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October 16 – 25
The belief that humans are separate from nature prevents people from designing whole systems that simultaneously meet human needs and regenerate healthy ecosystems. Both permaculture design and Yoga and Vedanta philosophy posit that humanity and nature are one. In this eight-day advanced permaculture design course, students will explore and experience first-hand the connection and unity between humans and nature through intensive ecological design training, immersion in ashram life and yoga practice, and personal and group reflection. Along with course staff, participants will form a large-scale paraprofessional design team "hired" by Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch to resolve key design challenges and create a Schematic Master Plan for the ranch's 77-acre campus and resident community. Depending on student interests, backgrounds and experience, each participant will focus on one of four key "design streams" relating to the whole design: water supply and waste water treatment systems; food production, processing, storage, and distribution systems; buildings and energy systems; or social and economic structures. Each stream will take on design problems of moderate to high complexity in a mentored group-learning environment and all teams will present and dialogue with each other throughout the course as work progresses. As a collective, we will synthesize these streams into a unified Master Plan and present to a larger public audience by course end. Immersion in the regular ashram program forms an integral part of the course, including morning (6 AM) and evening meditations, daily yoga, kirtan (chanting), and community service. Participation in the daily schedule, which is fundamental to the ashram mission, is not only an opportunity to develop or strengthen a personal spiritual practice, but also a direct approach to understanding the unique client and setting. You are invited to actively participate in the yoga and meditation at a level comfortable to you, but at the very least as an observer and an engaged and curious designer. Throughout the course, the design team (all of us) will relate our experiences with meditation and yoga and/or other personal spiritual practices to our work as designers, students and teachers,and vice versa. Join us as we explore and weave together questions and answers from the inner and outer landscapes. Open to graduates of permaculture design certificate courses and others after phone interview. No prior experience with yoga is necessary.
Total course fees $1160 including 10-day intensive, 9 nights accommodations; light breakfast, organic vegetarian Brunch and Dinner daily, yoga (asana) classes and meditation daily; weekend sauna. $50 OFF if you register before September 30 Additional $50 OFF per referral (call or email for group registration) For more information or to register: Contact Alice Lo (Green Phoenix Permaculture) at permaculture"at"sivananda.org or 631-365-4135.
More details about the following will be provided upon registration and acceptance into the course.
Dave Jacke, primary author of the award winning two-volume book Edible Forest Gardens, has studied ecology and design since the 1970s, and has run his own ecological design firm--Dynamics Ecological Design--since 1984. Dave is an engaging and passionate teacher of ecological design and permaculture. He has designed, built, and planted landscapes, homes, farms, and communities mainly in the Northeast. Michael Judd has lived and worked in Latin America for the better part of the last 15 years learning from indigenous peoples and agro-ecological systems. Founder and Co-Director of Project Bona Fide, a non-profit organization in rural Nicaragua, he has applied permaculture to increase local food security and community health on the island of Ometepe. Michael currently offers design consultation and implementation services specializing in edible landscapes along the East Coast. He is resident ecological designer at Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch. |
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August 9-30, 2009 In the US, after spending a year designing an eco-village in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, the Yeltons established an affordable, sustainable, energy-efficient demonstration home and four-season gardens at the Sustainable Living Center at Humustacia Gardens in Whitefield, ME. Their education programs soon earned college-accreditation through the the University of Maine (U-Me) and University of New Hampshire. In 2007, they spearheaded the U-Me initiative to green the campus and were named Still Water Research Fellows in 2007 and 2008. The Yeltons are currently Co-Directors of the Permaculture Education Center at the Newforest Institute in Brooks, Maine. They incorporate spirituality and cosmology into their courses and also emphasize hands-on experience in their teaching. They strive to teach by doing and are committed to establishing demonstration sites so that people can experience first-hand the difference that permaculture design makes. Michael Judd has lived and worked in Latin America for the better part of the last 15 years learning from indigenous peoples and agro-ecological systems. Founder and Co-Director of Project Bona Fide, a non-profit organization in rural Nicaragua, he has applied permaculture to increase local food security and community health on the island of Ometepe. Michael currently offers design consultation and implementation services specializing in edible landscapes along the East Coast. He is resident ecological designer at Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch. Special guests include Eric Toensmeier, author of Perennial Vegetables: From Artichokes to Zuiki Taro, A Gardener's Guide to Over 100 Delicious and Easy to Grow Edibles and co-author of the award-winning two-volume Edible Forest Gardens. "Permaculture is an all encompassing framework of life skillsthat can be applied no matter what your occupation,where you live or what the climate.There are also spiritual aspects of Permaculture -who we are, where we came from, and our place in the cosmos." - Charles Yelton COURSE DESCRIPTION Learn practical skills for cultivating peace of mind and living sustainably. Observe and learn to work with patterns in nature from a place of balance and center. 'Yoga' means 'union.' While Yoga practice unites individual consciousness with Universal Consciousness, Permaculture integrates humanity with nature. Both approaches ask us to observe and interact with the world consciously and with care. All are welcome! - No prior experience with permaculture or yoga is necessary. TOPICS COVERED Daily Yoga and meditation instruction provides a unique opportunity to integrate personal well-being with ecological health and to develop a personal practice that supports Earthcare. Participants will earn a Permaculture Design Certificate and explore the following topics through lecture, experiential exercises, group discussion, hands-on implementation, field observation, field trips, and student-led design projects. Hands-on projects will be a major component of this course. * Ethics and Principles of Permaculture PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS SITE FEATURES * 77 acres of hilly meadow and woodland in the Catskill Mountains HANDS-ON PROJECTS * Earthbag construction COURSE FEES (for 3 week intensive) : * $1800 including tuition and accommodations. Accommodations include: yoga and meditation instruction daily, delicious organic vegetarian meals, tent camping with access to bathrooms/showers (you bring the tent), access to the land, trails, and Russian-style wood-burning sauna. *Additional fees apply for indoor lodging. Members of the following organizations receive 10% discount off of total course fees. Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch and Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers TO REGISTER - call 845-436-6492 FOR MORE PROGRAM INFORMATION - permaculture@sivananda.org |