This two week intensive course is an efficient and enjoyable means of:

* Gaining a full understanding of permaculture principles and ethics.
* Amassing the skills, techniques and knowledge base for designing and developing sustainable human settlements.
* Developing strategies for creating positive alternatives to the environmental and social problems surrounding us.

Many participants find that their PDC is a life-changing experience. You will be challenged and inspired.

Subjects on the PDC include: permaculture ethics and principles, reading the landscape, fuel futures, design methods, climates and microclimates, soils and soil improvement, home and community gardens, animals, orchards, pastures and shelterbelts, earthworks, building design, trees and forestry, community an economic strategies, household strategies, aquaculture, and weed ecologies.

We believe that different teaching styles and personalities are important for such an intensive learning process, so we offer the knowledge and experience of a wide range of experienced permaculturalists, including one of the permaculture founders, David Holmgren. For more information on our tutors click here. Getting out of the classroom and experiencing working permaculture systems is also very important to the learning process, thus we offer a wide range of fieldtrips in Central Victoria. These include large and small suburban gardens, a community garden (Gravel Hill Gardens), an ecovillage (Fryers Forest) and various sized farms. One of the highlights of the course is the visit to "Melliodora", David Holmgren and his partner Su's home base. For further details of our fieldtrips click here.

Accommodation is bunk-style to keep costs low. We will be staying at Koolamurt Scout Camp, in a bushland setting on the edge of Bendigo. Meals will be mostly organic and mostly vegetarian, but always delicious. Other food preferences can be catered for too.

The course fee for this PDC is $995. This includes up to 15 nights accommodation and all meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, morning and afternoon teas), as well as training costs. Download a registration form here.