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Women's
Change 
Makers
Permaculture
Design Course

October 4-20, 2024

Crystal Waters EcoVillage
Sunshine Coast, Qld.
Australia
Site tours * Fully Catered * Community Immersion * Visioning  

Nature Connection * Heart Circle * Sauna * Yoga & movement

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16 Days Regeneration Immersion 

Investment ~ $2790 Full Price ~ $2590 Early Bird

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Design, Regulate & Regenerate with Permaculture  
Land * Livelihood * Lifepath * Legacy

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What is Permaculture

Permaculture is a regenerative design toolkit that is informed by ethics and principles.

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Reclaiming our place in nature as Earth Stewards, our sense of place, of belonging to the earth, Permaculture fosters respect for life and its complexity, awareness of the consequences of our actions, and accepting responsibility for how we meet our needs. Permaculture draws from the wisdoms of traditional and indigenous cultures and weaves this with our contemporary knowledge of ecology, earth science and technology to create abundance, regenerate the land and build resilient communities.”

    Robyn Francis

Celebrating the 41st Anniversary of the first Women’s Permaculture Design Course, this edition of the 'Change Makers Permaculture Design Course' is being held ‘for women, by women’.

 

We acknowledge and cultivate the awareness that women often approach the content of a Permaculture course differently - through connecting to country & nature, reading landscape, how we learn, communicate, process information and so much more. 

 

Designed for women who currently or intend to steward land, those travelling and whom desire a fresh toolkit, women seeking a starting place towards a new life direction and those keen to be part of the

 ‘Re-generation’ : personal, community, planet. 

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* The first ever Women's PDC was held in November 1983 near Tyalgum, Nth NSW and presented by Lea Harrison, Judith Turley and Susie Edwards. They were inspired to offer the PDC course to bring more balance into Permaculture after attending the first Permaculture gathering of a few dozen people with only 4 women present.

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Women's Permaculture Course  Overview 

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This 72 hour plus, Permaculture Design Course curriculum is based on the work of the co-originators of Permaculture Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, with insight and development from many of the Women on that first Women’s PDC, 41 years ago, and women whom came after including : Robin Clayfield, Rosemary Morrow, Robyn Francis, Robina McCurdy, Linda Woodrow and Frances Michaels along side many more…

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Participants are required to attend all sessions of the PDC, and will be involved in interactive classroom and outdoor learning, discussions, small group activities and skills building opportunities with practical components of the course subjects, tours site visits and more. The culmination of the course involves a group Permaculture Design Project based on a local site, to apply the learning from the past 2 weeks immersion.

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In this Permaculture Design Course we will cover :

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DESIGN - ethics, principles, methodologies, strategies & techniques.

PATTERNS - patterns in nature, reading landscapes & maps.

CLIMATE - global climatic regions, influences, & suitable design techniques.

WATER - catchment hydrology, earthworks, water cycle, storage & treatment.

SOIL - soil ecology, management & remediation techniques.

FORESTS - ecosystems, orchards, food forests, syntropics.

PLANTS - perennial & annual plant selection, seed-saving. 

BUILDINGS - passive solar low impact design, appropriate technology, compost toilets. 

SOCIAL - group ecology, collaborative decision-making & governance.

ANIMALS - integrated animals systems.

PRODUCTION - integrated food-production systems for multi scales & contexts.

ECONOMY - alternative economies, community exchange.

MICRO-CLIMATES - design techniques for home & land to mitigate local climate.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS - for challenging scenarios & thrive.

COMMUNITY bioregional planning, local food, neighbourhood & eco-village design.

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Conondale, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia   |   info@symbioticnature.com.au

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One of the big features that makes our PDC different from all the others is the amount of women focused field experiences we offer.

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  • Crystal Waters Welcome Tour w/ Robin Clayfield.

  • Tour Robin Clayfield's home and gardens.

  • Tour Annaliese Hordern's Tea Haven Permaculture Gardens & Property.

  • Visit an AirCrete Dome House built for $10,000.

  • Permaculture Action Day at Crystal Waters.

  • Maleny Tour with talks from Maleny Organic Food Coop Founders.

  • Deep Ecology in Mary Cairns Cross Rainforest Remnant.

Robin Clayfield's Permaculture Garden Tour

Drop into many aspects of community life, and enjoy yourself with integrative moments of self care.

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  • Experience the Crystal Waters Iconic Monthly Market.

  • The Flowerpot cafe is open through out the week with great coffee and treats.

  • Saturday morning bakery, with divine croissants and pastries.

  • Join a weekly table tennis club game.

  • Walk amongst the community commons, alongside friendly kangaroos and wallabies.

  • Enjoy Sauna at the community Sauna House.

  • Book a massage from a local practitioner. 

  • Enjoy yoga and body movement sessions during the PDC.

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Local cuisine, world flavours
Community Sauna House

Our chefs are Bec & Yoav from Good Food Vibe are part of our core team caring for YOU - Their love and passion for home grown cuisine menus, and connection to the local community is a pleasure to witness. 

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Meals cater for all dietary requirements and are a mix of cuisine from local, fresh and organic ingredients. 

Meals will be prepared in the Crystal Waters commercial kitchen and served on the iconic Crystal Waters Deck overlooking the Village Green, located only a short stroll from the Eco Centre.

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All meals during course days are included in the course fee - except the mid course integration day off - 12/10.

Testimonials from past 
Graduates

I'm learning things that feel so good in my body, I feel my heart expanding, I know I am on the right journey

Leana

Barkers Vale, NSW

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Our Facilitation Team

Annaliese Hordern

Annaliese is here to be part of the Regeneration - People and Planet!

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Creative Director of the Change Makers PDC, she is passionate about permaculture, restorative Earth based and community regeneration with a strong focus on ethnobotanical research and holistic  lifestyle.

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Annaliese holds a degree in Environmental Resource Management and a Diploma of Permaculture. She draws upon two decades of Permaculture experience, intentionally exploring our world learning from eco-communities and Permaculture pioneers about localised regenerative practices for land and people. She pours this wisdom into her education. 

 

Weaving Earth based connection into her work, Annaliese runs regenerative retreats calling people to be in greater service to Mumma Earth, redirecting and refining life purpose, hosts women’s circles, Dj’s Ecstatic Dance sets and acts as a big heart beat  amongst community. 

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Jane Little

Many years ago, Jane left the city to find somewhere with lots of trees and fresh air, and ended up becoming a resident of an intentional community on the Sunshine Coast.

 

Living off grid has provided many challenges to meet head on, and lots of juicy learnings.

With her family she developed her home garden, and started applying her skills in the Kitchen Garden program at the local primary school, where it was her very great privilege to teach children how to think and act within an ecosystem, and develop skills to grow food for themselves.

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This led to the development of the Kitchen Garden Consultancy which has allowed her to develop her understanding of soils, edible plants and humanure and how best to serve others on their food growing journeys.

She also develops and delivers workshops across a wide range of permaculture topics, always learning and sharing. 

She brings a fresh curiosity and dynamic teaching style to her sessions to inspire others towards systems thinking and design in all things.

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She can often be found in the great outdoors, observing and seeking to understand how it all fits together.

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Holly Wittholz

Holly is here to restore the human-earth connection to its greatest capacity!

A co-founder of Regeneridge Permaculture Centre in Conondale on the Sunshine Coast, she is passionate and committed to teaching others how to live closely 

with the land on a functioning permaculture property that is ever expanding in its use of renewable, regenerative and passive energy systems.

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Holly holds a degree in Environmental Science from the   University of the Sunshine Coast and studied Permaculture Design with Tom Kendall at PermEco in 

Kin Kin. She truly loves collaborating with other teachers and being an active member of the local   permablitz group, strengthening   the vital element of community connection. 

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Her focus is on composting methods including humanure, hot composting and animal integrated composting systems to help support soil health and the web of 

life that exists below our feet.

Holly truly believes that a strong   human-earth connection enhances  our existence in way that supports the mind, body and spirit and helps return us to peace. 

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https://www.regeneridgepermaculturecentre.org/.

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Special Guests

Robin Clayfield

* Welcome tour *

* Robin's Garden tour *

* Reading Landscapes *

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Robin Clayfield is a Permaculture Pioneer and an acknowledged Permaculture Elder who's lived at Crystal Waters Permaculture EcoVillage since its inception in 1988. Over 39 years of living and evolving Permaculture has seen her excel as an international educator, group facilitator and author specialising in creative, interactive facilitation, group leadership, Permaculture, Deep Ecology, Social Permaculture and social change.

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Her legendary book 'You Can Have Your Permaculture and Eat It Too' has sold over 5,000 copies (a best seller in OZ) and her educational card games, teacher training Manual and resources support and inspire educators globally. Her main focus for the past three decades has been Training Permaculture Teachers, Educators, Facilitators and Group Leaders along with popularising Social Permaculture.

Erin Young

Social Permaculture

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Erin Young uses nature wisdom to activate leaders and organisations with balance, creativity and collaboration to create a more beautiful world. She works with individuals in life and leadership coaching based on the design principles of social permaculture. She also helps organisations to be adaptive, responsive and effective by consulting in collaborative decision-making and governance, based in sociocracy. Facilitation, training and mediation are equally stocked in her skills toolkit.

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A creative from a non-creative background, Erin holds a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering (Hons) with Brisbane’s Griffith University (2004). She first studied regenerative ecologically-based design by attaining her first Permaculture Design Certificate in Portugal in 2010. Originating in Brisbane,

 

Erin is now based near Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast, South East Queensland, Australia where she hikes, forest baths and ogles at nature.

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Rowe Morrow
Perma 'Culture'  
The role of women in Permaculture
~ Via Zoom

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Rosemary Morrow is one of the pioneering women in permaculture: for almost 40 years she has worked extensively with farmers, villagers and refugees. She is known and appreciated for her pragmatic and effective approach to creating permaculture systems across a very broad range of environments, such in SE Asia, the Middle East, India and, East Africa. She focuses on taking permaculture to communities who wouldn't normally have access to it and how to meet needs, with abundance, for water and food security, and successful sustainable farming models, no matter the situation.

Rosemary is now totally dedicated to bringing permaculture to refugees in camps and settlements and started Permaculture for Refugees in 2015 with a small dedicated group of people.

You can read about this work on: permacutlureforrefugees.org


 

Course Location

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Crystal Waters Eco Village

65 Kilcoy Lane, Conondale, Sunshine Coast Hinterland Queensland

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Crystal Waters is located near Maleny in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Qld, Australia, on 640 acres of bushland at the headwaters of the Mary River.

Crystal Waters is an environmentally and socially responsible rural community, designed using permaculture principles.

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It now celebrates its 34th year, with a community of over 230 people of all ages living in the village of 83 one acre lots, it is continually evolving, physically and socially and provides an excellent living example of permaculture design and community.

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The Village Green is also a place for regular social interaction with many varied events including the iconic monthly markets, which the course dates have been specifically chosen to align with so you will get to experience it first hand.

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Venue - Eco Centre

Our primary learning space is the Eco-Centre, a rammed Earth, purpose built solar passive facility with several areas; indoor, verandah, breakout spaces outside & sand pit node.

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The space lends itself perfectly to the learning experience for participants to get the most from the PDC.

It includes a kitchenette for refreshments and filtered water supply.

 

The wide north-facing Verandah overlooks the Village Centre, the main Kitchen & The Deck with the Blackall Range to the East.

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Accomodation 

The Ecopark camping area provides a restful place for visitors to stay during events and Permaculture courses.

 

We recommend you stay at the Crystal Waters Eco-Park Visitors Camping Area. Family can stay there with you.

Bring your own tent, van or camper OR you can opt for one of the cosy bunk bed and cabin options.

 

The Eco-Park has a good amenities block with hot

showers and laundry facilities, a covered camp kitchen setup

with hot plates as well as a large open fire pit.

 

Set in a lovely bush setting with wildlife (mainly Kangaroos &

Wallabies) and abundant bird-life.

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After you register for the PDC we will send you details

on how you can book your accomodation.

Check out their pricing and options.

You are welcome to come earlier and stay on, as you feel.

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** Please note accomodation is not included in the course fee.

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​​Onsite accomodation options.

Prices Include a 10% discount.

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  • Camping unpowered site $315

  • Camping powered site $387 

  • Dorm Bed in a bunkhouse $551

  • Private Cabin $1,134 

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Invest in yourself & your future

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Join Our Women's
Permaculture Course

* Full Investment  $2790
* Early Bird  $2590 (ends 19th July).
* Payment plan available 
Limited numbers, bookings are essential.



Place a $400 deposit  into this                          PayPal link  
and fill out the registration form   --->


 

Register Here

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To reserve your place

Welcome to Change!!
 October 4-20, 2024

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations on or before August 1st - we provide a refund less $100 processing fee.

Cancellations on and from August 2 to September 12th - we provide a refund less $400 deposit.

Cancellations on September 13th onwards are non refundable. 

In the unlikely event the course is cancelled by us for any reason, your full amount will be returned. 

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Questions?

Get in Touch

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Women's Change Makers Permaculture Design Course,

Crystal Waters EcoVillage, Sunshine Coast, Qld.

 

Thanks for submitting!

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Grow Your Vision

If you are feeling the call, but need to tune in a little further? 

Let's arrange a call to discuss how Our Women's Permaculture Course

can be of service to your life and how it can benefit you!

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Email Annaliese to book in a time, NOW! ~ info@symbioticnature.com.au

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After Our Permaculture Course 
Continue Connection

There will be the opportunity to continue working with Annaliese  and the team, in online meet ups, further education opportunities and in person events.

You will also be invited to join the Change Makers Permaculture Design Course FaceBook Community Page, upon graduation.

Acknowledgement
of Country

With Respect, we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live and host the PDC, the Gubbi Gubbi and Jinibara peoples. 

We pay our respects to the Elders past, present and emerging and give thanks for their caring for country for so, so long.

We are honoured to live and offer our work in these beautiful lands. Thank you.

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