A laptop/computer with a camera, microphone and speakers is all that is needed, and of course, a decent internet connection. If you have a slow internet this could become an unpleasant experience for you as we will be sharing a fair amount of content. In that case, it may be best to find a back-up location where you can access a stronger internet connection.

If your laptop or desktop computer does not have a camera or microphone, they are inexpensive to purchase and are easy to plug in. They are combined into one device and typically run between $20 and $50. Please email or call us if you have any questions about this and we’ll be sure Milton or Will gets back to you with clear answers.

The PDC is not heavy on digital map making.

Yes, we will use the internet to gather data on our properties and use observation and some empirical data gathering to analyze and assess what is happening, and then look at what this data means in relation to our vision for the property. But after this, the traditional PDC pulls out paper and pencil to do some very basic designing and mapping.

This being said, few of us use paper and pencil anymore to do design work now that so many basic digital-tools are easily available and understood. So we show our students how to obtain and save information off of the internet and then translate that to simple design presentations using software as basic as Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Creating a final design using digital tools is not an expectation or requirement, at all, but most students end up using a digital interface they are familiar with. For those that prefer pen and paper, that’s great. What we are really interested in is the thinking behind the design decisions that are made.

If someone is familiar with Adobe Illustrator or other professional design map-making software they might prefer to use that, but creating a layered design map is not required for the PDC.

We do go into a lot more digital-mapping detail in the APDC and the Mini-PDC.

Each online session will also be recorded and posted shortly thereafter so if a student misses a session, they can quickly catch up. However, if a student misses more than 9-hours of the live sessions in person, they will be required to take written notes from the recordings of all additional sessions they miss and email these to us for review. If the notes are missing key information a student may be requested to review the session again and resubmit their notes.

Make sense? There is no ‘requirement’ that you take tests and get passing grades to earn the certificate, but you do need to attend and participate.

Heck yes. If you have a partner, friends, family members or children, that are also interested in permaculture and want to look over your shoulder during this online training, and dig into the pre-training webinars and exercises, they are certainly welcome to do so. But while we are live, they are observers only.

There is only one person registered for the training and they are responsible to show up and participate in the exercises, discussions, and design work. This person earns the PDC Certificate. The onlookers should mostly be invisible, but we are delighted that they are there and hope they gain much knowledge, wisdom and wonder from the course too.

Onlooker or Registered Student?
If a potential onlooker is really interested in permaculture, and could see themselves becoming more deeply involved in design and permaculture implementation, then we would genuinely recommend that they fully enroll.

Full participants get more out of the training when having a ‘seat at the table’ — and when it is over they will then have the internationally recognized PDC certificate which could open other doors.

And if you are a couple/team, planning on designing your own permaculture property or homestead, we have found that it really makes a difference when both people are fully engaged in the training. A lot more goes on in a training than just the transfer of a few cool design concepts.

Taking the PDC fully, and sitting through each session, tends to create a mind and heart shift in most people that cannot be transferred by conversation later on.  Most students report that they experienced a foundational shift in understanding and awareness that left them more hopeful and certain about how to move forward on their design project (if they had one) and in life. This is an invaluable experience for couples designing a life together. There is almost no way one can describe this training to a partner afterwards and have them understand the full meaning, impact or understanding. We are just sharing this from what students have told us and from what we have observed. There is a substantial discount for the second and subsequent participants too.