This permaculture design course is for anyone wanting to learn how to design systems that work with nature, bringing benefits to both people and the environment. If you are looking to make significant positive changes in your life, then this permaculture course will almost certainly help you. 

You will gain a broad introduction to the applications of permaculture in a number of different situations. From producing your own food to designing alternative currencies to creating a more sustainable home. At the end of the course you will have the opportunity to apply your new permaculture skills, creating a design that will help to embed all of your learning and empower you to take permaculture back to you home, life and community.

We will be using practical, experiential and theoretical teaching methods to create a fun, lively and inclusive experience. In addition to traditional lecture-style teaching, we use group work, discussions, observation exercises, guided walks, practical activities, videos, and slide shows as learning methods. These are supportive of different learning styles and for people with learning difficulties. We also visit projects where permaculture theory is being put into action.

As a group we will benefit from collaborative learning and from spending time together. We don't expect any previous knowledge and recognise that everyone has their own unique skills, knowledge and areas of interest to bring to the course.

Permaculture design will help you to improve the quality and productivity of your own life and that of your community. This course is for anyone who believes that we need to find ways to better care for ourselves, for each other and for the Earth.

• Why permaculture is particularly relevant today
• What nature can teach us about meeting our all needs more effectively and sustainably
• The ethics and principles that underpin permaculture and inspire harmonious designs that work with nature
• Simple techniques for caring for soil, water, trees and animals
• How to improve your own food security, including permaculture gardening and farming methods
• How permaculture can make cities healthier and more productive places to live
• Techniques for building eco-friendly, low impact homes and how to design them into the landscape, minimising both pollution and unnecessary work
• What really constitutes ‘appropriate’ technology
• Some effective, low-tech surveying tools to analyse and map the landscape
• How to make the best use of space and slope in land-based permaculture designs
• How to apply permaculture thinking to social structures, including alternative economies
• How to achieve bountiful yields with a minimum of effort and create win-win situations rather than trade offs
• How to start using permaculture in your own life and community, to create a more sustainable lifestyle
• And much, much more! 

During the second half of the course you will be guided in small groups through a permaculture design process, applying what you have learned to produce an original design on the site. This experience will help you to later apply it in creating further designs for your own home, garden or business.

South Trelowia Barns has been home to Aranya and his partner Jules since the end of August 2019. Set in the Cornish countryside, two barns have sat on the site for about 200 years. Aranya and Jules, his partner, are working on transforming the site into a permaculture centre. The barns were converted to dwellings in the 1980s and provide a fine classroom as well as a long-established and highly rated holiday home . The conformable accommodation provides space for 6 people. Aranya and Jules are aiming to improve the energy efficiency of the buildings and have already added a 6kW solar array and battery system.

The land outside the barn extends to almost a half acre - not much from a conventional food production perspective, but more than enough for two people to steward without the use of machinery. Aranya and Jules are putting a strong emphasis on home-scale food production and perennial planting, including a small forest garden. The site consists of a number of small areas, each with different microclimates, offering a diversity of opportunities. It is hoped that everyone who visits will be able to observe an area similar to their own garden to explore options of what can be done in such a space.

For those who are especially interested, the Trelowia PDC offers an extra emphasis on home-scale food production in diverse spaces and small-scale forest gardening.

For more details about the course or venue contact Aranya on 01503 240946.

During the course we'll also be visiting other projects where permaculture thinking is being put into action. Planned visits include Martin Crawford's flagship cool temperate forest garden and Huxham's Cross biodynamic farm.

The course will run from 5.00pm (please arrive by 4.00pm to allow time for settling in) on Saturday 21st August to 6.00pm on Saturday 4th September.

There will be a day off mid-course on Saturday 28th and a half day off each week, usually Tuesday afternoon in the first week and Wednesday morning in the second.

Sessions start each day at 9.00am and continue on until the evening meal around 6.30pm. We also have a light session most evenings of slides or a video to reinforce the day's learning. We have an hour and a quarter for lunch and evening meals, plus tea breaks during the mornings and afternoons.

On successful completion of the course, all participants will be awarded the Permaculture Association (Britain)'s internationally recognised Certificate in Permaculture Design.

Attendance of most sessions, plus participation in the design activity is necessary for accreditation.