https://www.aldeiadovale.com/permaculture-design-course--english-portugal-sintra.html

The Permaculture Design Course – PDC is an intensive immersion in the Permaculture universe, lectured by Silvia Floresta and Orlando Pereira, Permaculture  teacher and a reference in Permaculture.
This course is designed to support students to develop an ecological language and an understanding of the basic principles of ecological and regenerative design. With this knowledge, students will be able to redesign communities and human settlements, according to the rules of Nature.
The main objective of this PDC is to develop effective design skills through the practical application of knowledge and tools, in all landscapes.
This is the opportunity to learn through participation in a real community design process.

10th to 23rd May 2022

Tuition fee: 550€ + 23% Iva

Limit of 10 participants per course

Limit of 10 participants per course
Accommodation:
- Bring your tent (free)
- Bell tent €160 per person (single bed, electricity, lots of comfort), it's shared with 2 participants  

Reservation: https://forms.gle/bk41w7rPynt8i8aq5​

Includes: 
- All meals (vegetarian)
- Wi-Fi Access
- Hot showers
- More than 100 hours of training / 40% of classes are practical
 - Membership fee paid (to attend any training promoted by the Aldeia do vale project, they must become members of the association, all information is sent by email). 
- Personal accident insurance 
- Possibility of walking on the trail to the waterfall where we can dive and swim , Penedo do lexim extinct volcano or Granja dos Serrões
- Lush landscapes of western Portugal 
- Familiar and welcoming atmosphere 
- Circles, music, games joy and love by the fire pit


​The PDC Material we offer was originally developed by Bill Mollison, co-founder of permaculture, to teach the principles and ethics for sustainable design.  All international PDC courses must follow the same format to ensure the integrity of the certification.
This format allows the participants to dive into the principles of design in Permaculture, which will be applied and presented by the students in the Final Design Project. To qualify for the diploma, participants must attend a minimum of 80% of the course and present the Final Design Project.
Participants in the Permaculture Design Course who meet the above criteria receive a diploma at the end of the course. The diploma certificates that the participants acquired some knowledge in the area and allows them to start using the word “permaculture” in their personal or professional life.
At the end of the PDC, students who want to use permaculture in their personal lives should be able to start applying the knowledge they have acquired in the training.  Those hoping to use permaculture in the professional environment should add to this certification a minimum of two years of practice and a few hours of coaching from experienced teachers.  However, students who appear with previous experience may be able to use permaculture in the professional environment much earlier. There is no formalized criterion to determine when an individual is ready to move into professional practice. The responsibility for this decision rests with each participant.
This course is based on the 14 chapters of the book Permaculture: A Designers Manual by Bill Mollison.
Topics to be covered in this course:

• Permaculture principles and ethics;
• Read the landscape. Observation of nature’s patterns and cycles;
• Principles of ecosystems, climate and biogeography applied in Permaculture;
• Design Principles: Analysis process, Permaculture Zones, efficient energy planning, etc;
• Resource identification.  Water in the environment, collection and conservation of water. The use of solar energy;
• Building healthy soil: base of soil structure, texture, etc.  Strategies for soil improvement using green manure, compost, mulch and erosion control. 
• Introduction to biofertilizers and practice;
• Introduction to vermicomposting and practice;
• Creation and maintenance of hot compost piles;
• Creation of heated showers with hot compost;
• Earthmoving exercise with a practical model;
• Establish gardens in Permaculture and Food Forests – learn how to select and maintain these systems.  Learn “How to produce more food in a small space” (the Biointensive Method);
• Practice in Quinta Alma’s vegetable food garden and Agroforest. Start planting a new Agroforest;
• Collection and conservation of seeds, propagation and multiplication of plant species;
• Design of barriers against winds / fires;
• Introduction to the design of sustainable communities and eco-villages. Study different group organization systems, alternative economy and strategies for a sustainable global nation;
• Final design project.