In the run-up to us running four different Permaculture courses here at LaB this October, our Freya tells the story of how she ended up doing her first Permaculture course.
I have no land of my own, and yet I was drawn to the Permaculture Design Course (PDC), why?
When I first began my own “eco-journey” my focus was on plastic and going vegan. It didn’t take long for that to change and evolve, and it was on this journey I came across this term “permaculture”. But wherever I looked I couldn’t quite find what it really meant, I just understood that it was a way of growing food in a regenerative, earth-friendly way. It was on Instagram where I was following various activists and learning the many nuances of this movement in fighting the climate crisis, from our clothes and the many aspects of fast fashion, to how and where our food is grown, that I came across Poppy Okotcha. An ecological home-grower who had moved from her barge boat to a new home, she was sharing the permaculture way of starting in a new space.
When I moved to Spain, I got in touch with Mike at La Bruguera and asked if I could WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) to learn more about the permaculture homestead here. Mike shared so much with me, and I came to understand that permaculture isn’t just a way of growing food, it’s a way of life. The three ethics of permaculture speak to this; Earth care, People Care, and the Return and Sharing of Surplus to the earth and to people. In the upcoming days and weeks we are running a series of posts on Instagram about the 3 ethics, and 12+ principles of Permaculture. Find more on the more on the ethics here:
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Permaculture spoke to me more than anything else in the movement had. I love to be outside and be with nature – I spent my childhood outside doing everything from rock climbing, hiking, to kayaking and sailing, and so to find out about this way of growing and learning from nature was perfect for me. I wanted to better understand permaculture and so decided to take on the PDC that August.
While the course is long, and information heavy, it really does go into depth of how we can better understand the land, and work with nature. I was able to explore areas of permaculture I hadn’t before and meet like-minded individuals where we were able to share ideas and even ease eco-anxiety. This autumn at La Bruguera we are offering courses in a few different lengths (and languages!), from 2 days (Urban Permaculture), 4 days (How to live a Planet Positive Life), to a 7-day Introduction to Permaculture (which is like a concentrated PDC, for those who haven’t got 2+ weeks to do the full certificate).
I came away from the PDC with an understanding of the ethics, and 12 principles, that I could apply to my life, not just to growing food. It is these ethics and principles that I apply to my daily life. While I wanted to do the PDC as I was volunteering at La Bruguera, the Introduction to Permaculture Course would have been plenty to get me started had I not been able to commit to the two-week PDC course. As someone who loves being out in nature, loves learning from nature, and who was struggling with their environmental journey in feeling disconnected with nature, permaculture was a beautiful way to reconnect.
I cannot recommend going on an Introduction to Permaculture course enough if you’re someone who feels this way.
If you have questions about the courses running here, get in touch!
📲 Whatsapp/Telegram/Tel +34 630 802 901
💻 www.labrugueradepubol.com/events
