Intensive 10 day certificate course
Walkers Reserve, Barbados
A Transformative permaculture experience
Become a permaculture designer: gain life changing holistic sustainability skills
Included in this course:
2 Week Immersive Course
Hands on assignments
(Mon-Fri : 10 days)
(+ optional experiential learning)
72 hours of instruction
(international standard)
What is A Permaculture Design Certificate?
A 'PDC' is the first step towards a holistic view of all aspects of sustainable livelihood. From farming to water harvesting, energy and building, Permaculture is a design science with its roots in nature.
This PDC covers the 12 principles of permaculture in a style that appeals to the average home owner, youth and large scale farmer alike. It includes the application of permaculture principles to organic food (produce and livestock) production, home design, construction, energy conservation and generation, and explores alternative economic structures and legal strategies supporting permaculture solutions.
Upon completion you will be able to design integrated, productive ecosystems that are capable of meeting all our human needs, whilst benefiting the environment.
What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a design science with its roots in nature. By mimicking natural systems and we create landscapes which allow humans and nature to interact in harmony, benefitting one another. Permaculture is not new, it looks to the past, bringing the very best practices forward into a new light and system of thinking.
Permaculture design is a holistic approach to all living situations, and applicable to any climate. Though this course will focus its efforts on tropical examples, the theory carries across all regions. Permaculture design, the 3 ethics of permaculture, and the 12 principles of permaculture can be applied to patio gardens, backyards, urban and suburban gardens. Producing high yields of organic fresh food, low impact energy consumption, lowered costs of living and lessen the environmental costs associated with use of the land, for any size family or land lot. Permaculture can be applied to homesteads, small scale farms and market gardens, as well as to broad acre farming and ultimately, global ecosystem restoration projects.
The Venue: Walkers Reserve, Barbados
Walkers Reserve is an amazing ecosystem restoration project; a 300 acre silica sand quarry undergoing a transformative regeneration programme utilizing permaculture practices. Walkers has moved from barren land, deteriorating sand dune ecosystems and an extractive past, to soil building, regeneration, native species increase, endangered species protection, carbon sequestration and agricultural yields. From sand mine to food forest; the Walkers Reserve is an exemplary venue to observe permaculture in action.
CPRI’s home within Walkers Reserve is developing organically as we grow. Our facilities currently include a brand new teaching area with AV facilities and internet, a teaching kitchen and bathrooms, a group learning shelter area with access to a nursery, intensive demonstration and experimental planting areas. Teaching will occur in all areas of Walkers Reserve relating to each topic covered. This will include beach side dune ecosystems, sand pit, regenerated alleys and food forest, lakes, ponds and chinampas microclimates, old growth natural areas, bee yard, irrigation ponds/dams and flooded/dry swales, steep slope planting areas, areas experiencing stress from salt spray, extreme heat, drought, below water level, flood prone, slippage, extractive quarrying. Walkers can showcase many permaculture elements from composting to rain water collection, natural material building and cooking, nursery production, swales and earth works related to soil conservation, ecosystem development, apiary programme, food forest and syntropic agroforestry. You will be exposed to the many problems and solutions which Walkers Reserve has to showcase as it relates to each of the permaculture principles explored throughout the course.
Your Instructors and Team:
Permaculture Guru: Erle Rahaman-Noronha will take the lead in teaching this course. Having taught permaculture courses for over 20 years and developed some of the most impressive permaculture sites in the region, his vast knowledge will be the key to opening your mind, and some new doors for your regenerative, sustainability focused future.
Erle Rahaman-Noronha: Permaculture "Guru"
Erle will be the lead permaculture guru for this PDC.
He grew up in Kenya, obtained his BSc in Biochemistry and MSc in Zoology at the University of Guelph, Canada and has made Wa Samaki Ecosystems in Trinidad his home for over 22 years. Wa Samaki is a multigenerational permaculture farm where he has implemented and has taught Permaculture Design since 2007. His teaching has spread across the Caribbean and he currently consults on regenerative projects Caribbean wide on both a small/home scale and borad/corporate scale. He was the permaculture specialist in charge of the regeneration at Walkers Reserve in Barbados from its inception, served as the Director of Regeneration at the Walkers Institute of Regenerative Research, Education and Design (WIRRED). Erle now sits on the board of directors at CPRI Barbados as the lead regeneration and education specialist, all while managing his Wa Samaki site in Trinidad in a very hands on way. Erle brings a wealth of practical experience to tropical projects seeking to become regenerative. He is also a crazy barefoot runner whenver he gets the chance to be off the farm!
Follow to learn more about Erle:
A Tribe approach : hybrid virtual / hands on PDC course for covid
Permaculture is a tribe thing, joining a course means you become part of a worldwide group of people searching for a better way. With tribes and better ways in mind, we have developed one of the first permaculture courses to be taught by a "tribe" of teachers, educators and experts in a wide variety of fields! This means that with Erle and Johny as your lead Gurus, the team on the ground at Walkers Reserve in Barbados and with our new found acceptance of everything online, we are able to expand our tribe to benefit you by including a diverse set of educators locally, regionally and worldwide! With a hybrid virtual / hands on PDC you will get the best of what we have to offer.
As Instructors, educators and experts are confirmed they will be added here: