The Full PDC Curriculum with a Food Growing Focus

Winter PDC Course –  Jan.26 to Feb.2, 2013
Location: Midwest Permaculture – Stelle, IL
Added Focus:                                                                          Course Fee and Registration
Creating Productive Growing Spaces – Kitchen Gardens to Small Farms

Sorry - This Training is Over
We have scheduled our next Winter PDC for Jan.25 – Feb. 1, 2014.
Registration to be posted in September — Hope you can join us!

Course Overview:  Successfully growing and selling wholesome food while also taking care of the land is a challenge for many who undertake small farming operations. Many burn out or go under financially.

When permaculture thinking and design is applied to a food growing operation, wastes become resources, work is minimized, yields increase and the land is restored. When successful, the farmer, their neighbors, and their community, all benefit as well.

Course Emphasis:

1. Delivering the full PDC curriculum and granting the PDC Certificate to all students who complete the course.
2. Transforming back yards, city lots, roof tops and community commons areas into bountiful (& beautiful) gardens.
3. Making the business of food growing economically profitable, socially responsible and environmentally sound.
4. Minimizing work and reducing fossil fuel requirements for an energy lean future.
5. Fostering long term financial and food security for ourselves and surrounding communities.

View Photo Summary of 2012 Winter PDC Course

Course Features:
Meet Several Farmers/Growers With Widely Varied Backgrounds

Guest Instructors: Bruce and Lisa Rickard Both are college educated and had well paying jobs when they started their family.  Not fond of the idea of raising their children in a suburban or urban environment, they purchased a farm in Ohio, determined to find a way to make a respectable living by farming.	That was 20 years ago…!!! Weather permitting, Bruce will travel to Stelle to share with us as much of the nitty-gritty that students would like to know about their successes and failures at Fox Hollow Farm. If Lisa can get away, she will join us in person as well, but if not, we will bring her in via the internet to get a glimps of what it was like for her raising two small children (they were small once).
Entrance Sign to Fox Hollow Farm	Bruce and Lisa (left) with their ‘kids’, Jesse and Hannah
We will learn about “mob grazing” and how they manage the “flerd” (flock and herd) to maximize pasture production while also building soil and fertility.	Students of Joel Salatin’s chicken tractor farming, Bruce and Lisa have come up with some innovations of their own over the years. They raise broilers and egg layers to serve their customers.
Bruce and Lisa have moved away from wholesale production and sell almost all of their meats to the end user.	Students of this training will learn how the Rickards have developed and hold their retail business.  They will also share of the joys and the stresses of farming for a living.

Bonus: 4-hour Webinar with Tom Galazen
Two years ago we hosted a live webinar with Tom Galazen.  A two-hour webinar turned into 4 hours.  Students of this course will receive a bonus link to this interview that includes much information about Tom’s homesteading style of low energy consumption, all the up to the various varieties he highly recommends for different species of fruits, learned from his over 25 years of farming experience. 

Tom Galazen North Wind Organic Farm Bayfield, WI Tom has been raising a wide variety of fruits and vegetables on this farm for almost 30 years.  As much a homesteader as a farmer, he built most of the buildings on his farm and is off the grid.   His specialty is in the growing and selling of a wide variety of fruits which are fitting for his location just a few miles from Lake Superior.   Tom gets top-dollar for his produce through a local CSA and by retailing his goods right from the farm.  Students receive access to download this interview upon registering for this training.

Tom Galazen’s Off-Grid, Self-Built, Homestead

Helen Cameron (Recorded Webinar) Uncommon Ground Restaurant – Chicago Helen and her husband Michael have been restaurateurs for 19 years.  Two years ago they decided to open a second location for their successful restaurant and chose this building because of the large flat roof. Helen wanted to grow at least some of the food and herbs that they serve to their customers.  In the process, they decided to become organically certified and as it turned out, became the first certified organic ‘farm’ in the United States. Our interview with Helen Cameron is in the “Foundations of Permaculture” webinar series.

Robyn Streeter (L) and Donna Smith  Your Backyard Farmer Portland, Oregon  (Recorded Webinar)  Donna and Robyn are the first we have heard of who run their farming operation from other peoples back yards.  They have 53 ‘mini-farms’. And they don’t rent peoples back yards, they charge the homeowners yearly to have much of their families food grown for them right in their own backyards. Robyn and Donna visit each home once a week, attending to all that is necessary, leaving a full basket of produce on the residents doorstep when the little farm starts producing. Homeowners can also learn how to grow their own food from these innovative and successful farmers. An insightful interview with Donna and Robyn is in one of your sessions from the “Foundations of Permaculture” webinar series.

 Depending up availability, there may be an additional grower or two that will share their experience with us.

View Photo Summary of 2012 Winter PDC Course

Lead Instructor for Training   Bill Wilson As a younger man, Bill cut his teeth in farming when he started a ‘pick-your-own’ berry business in Kentucky with two other people. He learned much about farming and as much about working with others. Bill was also the community garden coordinator for several years in the small, sustainably oriented community or Stelle, IL, where he has lived for over 34 years. Now, as co-founder of Midwest Permaculture, he holds two PDC Certificates and two Advanced Certificates, one in Design and the other in Teaching. He and Becky have hosted and taught at over 38 PDC courses and dozens of other permaculture workshops. More on Bill

Bill Wilson of Midwest Permaculture Stelle, Illinois

 Additional Instructors

Milton Dixon More…

Milton Dixon holds a PDC and earned his Permaculture Teaching Certificate from David Jacke, author of the books, Edible Forest Gardens.  Besides being Midwest Permaculture’s tech support he is an avid urban permaculturist.  If we’re lucky, he will share some of his homemade wine with us.      Becky Wilson is co-founder of Midwest Permaculture and will offer her insights throughout the week.  She is the lead designer for the Midwest Permaculture property (our home), and has her PDC certificate. She earned her Permaculture Teaching Certificate with Rosemary Morrow, the author of our PDC Course textbook, The Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture.

Becky Wilson More…

Further Details of the Course

Begin The Training Now with Pre-Course Studies
This permaculture course actually begins with registration when the student receives (within 24 hours) a welcome email that contains:

• access to our Foundations of Permaculture webinar series,
• links to over 3-dozen selected handouts
• and the 150-Question Study Guide.

Within a week or so students receive the course textbook, via US Mail.

Purchase Foundations of Permaculture Webinar Series Separately $195 Price Applies Fully Towards a Future Design Certificate Course!   If one is seriously interested in learning about permaculture but cannot commit at this time to a certification course, the webinars and self-study features of our design courses can be enjoyed now.  Students will gain a solid foundation in permaculture from their own home.  It includes the text book, the 150-Study Questions and links to over 3-dozen selected handouts.  And the full $195 for this webinar series applies toward any of our design certificate courses for a period of up to three years. Click Here to Learn More "I've LOVED these webinars. Thank you so much for offering the webinar-only option.  I plan to take a certification class within the next couple of years, but these webinars allowed me to really bring together the self-study and in-the-dirt projects I've been working on.  THANKS!" Leigh W. (Arkansas) http://larrapin.us/

Course Textbook Included with the price of Registration 'Earth User's Guide to Permaculture' by Rosemary Morrow  This gem of a text, shipped to students upon registration, is written by Rosemary Morrow, an Australian, that has taught permaculture around the world for decades. The book is straightforward and loaded with illustrations and substance.  It covers theory and also focuses on the practical aspects of how to create and implement a permaculture design. This book is a must read for the serious permaculturist and is a requirement for students of our design certification courses. 150-Question Study Guide To complement the text we have created a study guide with 150-questions that will assist the student in anchoring the information contained in the book. If a student can answer these questions to themselves, they can be assured that they have grasped the foundations of the permaculture design certification course.

Additional Reading!
To get the most out of this training we highly recommend that students read these 4 books.  We have read many, many books on permaculture, growing food and starting a successful business.  These are at the top of our list for those intending to grow food from a permaculture perspective.  At the training students will receive another two-dozen suggestions for good reading, but these are the most instructive for a solid foundation.

You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise  ~ Joel F. Salatin

The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming  ~ Masanobu Fukuoka

Gaia’s Garden,(Second Edition) A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture  ~ Toby Hemenway

How to Grow More Vegetables (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine  ~ John Jeavons

Start and End Times – And Very Full Days
The on-site portion of the course begins on Saturday the 26th at 1:00pm and ends the following Saturday, Feb. 2nd at noon.  Even though students will have already completed up to 20-hours of certification studies through the webinars, there are still 52+ hours of training ahead.  To fit the balance of the curriculum into only 8 days along with meeting all of the farmers, the on-site portion of the course starts at 8:30am each morning and runs all the way through 9pm. There are long breaks for lunch and dinner… but students need to come prepared for a very full week of learning, designing, and fun.

Group and Personal Design projects
For all PDC trainings, students work on one or more designs in small groups. This is a requirement of certification and the project will be supplied by the instructors.

Personal Design Project Invitation: If one of the reasons you as a student might be taking this training is to learn the skills necessary to create a permaculture design for your own home or property, we invite you to bring information about your site to the training.  For example, bring a sketch of your property in fairly accurate proportions and/or an aerial view map, a plant list of what is on your property now (does not have to be exhaustive – what are the dominant species – place them on the sketch), note the sunny and shady parts of the property and what direction is south, and what your current dreams or visions for the property might be.  There will be some time over the 8-days where individual/personal projects can be explored. 

Meals:
All meals, snacks, coffee, tea and water will be provided as part of the course tuition and will be served beginning with dinner on the first Saturday evening through lunch a week later.  Meals will be prepared from mostly organic and locally raised foods and will include vegetarian and meat options.

Free Winter Camping
As part of the price of tuition, free camping space will be made available with toilets and showers nearby in heated spaces.  This is a winter course however and one must be a very hearty and capable camper to deal with the cold and potentially stormy weather.  We have relatively protective spaces for any campers should that be of any consolation.  Remember, students will only be sleeping in their tents.  The rest of the time will be spent in the classroom or community dining room.  If you have a good sleeping bag and are familiar with winter camping, you”ll be fine.

Please email Becky (or call 815-256-2215, message or text us at 815-782-2216) if you have questions.

What to Pack & Other Details
About 4 weeks before this training begins, students receive more information concerning what to expect, arrival details, what to pack, access to maps, etc.

Certification
Students who complete this design course will receive a ‘Certificate of Completion’ from Midwest Permaculture which in the permaculture tradition, allows one to use the word ‘permaculture’ in the promotion of their work or business. Graduates may offer workshops, lectures and design services.  Click here for more on certification.

2010 Winter Course Graduates 

Course Fee & Registration — $1,295
(Plus $150 for lodging, if not camping) 

Early Registration Price (Before Dec. 26th, 2012):  $1,195 (save $100)
Price Includes ‘Foundations of Permaculture’ webinar series, 8-days of training, organically prepared meals, camping (oh boy…!!!), loads of permaculture related resources, and the networking site.

Other Discounts:

Group Registrations - Save $100 per Person  
2 or more may register as a group and receive a $100 discount each. We’ve had friends, family members or couples register together and in the weeks before the course, bring in several more friends, everyone saving $100 each.

Students: (Registered and taking full hours)             $900
Seniors:    (Over 62 and on fixed income)             $900
(Only 6 slots are available for the student and senior discounts for this training) 

Call Becky for more information, to set up a group,  or to register (815-256-2215, message or text us at 815-782-2216).

	Registration Option 1 Register online. Click on the “Price Category” to select individual or family/partner prices. We take MasterCard, Visa and Discover. Option 2 Call Becky to register over the phone at 815-256-2215, message or text us at 815-782-2216.

Down-Payment / Course Reservation
Our simple e-commerce page is not set-up to handle partial or down-payments.  If making a partial payment is an important factor to your ability to participate, please call Becky at 815-256-2215, message or text us at 815-782-2216 to work out these arrangements.

Low Risk Cancellation and Refund Policy
If a student cancels their registration 30-days before the on-site portion a course begins they receive a full refund less $265.  The student retains full access to all of the webinars, keeps the course handouts and text book, and receives a $195 credit towards any future Midwest Permaculture design certification course, good for up to 3-years.

If a student cancels their registration in the 30-days before the course there will be a full refund less $365 and the student still receives a $195 credit towards our design courses in the future.  The credit is good for up to three years.

There are no refunds for cancellations or for withdrawals once the course begins.  However, in certain circumstances, we may extend partial credit towards a future design course.

Already A Permaculture Design Course Graduate?
We offer a 33% discount to students who have already graduated from another recognized course (from anywhere in the world) who wish to take a Midwest Permaculture course as a refresher. Please email for details.

Still Have Questions?
You are welcome to email us or call Becky at 815-256-2215, message or text us at 815-782-2216.

View Photo Summary of 2012 Winter PDC Course