Findhorn Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC)
A comprehensive two-week course blending theory, practical skills, and community wisdom.
Join us at The Park Ecovillage, Findhorn, one of the biggest and oldest ecovillages in Europe, for a hands-on two-week certificate course on permaculture principles and design practices, with a focus on permaculture in community and methods that will engage the heart, head and hands.
- Training in Permaculture Design, covering the full Permaculture Association curriculum (which is based upon Bill Mollison’s curriculum, with updates bringing it to the modern day), tailored to the unique people and place of our course;
- Guest speakers;
- Diverse learning methods: including facilitated group discussion, practicals (e.g. gardening, fermenting), meditation, song, site visits, students sharing their knowledge, group design projects and more – covering holistic learning through eyes, heart, hands and head;
- Observing permaculture principles in action, and experiencing how these processes influence systems and site development.
Face to Face Programmes
Training of Trainers
ToT
What is the ToT Course?
Gaia Education’s Training of Trainers course is designed for those committed to instigating change and dissatisfied with conventional teaching approaches. The course aims to enhance competence in participatory facilitation, fostering collaboration and engagement within a community of learners. It helps participants discern their true calling in teaching and emphasizes the crucial role of participatory methods in various communities and the future of life on Earth.
This course equips facilitators with essential skills and confidence to lead participatory learning journeys that empower participants internally and externally. Aspiring facilitators are expected to have knowledge in their chosen subjects, and the course prepares them to teach this content in a way that fosters community and collaboration. Participants engage in hands-on facilitation experiments, and principle clarification, creating a holistic educational experience. Ample time is dedicated to facilitation practice, building confidence in using participatory tools by leading assigned sessions.
The course aims to refine and train facilitation skills for guiding various groups, regardless of prior experience with Gaia’s programs. Many participants find a heightened sense of purpose and meaning, influencing positive change within their communities and shaping their life’s trajectory. Some undergo profound transformations, gaining insights and knowledge that make them more effective contributors to global well-being. Recognizing the urgency of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) locally, the course includes a session using Gaia’s SDG Flashcards, inspired by holistic systems thinking. It also introduces Edge Work, fostering an understanding of the edges between communities with diverse modes of operation, power structures, cultures, physical environments, and worldviews.
Upcoming ToTs
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Monday, September 30 · 3am EDT (128 hrs)View more
Gaia Education Training of Trainers (ToT) course is answering a worldwide demand for skilled facilitators able to facilitate …
Read moreGaia Education Training of Trainers (ToT) course is answering a worldwide demand for skilled facilitators able to facilitate transformative learning environments and host multi-stakeholder conversations that enable collaborative action.
The aim of the Training of Trainers is first and foremost, to help you deepen your experience in how to teach, facilitate and train people by enabling collaboration and participation among a community of learners. In addition, we support and hope to inspire you to identify what you are most deeply called to teach, and most importantly, why participatory methods are so critically important for the engagement of communities and the future of life on Earth.
More Details:
https://www.programmes.gaiaeducation.uk/tot-damanhur-italy-2024
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Ecovillage Design Education
EDE
Ecovillage Design Education programmes, often referred to as ‘EDEs’, provide participants of all ages with the knowledge and practical skills to design a society which uses energy and materials with greater efficiency, distributes wealth fairly and strives to eliminate the concept of waste.
Our immersive Face-to-Face programmes are known to have transformed lives. Previous participants have become agents of positive culture change in their communities and regional economies, they’ve co-created social enterprises and cooperatives, started community projects and became trainers for sustainability themselves – to name only a few paths you can take afterwards. The course will equip you with skills and knowledge you will be able to put into action in any field or sector you are involved with.
Participants become change agents and sustainability designers, taking active roles in transitioning their existing communities, institutions and neighbourhoods, to more sustainable patterns of production and consumption, as well as leading more joyful, more meaningful and healthier lives.
Upcoming events
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Saturday, August 31 · 3am EDT (680 hrs)View more
Programme Description
Spend a month in close contact with one of the world’s most successful communities: Dama…
Programme Description
Spend a month in close contact with one of the world’s most successful communities: Damanhur has been a centre for spiritual, artistic and social research since 1975 and is renowned throughout the world for the Temples of Humankind, an underground work of art, completely realised by hand.
Goals of the course:
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Social tools for leadership, participatory decision making, group building, conflict solving...
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A holistic education in the four dimensions of sustainability
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Exploring solutions and experiencing effective models to transform society
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Experiencing a visionary community in “real life”, that has been existing and transforming for 42 years
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Transmitting design and implementation skills for effective projects
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Ecological knowledge and practice from permaculture, green building to renewables
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Developing an artistic approach to life
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Exploring the importance of spirituality and creating sacred space in building new societies
You will Gain:
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Certification by Gaia Education as an EDE designer
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Integrative design skills in four areas of sustainability: ecology, economy, social aspects & culture
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First step for setting up EDE-courses in your region
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New friends, ideas, inspiration and hope!
Costs and Funding Possibilities
Course fee: €1200, Food and accommodation not included (different options available). Reduced prices for young people up to age 25, and scholarships for people from developing countries.
Registrations and More Information: -
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Thursday, September 5 · 2am EDT (1 hr)View more
Ecovillage Design Education course
- Community Building
- Practical Sustainability & Permaculture
- Holistic Health, Spiritual…
Ecovillage Design Education course
- Community Building
- Practical Sustainability & Permaculture
- Holistic Health, Spirituality & Mental Wellbeing
- Green Entrepreneurship
- Design businesses, gardens, activities, NGOs and anything else in your life
In partnership with LOS and Gaia Education
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Sunday, October 6 · 4am EDT (1 hr)View more
Appelé à l’international « Ecovillage Design Education course » ou désigné par son acronyme « E.D.E. », ce cursus immersif es…
Read moreAppelé à l’international « Ecovillage Design Education course » ou désigné par son acronyme « E.D.E. », ce cursus immersif est le résultat d’une étroite collaboration entre membres des Nations Unies, communautés résilientes accomplies et experts chevronnés du monde entier. Son objectif : enseigner comment favoriser la co-création d’un nouveau mode de vie durable qui répond aux défis majeurs de notre époque, en s’appuyant sur les dimensions sociales, économiques, culturelles et écologiques de toute initiative à portée régénérative.
Cette expérience de vie hors du commun s’appuie sur un changement de perspective collectif, rendu possible par l’acquisition de connaissances pratiques au service d’un individu relié à son potentiel créateur, connecté à sa communauté, à l’environnement qui l’accueille et dont il fait intégralement partie. L’écovillage vient ici servir de terreau fertile pour y développer des processus de transformations profondes et explorer l’émergence d’une culture régénérative respectueuse du vivant.
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Saturday, January 4 '25 · 5:30pm EST (14 hrs 30 mins)View more
EDE – also known as the Wing – programmes are based on the four core dimensions of Gaia Education’s Ecovillage Design Curricu…
Read moreEDE – also known as the Wing – programmes are based on the four core dimensions of Gaia Education’s Ecovillage Design Curriculum: the Social, Worldview, Ecological and Economic dimensions of sustainability. The curriculum was developed drawing on the experience and expertise developed in a network of some of the most successful ecovillages and transition settings across the Earth.
This four weeks EDE is divided using the four dimensions or the sustainability wheel & each week will cover one dimension.
1st Week: Social Dimension
• Community Building & Embracing Diversity
• Communication Skills & Decision-Making
• Leadership & Empowerment
• Art, Ritual & Social Transformation
• Education, Social Networks & Activism2nd week: Worldview Dimension
• Holistic Worldview
• Reconnecting with Nature
• Transformation of Consciousness
• Personal Health & Planetary Health
• Socially Engaged SpiritualityRead less3rd week: Economy Dimension
• Shifting the Global Economy to Sustainability
• Rights Livelihood
• Local Economies
• Community Banks & Currencies
• Legal & Financial Issues4th week: Ecology Dimension
• Green Building & Retrofitting
• Local food & Nutrient Cycles
• Infrastructure, Water & Energy
• Nature, Urban Regeneration & Disaster Recovery
• Whole Systems Approach to DesignEDE’s Learning Process
• Participatory and interactive
• Practical and experiential learning
• Community building & community living
• Spirituality : head-heart-hands -
Thursday, January 9 '25 · 5am EST (1 hr)View moreWe are delighted to be offering another EDE in the heart of winter and in the cozy settings of Schloss Glarisegg. We have add…Read moreWe are delighted to be offering another EDE in the heart of winter and in the cozy settings of Schloss Glarisegg. We have added the title “Creating a Transformative Culture” because we recognize that as we move into a time of unpredictable change, we need to cultivate skills in dealing with the unknown. We ask how do I anchor myself in times of uncertainty? How does transformation happen, in myself, in others and in society at large? How do I become an effective change agent and what is my role to play?We will focus on social tools for individual and group competencies for intimate and large group communications, decision-making, conflict resolution, and project planning. We invite a large group of students to have ample practice in different sizes of collective endeavours.Read less
Upcoming EDEs
Mini-EDE
For many people, it is not possible to take time off work/family/school for a four-week immersive EDE programme. Our new mini-EDEs offer the possibility of experiencing the taste of a full EDE, maintaining the core values and following the 4D mandala, but in a shorter version.
Mini-EDEs are for everybody and particularly suited to young people. They can be held as youth camps or school clubs. Check out below some examples of mini-EDEs around the world!
