Monestevole's Farm to Table
Permaculture Design Course
27 August to 8 September 2017
with Michel Thill & Nicolo' Tacconi
The Permaculture Design Course (PDC) is a 72-hour internationally recognised training engaging head, heart and hands of participants to discover the principles and techniques of Permaculture.
At Tribewanted Monestevole in Umbria, Italy, we bring learning about Permaculture into its right context. At our sustainable community, not only will you become an accredited permaculturist, but you'll be able to put in practice all the theories on the permaculture gardens, urban gardens, with the animals and in the local kitchen.
Monestevole is a community consisting of 12 permanent residents managing a 40 hectare farm and offering visitors an authentic all-around ‘Farm to Table’ community experience.
Umbria is known as the green heart of Italy, with lush, sustainably managed landscapes and woodlands.
For booking and inquiries contact Monestevole directly through their webpage.
Course Content
The Permaculture Design Course (PDC) is a 72-hour internationally recognised training engaging head, heart and hands of participants to discover the principles and techniques of Permaculture. It explores the patterns of our predominant consumerist culture and compares them to the sustainable and regenerative patterns of the natural world. Permaculture offers us practical tools for creating change in our own lives and the wider world around us.
The curriculum explores the whole field of sustainability and the regeneration of land and culture. Topics covered include:
- Ethics & principles of Permaculture
- Observation techniques for connecting to & understanding ecology, climate & landscape
- Permaculture design methods and tools
- Mapping & design exercises
- Soil science, soil food web & natural soil improvement
- Organic food production & integrated animal systems
- Water management including harvesting, conservation, & management
- Land regeneration
- Agroforestry & forest gardening
- Appropriate technologies & renewable energy systems
- Urban permaculture including techniques & design strategies
- People & permaculture: personal patterns & the art of collaboration
The course caters for all learning styles, including demonstrations, practical exercises, group work, lectures and slide shows. As part of the course participants will work in groups on a design project to put their learning into practice.
More About the Certificate
Participants will receive an internationally recognised Permaculture Design Course Certificate awarded by the UK Permaculture Association.
This certificate is the standard within the Permaculture movement and is required if you would like to go on and study for the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design.
Permaculture opens doors to a new vision for our planet. Joining the Permaculture movement can lead on to developing a passion into work. It allows you to build the practices into the work you are currently doing or discover new strands of work such as land regeneration, ecological consultancy, community gardening, garden design, renewable energy and appropriate technology consultant and more.
Your Tutors
Michel Thill
Lead tutor on the course will be Michel Thill. Michel (or Mish) is based in London where he is running a permaculture project, called Social Landscapes, exploring predominantly urban regeneration. In this work he engages the community in learning about permaculture and recreating a village identity. He is actively involved in other local groups such as the Open Orchard Project, planting fruit trees in public spaces, and Transition Town Brixton, supporting the move away from fossil fuel to a more sustainable and communal future.
He has previously worked at the Panya Project, a Permaculture education centre in Thailand, completed is Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design with the UK Permaculture Association and studied Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning in Thailand. In his thesis at University he explored the socio-ecological dimension of large scale ecosystem restoration projects.
Michel is a registered certified Permaculture teacher with the UK Permaculture Association and has thought in the UK, Thailand, Greece and Spain.
Nicolo' Tacconi
Researcher in Permaculture and systemic approach, Nicolo' completed his PDC in Italy and 2012 and has been deepening ever since his studies, trials, errors yet learning.
He started with urban PC in Rome, and has been operating mainly at Monestevole since 2014, as well as running some side projects and participating in workshops.
This systemic approach has brought him to learn about alternative teaching and information sharing.
The path towards sustainability seems to be an ever ending one and it brings many surprises. He’ll be glad to share all he has learned and tried with new enthusiastic permies!
Monestevole
a home, a farm, a sustainable community
"Our goal at Tribewanted Monestevole is to show that it is possible to live sustainably, not just in remote locations and developing countries, but also in our own back yard. We want to provide a replicable model for sustainable lifestyles where it is needed the most, to be an example of how our society can live in the years to come.
In Italy, we also aspire to preserve and enhance local artisanal skills and inspire the Italian youth to return to the countryside, whilst at the same time providing our guests with an accessible location to learn, get their hands dirty and bring the lessons home."
Read more about Monestevole here.