2023 Permaculture Training - Seeding Futures

MONTH ONE: RESILIENCE DESIGN

Accredited Permaculture 1 Training (APT) (4 weeks)

The first four weeks of the program focus on learning Permaculture design principles. The curriculum covers ecosystems, soils, water, energy and plant systems as well as the principles and practices of good design, applied to a variety of contexts.

 The assessment of the APT is thorough and ensures that participating youth have the knowledge and hands on ability to design and implement resilient systems. This is a requirement of being an Accredited Training provider and ensures that we deliver world class training.

We are proud that: This module is SAQA Accredited, with participants also receiving the internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certificate, and that participating youth have testified to the incredible value of the assessment.

MONTH TWO: STARTING WITH MYSELF

Personal Resilience (1 week)

Students focus on their strengths and practice articulating these,  look at the work/life balance, set goals and learn the delicate art of self-care.

They practice communication skills, including dealing with conflict through Non-Violent Communication.  There is also a  CV-writing process that helps participants to articulate their strengths. These CV’s are used as part of participants’ applications for job shadows – simulating a job application process, obviously valuable experience.

We are proud that: Our program works holistically with youth and allows them to find their strengths and their voices, and connects them to relevant work opportunities.

Household Resilience (3 weeks)

The focus is on designing and retrofitting homes to be resilient to the shocks and stresses associated with the climate crisis. Permaculture design skills are applied at a household level and we explore simple, cost-effective ways for generating and saving water, energy and food. We also consider waste, temperature management, fuel and medicine.

We are proud that: Participants learn skills that can immediately impact on their own household resilience.

 

MONTH 3: THE WORLD OF WORK

Job Shadows (4 weeks)

Through a database of local green enterprise partners that we have developed, we now place participants in relevant job shadows where they gain invaluable experience of the realities of running enterprises. We prioritize job shadows that have employment opportunities and, in this way, have secured work for many graduates. The benefits to the network are that they are taking on youth who are educated and equipped, and have proven their commitment to this work.

We are proud that: This boosts the local green economy through providing 16 000 free and capacitated hours and we grow partners who have started to articulate their skills gaps so that we can grow training in response