Permaculture Design Course - Orella Ranch, Santa Barbara, CA
with Australian Permaculture Teacher Darren Doherty
June 20 - July 3 Cost $950
Location:Orella Ranch, Santa Barbara Ca
To Register:
Guner Tautrim 805.698.8823 or [email protected]
Our interactive Permaculture Design Certificate Course is designed to make you a more useful person capable of designing and developing sustainable systems anywhere in the world.

Our program is under continuous improvement and is determined to put the design back into the Permaculture Design Course, drawing on our broad experience in the design & development of over 1300 projects on 5 continents in every climate. Students will have the opportunity to complete a minimum of 5 design projects throughout the course which are developed & presented in groups allowing for continuous feedback and improvement. One thing that won't change however is our Day to a Subject format, following the sequence of the curriculum: 'Permaculture: A Designer's Manual' (Bill Mollison, 1988, Tagari Publications)
Graduates of this 72 hour course will be awarded The Permaculture Institute (Australia:Bill Mollison) Permaculture Design Certificate.
Course Teachers for this PDC is Darren Doherty (Registered Teacher #29 with The Permaculture Institute) and has taught on over 30 PDC's (over 10 solo) across the world with renowned teachers such as Bill Mollison, David Holmgren, Penny Livingston-Stark, Robina McCurdy & the late Joe Polaischer among many others.
*History, Theory, Ethics, & Principles of permaculture
*Nature-friendly house placement and design
*Keyline Design, Holistic Management & Carbon Farming
*Energy conservation techniques for all climates
*Recycling and waste management
*Organic food production
*Water harvesting, Irrigation systems management
*Waste Water Treatment Systems
*Ecological pest control
*Drought-proofing
*Soil rehabilitation and erosion control
*Livestock systems
*Aquaculture
*Catastrophe preparedness and prevention
*Windbreaks and fire control
*Community Development
*Enterprise Development Models
*GIS/CAD Design, Project Costing & Management
Recommended Reading for the PDC is as follows:
'Permaculture: A Designer's Manual' (Bill Mollison, 1988, Tagari Publications)
'Permaculture: Principles ' (David Holmgren, 2002, Holmgren Design Services)
'Holistic Management: Frameworks for Decision Making' (Allan Savory, 1999, Island Press)
Pricing:$950
Includes 93 hours of theory & practicum, meals and camping
PDC Certificate awarded upon completion
To Register:
Guner Tautrim 805.698.8823 or [email protected]
Darren Doherty (Australia) www.permaculture.biz is one of the world's most experienced Permaculture Design professionals and Registered PDC Teacher who has designed and developed over 1100 properties across 4 continents and has taught many PDC's, including with both Bill Mollison & David Holmgren (the co-originators of Permaculture). Darren Doherty and David Holmgren co-teach one Permaculture Design Course a year in Darren's home town of Bendigo, Central Victoria, which is the only PDC David teaches on these days.
Darren has been a full-time Permaculture Designer since 1993 (at age 24) and focussed the first half of his career on design and development work, to the point where he became the most prolific Permaculture Designer in Australia, designing and developing over 1000 properties in that period, with a large development and management team backing his design efforts. With the births of his two younger children, by 2002 Darren tailed off his emphasis in that regard and is now working on selected "special projects" and teaching about 5 PDC's per year.
Darren spends about 40% of his working time these days in Viet Nam and managing the Viet Nam projects (Permaculture development and education projects for M&M's/Mars Inc. & ACDIVOCA) with the remaining time spent managing a 60ha working research & demonstration farm in Southern Victoria, Australia plus a smattering of broadacre design jobs here and there. He has taught 14 full PDC courses , many Keyline Design courses, as well as developed the working prototype of the world's first Dojo Ripper/Tiller/Mounder in association with the Yeomans Plow ^TM.