Awarded by the Permaculture Association (Britain)
The Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design involves a minimum two-year long period of self-managed study, applying what you know about Permaculture Design to your life and work, and gradually getting to use the Design process as an automatic skillset of applied understandings. It is awarded by the Permaculture Association (Britain), and you can read all about it on their website.
You must have gained the Permaculture Association (Britain) Certificate awarded for completing the 72 hour Permaculture Design course, run by one or more of the teachers on the Permaculture Association (Britain)’s registered teachers list. Brighton Permaculture Trust’s version of the 72 hour course is called -:- Building Sustainable Communities.
You apply for your Diploma study and accreditation through the Permaculture Association. The administration of and support for the Diploma changed to “System 5.0” in September 2010, so we advise you to read the section on the Permaculture Association’s website carefully. It explains about the two ways you can do it now: either the Supported Route or the Independent Route.
If you want a fully supported experience, with a Personal Tutor, Design Support Tutors and meetings with other apprentices in Peer Support Groups, you pay for the Supported Route, choosing a Registered Diploma Tutor from the list on the Permaculture Association website.
If you would prefer to follow your own permaculture learning pathway with no specific support, you follow the Independent Route, and, when you feel you are ready to accredit, you apply to the Permaculture Association for assessment. This has to be at least two years’ worth of work.
For both routes, the accreditation criteria are the same, though the payment system is different.
Support for the Diploma locally
In the new system, Registered Diploma Tutors are contracted to the Permaculture Association and work as self-employed people. There are several in this area, and their names and contact details are on the Permaculture Association’s list.
As local permaculture practitioners, they tend to also work for Brighton Permaculture Trust, but the diploma is administered by the Permaculture Association and not by Brighton Permaculture Trust. You would need to contact them through the Permaculture Association, to see if they have the capacity to take you on as an apprentice.
They run information sessions about the Diploma twice a year, and current apprentices often come along for an Induction session or some group support or to practise presenting for their Diploma certification.
The criteria for the Diploma includes getting involved locally, and this can be done by volunteering for various activities for Brighton Permaculture Trust, getting involved in some of the events we run, joining in workdays on our plot and orchards at Stanmer Park. If you want to teach, you might be able to start by supporting tutors on courses. All these activities can help you with Diploma Projects, as they will give you space to practise synergy, community building and other complementary criteria for the Diploma – as well as putting design into action and show your understanding of the theory.
Find out more
If you would like to know more about the Diploma, read the Permaculture Association (Britain) website, and apply through the Permaculture Association (Britain) Office.
If you have completed a permaculture design course and wish to be informed about Diploma information events, please