Course curriculum

  • 1

    An introduction to Permaculture its components and history

    • Welcome to the course

    • How I got started in Permaculture and my project Love Grows in Colombia

    • What is wrong with modern agriculture?

    • Who can use Permaculture and what does it cover?

    • What is the permaculture flower?
  • 2

    Basic design steps.

    • How do we analyse a site? Preparing the design.

    • Setting your goals and priorities.

    • Understanding permaculture zones and sectors
  • 3

    Understanding my soil

    • What kind of structure should my soil have?

    • What kind of life should be in my soil?

    • Macro nutrients found in soil that plants need.

    • We can find many natural fertilizers

    • To till or not to till? That is the question
  • 4

    Trees and their energy transactions

    • Trees and their importance to our survival

    • Swales, tree growing and water collection systems

    • Trees perform so many tasks, the ultimate display in multitasking.

    • How are trees and rainfall connected?

    • Making living fences with trees and bushes

    • What is Palm Oil and why is it important?

    • Questions and answers
  • 5

    Water; capture, storage, saving and irrigation

    • How can we treat water to make it safe to drink?

    • The use of water in our houses.

    • How should we incorporate water into our designs?

    • How can we store water using an earth dam?

    • What different kinds of irrigation systems are there?
  • 6

    Pattern understanding and use in design

    • How to build a herb spiral for your kitchen needs

    • An introduction to patterns

    • key hole beds

    • rhymes and patterns

    • edge effect
  • 7

    Garden beds, Seeds and bio-construction

    • What kinds of garden beds exist? Which is best for my site?

    • Bio Construction overview

Testimonials from other students

Permaculture has changed my life

Anthony, Paris

Love, goodwill and passion that is what caught my heart during Russ' courses. Those moments in life when a seed is being planted into your soul and just gets growing. It felt like someone showed me the true colour of life. It was so simple and yet powerful at the same time. Thank you Russ for this enlightenment, enabling to make Permaculture a part of my life.

I have designed my own farm.

Collette

I took the PDC with Russ at his school Love Grows in Colombia in Dec 2019. This year I have used the things I learnt and designed my own farm and we are building a sustainable hostel. The course and the continuing support Russ has given me have been unbelievable.

We use the knowledge that Russ taught us almost everyday.

Freek Kusters and Jeske Krens

Thanks Russ. I'm currently in Geffen, The Netherlands. Jeske and I are long term volunteers on a 'nature farm'. Coming months we're going to plant over 2500 trees here, mainly species with edible parts. I can honestly say that our stay at Love Grows inspired us to make this step, so thank you for that! I still have your permaculture lessons in my mind with the choices that I make here every day. And the talks with Sandrine resonate in our heads and helped us to make choices based on our feelings, even 1,5 years after our visit. I still follow you guys with everything you post. Please continue with inspiring people, like you did to us.

It gave me new ideas and concepts

Ka Tharina

I had the opportunity to receive an introduction to Permaculture principles by Russ. It was really amazing as it gave me the opportunity to consider new ideas and concept. Russ is a great teacher. He is extremely knowledge, explains concepts really clearly with lots of practical examples! It was a very interesting training, that I recommend to anyone with interest In nature and wanting to question our current lifestyle! Thank you Russ !!!