Purple Pear Permaculture

Wren Browne|2 November 2018|Explore

My Permaculture Design Course

At Purple Pear Farm

“It was an experience that has changed my life for good.”

I spent two weeks at Purple Pear Farm completing my intensive PDC (Permaculture Design Course). I was staying in a small, old caravan that made me a little nervous when I first arrived. I was the youngest of the five people completing the course, but i was accepted into the group right away.

With very little permaculture knowledge (literally like two documentaries), I questioned myself greatly. To overcome this feeling I approached every situation with an open mind and took on every chance to learn, including the milking of the goat, Snow!

The owners of the farm, Mark and Kate made me understand how permaculture is a way of life, not just a technique for growing food.

Each day we would wake up, I was shuffle out of my van and have a very short shower (SAVING WATER). Then the five of us students would make breakfast together in the teaching hut. After breakfast we would read and talk until the lessons started at 9:00am. Morning tea at 10:30am, Lunch at 1:00pm and the lessons finished at 4:00pm. We would then all help to prepare dinner and Megan (my closest friend of the group) and I would often take the goats back to their pen, from where ever they had been grazing that day. We would then have dinner at 6:00pm and sometimes watch a doco in the hut like, ‘The real dirt on farmer John’ and ‘Queen of the sun‘.

In the final week we begin working on our permaculture designs of a house that we visited. On the last day we presented our designs to family and friends. I was very proud of my final design, I had learned so much and come so far from the girl who walked onto the farm and was nervous about the old caravan. I showed myself what I am capable of and gained many skills.

Earth Care. People Care. Fair Share.

They are the ethics of permaculture. I loved this because it highlighted the importance of doing what brings joy, not just something to make money or because you feel pressure to, but living a life that is good.

I made some great friends that I got to share that pocket in time with. It was an opportunity of a lifetime and I will take many aspects of the experience throughout the rest of my life.