Hawaii Permaculture Design Course (PDC)
July – August 2015
Jesse Leavitt and Wynton Wizinowich join Tom Kendall from the Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast to teach a Permaculture Design Certificate accompanied by 3 days of practical experience on the beautiful Big Island in Hawaii. Tom’s hands-on lifelong agriculture experience and his passionate delivery of content will be combined with Jesse and Wynton’s Permaculture Aid experience in this 15 day submergence into Permaculture. Students will receive a PRI accredited certificate at the end of the course.
The Permaculture Design Certificate is a 72 hour theoretical course based on Bill Mollison’s Designers Manual, teaching 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 sustainable lifestyle. Permaculture ethics are Earth Care, People Care and Return of Surplus and this is taught by showing students to focus on local resources and their local community, and to have well thought out design practices to create abundance sustainably.
The PDC will take place in and around the area of Waimea Town (Kamuela) in the district of South Kohala. This old ranching town is located in northwest Hawai`i Island, tucked between Mauna Kea (elevation 14,000’) and Kohala Mountain. Waimea town is in a great location with easy access to a large diversity of micro-climates. The town itself is climatically divided with the east side of town beinga very wet, sub-tropical environment and the west side semi-arid with an expanse of desert continuing ten miles down to the ocean. Although it is at about 2500’, it is still only 15 minutes away from some of the most beautiful beaches on the Big Island and it offers some of the most stunning views.
Around Waimea, there are many organic farms and you can find a good variety of local food options; the town has two Saturday Farmer’s Markets and a couple others throughout the week. There is a Natural Food Store in town as well. There is also a good selection of restaurants including a burger place that sells all local beef burgers. Waimea is one of the favourite destinations for visitors to the Big Island.
During the course, we will be spending most of our time at a local teaching hall in the center of Waimea. It is close by to all stores, including a great natural food store. It is a relatively new space and all the facilities are in good condition. It is also next door to a great school garden that we may have time to explore during the course.
For accommodation, students will alternate between camping at a few different county beach parks. The names of which are Spencer’s, Kapa`a, and Māhukona. This will give students a chance to experience some of the beauty of the Kohala coast.
The course will be fully catered for all fifteen days. The catering will be done by Simply Natural, a wonderful local café not far from Waimea. Simply Natural uses locally produced food and is well known for delicious and natural foods (more information on Trip Advisor). We are offering options of gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan and paleo.
The practical sessions will take place on Shambhala Farm, a two acre piece of land just west of Waimea. Its primary income is currently from vacation rentals, offering visitors a more sustainable option for their vacation, but the goal is to restore the land, enabling the farm to eventually produce at its full potential and cater to eco-tourism.
To read feedback from Tom’s students, please go to
http://permaculturesunshinecoast.org/about-us/student-feedback/
About the Teachers:
Tom Kendall grew up and worked on his parents’ farm and took on the farm in 1992 when his father retired. He downsized the 11,000 acre farm to 7,000 acres and converted to Biodynamics. The farm produced wheat and barley and ran cattle and sheep. In 2000 he sold the farm and moved to the Sunshine Coast. In 2005 he and his partner Zaia found their ideal property in Kin Kin, Noosa Hinterland. Tom had by then become interested in Permaculture, and started converting the property into a Permaculture site. With his background in farming, he was able to take on most jobs that needed to be done himself; renovations, building, operating heavy machinery for earthworks etc, gardening, fixing, installing plumbing and many other jobs that came with setting up the property. He became a wwoof host and always taught the wwoofers about Permaculture and why the property was set up the way it was. In 2008 he did a Permaculture Design Certificate with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton. He followed that up early 2010 with a Teacher Training Course with Geoff Lawton. At that stage he realised he had so much knowledge to share with people about Permaculture and Self Reliance skills that he decided to focus on teaching. It was a natural extension from teaching wwoofers for all those years. Tom is a very practical person with an wealth of knowledge about shaping landscapes and creating tools and infrastructure. Having spent all his life working the land he has an astute awareness about today’s environmental issues and aims to minimise his footprint as much as possible. His courses are unique in that he shows a lot of practical applications to complement the theory taught. His aim is to empower as many people as possible to be self reliant using permaculture principles. He is a Permaculture Research Institute accredited teacher, an inspirational speaker and runs The Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast on his Permaculture demonstration site in Australia.
Jesse Leavitt received his PDC in 2012 from Warren Brush at Quail Springs Permaculture Oasis. After his time studying under Warren, Jesse Leavitt set out to independently study permaculture around the world. Jesse Leavitt volunteered, and worked with farms/communities from Asia to Europe. Following his experiences abroad Jesse enrolled at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia to attend Geoff Lawton’s 10-week internship, where he completed courses in sustainable soil management, teacher training, urban design, aid project establishment, and earthworks. Directly following the completion of Geoff Lawton’s 10-week internship, Jesse took on a project manager position of a rural development project in the interior of Fiji. After 6 months in Fiji Jesse has now come to Hawaii to continue his work in Permaculture design.
Wynton Wizinowich grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii. Inspired to learn from the best, he travelled to Australia in 2013 to take his PDC with Geoff Lawton at Zaytuna Farm; immediately following he took PRI Australia’s 10-week internship. During that time, he completed courses in earthworks, soil health and management, aid work, urban design and teacher training. Afterwards he went on to learn, work and practice on sites in India and Kenya. In Africa, he worked with Joseph Lentunyoi of PRI Kenya, design and implement on a rural demonstration site. After his time abroad, he has elected to return to his home, where he is now working as a consultant and designer to help the island and its residents into a more sustainable future.
Accommodation:
Camping (tent) accommodation is included in the course fee, please byo tent and camping gear (bedding etc). Arrive early to mid afternoon Sunday prior to course start (26 July) for pick up from airport and camp set up.
Meals:
Fully catered for, 3 meals per day plus morning and afternoon tea. Saturdays are days off but are also catered for.
Directions:
Fly into Kona International airport on the Big Island, Hawaii. You will be contacted in regards to pick up times on Sunday prior to course start (26 July 2015). Local students will be advised via email where to meet on the first camping site.
Fees:
US$250 Deposits only are currently taken. Full fee is US$2,355 or US$2,115 for island locals. This fee includes camping fees, all meals, transfers and a PRI accredited PDC.