Permaculture Design Course – Spring 2025 October 11-25

Immerse yourself in permaculture for a 2-week living, learning experience at Djanbung Gardens. Gain the knowledge and skills to design your property, create abundance, build resilient community and bring practical sustainability into your personal life, profession and workplace.

A comprehensive introduction to permaculture principles, applications & design practices, the 90 hour PDC at Djanbung Gardens includes the standard 72-hour international PDC curriculum, addressing all major climatic zones (temperate, subtropic, tropical & arid) and the breadth of permaculture applications for sustainable urban, rural & bioregional design and development.

Our permaculture training gives special attention to climatic zones represented by course participants. The course meets a common international standard as a foundation course for permaculture practitioners and teachers.

“An excellent course. This course helped deepen my understanding of permaculture. I felt deeply inspired to step up into leadership for the changing world.” Jason, USA

Dates: October 11-25, 2025

Course Fee:  $2495  is exceptionally good value and includes
•  all tuition, field trips and excursions
•  course handbook,  e-resources
•  full catering (except for free day),
•  free wifi and recharge stations for devices
•  access to extensive library and course resources
•  a 5 acre permaculture paradise to explore and enjoy.
•  free camping on site

•  Earlybird save $250 if you register before August 31, 2025

 

Deposit: $500 to secure your place
For  other discounts see below.

Please complete the REGISTRATION FORM.

Accommodation: Free camping on site with your own tent/campervan.
You can also book accommodation in a hire tent (includes ground sheet & yoga mat).
Check out other accommodation options in Nimbin.

Catering the course is fully catered (except for the free day) – food features fresh garden, local and organic produce, international cuisine with options for omnivores (local free-range meats) and vegetarian diets. Gluten free can also be catered for by prior arrangement.

PCA teaching team:  is lead by Robyn Francis, international permaculture pioneer and educator, the specific course team will vary depending on availability of teachers and guest presenters. Confirmed teachers for this PDC: Robyn Francis. Mark Pickard, Patricia Grace, Johnny One-tree
All our tutors have extensive permaculture experience in the subjects they teach. Past tutors for our PDC courses include Angela Skehan, Mark Pickard, Sarah Boule, John Button, Linda Woodrow (author of The Permaculture Home Garden and 470), Fionn Quinlon, Johnny One-Tree and Cerise Acacia.  Meet the team 

This 2-week (90hr) intensive certified PDC at Djanbung Gardens is an inspiring and empowering experience, in a living working permaculture farm where the concepts taught are practiced. Located in the beautiful Nimbin Valley, an area famous for it’s natural beauty, rainforests, sustainability initiatives and alternative culture.

October is a pleasant time of year with warm days and cooler nights. Daytime maximum temperatures are generally around 25-35deg C, a little cooler in wet weather. Nights can get down to 10-17 deg, so make sure you bring a warm sleeping bag and warm layers for evenings and early morning.

Course Commences 9am Sat 11 Oct and Ends 1.00pm Sat 25 Oct.
NB participants are encouraged to arrive after midday on Friday 1oth to set up camp and book in. (NB catering does not start until lunchtime Sat11th – communal kitchen available, or cafes in town just 10min walk away). Free camping includes Fri 10th and Sat 26..

To register please complete the REGISTRATION FORM.

 

SPECIAL DISCOUNTS:
NB multiple discounts are not available – please choose only one if you are eligible.

• Coming with a friend or partner? 5% off for couples or multiple registrations.

•  FairShare partial work exchange Limited opportunities for partial work exchange for low income applicants – please enquire about our FairShare program.

• Refresher PDC For those who’ve already done a PDC and want to hone up your knowledge and skills through a refresher course, we offer a special refresher PDC $500 discount. NB conditions apply.

• Are you a member of Permaculture Australia? We offer a special 10% discount for financial PA members on all our courses. Please login to the Permaculture Australia website, Member Discounts page, you’ll find us listed under NSW, Permaculture College Au.

SPECIAL SCHOLARSHIPS – there are a limited number of special scholarships available for this course, thanks to a generous donor. Please contact us for more information or complete the Scholarship Application Form

IMPORTANT please complete the Registration Form

Course Catering – the course is fully catered (except for the free day) – food features fresh garden, local and organic produce, international cuisine with options for omnivores (local free-range meats) and vegetarian diets. Gluten free can also be catered for by prior arrangement.

 

Course Topics

• Permaculture principles, ethics, design methodologies, & pathways to sustainability

• Patterns and processes in nature, biome approach to sustainable management, essential earth systems science and understanding global climate influences

• Soil ecology, organic soil management, mulches and compost

• Water management planning, collection, storage and conservation, earthworks and aquaculture

• Forest ecosystems and design of forests for food, forage, fibre, structural materials, habitat, conservation, wildlife, tree-cropping and farm forestry

• Food producing systems for home gardens, small holdings, urban systems to broad acre farmlands

• Design to reduce vulnerability to fire, drought, natural disasters, and impacts of global climate change

• Appropriate technology, renewable energy systems, and passive solar house design

• Bioregional & community regeneration strategies, urban renewal, eco-village design, community economics, legal structures, community gardens and city farms

CHECK OUT our typical PDC COURSE PROGRAM PDF  HERE

Skills & Knowledge you will learn

• integrated approach to earth systems science, working with ecological processes and planetary life sustaining systems

• Practical design for regenerative and productive urban and rural environments: domestic to broad-scale

• Holistic approach to sustainable landuse planning, conservation and resource management

• Creative problem solving and participatory processes to facilitate positive change

• Tools for community building, bioregional sustainability & transition initiatives

• Strategies for individual and collective resilience in adapting to the challenges of resource depletion, climate breakdown, economic uncertainty and crises in a changing world.

Who should attend a PDC?

• Individuals concerned with sustainable lifestyle and self-reliance
• Property owners (rural and urban) and eco-developments
• Educators, community workers and people involved in transition initiatives
• Workers and volunteers involved in sustainable aid and community disaster management
• Environmental and social activists
• Professionals such as architects, planners, engineers, biological and social sciences
• Trades: builders, electrics, plumbers etc
• All sectors of sustainable horticulture, agriculture, conservation & land management practices.

 

Why do a Course with PCA?

Robyn Francis, the main teacher, is one of the world’s most experienced and respected permaculture educators and designers. She has taught 160 PDCs in 15 different countries, plus as many advanced courses in diverse areas of professional permaculture practices including Teacher Training; Community Facilitation; Ecovillage Design; Sustainable Aid and Development;  Social Permaculture; Design for Food Security & Year-round Food Production. She was one of the key instigators of the Accredited Permaculture Training and has spent 11 years providing full-time accredited vocational training in Permaculture Certificates III, IV and Diploma of Permaculture. Now thousands of her graduates are doing important work in all continents and climates. Robyn was mentored by Bill Mollison and co-taught with him in the 1980’s.

The PCA teaching team includes a great line-up of local trainers sharing experience in their specialist fields of expertise.  PCA is committed to providing high quality training and all trainers have recognised permaculture qualifications and teacher training. We also encourage trainee permaculture teachers to gain experience with us and are mentoring a new generation. Meet our teaching team.  

“Fantastic! Inspiring, informative, practical, engaging.” – Niall, Ireland
“Informative, creative, relevant, cram packed, up to date” – Aleasa, NSW

The Venue: Djanbung Gardens has been described as one of permaculture’s best designed properties in the subtropics and been featured in books, magazines and documentaries around the world. Established in 1994 as a living learnscape, you will learn in an environment where the concepts taught are being practiced in the spirit of Earth Care and People Care.

We endeavour to keep our courses affordable and they are priced to cover costs. You will find our course fees are generally lower than comparable residential PDCs and offer exceptionally good quality and value with one of the world’s most experienced permaculture teachers.

REFUND POLICY
If you cancel your course more than two weeks before the course commencement date you will receive a refund of fees paid minus a $300 administration fee.
Cancellations 5-14 days prior to course commencement you will be refunded 50% of the course fee.
Cancellations less than 5 days prior to course commencement date you will be refunded 30% of the course fee.
If we have to cancel the course due to unforeseen circumstances all fees paid will be fully refunded.