Ecovillage Findhorn Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC)
Engage Heart, Head, and Hands in Sustainable Living
A comprehensive two-week course blending theory, practical skills, and community wisdom.
Permaculture is a holistic design system for sustainable living, creating systems for minimum effort and maximum effect. The permaculture philosophy is one of working with rather than against nature, and the permaculture principles are a lens through which to see the world and make our key decisions. That’s how we can sustain human activities for many generations to come. The Permaculture Design Course enables you to become a certified permaculturist, capable of creating and implementing designs aligned with the ethics of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share.
Join us at 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.
The Ecovillage Findhorn PDC runs from August 26th to September 8th,
in The Park, Findhorn, Scotland.
REGISTER NOW - Start your sustainable journey!
Accredited by The Permaculture Association and taught by renowned expert and certified educator, Lusi Alderslowe.
PDCs in Findhorn
PDCs in Findhorn
What past students said...
WHY CHOOSE OUR PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE IN FINDHORN?
The Findhorn Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) includes:
- 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.
You will gain knowledge and practical skills on:
- Soil management: soil food web, macro/microorganisms, mulching, composting, no-dig gardening, soil tests, erosion, mycorrhizal and bacterial associations;
- Water use and conservation: Hydrology cycle, rainwater harvesting, wastewater systems (including a tour of the Living Machine, the ecovillage’s ecological wastewater treatment system), drainage, water as energy store and water use;
- Plants and Trees: Tree species and their gifts, energy transactions, forest gardening, food forests, windbreaks and shelter belts, riparian buffers, indicator plants and orchards;
- Growing and sourcing your food: Polycultures, organic farming/ horticulture, bed creation, food preservation, ethical choices, ecological footprints, input-output cycles of food;
- Built Environment: Ecological buildings, retrofitting, transport, renewable energy, and urban permaculture;
- Resource Use: Ecological and carbon footprints, asset assessments;
- Social Systems: Personal and community resilience, communication skills, economics, land tenure, governance, and decision-making.
PDC KEY THEMES
- Permaculture Ethics: Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share (aka Future Care);
- Permaculture Principles: Attitudinal and ecological principles;
- Permaculture Design: Processes, skills, tools and methods;
- Design Practice: Group work on design projects;
- Design Presentation: Sharing the designs made in groups.
ADDITIONAL TOPICS UNIQUE TO FINDHORN
- Community Building: Attunements, team building, morning meditation and group singing options;
- Local site visits and invited guest teachers from the community.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The course package includes:
- 14 days of immersive tuition with hands-on practical learning, formal sessions with the main facilitator and guest trainers from the Findhorn ecovillage community;
- A day trip to a working permaculture smallholding;
- Experiencing one of the biggest and oldest ecovillages in Europe;
- Welcome dinner on arrival and a closing dinner celebration;
- Lunch every day of the course;
- Mid-morning and afternoon refreshments;
- A rest day in the middle to explore the area at your own pace;
- Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) on completion of the full course.
IMPORTANT:
Registration does not include accommodation or meals (apart from the welcome and closing dinners, and daily lunch).
- Participants can book their own accommodation in the Park Ecovillage, or Findhorn village nearby. Options include camping, hostel, ecopods and B&Bs. Please see below for suggestions.
- The course starts at 3pm on Monday 26 August.
- The course closes with a dinner on Sunday 8 September. Departures on the 9th.
Please note that we need a minimum quorum in order to run the course.
The Findhorn PDC will be confirmed on July 26th (1 month in advance) OR as soon as we reach the minimum quorum (which means that the minimum number of participants have paid in full or a deposit). Make sure your travel plans are flexible!
Have any questions?
FACILITATOR - Lusi Alderslowe
Lead Faculty for the PDC , Lusi is registered to award Permaculture Association Permaculture Design Course certificates.
Lusi is a permaculture teacher from Scotland with 13 years’ of experience designing, coordinating and teaching permaculture courses of different durations. She’s taught in many locations in various countries, including Scotland, England, Ireland, Turkey and online.
The theoretical basis of her permaculture work comes from studying Development Management and Human Ecology, for which she received a MSc with Distinction.
She is experienced in both rural and urban permaculture, having studied her Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design while living in Glasgow for seven years, and then living in rural Galloway for the last nine.
She is Children in Permaculture Coordinator for the Permaculture Association (Britain), and the author of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share in Education: The Children in Permaculture Manual.
Lusi loves sharing permaculture with children and adults using fun, creative and inspiring methods.
PRICES
We look forward to welcoming you here for two weeks of learning, friendship and hands-on fun. Choose the price tier that suits you best. Prices do not include accommodation, breakfast or evening meals.
£1,200 (Regular contribution)
£990 (Low Income contribution)
£700 (Participants from the Global South)
FINDHORN PDC GUEST TRAINERS
Craig Gibsone
Originally from Australia, Craig has been a central figure in the development of Permaculture and Ecovillage education at Findhorn and has lived at Findhorn for over 50 years.
YouTube: Permaculture at Findhorn with Craig Gibsone
Life in My Whisky Barrel House, Craig Gibsone - Voices of the Findhorn Foundation
Maria Cooper
Originally from Sweden, Maria is deeply involved in the Transition Towns and Permaculture movements locally and internationally, and runs the Permaculture Design Courses and Ecovillage Design programmes in Findhorn, where she has been living for years.
YouTube: Permaculture at Findhorn. Maria Cooper, Craig Gibsone and Morag Gamble - Maria starting at 5:35
Alan Featherstone
Alan is an inspirational public speaker, ecologist, nature photographer and writer based in the Findhorn Community. In 1986 he founded the award-winning conservation charity, Trees for Life, which works to restore the Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands, and was its executive director for almost 30 years. During that time it became the leading organisation working to restore the Caledonian Forest in Scotland.
Eveline Rodenburg
Eveline lives in the Park Ecovillage and is a herbalist and nutrition practitioner, passionate about gut health. Her other passion is her no-dig garden and the compost she makes from food waste from the local café and her neighbours.
SUGGESTED ACCOMMODATION OPTIONS
Each participant is responsible for booking their own accommodation. Please contact the properties directly. Below are some accommodation options and price ranges:
Findhorn Bay Holiday Park - https://findhornbayholidaypark.com/ – adjacent to The Park with a huge variety of options, including camping (from £21 per site), ecopods (£105, sleeping 4), hostel £50 single, £70 (double/twin ) and a range of chalets (from £135, options sleeping 2, 4, 6 and 7 people).
Findhorn Hinterland Trust rustic camping: https://www.findhornhinterland.org – rustic camping in the woods adjacent to The Park (from £5 per site).
B&Bs in the Park - www.findhorn.cc/our-services/bed-breakfast-list/ – run by community members in The Park, with a range of single and double rooms (from £45 single, £65-85 double).
Cullerne House: www.cullernehouse.org - our host site. Twin rooms available (from £65-85).
Findhorn Village Hostel – www.findhornvillagehostel.com - hostel an easy walk away (about 1 mile) in Findhorn Village (from £25 per person in a dormitory, also private rooms from £50 sleeping 2, 4 and 6).