Growing Roots - a 14 day immersive permaculture design course

Permaculture is about shifting our perspective, seeing with new eyes, and becoming a positive impact, a regenerative presence on the Earth - encouraging our living landscapes towards new and more vigorous life. It is rooted in relationship with the living world around us, a deep kinship with nature and reverence for the web of life that sustains us.

Over 14 immersive days we will enter deep into the world of permaculture and explore all of the different topics and practices that can help you on your way to changing your life based on the intelligence, patterns and principles found in the natural world. The curriculum of the course includes the living landscape, soil health and the soil food web, food growing and plant propagation, plant identification and uses, trees and perennial food systems, natural building and retrofitting, food preservation and fermentation, social and community based permaculture and much more- all based on the curriculum set by the UK Permaculture Association.

Throughout the course we will be guiding you through a full design process that will give you a solid grounding in using the permaculture ethics, principles and design tools in a range of contexts, and towards the end of the course you will complete a group design project of your own, giving you the practice of putting all you have learnt into action. You will receive a PDC certificate on completion of the course which is recognised and respected around the world.

“ I loved the course so much - I knew I would but I wasn't prepared for the huge shift I felt. I’m now ready to incorporate permaculture thinking into future projects and it has made it all feel so much more possible and exciting. Thank you!” 2023 course participant

We will be taking part in lots of practical activities across the site to integrate and apply the theoretical learning, and we will be making the most of this fantastic area by visiting different local sites to see some of the best examples of permaculture in action, including a day trip to Glasbren. We will also be making the most of the rich natural environment of the fantastic national park coastline, ancient SSSi woodland and other local habitats.
Permaculture covers not only land-based design but personal, social and community design too. Although this course is firmly rooted in the land and we share our specialisations around land based living, it’s relevant to everyone no matter how or where you live, whether it’s rural or urban, with limited or abundant resources, and with or without access to land.

“I waited 13 years to do this course of which during that time I was sad that I hadn’t done it. Now I realise that the universe brought me here at just the right time and I’m so happy I did it with you and no other teacher. Thank you so much, you changed my life and my heart”  Pixie, 2023 course participant

Our courses offer a relaxed, rounded and grounded learning experience, finding a balance between brain food and group work, discussion and reflection and practical, hands-on experience. We craft a safe, held, gentle learning environment, rooted firmly in the land and the living world, encouraging all learning styles and finding space for every voice. It will be a blend of practical knowledge, deep nature-based wisdom and joyful connection - accessible to newcomers, demystifying permaculture, whilst also offering wisdom and nuggets of gold for those more experienced.

“The course was just superb - really well thought out, amazing responsiveness to our needs, and dynamics of the group energy. Amazing breadth of content and depth of coverage. Beautiful space and such kindness and welcoming energy. So appreciate being able to share this experience with you and the group. Thank you!”  Emily, 2023 course participant

Rather than 'gardeners' or ‘designers’, let's think of ourselves as players in a bigger ecosystem, part of nature, trying to make a positive impact, restorative disturbances and applying a regenerative mindset to how we go about meeting our needs as individuals and as communities.

"Inspiring, motivating and eye-opening. Superb, interactive course to learn regenerative practices from the ground up"  Steven, 2022 participant, Glasbren

IS THIS COURSE FOR ME?

You might be...

• Passionate about being the change you want to see in the world

• Looking for a way to add deeper resilience to your life, home, family, and future

• A complete beginner or seasoned permaculturist, gardener or land worker

• Looking for a new direction in life or have a renewed focus, and want an immersive and inspirational start to the path ahead

• Interested in developing a more connected relationship with the living world around you, and to begin to read the language of the landscape, plants and trees

• Keen to gain or deepen your skills in food systems, land care or soil health

• Passionate about community based projects and initiatives and social transformation

• Interested in finding intelligent, coherent, responsible and responsive, nature conscious and connected ways to move forwards with whatever your next steps in life are

• Looking to increase your skill set to support your move into a regenerative, fulfilling and resilient life

COURSE DETAILS

Dates: Sunday 4 - Saturday 17th August 2024

The course includes 12 full days of study, spread over 14 days, so we have 2 days off mid course to rest, reflect, rejuvenate and explore the wild surroundings around Cynefin farm. The first day begins at 9am on Sunday 4th August, and the last full day is Saturday the 17th of august, where we will finish our content at 5pm and then share a final night of evening celebration together. Our rest days will be the 8th and the 13th of August, breaking the course into nice manageable 4 day sections. We’ve planned the dates so that travel days are both on weekends, hopefully making this easier for those needing to return to work. You are welcome to arrive anytime on Saturday the 3rd, and leave anytime on Sunday the 18th.

LOCATION AND FACILITIES

The course is to be held here at Cynefin Farm, a 7-acre smallholding and permaculture education project in the North Pembrokeshire national park, beside the mountains and the sea in a wild and beautiful location. The site of an old long abandoned and re-wilded garden centre, Nim and family have been living here for the past 4 years and are slowly - and with deep observation and care - weaving themselves into the landscape. Whilst still in the early stages there are a range of projects developing here to explore, including no dig gardens and the beginnings of a small diverse CSA growing project, an indoor and outdoor forest garden, and examples of a variety of regenerative agriculture techniques employed to repair and build the soil and grassland habitats. Due to being left to grow wild for so long and its location in a national park, Cynefin farm is blessed with a rich dawn chorus that will wake you as you rise, and owlsong that will accompany you as you sleep.

Camping onsite is included with the course cost, with composting toilets and a warm shower, and the course is fully catered with local, fresh and organic food, supplied both from Cynefin farm and local producers. Tea and coffee are freely available throughout.

Accessible for families

As parents ourselves, we want to make this course as accessible to those with families as for individuals. With this in mind, participants are welcome to bring along their families to live alongside us. The course itself is designed for adults and follows the same content of a standard PDC, so parents will need to bring along a second parent, friend or caregiver to spend time with the children whilst we are taking classes, and we can come together for evening meals, campfires, storytelling and other evening sessions. Just to clarify - there won’t be any childcare provided, but children and caregivers are welcome to live alongside us and can camp here on the farm free of charge.

For those joining us without children - just to let you know that there are also plenty of spaces to camp where you won't be woken by children, and this course is equally valuable for adults travelling alone. Previous solo course participants have expressed how much they’ve appreciated having a family atmosphere surrounding the course and how easily this has brought a deep sense of community to our time together.

Family members are welcome to share all meals with us, and for this we ask for a contribution towards food costs. The local area is perfect for families to explore whilst we are immersed in our learning, with a wide and long sandy beach just 10 minutes away, along with mountains to climb, forests to explore and lovely little towns to visit. Depending on the wishes of the group we can also include some time to share an evening session to share Nim’s experience as a facilitator and trainer with Children and Permaculture.

WHO WE ARE