About the word PERMACULTURE (Copyright)
Permaculture is a word coined by the author, Bill Mollison. Its copyright is vested in the Permaculture Institutes and their College of graduates, and is guarded by them for the purposes of consistent education.
Copyright was deliberately sought, and the unique name coined, so that this system of education could not be pre-empted by existing institutions or government agencies, but belongs to certified individuals and Permaculture Institutes (as corporate bodies). The intention of the copyright is to maintain the integrity of the educational area (with its considerable goodwill) for those who know the content of a Permaculture Design Course (PDC).
A person must be a Design Course graduate to use this name.
Mollison eventually began to certify and register instructors but by that time there were already quite a few teachers offer PDC Courses with varying abilities. Some went to the trouble to be certified through Mollison’s Permaculture Institute of Australia but in the US, the majority did not.
So, the permaculture student is left with the task of looking into the course options available to them, and then following their own intuition and judgment as to which course is best for them.
What we have found is that there are some excellent permaculture teachers that have not been certified by Mollison and we also know of some Mollison registered teachers who deliver mediocre courses.
Bottom line… As in the world of higher education, having schooling, certifications and diplomas does not necessarily make someone an effective teacher. It helps for sure but is no guarantee.
Midwest Permaculture's Certifying Instructors
Bill Wilson is co-founder of Midwest Permaculture and has been teaching permaculture for 5 years. He holds PDC and Advanced Permaculture Design Certificates and has taken advanced permaculture teacher training. He has co-taught and hosted 15 PDC Courses.
Wayne Weiseman, a naturalist, gardener, farmer, eco-builder and experienced teacher, will be the co-instructor for many of our 2010 Design Certification Courses (see individual course descriptions).
We are grateful that both instructors receive almost unanimous feedback from students as being excellent teachers. We are even more gratified that most of our course graduates return home enthusiastic and competent enough to begin to apply what they have learned to their own property and into their lives.
PDC Certification
Students taking a course taught and lead by Bill Wilson will receive their PDC Certification through MIdwest Permaculture.
If Wayne Weiseman is co-teaching the on-site portion of a PDC course, students will receive their PDC Certification through the Permaculture Institute of Australia as Wayne holds this added credential.
What Does Design Course Certification Enable you to Do?
With this certification you may confidently use the word 'permaculture' in the promotion of your work or business. Certification states the obvious, that you have completed the full 72-hour design course curriculum.
However , to be clear, this does not make you (or any of us) 'certified permaculture designers' as some people assume or think. To our knowledge, there is no agency or program that 'certifies' someone as an "official-licensed-permaculture designer". Certification only implies that one has completed a training and now has the legitimate permission to consider themselves a permaculturist, skilled or not.
If a PDC certificate holder feels that they are ready to offer permaculture designs, they may certainly do so and call themselves a 'permaculture designer', but it is inaccurate to our understanding for someone to call themselves a 'certified' permaculture designer. We become permaculture designers with an educational certificate.
If you do move into designing, what you charge is up to you and the people you do the design work for. However, since the quality of your design work and service reflects upon the entire permaculture community, we encourage everyone to operate with the integrity and openness that is at the heart of this work.
What About Teaching Permaculture Classes?
Absolutely. PDC certification allows you to teach permaculture classes in whatever subjects you feel knowledgeable and capable of. We suggest new graduates start with 1-3 hour classes and work their way up to half-day, full-day and then weekend trainings. Mollison's over-reaching desire (as well as that of the world permaculture community) is that teachers leave students with a greater understanding and confidence in their ability to care for themselves, others and the planet.
What about Teaching PDC Certification Courses and Offering Certification to Others?
From our research and understanding, there is no single legal or established entity in the United State or the world that grants Official PDC Teacher Certification. Maybe this will change in the future, but we hope not. The original gift of Permaculture by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren was to get knowledge and opportunity into the hands of the many and away from an hierarchal approach to sharing this life enhancing work.
Once an educational process becomes institutionalized, some of the potentially best teachers become marginalizes because of their inability to pay for training and/or certification. It also permits poor teachers who happen to have the financial resources for various trainings and certifications, to take a place in a hierarchal structure who end up garner students and resource because of apparent qualifications. The overall quality of the education can be poor but students become obligated to take these trainings to get qualified or certified.
The heart and soul of permaculture is care of people, care of planet and the sharing of surplus. As such, if any PDC graduate has the ability to deliver a quality 72-hour PDC Course that includes all aspects of the PDC Curriculum (as presented in Mollison's: Permaculture - A Designer's Manual) they have the right to do so and to offer their own PDC Certificates to their graduating students. The best way to move into the teaching of these trainings is for the beginning PDC host and instructor to teach those areas that they are legitimately competent in to teach, and to find other teachers who can deliver the other parts of the training.
The Opportunity Before Us...
Because permaculture is a relatively new field, there are few 'job' opportunities listed in the employment ads for permaculture designers. Please do not take a PDC course thinking there will be an automatic job for you at the other end.
The opportunity however is that design course graduates have the right to start their own business immediately, whether it be in consulting, designing, design implementation or teaching. The only thing holding one back would be a persons knowledge base, experience and personal skills, all of which are available to everyone if we but step into learning and doing.
Permaculture is a life-long journey and a way of relating to life. There is no end to the depth of experience and service we might render to ourselves, our communities and the world, especially given the current state of things. We need people who are able to think and design in terms on long-term sustainable solutions. For those who can do this, there appears to be great opportunity, ultimate security and the satisfaction of doing work that really does matter in the world.
This work is real. This work is lasting. This work is needed.
Bill Wilson - Dec. 2009
