Please also take a look at the Glossary for definitions of specific terms and abbreviations. QUESTIONS FROM POTENTIAL DIPLOMATS How is the Diploma of Applied Permaculture Design different than diplomas offered by other organizations (like the Permaculture Institute, Australia's APT, the Permaculture Association of Britain's WorkNet)? The
DAPD gathers the learnings from all the previous systems and updates
the whole system for the digital age. We support and encourage the
ongoing development of all permaculture diploma systems, and offer the
DAPD as one option that a Local Enabling Organization can choose from. Are there prerequisites for the diploma, such as a 2-3 week design course?Yes, the internationally-recognized Permaculture Design Certification course is a required pre-requisite to beginning a diploma. You can find courses near you by visiting: Yes, one chooses their own pace. Is a Permaculture Design Certificate Course 'Instructor status' included in the Diploma? Self-directed
learning in permaculture education is one of the main themes available
to DAPD participants. The 2-year supported learning & teaching
requirements of of other institutes are a good idea, and we are
considering adopting as part of the DAPD. Will there be a DAPE (E is for education) someday? We
designed the DAPD system to support individuals who want to focus on
Education -- it is one of the 'suggested themes', and we can imagine
that the Design Packets a diplomat produces would focus on the design
& implementation of educational events. So, yes - DAPEs are
available! How much does it cost? Current projected estimates for Economy-one countries are USD $2470 over 2 years - approximately USD $100/mo. This cost and the community-supported funding strategy will allow Local Enabling Organizations in global south and majority world economies to adjust the price downward. Do you have Economy-two or Economy-three costs determined yet? At this point, the DAPD is looking forward to connecting with Local Enabling Organizations in E2 & E3 regions so that a realistic estimate of costs can be determined. When can I start?!? We are looking at potential start dates in late 2010. The next step is to get some Local Enabling Organizations (LEOs) on board - you can talk to your local permaculture guild or institute and invite them to visit this site and get in touch. Has DAPD been in touch with the Permaculture Institute (NM), or Tagari (Australia) and considered relations? We have been in touch with "The Permaculture Institute" via its vice-president Larry Santoyo and one of its field leaders Jude Hobbs. We have not talked to Scott Pittman directly, but we understand that he and Larry are in close communication. The Permaculture Institute offers diplomas, though without a lot of documentation that we can find. Through our conversations, everyone involved agreed that both of our diploma systems could co-exist without overlap, and that each system recognizes the other as an available option for post-PDC learning. So overall, we are in good relations, though not directly collaborating. We have not approached Tagari & Tagari, and do not have any plans to at this point. QUESTIONS FROM POTENTIAL LOCAL ENABLING ORGANIZATIONS Our local permaculture institute is well-established and has the most experienced teachers in the world (and more design course graduates than anyone) -- why are we just hearing about this now? We have just started to reach out to existing permaculturec organizations with the draft
DAPD as a proposal. We started in May giving the presentation
to groups to get feedback from the larger community as well as existing
organizations such as the Regenerative Design Institute. How much money goes to our LEO, and how much to individual mentors? In the current (draft) costings, $1450 (~60% of total fee) per diplomat goes to the LEO, which then distributes the capital to mentors, design packet reviewers, and administration. I think that the LEO would be responsible for determing the specific break-down of funds. How many diplomats are there in 2010? How many are you willing to take on? The system begins as soon as an LEO steps up to the plate. Can the DAPD or Gaia University accredit our PDC as part of this exchange?PDC accreditation is a complex and multi-faceted topic. Like Mollison suggested, the DAPD system has been designed to flow like water, and step around the PDC-accreditation obstacle. Here's how our thinking goes: a) There are a huge diversity of PDCs - formats, quality, even underlying goals. b) The PDC is *an introduction* to permaculture design. The 'PDC certificate' is an invitation to a life-long journey of learning. c) To really live a life of permaculture, the PDC can be viewed as just one tiny piece - the initial spark. A permaculturist emerges from the rest of the learning journey. d) The energy, time, and leadership required to develop any sort of standards and/or accreditation for the PDC would be gargantuan. e) Therefore, we believe that we do not as a community need to standardize, accredit, or worry too much about PDCs. Let's support everyone to do design & teach their own PDCs, and then give those who want to go further an awesome, well-designed 2 YEARS of supportive mentoring where they can really learn permaculture design. The DAPD framework will also have detailed content available for each standard portion of the PDC, so that folks can go deeper into a topic that might have been gotten less time (or none at all) at their course. This opens the door to communication and collaboration with ALL teachers of permaculture, and allows us freedom in crafting that initial 'spark' of inspiration, excitement, and the positive energy of permaculture design. |