permaculture Design Course
Three weekends at Treflach farm, Oswestry
Advance notice
Steve Jones and partners are planning to deliver a full PDC at Treflach farm this Autumn. A 72 hour course which will be spread over 3 weekends at the farm supported by 4 evening Zoom sessions.
Price for full course is £350, accommodation and food arrangements are separate to that. We operate a flexible pricing policy, meaning there are some concessions available in return for work, plants, materials etc. Those on a tight budget can always bring and share meals, camp in their own tents, or any other combinations of options that works for you to reduce costs. The farm offers its own accommodation options also.
There is a maximum of 15 places available.
What is a PDC?
Back in 1986 Bill Mollison, one of the co-founders of the permaculture concept produced a colossal book, based on ten years of practical experience applying his design ideas, this is the Permaculture Designer’s Manual. It is quite a tome and takes in the various climate zones around the world and explores very much the land-based, nature-based core of permaculture landscape development and habitat regeneration. I would argue it may be one of the most vital and important books yet produced, as it lays out the skills, tools, techniques and vocabulary we will need to help restore our depleted and damaged ecosystems to their natural state of abundance.
A Permaculture Design Certificate course draws on the content of this book and brings it alive in a memorable and engaging way. Completing a PDC is often a watershed in one’s life, a before and after moment to reflect upon and a shift from the realm ideas to action. Often people come to the PDC when they are ready to embark on a new chapter or direction in their own life, and they use this as a way reinforce their own deep inner convictions about their own role and place in this world.
Increasingly permaculture is professionalising, landscapers, gardeners, teachers and designers are adding this to their commercial portfolio and to their C.V’s. As much as I welcome this, I would also argue that permaculture as a discipline works on many levels, and is useful, vital even to just about all people, touching on all areas of life, far beyond the work and professional zone.
A PDC is an internationally recognised qualification within and beyond the permaculture community, it serves as a gateway that reaches far and wide into the world of sustainability and regeneration.
At the heart of permaculture design are a set of foundational ethics which in many ways offer a roadmap or long-term steering mechanism to navigate the wider twists and turns of life. Permaculture is long term thinking, it takes a little while to work its magic, but it really works and creates its own opportunities as it unfolds.
Map making, surveying, garden design are all topics we touch on but don’t go to exremely deep levels on, which some PDC’s do. We aim more for a broad over-arching experience, exploring the many aspects and applications of permaculture design without going too deeply into any single area. What I do always focus on, is to make the most of the opportunities that surround us at the farm, its facilities and the wealth of experience offered by the journey the farm and its family has been on.
The course is also shaped by you, the participants. The PDC also draws on and reflects the skills, talents, experiences and ambitions of the course group itself. The final part of the course entails engaging in a practical design task, allowing the use and application of the ideas we have been exploring on the course, this is often a catalyst for some interesting insights and has been the genesis of several new projects over the years..
Permaculture is growing fast around the world, especially in Africa and India where there are many small farmers. It is very much a global movement and it is expressing itself in different forms, in different places, but always operating with these core ethics and principles.
Dates and times
Treflach is a busy working farm, combining regenerative pasture farming, horticulture, a bakery, on farm sales, care and support work, a wellness centre, yoga studio, energy generation and much more to create a food and farming business that sits at the heart of the surrounding community.
With all this going on, running a course like the PDC takes a bit of planning. We are aiming to run this in a way to harmonize with other on farm activities, and to allow our hosts Ian and Seffi opportunities to take part and contribute as much as they can.
Three weekends:
13 - 15 and 27 - 29 September
18 - 20 October
Zoom sessions 7.00 - 9.30 pm
1 & 3 October
8 & 9 October
zoom sessions will be recorded and shared for reference
Blended learning
Post Covid-19 and the online education boom, it will be great to be back at the farm, seated in a circle and breaking bread together. However, with many lessons learned, and finances tight we also recognise the power, ease and cheapness of online learning, so a section of the threory part of Permaculture Design will be taught on line, over Zoom and recorded for posterity.
The three weekends, will offer time for group formation, sharing and working together on a series of practical tasks and the final design workshop. I am still planning the details but we will be engaged in some practical horticulture, compost making with a variety of approaches, making biochar and much more. We will also cover the core theory, principles and design tools of permaculture, drawing on hundreds of examples from across the world and many different ciricumstances.
We are planning for people to arrive Friday evening for a twilight session and to stay until after Sunday lunch before departing. Treflach has some accommodation to offer, including their wonderful bell tents and yurt pitches. You may bring your own pop up tent, or use the parking facilities for a caravan or van. There are many local options also. Charges apply for the deluxe options, and of course if you live locally you can also go home. We can also make some allowances for those who cant arrive until Saturday AM, but we hope most can attend all the sessions.
We are planning for bring and share lunches, together with Treflach pies and soup, and guest chefs will be preparing Saturday evening dinner and sunday lunch as the centre piece for the weekend, including organic produce from the gardens here at the farm.
We want this to be an inspirational, formative and memorable experience for all concerned!
Who are we at Treflach Farm?
A family farm since 1904, based in the North Shropshire Hills outside Oswestry
Four businesses run from the farm:
Land: A small family working farm managing 60ha of land and free range animals
Food: An on-farm employer, operating an on-site butchery and bakery
Distribution: Delivering chilled food products on behalf of award winning chefs and food producers
Community: Working with young adults with challenging behaviour, learning difficulties and physical disabilities
We grow, rear, cook and distribute nourishing, healthy and delicious food.
From Treflachfarm.co.uk
Horticulture at Treflach farm
Treflach is a stock farm, growing pasture to rear animals, the soil is generally too poor for arable crops, although most things have been tried over the years. More recently we have been developing a field garden which has in turn evolved into a horticulture area and a couple of us from the farm have signed onto the Pathways to Farming course at CAT, encouraging small holders and allotment keepers to grow more food for local markets.
We hold regular volunteer sessions on a Thursday and offer horticulture therapy sessions, as a gentle way to connect to the soil and growing, whilst introducing some permaculture ideas and concepts. We are keen to diversify what we are producing and to learn much more about growing. We engineered a biochar experiemnt into the garden when it was first design, and half the beds were seeded with biochar innocualted with farm yard manure and half were not. We will be investingating into this further as part of our on going research.
Facilities at the Farm
There are two function spaces, one for a classroom and one for a common room and food preparation area. There are camping pitches, a fully accessible toilet and shower block, car parking and a good internet signal.
The ticket window is now open, 15 places available with some flexibility on pricing.
Still doing the thinking and planning for this, even thugh it is only 3 months away, less.. argh.. but I also know it is going to be a really fantastic adventure and things are already starting to fall into place. The PDC is your gateway to permaculture and for many poeple it is a life changing experience, there are many components to it, theory, practical, site visits, case studies as well as self reflection and working on a real life design activity.