The Certified Permaculture Design Course (PDC) has become a standard in permaculture training across the world for those wishing to create resilient, productive systems for themselves or their clients. PDCs are typically taught over a period of several days and can represent an investment in time and money that many people aren't able to make. While this film series won't be a substitute for attending such a course in person (and won't provide any kind of certification) we believe it will introduce the viewers to many of the lessons taught in a PDC in a format accessible to anyone.

The entire contents from 20 days of training will be edited into a series of video segments offered as a choice of 3-DVD set or online streaming. These will combine more formal academic lectures with field work and observation, as well as several practical workshops introducing the students to a multitude of hands-on, technical skills.

Film contents

 (H) hands-on/field work (L) lecture

• contour lines (laser level + A-frame) (H)
• the design process (L)
• the permaculture design business, a case study (L)
• dry stacking (H)
• food forest (H)
• forest management (H)
• forraging (H)
• gardening with hand tools (H)
• goose harvesting (H)

• grafting (H)
• green wood carpentry (H)
• holistic management (L)
• keyline design (L)
• living rich while being poor (L)
• medicinal plant tour / medicine making (H)
• mushroom inoculation (H)
• plant breeding 101 (L)
• plant propagation (H)
• principles and ethics of permaculture (L)
• rewilding – zone 5 permaculture (L)
• scything (H)

• soil science (L)(H)
• succession walk (H)
• swale design and implementation (H)
• the design process (L)
• the Yeomans plow (H)
• tree planting (H)
• triangulation (H)
• Whole Systems Design site visit (H)
• wood splitting/carving (H)
• woody plant identification (H)

The instructors

Ben Falk is a homesteader, permaculture practitioner and teacher. Through his design firm,Whole Systems Design LLC, he has conducted nearly 200 site development consultations across New England and facilitated dozens of courses on permaculture design, property selection, microclimate design, and design for climate change. He's the author the Resilient Farm and Homestead.

Mark Krawczyk is a permaculture designer, traditional woodworker, natural builder and community organizer. He owns and operates Keyline Vermont - a permaculture design/consulting business, RivenWoodCrafts - a traditional woodcraft company, is a member of Seven Generations Natural Builders and is a founding member of the community group Burlington Permaculture.

Trevor Newman is an amateur pomologist, avid gardener & orchardist, and all-around plant geek. He owns and operates TerraNu Nursery LLC, an edible and useful plant company based in Clarkston, MI, as well an edible landscaping firm called Roots To Fruits Ecological Design. Trevor has taught in Permaculture Design Courses and given presentations to various schools, garden clubs, and community groups on topics such as homesteading, agroforestry, and uncommon fruits. He is the director of the Michigan Nut Growers Association and co-chair of the North American Fruit Explorer’s permaculture special interest group.

Mark Angelini is a persistent autodidact, having trained alongside a number of prominent landscape and whole-systems design professionals. Aside from his passion for homesteading, food & farming, craft, green woodworking, forestry, and a good sharp tool, he sits on the board of The Apios Institute, teaches & writes about wild edible plants through Eat Here Now, and produces hand carved woodenware. He's a co-founder of the edible landscaping firm Roots To Fruits Ecological Design.

Sean Dembrosky owns and operates the Edible Acres project just north of Trumansburg NY. Formally educated in the fine arts, but focused on agriculture for the last decade, Sean has developed a farming system based on permaculture principles and forest farming.

Erik Kocho-Schellenberg has worked extensively with several indigenous communities on natural resource management and agricultural issues ranging from sustainable coffee production in Mexico to beluga whale management in the Canadian Arctic. He is a biologist and has studied and worked in diverse fields such as genetics, forest ecology, and systems biology. Erik currently works in agricultural extension on a project that is helping develop mid-scale regional production of fresh produce in the Hudson Valley of New York, and is planting a designed semi-natural forest in his free time.

The crew

Photographer and film-maker Olivier Asselin has worked for media and development organisations in over 25 countries for the past decade. In 2013, he directed and edited the highly successful, Kickstarter-funded, educational documentary The Permaculture Orchard: Beyond Organic. He is the founder of possiblemedia.org, an online video platform focused on sharing positive initiatives for a more sustainable future.

Barthélémy Glumineau runs Studio Méliès, an ambitious film production and post-production house based in Québec, Canada. He's involved in everything from scripting to directing, to post-production for broadcast, web or live events. He's the creator of the Kickstarter-funded educational DVD The Art and Science of Natural Plaster. More recently, Bart is actively invested in producing content for renowned permaculture web platformsPossiblemedia.org and Permies.com.