Wednesday, March 25, 2009

ANNOUNCING: THE SEVENTH ANNUAL PERMACULTURE COURSE

The course will be take place from May 31st through June 14th at the Lazy Black Bear Retreat Center in Paoli, Indiana (located about an hour south of Bloomington and surrounded by the beautiful Hoosier National Forest). The course will be run by me and taught by Peter Bane and Keith Johnson, two of the best Permaculture teachers in the country. They are former residents of the Permaculture eco-village Earthaven and are the publishers of the Permaculture Activist, the only Permaculture magazine in North America.

Permaculture, for those who know little about it, is a design technique for creating sustainable human communities that are in harmony with the natural environment. It is a rapidly growing and internationally recognized design system for creating better ways of living with our life support systems and with each other. It is a set of principles and techniques that aim to create ecologically sound, economically prosperous, and spiritually rich human communities. This course provides students with innovative conceptual tools and the chance to view the future from many different angles. This is a unique opportunity for hands on experience in a class at Indiana University.

Students who complete this course not only get three hours of IU credit, but also receive their certification in Permaculture, which enables them to practice and teach the art and science of Permaculture. Participants will be camping outdoors in tents or staying in cabins for the duration of the two-week course. The course classroom is a renovated barn, the Lazy Black Bear grounds are an inspirational site for thinking about Permaculture, and an expansive dining hall, solar shower facilities and indoor composting toilets are available (as well as ponds for swimming, forest for hiking, gardens for eating, and campfires for gathering around for music and conversation in the evenings). Students must complete an application and be accepted to register for the course. The application deadline is Friday, March 27th. The application is available at: http://www.indiana.edu/~llc/academics/permaculture.shtml
This website provides further information about the course and has pictures from previous years. Enrollment is limited to 25 students. In addition to the 3 credit-hour tuition, a fee of $555 will be charged to cover transportation, food, lodging, facilities, and some course materials. Any one wanting to know more about the course is welcome to email me at dhaberma@indiana.edu. Relish this day!

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