Online courses

I have been asked by several people to run an online forest garden course. I am just about to conclude a permaculture teacher training course (ends on 8th May) and start a low maintenance food growing course (5 weekends from 9th May for 2 hours per day). So potentially could do midweek or weekend evenings or early mornings. Basic intro would be four sessions of four hours each (with half hour break in between). So if this was once a week it would be 4 weeks or 2 weeks if it was twice a week. Then an advanced course where you make real designs as well as learn about implementation strategies would be a further 6 sessions of 4 hours (3 weekends if twice a week or 6 weeks if once a week). Would anyone here be interested?

I'd be interested too :) Also, do let me know if you need any pointers for tech setup, happy to help out

Thanks. I am a tekkie, so should not be an issue, but happy to have a chat anyway and share tips. I have done a few courses online now (we are on the last week of a 4 week permaculture teacher training course, plus delivered a few sociocracy courses, plus I am about to start a course on designing your own low maintenance edible back garden for beginners, and we will be doing a course mixing permaculture design to redesign your life using naturopathic practices).

I’d be interested

Perhaps I can bring it up on Thursday. And see when it suits people, and when I can slot it in.

I am a Brit living in West Africa and I run a small charity that focuses on community development and permaculture/climate change impacts type courses. We have applied for funding to run two 20 person PDC courses. While there is no guarantee it looks likely that the funds will be available. We need a DAPD qualified trainer to teach the two courses (each for two weeks). Is there a person, or two, who might be interested in a post-COVID 19 trip to Africa for flight costs and a modest fee? We are not talking about this year - or if we did it would be in the autumn probably. If anyone is interested a CV would be welcome (to [email protected]).

I am a Loomio member and lived in Lewes for 28 years and attended a couple of early forest garden meetings. Now in the Gambia for the COVID 19 duration. Maurice Phillips.

No idea what a DAPD qualified trainer is. But I am a registered Permaculture Association Britain Trainer. Love Gambia.

Dear Rakesh,

You will recall responding to my call for PDC trainers. At present all action is on hold for the reasons known to us all. I will be in touch as and when the situation allows.

However, I recently came across Afforest – an Indian organisation promoting forest gardens. You and your colleagues are no doubt fully aware of Afforest but they are advertising “A forest in a box” and selling their boxes on the basis of so many rupees per 100 square feet (from 50 to 400 square feet).

It may be worth a look – or it may be that you simply ignore this email……………….

Best regards,

Maurice

Hi MauriceHappy to talk when the time is right and you have some go ahead about a permaculture course
I am still considering the possibility of doing an online permaculture design course
I have another online introduction to forest gardening coming up next month, which will be partially for the benefit of my local community where we will start a community forest garden.
I have heard of afforest. One of my students from India has mentioned them, but I have not looked deeply into what they are actually offering
I have to get back to my class.
Ping me a message when you are ready to talk
Best wishes
Rakesh

Hi Rakesh,

I will be in touch later on but it looks as if it might be some time. The Gambian government have locked down for a further 90 days (!!) so most action will more or less stop.

Thanks for the suggestion of on-line courses. The problem here is that a good average wage is around £65 a MONTH!! So things have to be funded or very cheap.

During the last 6 months we have negotiated with the International Trade Centre (ITC) here and have been awarded a grant to run an interesting course.

If an on-line PDC course was available I could possibly ask ITC if they were willing to fund that. There is a reasonable chance they might.

The course we have gained funding for is called “Improving farming skills”. It is targeted at women farmers and two courses will be run as a pilot in six rural villages. Each course will be for 20 people x 30 hours spread over two weeks (part-time to fit in with the women farmers’ other responsibilities). The focus will be on soil improvement, water management and the use of trees with a secondary focus on adding value through early and late planting, crop variety and food processing. If this pilot goes well we will be awarded a grant to run the programme in a further 18 villages.

At present the only tool used by the women is a short-handled hoe so they spend a good deal of their garden time bent over double. We are working with the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI – a high-sounding outfit with very low output) to produce a range of long-handled tools that we trial on our course.

I probably mentioned it before but the PDC course we have negotiated with ITC (with no final decision yet but with a budget agreed) will be for 16 people and will be residential, full-time and for two weeks. Do you think this could become a PDC certified on-line course?

ITC works with the Gambian National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA) and both organisations are keen that the PDC curriculum is submitted to, and accepted by, NAQAA as a national qualification.

Sorry to have gone on a bit but I hope you will be happy to receive more information.

Regards,

Maurice.