A Permaculture and Self-Empowerment journey that will change your life! This sixteen day course combines all the elements of the internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certification curriculum with an infusion of empowerment techniques to unleash your full potential as the architect of your own abundant future.

Designed specifically to extend your edge, this intensive 16 day course will give you all the tools you will need to design a holistic life of self-actualized empowerment. Whether your goal is to cultivate food security for inner-city families, become a leader on international aid projects, shift global consciousness or just lead a healthier, happier life, this course was designed for you!

Venue

Set within the pristine valley of Vista, California, Emerald Village is a thriving intentional community founded on the principles of mutual support, earth stewardship and the celebration of life. Come visit us at: http://www.theemeraldvillage.com

45 minutes from Downtown San Diego and only 1.5 hours from Central Los Angeles, Emerald Village provides a uniquely fertile environment to align your future on the path toward regenerative abundance.

About the Course

The Permaculture Design & Empowerment Course (PDEC) is designed to help you create a regenerative point of view and way of being on all levels. We will apply the principles, ethics and techniques of permaculture design to how we think and interact with the world and our local community, as well as how we go about cultivating a holistically expanding and rewarding definition of self.

THIS EXPERIENCE INCLUDES:

Personal Permaculture: Permaculture is about observing all of the elements in play to help co-create a system of regenerative harmony.  To be able to do this for our local and world communities to the best of our ability, we need to be able to do this for ourselves first.  This course will give you tools to help you balance your body, mind, emotions, and energy. Once we have created a safe space we will use affirmations, empowerment techniques, and indigenous rites of passage to push us through our growth zone, and give us unique and powerful opportunities to learn about ourselves. In addition we will practice non-violent communication, neuro-linguistic programming, and progressive vision mapping to help us define our goals and dreams and lay out the steps to implement and achieve them.

Community Permaculture: Permaculture is all about being on a team.  A harmony of all elements involved.  Through team building exercises, ropes course challenges, shared daily community responsibilities and team design projects we will hone our social permaculture "aikido". In this way we learn where our greatest strengths lie within a team and how to recognize, celebrate, and enhance the strengths of others.  Through learning the elements which create a happy and regenerative flow within our micro-communities we get a clearer picture of what steps we can take to move towards a regenerative existence on a world scale.

World Permaculture: This is a very special time in the history of earth and the human race. By shifting our individual and community energies to more regenerative and holistic patterns we have the opportunity to shift our global awareness to a more healthy paradigm. With the abundance of resources and technologies available at this age our ability to build bridges between all of the living systems of our planet has never been greater.  We can only do it with all of us.

WHAT STUDENTS ARE SAYING:

“This Permaculture Design Course was more than I could have asked for. Expectations surpassed. I hold more hope for our species now than ever before, while truly grasping the gravity of the situation. Thank you!”
~ Jonathan Horstmann, Co-Founder of Food is Free Project

"Activities were spectacular. The movement and energy was amazing throughout. Overall, I could not have asked for a better class and wonderful people to share it with!"
~ Adam Russell, Founder of Upcycle Organics

Tailored to engage students at any level of experience, and enriched with practical hands-on activities, the PDEC will cover all the topics required for a Permaculture Design Certification and provide a solid foundation to practice permaculture at home or a platform to launch yourself into international aid projects abroad.

SCHEDULE

Your experience will begin Saturday morning at 7:00am on the 21st of September. Each day starts with a light breakfast followed by an hour of hands-on farm & garden experience. From 9 to 9:30am there is a short review of the previous days' lessons and at 9:30am the first session begins. Each day there are a total of four 1.5 hour sessions separated by a 30 minute break and a 1.5 hour lunch. Lunch break starts at 1pm and runs until 2:30 for the start of the afternoon sessions. The day ends at 6pm and is followed by inspiring evening sessions from 7:30 to 9pm. Saturday, Sept. 28th is a day for relaxation and reflection before reengaging the life altering fun on Sept 29th.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Get in sync with the rhythm of the earth by camping under the pepper tree or near the creek running behind the property. Please bring your own camping and sleeping gear. Outdoor showers and toilet facilities (both indoor and port-o-potty) will be available for your use.

If you are planning to camp, please arrive after noon on Friday, Sept 20th or before 7am on Saturday the 21st to set up.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all provided and included into the cost of the course. Although the cost of food service has been factored into the price of the course, donations (local food, praise, kindness and tips for the chefs) are encouraged, appreciated and help to insure the highest quality of food options for all.

COURSE COST

This Permaculture Design & Empowerment Course runs over a jam packed 16 days from  September 21st - October 6th. To receive a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC), participants are required to attend all 16 days of exciting hands-on and experiential learning. This $350 deposit reserves your place in the Sept 21st PDEC. Remaining course costs of $1050 are due upon the first day of the course ($1400 Total).

SCHOLARSHIPS & SLIDING SCALE

Please contact us regarding scholarships & sliding scale options.

A very limited number of fully-paid and partially-paid scholarships are being offered for those engaged in permaculture and community projects but unable to attend due to economic limitation. If you are committed to social and ecological regeneration and can demonstrate your application of this commitment through your work in the community, please contact us.

Requirements for Scholarship Consideration: Please send us your name and a three paragraph description of your relevant history, current work, and how you feel this course can help facilitate the advancement of your work.

Scholarship recipients will be chosen from the applicants based on their ability to impact social and environmental change through the use of permaculture design.

Deadline for scholarship applications is August 15th! Apply now!

CROWD SOURCE IT

If you are interested in a creative way to come up with funds for this course, look into fundraising for it through WeTheTrees.com. It is a great way to reach out to your family and friends, let them know what you are up to and give them a easy way to contribute to your education. Click on the banner below to learn more:

“Our Deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us." ~ Marianne Williamson

 

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ABOUT THE FACILITATORS

Theron Beaudreau: An international educator and consultant with many years of permaculture design and project management experience, Theron is an engaging teacher and inspiring mentor. He empowers his students to teach each other through thoughtful facilitation and creative activities. Theron's commitment to creating a better world comes across in every lesson, encouraging others to follow their unique path.

In 2010, Theron founded Community Cultivators in Austin, Texas, a grassroots organization helping individuals realize the potential of community through the cultivation of mind, body and soil. In 2011, Theron interned with Geoff Lawton of the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia for three months and later became a founding manager of Rak Tamachat Permaculture, a permaculture education and training centre located in rural Thailand. Theron is now working on developing systems for higher level permaculture education and regenerative earth sciences through Eco-Pioneers.org.

Thom Waymouth (Thom Thumb): is a man of many hats.  He is a clown, juggler, fire dancer, chess master, meditation teacher, event organizer and a certified Firewalking Institute of Research and Education empowerment coach.

Last year he led a fire dancing and empowerment retreat in Costa Rica, as well as a firewalk ceremony on the island of Stromboli; Europe's most active live volcano, and taught a month long vivation breath meditation workshop in Japan.  His recent travels have taught him so much and have been such a wellspring of inspiration.  He sees the PDEC at EVO as a wonder full opportunity to share the lessons he has learned and help empower our community with a truly unique fusion of self-realization techniques.

Elizabeth Burke (Bright Sky): A fresh upstart in the permaculture world, Bright Sky has spent the year since receiving her certification in February 2012 in intensive study through the permaculture diploma pathway. She spent her fledgling months as a certified practitioner at a permaculture education center in Thailand, and then landed back in the States to support projects on all three coasts. She offers a broad perspective and deep enthusiasm for those wondering how to meet their needs in an ethical and exciting way.

She is a member of the Possibility Alliance, a group of superheroes who annually dress in cape and costume and tour on bicycle performing spontaneous community service and random acts of kindness. Permaculture is an amazing tool on her superhero tool belt, and along with Nonviolent Communication allows her to operate in many cultures with many different people to make authentic connections, recognize and implement well-designed systems, and have fun doing it!

GUEST TEACHERS & SPEAKERS

Many other field experts and guest speakers are also being arranged to provide a well rounded educational and inspirational experience. Drawing on the experience of passionate and professional beings from around the globe, this Permaculture Design and Empowerment Course will make you wish you wore plastic underwear.