Going back through all the classes to fill out the final evaluation mindfully, I was overwhelmed (again!) by just how much this course offers. Each module is well-thought out, organized, connected to the whole course in its language and also its call-outs (light bulb: just like the systems thinking we’re trying to develop!), and overall feels like a beautiful example of how permaculture can help you design anything and particularly moves well through pedagogy to be shared and enjoyed together.
Others should take this course if they want permaculture to feel like a path and a perspective rather than a certification. This is not a garden design course. It’s a life retrofit experience that begins with honoring the place where you are now, acknowledging the people who lived off the land before you showed up (or invaded), dreaming from a posture of strength, and sharing your abundance.
You might come to this course very angry at (especially white) humanity and the stories it tells can make things feel so in desperate need of transformation that it’s overwhelming to step up. That complicates the 3rd ethic, especially if you are white. But every teacher you encounter in the course and the forums will pull you back from that unhealthy precipice and remind you that restorative and regenerative practices are the vital work we must do together. There is joy and humility in that knowledge if you stick it out through the pain.
