Permaculture design made simpler

This course describes a simple method for farming. Using simple language, it describes how to make compost, how to filter water, and how to make mud, among many other simple living strategies. As if you lived on an island. This course is easy to follow and includes colorful, cartoon drawings. Most videos last 2 and 5 minutes and cover a wide range of material.

This course is designed to be appealing to people of all skill levels and ages. The course uses common language to describe a more self-sufficient paradigm, such that we may heal ourselves, each other, and the earth. So sign up, and learn how to live well and live long.

A full text of the course is available for download.

This is the second version of a similar course I created in 2016 called "Basics of Permaculture Design: Sustainable Living Made Simple".

WHO THIS COURSE IS FOR

This course is for people of all ages and skill levels, anyone interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle.

WHAT YOU NEED

No previous experience is necessary. It is helpful if you have a land parcel to apply these strategies, though it is not necessary.

TABLE OF CONTENTS AND TOPICS DISCUSSED

PREVIEW

• What three skills do we need to live more sustainably?

MOTIVATION

• What is unsustainable with how we live today?

• Why are governments and corporations necessary?

INTRO

• Why is it important to learn how to live as if we were alone on an island? 

TOOLS

• Four categories of tools

• How our body is a tool

• Common hand tools and power tools

CLIMATE

• How do humans affect climate?

• Climate design strategies

MAP

• Why is a site map important?

• What is a detail drawing?

ZONES

• What is the purpose of zoning?

• What are five zones included within most land parcels?

SELF

• Simple methods to detox your body

• Laundry detergent alternatives

• Good food to eat every day

• Benefits of drinking tea

NATURAL BUILDING

• What are the benefits of building with earth?

• What is earthen mud?

• What are a few techniques to build with mud?

• What are the benefits of building with strawbales, earth bags, or rammed earth?

WATER

• What are ways to store water on your land?

• What is one way to filter water using affordable and available materials?

• One way to heat water with the sun

• What is one way to filter greywater?

SANITATION

• What are ways to reduce the volume of trash we produce?

• How do bio-gas toilets?

• Methods to build composting toilets

ELECTRICITY

• How does solar power work?

• What are a few ways we could use less electricity?

  
  

EARTHWORKS

• What is succession in biology?

• How can we accelerate the rate of growth of nature?

• What are a few types of earthworks strategies?

• What is the length of the average human step?

• What is the main thing to keep in mind building a road?

SOIL

• What is the soil food web?

• How to creatures consume plants and return nutrients in the soil?

COMPOST and MULCH

• What is compost?

• What is mulch?

COMPOST TEA

• What is compost tea?

SEEDS

• Where to buy seeds locally?

• What are a few common gardening strategies?

• What is a planting schedule?

STARTING SEEDS

• What is potting soil?

• What are sprouts?

  
  

GREENHOUSE

• What are design considerations for greenhouses?

• Advantages of building an underground greenhouse

GARDEN

• What are a few types of garden beds?

• How does hydroponics work?

HARVEST

• What does a post-harvest area include?

• What are methods to save seeds?

SALES AND CERTIFICATION

• What does it mean to be certified organic?

• What common items to bring to a farmers market?

FIELD

• What is hedging, in regards to farming?

FISH

• What are chinampas?

• Why are air pumps and water pumps important for aquaponics?

INSECTS

• What is an insect hotel?

• What products do bees make?

ANIMALS

• What common things do animals need?

FOREST

• What are strategies to plant a food forest?

• What are methods to propagate plants?

MUSHROOMS

• How we can listen to the sounds of living species in a forest?

• What is one method for growing mushrooms from spore to mushroom?

• What are common substrates for growing mushrooms?

GRADE

• How can we determine a grade for our farm?

• What is an organic positive aggregate?

COMMUNITY

• What two things are important for everyone in a community to do every day?

• Why is it important to do these two things with some frequency?

QUEST

• Why is it important to learn another language?