Five Weekends:
February 9th and 10th,
February 16th and 17th,
March 1st and 2th,
March 15th and 16th,
March 22nd and 23rd (March 23rd will be morning only for design presentations, potluck, and party).
9:30 AM to 5:30 PM each day.
Cost $650, $595 for early registration (by December 15th).
There is also a class book fee of $39 for a copy of Introduction to Permaculture. Also very highly recommended is Brad Lancaster’s Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Vol 1 and Vol 2. For the last four years the course has been completely full, so early registration is encouraged. To give a high quality educational experience, we limit the size of the class to seventeen or eighteen participants.
This course is one of the longest running Permaculture courses held each year in the U.S. and leads to a permaculture design certificate. It covers all aspects of sustainable design with an emphasis on Southwest Drylands, including a balance of hands on experience, classroom time, and design practicum. Dynamic exercises encourage pattern recognition, noticing the links between plants and animals, climate, and landforms that make up natural ecosystems. These patterns are the basis for the Permaculture system of sustainable design.
The course focuses on dryland communities, addressing individual site and neighborhood “problems” such as stormwater flooding. Students learn to read the landscape, to map and analyze energies flowing through a site, and to develop integrated designs for sustainable systems. The weekend format of the course makes it easier for people who hold a week day job to attend and promotes better integration of the course material into daily life.
Course topics include agroforestry, appropriate technology, building design, design principles and patterning, site analysis, dryland gardening principles, ecosystem restoration, philosophy and ethics of permaculture, regenerative community economics, soils and erosion control, village design, water harvesting, and many other topics.

We take field trips to working permaculture sites around Tucson, and you will have the chance throughout the course to design and begin implementing permaculture on a site of your choosing. This course is challenging and fun, and it shows the whole big picture of sustainable design in Southwest Drylands and how sustainability really works!
Site: The classroom will be in the Central Tucson area, and at other permaculture sites in the Tucson area.
Much of the class is held outdoors. 

Taught by Dan Dorsey and instructors from the Sonoran Permaculture Guild. For teacher profiles and other classes scheduled visit: www.sonoranpermaculture.org  or to register and for more information contact Dan Dorsey, course registrar, at (520) 624-8030 or dorsey@dakotacom.net

frequently asked questions,
or the fine print…

How do I register?

We need a minimum of a non-refundable $100 deposit by December 15th to get the discount rate and to hold you a place in the course. Full payment is due 21 days before the first weekend.  Special exceptions, like paying for the course weekend by weekend, are made on a case by case basis. Checks and money orders can be made out to our non-profit: “NEST/Sonoran Permaculture Guild”. Cash, money orders, or checks can be handed directly to Dan Dorsey, and a receipt will be issued to you. By mail please send only checks and money orders, no cash.  Mail to: Dan Dorsey 221 E. Linden Tucson, AZ 85705. Include your return address, e-mail, and phone number, and you will be sent a receipt. If you want to pay by credit card, we are set up through PayPal to handle those transactions. Let me know and I will e-mail you on how to use your major credit card.  
 
If after I register and pay, and the course starts, what if I have an emergency and need to cancel out?

Our refund policy is as follows: If you have a serious injury or illness, or if someone in your immediate family has a serious injury or illness during the course, and you need to cancel out of the entire class after it starts, we will refund to you a pro-rated amount based on the weekends you have already taken.  
 
 
What if I need to cancel before the class begins?
 
If you are cancelling out of the entire course after you have already paid,  we will refund your entire amount minus your $100 deposit up to 21 days before the course begins. If you cancel at least 7 days before the course begins we will refund 50% of what you have paid over $100. You can then apply any money you have paid over the $100 deposit to next year’s course. If you or we can find someone to take your place in the class you will receive a full refund minus your $100 deposit. 
 
 
What if I drop out of the course due to a non-emergency after the course begins?
 
We decide refunds in non-emergency situations on a case by case basis.

 

What if I  have to miss a whole day or a weekend of the course?
We expect each participant to attend all the scheduled weekends and classes, and you will get the most out of the course if you do.  But we understand unexpected events come up. It is up to you if you have to miss part of the course, but if you want your permaculture design certificate at the end, you might have to pay something extra to meet with the instructor who was teaching during the missed period if he or she is willing to go over the material. In some cases you may even have to wait until next year’s class to make up the material and get your certificate.
Why is the $100 deposit non-refundable?
Since a lot of work by the organizers occurs before the course starts, your early deposit tells us how many people we can expect in the course. In the very unlikly event the course doesn’t make at all, your deposit and any other money you have paid will be refunded in full.
Are there scholarships and work-trade exchange possibilities available?
There will be five scholarships of $100 to hand out this year. If you want to apply; send a maximum one page either typewritten or legibly printed or hand written sheet saying why you need the scholarship (financial reasons) and what you plan to do with the course after you finish taking it. Please don’t apply for a scholarship if you don’t need the money, as we would like this additional discount to go to those who really want to take the course but need the extra financial help.
There might also be a limited amount of work trade. We don’t have the resources to offer a full work trade or a full scholarship. If you really want to take the course and don’t have the full amount available at the start of the course we will work with you. You can pay by the weekend if you assure us you are taking the whole course. In the past participants have approached organizations or individuals and ask them for sponsorship in exchange for doing permaculture design and/ or implementation after they graduate. Or  ask a parent or friend to loan or give you the money at no or little interest. The permaculture Credit Union in Sante Fe makes loans (not grants) to take the course. Or maybe approach an organization that might use this type of work and ask them to sponsor you.
 
 
Can I get college credit for taking this class?
 
This class leads to a  Design Course Certification in Permaculture. While this certificate is not recognized directly by most universities, many of our students have been university or college students, and have worked with their departments at the University of Arizona, Prescott College, and Pima Community College to obtain independent study credit for taking this course. It is up to the individual student to work out arrangements with his/her college and his/her department. Prescott College students have often taken this course for credit.  This Permaculture Design Course is a standarized course (with emphasis here on Southwest Drylands) given around the world since 1981, and there are currently over 300,000 graduates working in over 100 countries on sustainability issues. Our seasoned team of teachers has been giving this course for thirteen years in Tucson, and together the teaching team has decades of experience in core Permaculture topics and other specialized subjects in the sustainability field.
What if I have additonal questions about what to expect in the course?
Call or e-mail Dan Dorsey, course registrar, at 624-8030 or dorsey@dakotacom.net