Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) Course in Matera, Southern Italy, with Rhamis Kent (8th – 20th March, 2015)

This is your opportunity to attend this Permaculture Design Certificate Course in Matera, Southern Italy, with Permaculture Designer and Teacher Rhamis Kent. There are limited spaces available, so please register now to secure your spot!

This is a residential PDC course taught in English by Rhamis and translated into Italian by Ignazio Schettini.

It is also a great opportunity to visit a less known but very beautiful part of Italy. Matera has been recently designated European Capital of Culture 2019.

Price: €540 which is inclusive of the course, food and accommodation. Food is organic/vegetarian.

Location: Masseria San Francesco, Lago San Giuliano, Matera, Italy. The venue is a farm near Matera, Italy. It is set in a beautiful hilly landscape near Lake San Giuliano, surrounded by woods (eucalyptus and pine trees mainly). The farm has accommodation for up to 30 people in shared bedrooms and bathrooms.

Teacher: Rhamis Kent is a consultant with formal training in mechanical engineering (University of Delaware, B.S.M.E.’95) and permaculture-based regenerative whole systems design (serving as a registered certified Permaculture Design instructor with PRI Australia). He also serves as a co-director of the USA branch of the Permaculture Research Institute.

Rhamis has previously worked for the renowned American inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen at DEKA Research & Development, with subsequent engineering work ranging from medical device research and development to aerospace oriented mechanical design. After taking an interest in the design science of Permaculture, he sought extended training with permaculture expert and educator Geoff Lawton at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia. This led to his involvement with design work connected to the development of Masdar City in UAE after Mr. Lawton and his consulting company (Permaculture Sustainable
Consultancy Pty. Ltd.) were contracted by AECOM/EDAW to identify solutions which fit the challenging zero emissions/carbon neutral design constraint of the project.

Most recently, Rhamis collaborated with environmental filmmaker John D. Liu (www.eemp.org, https://www.whatifwechange.org/) after meeting at the Caux Forum for Human Security in the making of a documentary for Dutch production company VPRO called “Green Gold” highlighting the topic of global ecosystem restoration work.

In July 2010, Rhamis lectured at Schumacher College (named after the influential economic thinker E.F. Schumacher) in Totnes, Devon UK about the application of permaculture in post-industrial Detroit:

https://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/community/kent

He is presently consulting with a delegation of Somali expatriates initiating ecological restoration and education work throughout Somalia: Rhamis Kent: Permaculture in Somalia (IPC10 Presentation – Video).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mur0Nz9W3Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvu9JPRZ4yg

Since 2011, Rhamis has taught Permaculture Design (formal Certification and short Intensive courses) in Palestine/Occupied West Bank, Greece, Ethiopia, Yemen, Turkey, Thailand, Italy and The United States (California & Vermont). He has also performed additional consultancy work on projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Western Sahara.

Given the rapidly growing interest in sustainable development, Mr. Kent hopes to bring to the attention of the investment community an aspect of the emerging sustainable economy that has yet to be seriously considered for significant financial support – Earth Repair/Ecosystem Restoration Work (ERW) and regenerative design, as he presented before the investment community during the 2010 TBLI Conference held in London:

https://www.slideshare.net/tbliconference/rhamis-kent

Working extensively within the MENA Region & Muslim World, Rhamis has discussed the importance of establishing the link between the Islamic tradition and environmental stewardship:

https://soundcloud.com/beyond-halal/rhamis-kent-interview

To access some of Rhamis’ writing on Permaculture, please click here.

Course Translator: Ignazio Schettini took his degree in agriculture in 2005 and has been following Permaculture since October 2013 when he organised, promoted and attended a PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) course. This was run in Bari, South of Italy, at his own farm, and it can also watched on Youtube by searching for the keywords “Laboratorio di Permacultura Mediterranea”. With the same keywords you can also access the Facebook group created and coordinated by Ignazio together with Giuseppe Lorusso, which aims to promote Permaculture Design on social media.

After the course, Ignazio flew to Australia where he spent 8 months from February until October 2014 working side by side with Geoff Lawton and Bill Mollison (the latter the founder of the Permaculture movement). Respectively at PRI (Permaculture Research Institute) in New South Wales and at Tagari Garden Farm, which is the PI (Permaculture Institute) headquarter in
Tasmania.

The knowledge of the agriculture industry along, the English language (obtained through a long work experience in London between 2006 and 2013) and with the experience made through the permaculture work done in Australia, means Ignazio is the perfect translator for this theoretical 72 hour course.

For the programme, bookings or more information please contact Ignazio Schettini (at) [email protected].