Because of the unique structure of the course (details below), you have a great deal of flexibility as to WHEN you choose to enroll. Our course combines the best of self-paced learning AND cohort-based learning by detailing a suggested 18-week schedule. You can choose to follow this and move along as a group with hundreds of others in the course, or you’re free to dip in and out of that at your convenience.

Although enrollment formally closes on September 30th, we *strongly* encourage anyone who is interested and serious about learning to do so ASAP: The more time you have to do this, the better your educational experience. And since there are more than 900 others already enrolled, joining them towards the BEGINNING of the course and moving along together creates a better social learning experience.

We are just now getting started: The first set of instructional materials (set # 1 out of 18) was published on August 5th, and we will continue to publish weekly new sets of material through the end of November -- all in all, more than 750+ pieces of instructional content. 

What allows for this flexible enrollment window is a unique course structure: We’ve taken the best elements of a self-paced course and blended those with the most advantageous elements of a schedule-based course.

Here’s what this practically means: Like a self-paced course, you can enroll and then start any time of your choosing as long as you do so within the first two months of the course, i.e. on or before September 30th. You can then work as quickly as you’d like to complete the course materials and Final Design Exercise by the last day of the course, March 31st, 2023. 

At the same time, we’ve put together a suggested schedule and course timetable that you may choose to follow in order to feel that you are moving along at (roughly) the same pace as hundreds of your fellow classmates and colleagues. Some weeks you may choose to slow down, others to speed up. No matter how fast or slow you go, you will always find others in your cohort who are working on the same materials that you are. 

You can, in principle, complete all the course materials in 9-10 weeks; the fact that we’ve actually spread out the publication of the materials across 18 weeks means that you can start the class well into the second month AFTER the course begins and still do just fine. OR you can start at the beginning and take a moderate pace throughout the class. As long as you enroll before September 30th, 2022, the course is flexible enough to accommodate your unique needs. Anyone desiring enrollment after September 30th can either wait until we open enrollment for the next cohort, or can reach out to Student Care ([email protected]) to explore other options.

If you have any additional questions about this, please reach out to Student Care and we’ll be happy to provide additional guidance about your specific circumstances.

The late Bill Mollison, Geoff's mentor and close friend, is widely considered the founder of permaculture. His Permaculture: A Designers Manual is the landmark textbook and serves as a guide for aspiring permaculturists. It is the framework for this course, and our 14 modules closely mirror the 14 chapters of the book. It is dense and often technical, and most people find that a well-structured course presented by an experienced instructor helps to properly unpack its contents.

Yes and no. Technically, you can go through the entire course without ever opening a page of the book. Geoff will reference specific pages, quotes, and diagrams from the PDM, but will always try and provide enough context so that you can follow the points being made without needing to have the book in front of you. Having said that, we strongly advise everyone to get a copy of the book. You can buy directly from Amazon or Tagari Publications. Shortly after the course formally begins, we will make every effort to provide all enrolled students with a link where you can purchase the PDM at a discounted rate, subject to Tagari's preferences.

To earn your Permaculture Design Certificate, you must complete a final project called the Final Design Exercise (FDE). No special technical skills or talents are required for this, and everything you need to complete this will be provided in the final portions of the course. Four years ago, we created something called the “FDE Flow,” a step-by-step process to help students complete their FDEs as efficiently and as fully as possible. For students who have gone through it, FDE Flow has been an absolute game-changer, and it is included as part of your enrollment at no additional cost. The tool is so thorough and user-friendly that graduates of the course continue to use the FDE as a primary tool for their paid consulting engagements. 

We’re confident that you’ll see the overwhelming value being provided, but if for whatever reason you give this a shot and feel that the course isn't a good fit for you, no problem: We have a 30-day, no-hassle, 100% refund. And anyone withdrawing from the course will continue enjoying free access to the Permaculture Circle content. 

Clicking on any of the green enrollment buttons will take you to a secure payment page where you can complete your sign-up in less than 2 minutes. Simply follow the steps there (name, email, payment details), and you’re all set.

You’ll then be taken to a “thank you” message and suggested next steps. You’ll also receive an email with your login details; please save these details because you’ll use the same login information for all future courses you take with us.

That’s really up to you :) If all of this sounds like a good fit, scroll to one of the enrollment buttons and click to start your permaculture journey. If on the other hand you want to ask a couple of questions before jumping in, please click on the little chat button at the bottom right of your screen and we'll do our best to answer your question(s).