Program Dates:
Summer 2013: June 16th – July 27th
-Participants in Aprovecho’s other programs (or past programs) receive $500 off their PDC tuition!
-Students already enrolled in the 2013 PDC receive $250 off their tuition if they bring a friend…and the friend does too!
Fall 2013: September 16th-October 26th
-Early Bird Registration Deadline for Fall: 7/15/13–$300 discount
Aprovecho’s Sustainable Living Skills Program is the oldest program of its kind in the Northwest and includes hands on training in appropriate technology, sustainable forestry, natural building, and sustainable agriculture. The 72 hour Permaculture Design curriculum is woven throughout the program, leaving students with a framework for integrating strategies and techniques into cohesive designs for sustainable human settlement. A certificate of Permaculture Design will be presented at the end of the program.
As a well established yet ever evolving 30 year old site, Aprovecho’s campus is an excellent working classroom for the development of hands-on skills. Various hands on projects from past courses have included constructing a solar shower, installing a greywater system, pond development, and ferro-cement tank construction. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to become proficient in mixing and applying natural plasters and finishes, harvesting trees with hand tools, building bicycle powered machines, understanding and experiencing aquaculture and aquaponics systems, and much more. Over a dozen teachers bring their experience to the table to help students best design and integrate the dynamic components of a sustainable lifestyle.
The Curriculum
Week 1
Principles, Ethics, Observation
Introduction to Permaculture
Patterns and Design Process
Whole Foods and Nutrition
Fermentation
Permaculture Ethics and Principles
Permaculture Design Methods
Week 2
The Garden and Orchard
Soils, Composting
Bed Preparation, Sowing & Transplanting
Animals in the System
Forest Gardening
Seed Saving
Propagation
Week 3
Home Work and Appropriate Technology
Wood-Fired Cooking
Solar Hot Water
Introduction to Natural Building Principles and Practices
Earthen Plasters and Natural Finishes
Working with Wood
Humanure
Week 4
Broadacre Systems
Surveying and Implementing Earthworks
Non-Timber Forest Products (Mushroom Cultivation, Bamboo)
Forest Surveying
Rainwater Catchment and Greywater Systems
Earthworks and Water Harvesting
Tree Falling
Horse Logging
Week 5
The Wilderness and Beyond
Brice Creek Old Growth Hike
Botany and Plant Identification
Watershed Walk
Creek Restoration Project
Week 6
Integration and Design Project Synthesis
Invisible Structures
Design for Catastrophe
Urban Systems
Design Project Presentations
Life At Aprovecho
During the six week course you will be either in a shared dorm-room in our Strawbale or camping on our 40-acre land trust. There are classes from 9 am-4:30 pm with a break for lunch. All meals emphasize local and organic foods. Most weekends are free to explore the grander Pacific Northwest.
Cost: Tuition is on a sliding scale from $2,500-$3,000. The sliding scale is offered for attendees to pay within their means. Pay what you want within that scale.
