permaculture

INTRODUCTION: Permaculture Workshops 5

Whatever your level of expertise, you can always invite or hire senior participants of

past Permaculture workshops and/or respected local experts or community members

with proven skills in specific areas – such as soil conservation, LEISA, small enterprise

development, or appropriate technology – to participate in leading the course as co-

facilitators, guest presenters, or assistants. This will enhance your course and its local

relevance. You will be responsible for ensuring that guest presenters cover their selected

topic(s) in the time provided in the lesson plan.

Remember to teach only what you know well and can demonstrate with ease.

Contact IDEP Foundation for information if you feel you need help to teach less familiar

techniques offered in this book.

Who attends Permaculture workshops?

Permaculture workshops are mainly intended for rural men and

women who make a living from farming small plots of land.

This means that many of them may have difficulty reading and

writing, or may lack confidence in their ability to learn.

If they have been educated through the formal school system,

which is dominated by rote learning, they will be unaccustomed

to engaging critical or creative thinking in a classroom setting. At the same time, they are

likely to possess a wealth of life skills and cultural knowledge, acquired through informal

family and community networks.

This often includes highly detailed knowledge of the flora and fauna, processes

and cycles of the local ecosystem, as a result of direct and continuous

interaction with nature.

Ideally, the participants selected for Permaculture workshops will come from all sectors

of the community in which the course is held. The best participants are those who are

ready, eager, and able to work towards positive change in their communities.

Local community and religious leaders and heads of women’s, farmers’, and youth groups

can have a powerful influence on the rest of the community and should be included as

participants whenever possible.

Participants from other areas and even other countries may improve the flavor of the

course by bringing fresh perspectives from outside the community, although in some

cases, the presence of foreigners may inhibit community members from fully participating

in classroom discussions.