Permaculture Design Certificate Course

Learn Permaculture on a Self Sufficient Permaculture Farm in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland

World renowned 72 hour Permaculture Design Certificate course, a high quality 2 week course run by us since 2012 on the self sufficient Kendall Permaculture Farm in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

Sliding scale and instalment payments available!

The Permaculture Design Certificate is a 72 hour theoretical course based on Bill Mollison’s Designers Manual. It teaches how we can use today’s tools and technology to create a more sustainable and equitable world for all species. Permaculture is more than just gardening, it is a design system for a truly sustainable and self sufficient lifestyle. The course is run by PermEco Inc. and is taught by international permaculture teacher and consultant Tom Kendall. Your Permaculture Design Certificate is recognised and well regarded world wide. Our residential course (at Kendall Permaculture Farm) is capped at 20 students, depending on Covid regulations.

We involve our residential Permaculture Design Certificate course students in some of the running of the farm and include a lot of hands on activities. As a Permaculture Design Certificate student you will be involved in the daily routines that come with running a Permaculture farm and living in a community style environment. This is why we limit our residential course intake to 20 people per Permaculture Design Certificate course only. Learn to milk a cow, separate cream, make butter, cheese and yoghurt, feed our biogas bio-digester, look after chickens and goats, see holistic animal management in action, make compost, survey the land for earth works, eat healthy food produced on the farm and much, much more! By involving our students in the daily runnings of the farm, the learning experience during the 2 weeks will be enhanced, as well as give everyone the feeling of belonging to a community and strengthening the bond of the group.
We are able to cater to individual needs of the students based on their travels of the permaculture journey. We have noticed a marked integration of the curriculum and concepts with the introduction of practical components.

You will be required to bring food to the farm for shared meals, you may be able to purchase some farm grown produce during the course for meals. We will provide a schedule and divide the group into teams, so that everyone will get a turn doing the various activities required to keep the farm and the temporary community running. Jobs will include fire lighting for hot water and rocket stoves, emptying compost toilets, animal feeding and care, harvesting, preparing meals etc. The middle weekend is time off. You may want to stay on the farm or you can enjoy some of the sights in the area like Noosa National Park and beaches, lakes, Noosa trail network, Rainbow beach and much more.

During the Permaculture Design Certificate course you will be immersed in farm activities, from holistic animal management to feeding the biodigester, cream separating to yoghurt making and compost making to food forest planting. As this is a working farm with a lot of systems, everyone on the property can be fully involved in farm activities to get the most out of your stay at the permaculture farm and the Permaculture Design Certificate course. The practical activities also allow you to integrate the theoretical course material quicker. We ask everyone to arrive in the afternoon of the day prior to the course (Sunday), so that we can give you an orientation that day to make for a smooth transition into the course week.

Tom Kendall is a permaculture farmer with over 40 years farming experience. He is co-founder of the PermEco Inc and PRI Luganville, Vanuatu and runs Permaculture courses on his Permaculture Demonstration Site Kendall Permaculture Farm. Tom has co-taught Permaculture Design Certificate courses with Geoff Lawton and has taught Permaculture courses in Australia and overseas. He has been a Permaculture Research Institute accredited teacher for 5 years and is part of our environmental advisory team and Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Consultants team, doing regular consultations for local and international land owners and NGOs. For complete bio click here.

Camping accommodation is available (byo tent and camping equipment). A camp kitchen is available for students’ use. Toilet and shower facilities are shared. Showers are heated with a wood fired heating system, which students will learn to light and look after.

Please note:

• To provide an intimate, high quality course with lots of practical experiences, we can only take 20 students per course if the course is held at Kendall Permaculture Farm.
• Our courses are non-denominational; we do not include any spiritual practices and welcome people from all cultural, spiritual and religious backgrounds. The course material is science and observation based.
• The days will be long, starting early mornings with practical experiences followed by all day classroom including some practical, and finishing with regular movies at night to re-inforce material taught during the day.

Click here to read student feedback.

We now offer sliding scale donation payments in full or in instalments through PayPal. Sliding scale donations offer a fair alternative to open donation payments for both parties. You can transfer your booking to another date if you are unable to make it to the date you booked for, refunds will only be made in certain circumstances and there will be an administration fee charged.

Please read the Memorandum of Understanding and our Terms of Service. If you apply to do a course with us, you agree to the MOU and TOS by ticking the box and submitting your application.

2 week Residential Permaculture Design Certificate courses: 

10 – 22 March & 8 – 20 September 2024

Please book below and select the date option you prefer.

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