Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design Support Intensive

South West Diploma Support Intensive with Aranya

Dates: Thu 6th September (eve) – Sun 9th September 2012. Thursday evening to late Sunday afternoon (3 day option) or Friday evening to Sunday afternoon (2 days).

Are you signed up or thinking about signing up to the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design? Are you needing some design support, but finding it difficult to arrange?
This may be just what you’re looking for…

Summary: These two or three days offer you an opportunity to polish up your design skills in the company of your peers. It is intended to help both those just starting out and those who feel close to accreditation. Come to learn, share, make new friends and to be inspired!

During the event we will:
•    Demystify the Diploma process & recent changes for you.
•    Take a fresh and detailed look at the permaculture design process.
•    Add another design to your portfolio.
•    Share ideas and give valuable feedback on each others design work.
•    Create a mutual support network to help keep you on track.
•    Provide clarity on the criteria and the process leading to accreditation.

Diploma design support often takes the form of a two or three hour long one-to-one tutorial. Sometimes this is the most effective means of helping an apprentice with their design work. However, my own experience has shown me that more often than not, this isn’t enough time to really provide the support that is needed. This is an especially important issue when only one or two design support tutorials are taken during the whole learning pathway. There is a risk that an apprentice can accumulate ten designs only to find that they have been missing out some important elements all along, and this is not as unusual as you might think! A longer event such as this allows more time for issues to be identified and insights to be found. Learning with fellow apprentice designers also enables additional ideas and experience to be shared.

The core of this event will be to provide you with the feedback you need to become a better designer by taking you though another design process. Either bring a design that you’d like to finish (you’ll need to have done all the information gathering for it, such as site observations & client interviews), or come & start one afresh at the venue. The former option can be achieved in two days, whereas the three day event gives enough time for starting a design from scratch.

In addition bring two or three of your ‘design projects-in-progress’ (if you have them) for evaluation and we will assist you in gaining new insights and understanding. These projects can be at any stage; ideally bring one or two fairly well developed designs and maybe another started, but perhaps a bit stuck. No particular standard is expected, the Diploma is all about supporting us to become better designers and we all have to start somewhere. If we can help you, at whatever level, then you’re just who we’re looking for!

In addition to our feedback, you will also have the opportunity to gain extra ideas and inspiration from your peers. By taking another detailed look at the design process, we’ll remind you of anything you’ve forgotten and fill in any details that may have been overlooked on your design course (this is not as uncommon as we would hope).

If you are well into your Diploma pathway, you’ll be looking ahead to accrediting. If you are just started, it’s helpful to know where you’re heading. For that reason we’ll also examine the criteria and the process that leads up to this and to reassure you that it’s a lot less scary than you might think!

At the end of it all, you will leave with inspiration, a new peer support network (friends!) another design for your portfolio and a DVD of useful resources to help keep your designing on track.

Tutor: Aranya

Venue information: The course will be held at Brook End, a permaculture-run smallholding in Compton Dundon, Somerset, just outside Glastonbury. Accommodation includes camping but there are a small number of B&Bs locally, which would incur an additional cost.

Investment: Two day option ~ £130 (early bird £115 booked before 1st July).
Three day option ~ £160 (early bird discounted fee of £140). Fees inclusive of tuition, food, & materials.

How to Book: Please book through Designed Visions. Full details and booking form can be found here.