The International Diploma of Permaculture Design (IDPD) is an Advanced Permaculture program which offers you a liberating support and documentation structure after you have completed your Permaculture Design Course.

Most people emerge with their PDC Certificate excited to put their newly-acquired permaculture skills into practice, only to find a void in the available support network. From our experience, the best opportunity for a freshly-minted Permaculture Designer to keep on a steep learning curve is to combine additional content information, hands-on project design with documentation, expert mentoring, and skillful feedback. The structure we have developed for the IDPD allows you to hone your Permaculture skills in a focused and productive way.

 
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The International Diploma has been designed to meet these needs:

  • providing advanced permaculture and ecosocial design content beyond the foundational content of the PDC
  • serving permaculture learners (and unlearners!) who seek mentorship and constructive feedback for their project work and its documentation in an e-Portfolio, supporting them to bring their work to a more strategic level
  • serving permaculture learners who are not in regions and zones that currently offer a functional pathway to the Diploma
  • serving permaculture teachers who understand the benefits of a continued, supported progression in the Permaculture Design and Teaching community, and who appreciate the e-Portfolio systems and quality assurance oversight developed by Gaia U necessary for a coherent system
  • gathering the work of permaculture learners and their mentors into a common e-Portfolio platform (open to the public) where peer and professional review can be facilitated according to clear criteria
  • initiating another round of international cooperation between various Diploma nodes with a view to establishing a viable Credit Accumulation and Transfer System thus enabling graduates of all nodes to use their Diplomas as a common qualifier
  • adding additional earning and work-exchange opportunities to the portfolio of experienced permaculture teachers and practitioners as they work at the essential process of mentoring permaculture learners

The learning design follows the generic pattern of all Diploma and Degree pathways at Gaia University, using a Transformative Action Learning methodology.

 

Project/Documentation/Mentoring Phase: 

Following the  content-rich 6-8 month Certificate programs,you will start focusing on your self-chosen project work, making a series of structured project reports (Output Packets) that you will publish in your e-portfolio. Each report is reviewed by yourself, a peer, your Main Advisor, and your Permaculture Mentor. This results in comprehensive feedback on your work as you progress along your pathway.

What you decide to focus on for your projects is entirely up to you. Student associates have designed projects on research topics, businesses, volunteer/professional work, land-based designs, social and/or cultural designs, personal development, and more. To see some example Outputs Packets click here (will open in new window).

Please click here for an overview of the tuition fees for the Diploma program.

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