26 Oct, 2015 | Education
Story by Taj Scicluna, October 2015
It is an exciting time for those interested in pursuing permaculture studies beyond the Permaculture Design Course. 2016 will see the opportunity for Permaculture Certificate I, II, III and IV, as well as the Permaculture Diploma to become more widely available through a number of Registered Training Organisations.
The draft Permaculture units have been reviewed by the Technical Reference Group for validation, and are awaiting endorsement through AgriFood. Once these courses have been endorsed, providers may apply through their state organization of ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) to add them to their Scope of Registration.
This is an important step and one we have been working towards for quite some time as we try to ensure permaculture is more accessible and reaches a wider range of people who wish to make changes to their lifestyle, develop practical skills, create environmental change and contribute to healthier social, economical and agricultural systems.
The course material has been reviewed and updated, the changes exhibiting a stronger emphasis on permaculture terminology and specific practices, and assessment requirements detailing performance as well as knowledge-based evidence.
A number of new units have been developed to offer practical applications of Permaculture, including:
- ‘Assist with garden soil health and plant nutrition’
- ‘Use and maintain garden hand tools and equipment’
- ‘Manage a Permaculture aid and development project’
- ‘Demonstrate Permaculture practices to a small group of learners’
- ‘Develop a relocalization or transition project’, to name a few.
Other news is that the units within the Permaculture Demonstrator Skill Set will provide credit towards a Certificate III in Permaculture for those offering practical training to small groups such as school teachers and permaculture demonstrators.
Each course has been carefully reviewed and evaluated to give participants a holistic learning experience, focusing on many facets of permaculture, enabling the exploration of various avenues for future employment.
This learning goes beyond the Permaculture Design Course, which is based on strategies rather than techniques. These accredited courses have been designed for those hoping to take the next step and get their hands in the soil and develop down-to-earth skills that compliment design and systems thinking.
Registered Training Organizations are encouraged to get their material prepared for the application process and trainers to ensure they have their Certificate in Training and Assessment if they wish to find employment opportunities as facilitators.
We look forward to the future of permaculture education being accessible, inspiring and functional in its application, contributing to the health of all living systems.
23 Feb, 2015 | Education
PA has been in discussions with AgriFoods regarding the transfer of APT qualifications into the national agriculture, horticulture, conservation and land management training package (AHC10). APT qualifications were due for reaccreditation in November 2014, and the expense of this process was one major reason behind the transfer.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, it was clear that the transfer would not be completed prior to the reaccreditation date, and PA applied for an extension of accreditation. We have been granted an extension until May 2016.
Since the extension was granted, the transfer process has proceeded well, and we envisage completion before the end of 2015.
20 Dec, 2014 | PA News
Report compiled by John McKenzie, PA director, December 2014
News from the Directors
The 2014 AGM for PA was in August when new directors were elected.
Meet PAÂ Directors:
- Taj Scicluna (Melbourne)
- Annaliese Hordern (Nimbin)
- Morag Gamble (Crystal Waters)
- Guy Stewart (Nimbin)
- John McKenzie (Melbourne).
Departing are Drew Barr (Melbourne) and John Champagne (Bega). Drew and John both did a huge amount and are greatly missed but fortunately both are continuing in their committees, Drew on Accredited Permaculture Training (APT) and John on PermaFund, so they’re still deeply involved.
Interested in being involved with PA?
Anyone interested to be involved either at Board or on committees is welcome to contact the secretary — Taj on 0450 375 528
[button_link url=”http://permacultureaustralia.org.au/about-us/2014-2015-pa-directors/” target=”blank” style=”blue” title=”” class=”” id=”” onclick=””]Meet PA directors 2014-2015[/button_link]
PA Annual report 2013
The PA Annual Report for 2013 is available on the PA website. This is the first time a PA Annual Report has been available for public distribution and it’s another step on the journey of PA being more open and accountable.
[button_link url=”http://permacultureaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/PA-Annual-Report-2013.pdf” target=”blank” style=”blue” title=”” class=”” id=”” onclick=””]Download PA Annual Report 2013[/button_link]
PA at APC12 — 9-12 March 2015 — Penguin, Tasmania
The PA Board is talking with the organisers of Australiasian Permaculture Convergence 12 (APC12) about:
- presenting an update on PA’s journey of formation and to reference the discussions on this from the Cairns APCÂ in 2010
- holding the 2015 AGM for PA at APC12.
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PermaFund – Small Grants 2014
On International Permaculture Day the Permafund Committee notified seven community organisations that their request for a Permafund $1000 grant had been approved.
This year they were all international projects:
- a small community nursery for bamboo production in Haiti, for AEE Haiti
- support for a community training centre for rural skills in Cambodia, for Ockenden, Cambodia
- resourcing a farmers & NGO network, in dryland Tamil Nadu, for FRSD in Madurai, India
- an irrigation installation at a farmers training centre, for THREAD, in Orissa India
- a food garden for an orphanage, for Umaja Orphanage, Kenya.
Two organisations had difficulty in arranging their bank account, Â a community garden program in Southern Mexico and a community gardening training program in a medical institute in Cuba. These were worthy projects and we’re still hoping they can resolve their issues and be able to receive this grant.
We would like to thank all who have donated to PermaFund in the past two years, their generosity has allowed PA to provide the small grants program and support permaculture initiiatives in some of the world’s poorest communities. We particularly thank:
- Richard Telford
- David Holmgren
- Su Dennett
- Caroline Smith and
- Kerry Dawborn.
Permafund review — 2-4 January 2015 Hazelbrook NSW
Invitation and call for opinions. PA is holding an open meeting to review the fund’s progress and consider activities and direction for the coming year(s).
Our last gathering was in Katoomba in 2012 where the small grants program was initiated. Since then PA has distributed $11,000 in grants to 14 community projects in Australia and around the world.
This upcoming gathering in Hazelbrook will consider the impact and effectiveness of the small grants. We will hear from grant recipients, from PA members and from people active in permaculture and community development. The event is open and people are welcome to attend or submit an opinion for consideration. It will be a time for welcoming new ideas and involving new people.
Cost for meals and accommodation is expected in the range $50-150 (Members) or $70-170 (non members) depending on venues. Payment will be on arrival but anyone thinking they may attend please lets us know ASAP to allow arrangements with venues.
For further information and registering:
- Jed Walker ph 0407 433 181Â e:Â jadajama@gmail.com
- Boyd Attewell ph 0417 991 499Â e:Â boydatt@bigpond.com
[button_link url=”http://permacultureaustralia.org.au/events/permafund-gathering-and-review/” target=”blank” style=”blue” title=”” class=”” id=”” onclick=””]PermaFund gathering and review details[/button_link]
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APT training package and Agrifood Skills Australia
Agrifoods have commenced a project to include Permaculture qualifications in their Agriculture, Horticulture & Conservation (AHC) Training Package. This is the ‘scoping’ phase – describing jobs within the Permaculture sector and the associated skills and knowledge required, then mapping this to existing training packages to identify the gaps where new training components are needed. The development of the new components is expected to begin in early 2015.
To followup on APT issues contact Taj on 0450 375 528.
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