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Permaculture Design Course


BUILDING THE NATURAL
COMMUNITY
Permaculture Design Course
September 6th-19th, 1997

        ...imagine...living in a community that is blended into the 
natural
environment.  Homes crafted from the native landscape are designed to heat
and cool themselves while remaining elegant and affordable.  Integrated
into the surrounding neighborhoods are natural water systems where food is
grown safe from harmful chemicals and waste is managed for productivity. 
Neighbors, young and old, routinely help one another by sharing resources
and skills.  Local needs are met by efficiently managing local resources
thereby reducing transportation and pollution. By design this community
saves you money while making leisure time more abundant.  Most 
importantly,
however, the design of this community preserves the Earths precious
resources.

        Through the simple and practical strategies offered by 
permaculture
design, a village lifestyle like this is not a dream.  By developing
climate-based zoning guidelines many such communities are emerging across
the U.S. and the world.  Seeking to emulate natures sustainable model,
permaculture design has become a globally recognized framework for an
environmentally benign system of land-use management.  In nature, total
resource efficiency is accomplished by managing waste for productivity and
balancing consumption with multi-functional contributions from each of the
elements of the system.  Permaculture Sciences design human communities
that model the same inter-connections and multiple functions found in
natural ecosystems.
        Though relatively new to development in the U.S., permaculture 
brings to
home owners and design professionals an innovative approach to planning,
building, and retrofitting.  Perma-culture design is now taught regularly
through regional groups, private colleges, and universities around the
world.  At the local bioregional level residential two-week training
courses are conducted as an information intensive means of disseminating
principles of permaculture design.
        From September 6th-19th, Permaculture West will be hosting a 
two-week
Permaculture Design Course at the Wild Thyme Farm near Oakville, WA. 
Located in the Chehalis river valley just 35 minutes South of Olympia, the
Wild Thyme Farm is an evolving education and resource center.  Situated
within its own watershed the farm features a 100 acre second growth 
forest,
turn-of-the-century barn, fruit & nut orchards, greenhouses, sauna,
gardens, hot tub, streams, pond, cottages, and various microclimates
ranging from ridge-top meadows to low-land marshes and flood plains.  Wild
Thyme Farm has been a retreat center since 1989 and integrative
permaculture principles have continually guided its evolution.  
        This two-week intensive design course will examine the 
fundamentals of
developing sustainable villages and communities that are bioregionally
unique.  Elements of village design to be discussed include: local
economics, appropriate building strategies, edible landscaping,
agro-forestry, cottage industries, aquaculture, mushroom cultivation, site
analysis, natural education, bamboo, livestock & wildlife, food forests,
systems theory, and much, much more.  Information is presented through 
such
mediums as: slide shows, lecture, hands-on demonstrations, field trips, 
and
observation walks.  Participants completing the entire course will receive
a Permaculture Design Course Graduate certificate.
        Instructors include: Larry Santoyo; a world renowned permaculture 
designer
& educator who has worked directly with Bill Mollison.  Larry is one of 
the
foremost urban permaculture designers in the U.S. and has developed
sustainable industry programs for several major U.S. corporations.  Paul
Stamets; owner of Fungi Perfecti, the largest mushroom research facility 
in
the NW.  Paul has been pioneering permaculture strategies for
re-integrating edible & medicinal mushrooms into residential & commercial
landscapes.  Simon Henderson; co-founder of Bamboo People, the NWs leading
bamboo research & consultation firm.  Simon has traveled the world
documenting bamboo cultivation and uses.  He is author of Raising the
Dragon: Bamboo Agroforestry in Vietnam.  Michael Pilarski; founder of
Friends of the Trees, a NW non-profit dedicated to reforesting the world. 
Michael has been a permaculture designer for over 15 years and has more
than two decades worth of experience in international networking and
sustainable natural resource management.  Joanne Lee; has founded the 
South
Sound Exchange, a local economic and bartering system for the Olympia 
area.
 She is also involved with co-housing initiatives in Thurston County.
                                                                
Cost: $675 (includes camping, materials, and all meals)
Accommodations: Camping is free.  Bunkhouse: $150.  Guesthouse: $200. 
Space is limited, please inquire as to availability.
Course is limited to 25 participants.

Contact: Permaculture West
            72 Mattson Rd.
            Oakville, WA 98568
            Ph: (360) 352-6509
            Fx: (360) 273-7117
            E-mail: permawest@olywa.net