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Permaculture Life Skills Internship (10 weeks), with Tom Kendall, Kin Kin, Queensland, Australia

Starts Feb 11, 2013 and runs for 50 day(s).

Interns will learn all aspects of living and working on a permaculture farm and will learn methods and design applicable to everyday farm situations. They will be fully involved in all farm activities.

We have modelled our internship after the internship that is run at the Permaculture Research Institute Australia, with a few changes of course, to include our talents. The curriculum for the internship is flexible, to allow for change as the property changes and new knowledge is gained.

10 week Internship curriculum, subject to change:

Week 1: Introduction to farm practices and routines

This is an orientation week so interns get a feel for the flow on the farm and the routines that are so important, particularly in relation to the farm animals. Interns will be responsible for their own hot water and compost toilets, and they will learn about personal responsibility and housekeeping, to name but a few.

Week 2: Permaculture Knowledge and Know-How with Tom Kendall

This is a theoretical questions and answers week, to ensure all interns have a good grounding in Permaculture Knowledge. Any gaps in knowledge will be addressed in a theoretical and possibly hands on approach for full integration of knowledge. This week is specifically for interns, no outside students are taken.

Week 3: Farm practices and routines

Weeks 3, 5, 7 and 10 will contain, but not be limited to the following subjects:

- propagation
- seed saving
- seedlings
- planting
- composting & soil improvement
- self reliance skills (eg homesteading skills such as cheese and yoghurt making, food preservation etc; bush mechanics, resource saving and salvage, wood chopping, chain sawing etc)
- worm farms
- animal care and routines
- food forestry
- fencing methods
- Water Management
- Zone 1 Gardening
- Plant Species
- Food Preparation and Nutrition
- Non-fossil fuel energy systems
- Harvesting and preparing food for storage

Week 4: Specialist course: Earthworks with Tom Kendall

Dams, swales and other earthworks are discussed. Contour, conveyancing and tools for design are discussed and shown. The students will be taken through the planning and design of a swale and/or dam and the earthworks (digging of the swale and/or dam) will be done in that week. After earthworks are completed, soil repair will be discussed and undertaken.

Week 5: Farm practices and routines. See week 3.

Week 6: Specialist course: Sustainable Soil Management with Paul Taylor

We are very excited to have Paul Taylor, the main teacher of our 'How to Make Your Own Natural Fertilizer' biological soil science course here to teach the Sustainable Soils Management course. He is the managing director of Trust Nature Pty Ltd and has been working as a recognized educator and sustainable design consultant for the past 30 years. Paul has Australian Federal Government FarmReady approval as an educator, is a recognized Permaculture Teacher and organic soil management specialist and has completed his Certificate IV in Education, Training and Assessment. One of his specialist areas of education and training is organic and biological gardening and farming. This includes making Bio-Vital regenerative compost from farm and community waste, designed to regenerate degraded land and help communities to 'grow food for free'.

Week 7: Farm practices and routines. See week 3.

Week 8: Specialist course: Sustainable Building Methods with Tom Kendall
Students will learn different building methods to work with locally available materials. Possible included materials are local rock, secondhand or local timbers, sand, clay and possible other materials in the future. Methods of design are discussed as to purpose of the building and how it is sited. Also effects on the surrounding land is discussed and methods of relieving possible issues, eg drainage.

Week 9: Specialist course: Urban Permaculture with Anne Gibson and Tom Kendall This course will focus on implementing Permaculture principles in a variety of urban contexts including balcony and high rise gardens; courtyards and compact suburban blocks; community and allotment gardens; rental properties; and nature strip verge gardens. It covers the many challenges of growing in these urban spaces and practical solutions to design high yield, low cost/low energy/minimal maintenance edible landscapes.

Participants will learn about a variety of ways to grow food both inside the home and outdoors to take advantage of different micro climates; container gardening including portable options; solutions for those with special needs; vertical structures to maximise space including herb spirals; sprouting and seed raising; designing out problems; plant and seed selection; container challenged crops; recycling nutrients indoors and out; watering, fertilising and maintenance; sourcing local materials economically; potting and seed raising mixes; small scale propagation techniques; mini compost systems; how to plant for a continual harvest; intensive growing methods; growing fruit trees in small spaces; self-reliance, reusing materials and making your own supplies.

Week 10: Farm practices and routines, final questions
See week 3

The interns have all the specialist courses included in the price for the internship.

PLEASE NOTE: Interns must have a PDC!

About the Teacher:

Tom Kendall grew up and worked on his parents' farm and took on the farm in 1992 when his father retired. He downsized the 11,000 acre farm to 7,000 acres and converted to Biodynamics. The farm produced wheat and barley and ran cattle and sheep. In 2000 he sold the farm and moved to the Sunshine Coast. In 2005 he and his partner Zaia found their ideal property in Kin Kin, Noosa Hinterland.

Tom had by then become interested in Permaculture, and started converting the property into a Permaculture site. With his background in farming, he was able to take on most jobs that needed to be done himself; renovations, building, operating heavy machinery for earthworks etc, gardening, fixing, installing plumbing and many other jobs that came with setting up the property. He became a wwoof host and always taught the wwoofers about Permaculture and why the property was set up the way it was. In 2008 he did a Permaculture Design Certificate with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton. He followed that up early 2010 with a Teacher Training Course with Geoff Lawton. At that stage he realised he had so much knowledge to share with people about Permaculture and Self Reliance skills that he decided to focus on teaching. It was a natural extension from teaching wwoofers for all those years.

Tom is a very practical person with an wealth of knowledge about shaping landscapes and creating tools and infrastructure. Having spent all his life working the land he has an astute awareness about today's environmental issues and aims to minimise his footprint as much as possible. His courses are unique in that he shows a lot of practical applications on his property Kin Kin Souls, now a permaculture demonstration site, to complement the theory taught. His aim is to bring permaculture to as many people as possible, and to empower people to be self reliant. He is now a Permaculture Research Institute accredited teacher and runs The Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast.

Important information about this course

Student numbers: Student numbers are capped at 5 students.

Course location:

The Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast, 93 Golden Gully Road, Kin Kin QLD 4571, Australia.

Course hours:

As per farm hours: 6am - 6pm Mon-Fri for ten weeks (weekends are free time)

Accommodation:

Camping (tent) accommodation is included in the course fee, please byo tent and camping gear (bedding etc). Limited cabin accommodation ($30 per night per cabin) or backpacker style shared accommodation ($10 per night per person) also available.

Food:

Fully catered for, 3 meals per day plus morning and afternoon tea. On weekends students are to cater for themselves. Camp kitchen available.

Directions:

Directions to get to the Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast: Take the Bruce Highway towards Gympie from the South or toward Brisbane from the North. Take the Pomona Kin Kin turnoff. Follow the road, turn right at the T-intersection. Take the road through Pomona town, straight through the roundabout, over the railway line, then turn left at the T-Intersection. Follow that road to Kin Kin. Turn left to go into Kin Kin and past the pub. Follow that road for about 3 kms, Golden Gully Road is on your left (a dirt road). Kin Kin SOULS is 930 metres down that road on your left.

For further information for this course please contact education@permaculture.org.au.

Course pricing / bookings

Prices in Australian dollars