Permaculture Design Course in Malaysia

 

 Permaculture Design Course

at Embun Pagi, Malaysia

from 27 February – 13 March, 2010. 

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Hosted by Embun Pagi, the full 72 hour certified Permaculture Design Course will be offered in partnership with the Panya project, a permaculture and natural building education center in Northern Thailand, with Christian Shearer as the lead trainer. Christian will be covering a broad range of topics applicable to life anywhere on this planet, yet will be tailored to the needs of the students present as well as the location at hand.

The course will be conducted in the internationally accepted manner. The 72 hours of course work required to receive a Permaculture Design Certificate will be covered over a two week period, mixing hands-on with plenty of in classroom studies. All students are required to be present for the full two weeks if they wish to receive the certificate. Christian will also be conducting an adobe brick making workshop on 14th of March, opening up the course for a weekend to those who will not be able to join us for the entire 2 weeks of the PDC.

Permaculture courses have fairly standardized content, covering every major topic in Bill Mollisons Permaculture: a Designers Manual. So quickly, what will be covered in the course is the following:

1. Philosophies and Ethics underlying permaculture
2. Basic permaculture principles and its applications
3. Patterns in Nature, and how to use it in design
4. Methods of design. How to go from a damaged piece of land to having and idea for how to move forward with it
5. Climactic factors. We will cover all the major climates and how to work with them
6. Trees, forests, and why we want to mimic their systems
7. Water: catchments, usage, importance, and conservation
8. Soil, minerals, microorganisms, building new soil, and preventing erosion
9. Earthworks: How to shape the land to help it achieve our goals
10. Aquaculture
11. Natural Building: Building structures with natural materials
12. Urban Permaculture
13. Alternative systems: community living, and other ways of  living differently that works well for people and the planet.

Each of these categories has subcategories and each teacher also has their own additions and certain topics that are stressed over others.

 

The Teacher – Christian Shearer, USA

Originally from the Pacific Northwest of the United States, Christian Shearer helped found the Panya Project, a permaculture and natural building education center in Northern Thailand. He has over five years of permaculture experience, working and living at Lost Valley Education Center outside of Eugene, Oregon, and currently residing at the Panya Project for almost three years. He is a natural builder, a food forest enthusiast, a musician, a certified educator and has extensive knowledge of tropical permaculture systems. He has taught permaculture in Thailand, Taiwan and the United States and is excited to continue sharing with and learning from all involved!

Joining Christian as co-facilitators are the team of Embun Pagi.

 

Course Fee

The course fee is between a sliding scale of

MYR 1850 (USD 550/ SGD 780 ) ……. to MYR 2200 (USD 650/ SGD 910)

 

The sliding scale

We would like to make the course more affordable and accessible to the people of this region, and to others who would not normally be able to afford a PDC elsewhere in the world. As such, each participant is given some leeway to determine their contribution towards the running of the course. The minimum contribution towards the course fee is MYR 1850. A scholarship seat has been allocated for a deserving candidate between the age of 18 – 29. Your Generous contributions between the sliding scale of MYR 1850 and MYR 2250 will go to the sponsorship of this scholarship seat.

Please note that fees are in Malaysian Ringgit (MYR). We have included the approximate cost in USD, SGD for your convenience, but this is subject to change.

Course fee includes all meals and dormitory living arrangement for the duration of the course.
Campsites and separate living arrangements are available for those who are interested.

 

Fee for 1 day Adobe Brick Making Workshop

RM 270 per person
USD 90/ SGD 125

Includes lunch and tea break

 

The Munzir Scholarship

The Munzir scholarship was created to make the Permaculture Design Course accessible to young people, who are keen to be the change that they want to see in the world. The scholarship is named after 24 year old Wan Mohd. Munzir,  who was the youngest Malaysian permaculturist. He passed away just two weeks after attending the PDC, in his hometown in Kelantan where he had already started  putting his permaculture training into practice on his family land. Any Malaysian between the age of 18-29 is encouraged to apply.

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Join the vibrant global permaculture network and be the change that you want to see in the world. A sustainable future starts with you.

The course is limited to the first 20 registered participants.

 

Download PDC Flyer >  PDC flyer

Download Permaculture Design Course Registration Form >pdc-reg-form2

Download Adobe Brick Making Workshop Reg. Form >adobe-reg-form

 

Send application form to:
 

Sabina Arokiam
ibu.embun@gmail.com

Mobile Phone: 6 019 381 3667

 

Volunteers needed

We are offering food and accommodation in exchange for hands on work and inspiring company.  People who have completed their Permaculture Design Course are most welcome, although this is not a necessity. If you are interested to be a part of the pioneering work of permaculture in Malaysia, feel free to contact us at ibu.embun@gmail.com

Work hours (negotiable): 6 hours a day, 5 days a week
Duration of stay: Minimum of one week stay
For long term volunteers (more than 3 months), special arrangements can be made to attend the next PDC for a discounted price.
Accommodation: Dorm or Tent

New addition to Embun Pagi

It has been a month now since Juergen arrived at Embun Pagi. Two days after his arrival, we went down to Penang to conduct a workshop on Permaculture at the PAN Asia Pacific congress on Food Crisis and Climate Change. Realising that there is much to do in the field of permaculture in Malaysia, Juergen has decided to join Embun Pagi and help build it up.

Juergen took his permaculture course under Joe Polaischer in Austria and has been living in permaculture farms in New Zealand and Australia during the past year of his travels. Before coming to Malaysia, he attended a earthworks course under Geoff Lawton at the Permaculture Research Institute in Australia.

Letter from Munzir’s mother

Dear friends,

The following is an e-mail received from Noor Muhaini, Munzir’s mom. I have been delayed in posting it, due to unavailability of internet connection for the past 2 months.  

 

Posted on 3 June 2009

Dear Sabina, my son Wan Mohd Munzir was one of the participants. He contacted me daily during the stay, just to relate how he enjoyed the course and that how he saw the truth behind what his grandpa/grandma practices in their orchards. Recyling, composting, natural pest control etc., all now makes senses. Upon returning home, he was bursting with ideas for his farm projects and even managed to complete two beds as his first experiment utilising what he had learnt at your place. He proudly showed them to his grandma and saying this is the beginning. Alas, we mere mortal can only plans, God The Almighty loves him more. On 18 May 2009, 5.50 am Monday morning, my dearest son passed away peacefully at Kota Bharu General Hospital, Kelantan. The cause, severe pneumoniae. His sudden demise shocked us all but with this opportunity, my family and I would like to convey out outmost gratitude for giving my son the chance to finally find his nitch in agriculture and for giving him the chance to show his hidden talent (which suprised us all), sketching his dream home during the final presentataion. Keep on the good works and together we save our beautiful earth. Thanks!

In memory of Munzir

Munzir with course mate Andrew Tay, on left

Wan Mohd Munzir, had passed away peacefully,  On 18 May 2009, 5.50 am; just two weeks after attending the PDC course. Those who were privileged to know him, and meet him while he was in Batu Arang were shocked when they heard the news about his abrupt and mysterious passing away. He was after all the youngest and one of the fittest among us. Munzir was always the first to grab the ‘cangkul’ during our hands on sessions, and it was obvious that he liked sweating it out. A month ago, I received news from Munzir’s mom that the post mortem results revealed that Munzir had suffered from severe pneumonia. It was very unexpected.

At 24, he had already chosen agriculture as his vocation, and had begun working on his family orchard in Kelantan. He experimented with organic farming methods that he picked up from books that he had read. With such interests, Munzir was fortunate to have the backing of family members who were environmentalists and are very much into farming. He also had an aunty, Anum who doted on him; and she was the one who enrolled him into the PDC course. I had met Anum several times, and what struck me in our encounters was the concern and care she had for her nephew. I remember asking myself “who was luckier, Munzir or his aunty?”, to share such a rare bond. I guess they were both lucky

At the start of our PDC course, we were asked to randomly pick a card. Each card had a particular value behind it such as patience, vision, confidence, etc. The values that came up for us, was meant for us – something that we already had; that was our strength. Mine was passion. Munzir’s, I remember was depth. I do not recall the value on everyone’s card, but somehow Munzir’s card stirred much curiosity in me. “Why would depth choose the youngest among us?”  Was it because he was the closest to the gate of life eternal? Gentle and gracious in his mannerism, depth became him, in a quiet and unassuming way.

We had Munzir for two whole weeks, and two weeks later, he left us. I feel privileged to have shared my passion and my farm with this special young man who stands out among the young people of his generation. Before he left, Munzir left a piece of graffiti on the wall. “Love All Green Things”. The thriving sweet potato that he had planted under the papaya tree by the tool shed is outstandingly green and thriving. Munzir had planted a lasting seed in Embun Pagi, and his presence will always be felt.  Reading the e-mails of his bereft course mates, I realise that I was not alone. Many of us had been touched by Munzir in some way or another.

Thank you Munzir, for your gifts.

Permaculture goes to Penang and Singapore

PDC teaching team. From right: Doug E. Crouch, Kaila Binney, Gautier Gras

 

After the Urban Permaculture course, Kaila left to Perhentian Island before flying back to India, to help out in an earthship building project in Kodaikanal. Doug and Gautier who could not be coaxed into ‘lepakking’ for a few days in a paradise island, were determined to maximise their trip by planting permaculture seeds in as many places as they could. After consultation trips to Melacca and Sg. Buloh, they made their way to Penang, where they stayed with one of our students, Mei Shy and helped spruce up a 35 acre organic fruit orchard which was under her guardianship.

I wrapped things up at Embun Pagi, and joined them after 2 days for a permaculture gathering in Penang. We had hooked up with PANAP, which made it possible for Doug and Gautier to speak at an ‘Introduction to Permaculture’  session organised at Democracy Space (D-Space), Weld Quay on 16 May. About 20 people attended the talk, and on the following day, Mei Shy organised a hands on session at her Grassroot Organic Farm .  Gautier led a workshop on making Banana Circles, and Doug demonstrated the steps for making a worm bin. At the end of the workshop, the 40 participants were treated to organic durians from the farm.

The following day, Doug and Gautier flew to Johor where they visited a big time cane sugar producer who planted his own sugar cane, and processed the sugar using traditional methods.  There was much learning and exchange between them. Finally, they made their last stop to Singapore, to conduct a 5 day ‘Introduction to Permaculture’ session which was organised by Andrew Tay and Ruyi Gan who attended the Permaculture Design Certificate course at Embun Pagi earlier in April. Gautier left to Portugal, and before Doug left to Paris, he gave talks on permaculture to two schools in Singapore.

 

Link to permaculture session in Penang, visit http://grassrootmemo.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/permaculture-workshop-in-penang/

Link to permaculture session in Singapore http://permaculturesingapore.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/permaculture-talks-i-ii/

Urban permaculture workshop

Venue of workshop

We conducted a 3 day urban permaculture workshop in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur from 6-8 May. The workshop which was organised with the support of  Tenaganita was for Burmese refugee women, who lived in flats (very much like ghettos) in and around the Klang Valley.

The purpose of the workshop was to explore methods of growing food and reducing waste,  in limited spaces and with limited resources.

 

  

 

Weaving cordage

We focussed on practical solutions that can be implemented with some resourcefulness, and hardly any cost such as worm bins, garbage enzymes, fermented food, intensive small scale gardening, recycling, container planting and making cordage out of used plastic bags.

                   

 

 

 

Tei Victoria, a Burmese who had taken the PDC course in April helped us put up some brochures in her language. 

 

 

 

 

Spinning the community web

 

On our final day, we brain stormed on the types of home based enterprises/ services that these Burmese refugee women might be able to provide to their communities.  Bottling garbage enzymes in used plastic mineral water bottles was one woman’s plan. Others were keen on making ‘mong in chi’, a type of fermentede food; and selling them in recycled glass bottles. Women with leadership posts were excited about conducting similar urban permaculture workshops in their respective localities. Tenaganita which has a small provision for refugee women entrepreneurship would be able to give out a small grant to serious applicants. 

On a follow up visit to the homes of the participants 2 weeks later, we were delighted to find pots of plants hanging on balconies and growing in containers, enzymes brewing, and worm bins a thriving. As a pilot programme, the urban permaculture workshop shows much promise, and Tenaganita is interested in supporting more programmes. A follow up workshop is in the pipeline, and a 2 day programme similar to the pilot  workshop has been scheduled in late July.

 

Acknowledgement:
Teaching team: Doug Crouch, Kaila Binney, Tei Victoria, Sabina Arokiam
Organisers: Elisabeth Lulu & Katrina Jorene
Space: Dai Ze    Sponsored by: Tenaganita

Multi functional photos from 2009 PDC course

Here’s an attempt to highlight David Holmgren’s 12 Principles of Permaculture Design , through some photos from the April 2009 PDC Course. Pictures courtesy of Ruyu Gan, Kaila Binney and Cath Blakeley.

 

1. Observe and interact

Kelly checks out a soil sample from the garden. Soil that sticks to your fingers when mixed with water is basically, clay.

 

2. Catch and store energy

Time to top up for another day of intensive learning and field work. Students having organic banana leaf lunch during a field trip.

 

3. Obtain a yield

Sylvester showcasing a bottle of his home brewed wine. Some yields* are so good, it is intoxicating! Will be planting a whole lot of ginger around the pond for the next ginger wine making workshop. *A yield or profit/income, functions as a reward that encourages, maintains/replicates the system that generated the yield.

  

4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback

Although Kaila comes in to teach at 8am, and leaves at 7or 9pm, she somehow finds the time to wash her clothes by hand, just like everybody else. A good way to conserve water, and exercise.

 

5. Use and value renewable resources and services

Andy and Goutiere whip up an A-Frame to measure an on-contour swale. Sounds complicated, but a couple of Bamboo’s will do the trick. Bamboos are a great resource. Harvest a bunch of em, and they shoot up right back at you…

 

6. Produce no waste

What can you do with decaying coconut tree trunks that get in the way? Throw it in the banana circle where it breaks down and turns into compost.

 

7. Design from patterns to detail

The permaculture design project which was presented by the 3 groups at the end of the 2 week course involved a lot of top-down, as well as bottom-up observation and implementation of natural patterns and systems.

 

8. Integrate rather than segregate

The presence of children, the future heirs and heiresses of the earth is essential to permaculture . We were fortunate to be reminded of this inclusion when a guest brought his two sons along for our Open Night.

 

9. Use small and slow solutions

A couple of hoes and hands is all it takes. We dug a simple and modest swale along the contours of our terraced tea garden to increase edge and retain moisture.

 

10. Use and value diversity

Each of us were given a card which contained values such as patience, depth, passion at the start of the course. These values grew on us throughout the course, and as we discovered each other’s strengths and functions, we realised that every one had his/her unique gift and talent that contributed to the dynamic and creative life of our learning environment.

 

11. Use edge and value the marginal

It is at the edges of things, mediums or systems that the most interesting things take place. Here at the edge where the pond meets the bank is the happening spot where all sort of exchanges between two worlds happen. So we seized the opportunity and started planting some biodiversity.

 

12. Creatively use and respond to change

After learning permaculture design, one will never be the same again. Here, students who have experienced an intensive permaculture overload, see things with new eyes, and begin to use their new found tools to respond to life’s puzzles, challenges, and changes.

 

For more photos of permaculture principles in action from around the world, check out the photolog at http://permacultureprinciples.com/photolog.php

First PDC in Malaysia a success

The first Permaculture Design Certificate Course in Malaysia went on smoothly at Embun Pagi from 17 April to 2 May. The course was a great success with 17 people coming from as close as Kuala Lumpur to as far away as India and Singapore. A big thank you to the young and exuberant teaching trio, Doug E. Crouch, Kaila Binney and Gautier Gras for sharing their passion and knowledge and to all the participants for making the event so memorable and rewarding for everyone involved.

An Invitation

 

Let’s Build a Permanent Culture

ECONOMIC COLLAPSE !

RISING PRICE AND DECREASING QUALITY OF FOOD & WATER !

UNSTABLE OIL SUPPLY !

CLIMATE CHANGE !

 

These are the issues we face in 2009; some of them life threatening. We can wait and see if the situation gets better, or we can work towards building a more permanent culture, a culture that would not create its own collapse. This culture begins with you and me.

 

Be a part of the PERMACULTURE (Permanent-Culture) movement, one of the fastest growing grass-root environmental ‘applications’ on the planet. Join millions of people linked throughout communities around the earth who are geared towards creating a localised, economically resilient, energy-efficient, food secure and eco-friendly living arrangement.

 

Join us for the official Permaculture Design Certificate Course, being offered in Malaysia for the very first time

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Permaculture Design Certificate Course

(a stay in program)

at Embun Pagi, Malaysia

from April 17 – May 2, 2009.

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Learn how to ACT LOCALLY and build self reliant individuals and sustainable communities

 

By first,

Acknowledging that we are already in ‘hot soup’

Championing an alternative to unsustainable capitalism & consumerism 

Transferring nature’s patterns into the creation of sustainable human habitats 

 

Then roll up your sleeves and get down to basics by,

Localising energy production

Optimising available resources such as water and sunlight

Creating profit out of waste

Acquiring food security through local agriculture and food production

Leveraging on natural building materials in the context of reducing your carbon footprint

 

Equip yourself with the tools to Recycle waste . Reuse energy. Reduce carbon footprint in your home, garden, farm, community

 

Download PDC Brochure here

Download PDC Registration Form here

 

For more information or to register,

contact 

 

Sabina Arokiam

Embun Pagi

ibu.embun@gmail.com

                 +6019-3813667