Joni Steiner

Learn elements, ethics, and principles that guide permaculture design through great teachers and hands-on application at a 15-year education farm in the Sangre De Cristo mountains. Stay the entire course for certification or take any day class without certification. Conduct sight analysis, identify opportunities in any system to catch and store energy and resources, and turn it into products that meet the needs of the Earth and its’ people.

Permaculture Design Course: Earth Mountain, Colorado 2017

Enjoy this “Applied” Permaculture skills PDC, develop practical skills and earn your PDC certification in Earth Mountain’s 2017 Permaculture Design Course (August 21 - September 3). The Earth Mountain Permaculture Design Course is your opportunity to connect with knowledgeable instructors, permaculture activists, and experience 14 days on a genuine demonstration site in Southern Colorado. Live the permaculture lifestyle for 14 days in an ecologically diverse and culturally rich human habitat. Earth Mountain Education Farm has been stewarding the land and educating future generations for more than 15 years.

The 2017 PDC course can be considered a”permaculture skills” course.  Earth Mountain has a lot of great demonstrations of appropriate technology and opportunities for classic hands on learning opportunities such as greywater design and installation, natural building, check dams, guild planting etc.

The Permaculture Design Course uses a PINA curriculum. This offers an in depth introduction to designing truly regenerative ecological systems and human habitats. It blends the sciences of ecology, agriculture, architecture, and landscape design to put human settlements on track to become more ecologically diverse and abundant than our current paradigm of development/settlement might lead us to imagine.

In this course you will learn the foundational elements, ethics, and principles that guide permaculture design and experience firsthand, a variety of applications. You will see how to conduct a sight analysis and how to identify opportunities in any system to catch and store energy and resources and turn it into products that meet the needs of the system.

Permaculture principles can be applied to business, education, garden farming, community building, and in technical fields such as engineering, architecture, and landscape design. The PDC is considered to be the backbone of permaculture education and is recognized throughout the world.

Some topics you can expect to be covered include:

-The philosophy and history of the permaculture movement
-Ecological Systems
-Regenerative design strategies
-Full loop waste systems
-Food forest design and implementation
-Fruit and vegetable production
-Garden Farming and CSAs
-Plant functions
-Greenhouse operations
-Composting
-Natural Building
-Alternative Energy
-Patterns
-Water harvesting
-Pasture management
-Residential permaculture
-Food Preservation and Storage
-Permaculture in the field of Landscape Design
-Social Permaculture

About the Instructors:
Becky Elder, certified in permaculture design by the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute (2002,) Becky has taken the path toward sustainable design and sustainable living for the future. She returns to the Permaculture Institute each year to teach. Becky also earned the Earth Activist Training permaculture certificate (2005,) at Black Mountain Preserve in Sonoma County, California. Since then, she has obtained an Advanced Permaculture certificates and the Permaculture Teacher’s Certificate. She is working to earn her Permaculture Diploma, the highest level of permaculture study to be awarded. With other permaculturalists in the area, Pikes Peak Permaculture was created and has an excellent website: www.PikesPeakPermaculture.org

Patrick Padden, a graduate of Colorado State University, studied natural systems building design in Namibia and urban food forest implementation in Johannesburg, South Africa (2007). Patrick received his design certificate from the International Permaculture Design Course in Harare, Zimbabwe in 2009 and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Integrative Eco-Social Design with Gaia University. After five seasons of producing naturally grown food for 80+ people at Sunrise Ranch, Patrick is currently living in Fort Collins and is a practicing permaculturalist, consultant, public speaker, and educator. Contact: ppadden@emnet.org or call him at 970-999-4306 paddenpermaculture.com

Natural Building Instructor, Joni Steiner, Executive Director and founder of Earth Mountain Education Farm, has been practicing Permaculture principles and educating since 2002. Joni has practical knowledge in cob, cordwood, strawbale, and log building, along with ecological building design principles.

Cost: $1200 with all meals and camping included. Yurt/tipi accomodations available for a small fee.

Registration is limited so please register now at earthmountainfarm.org or send emails and inquiries to earthmountainfarm@gmail.com

This is the 3rd year for The Good Food Project, a 3 acre mixed vegetable farm located in beautiful Trinidad, Colorado. 2 years ago a rancher walked into the Trinidad Community Food Coop and offered the use of his former hayfield, with water ditch irrigation, for FREE, to grow vegetables on it. It is a piece of land that was not convenient for him to harvest hay on, triangular shaped and 20 miles from his home, and he wanted to see it put to good use. We, the Coop and Earth Mountain Education Farm, scrambled to find volunteers willing to help in the endeavor. The result has been outstanding the first 2 years. Last year The Good Food Project distributed 25 CSA shares, sold at the Trinidad Community Farmer's Market, and had our first Farm to Table dinner. Almost unbelievable, this farm is the largest mixed vegetable farm in Las Animas County in the last 50 years! We know this farm can produce much more.
We are seeking a self motivated organic farm Manager with experience in working with volunteer help to take this farm to another level. It has been well received by the community, and has been maintained by many local volunteers. Last year the farm offered an 8 week Summer Youth Intern program, comprised of 8 inspired kids, ages 14-18. For the Farm to Table dinner these young people harvested the vegetables, prepared the meals and served the dinners for an amazing night we all thoroughly enjoyed. In addition to the intern program, the farm was planted and weeded by a homeschool group, kids as young as 5 years old, and resulted in the older kids teaching younger kids the right way to care for the plants. This project led to children of various ages, learning and teaching, social interaction, and fun times. Good, healthy playtime. Halfway through the season we got help from the Department of Corrections sending out people to help with the more demanding weeding and fence building. All in all, this has been a great experience for everyone involved.
So now we are in need of help. We have opportunity to expand this project to another couple acres nearby, ditch irrigated from the same Antonio Lopez Ditch, established around 1860, but we can't expand until this farm is more secure in its management. Right now we can offer a Manager $300 per week, starting the beginning of April and continuing until the end of October. Trinidad is a zone 5 growing climate. It will take a bit of orientation before starting. Housing can possibly be arranged. Last year we had a Volunteer Coordinator and a CSA Coordinator and hoping that this year will be the same or better in that respect as this project becomes more fine tuned. We will be taking applications until Friday, March 18th.
This is a great opportunity for the right person(s). Thank you.

Carter Morris
Farm Manager, Earth Mountain Education Farm
719-680-3528
earthmountainfarm@gmail.com

This is the 3rd year for The Good Food Project, a 3 acre mixed vegetable farm located in beautiful Trinidad, Colorado. 2 years ago a rancher walked into the Trinidad Community Food Coop and offered the use of his former hayfield, with water ditch irrigation, for FREE, to grow vegetables on it. It is a piece of land that was not convenient for him to harvest hay on, triangular shaped and 20 miles from his home, and he wanted to see it put to good use. We, the Coop and Earth Mountain Education Farm, scrambled to find volunteers willing to help in the endeavor. The result has been outstanding the first 2 years. Last year The Good Food Project distributed 25 CSA shares, sold at the Trinidad Community Farmer's Market, and had our first Farm to Table dinner. Almost unbelievable, this farm is the largest mixed vegetable farm in Las Animas County in the last 50 years! We know this farm can produce much more.
We are seeking a self motivated organic farm Manager with experience in working with volunteer help to take this farm to another level. It has been well received by the community, and has been maintained by many local volunteers. Last year the farm offered an 8 week Summer Youth Intern program, comprised of 8 inspired kids, ages 14-18. For the Farm to Table dinner these young people harvested the vegetables, prepared the meals and served the dinners for an amazing night we all thoroughly enjoyed. In addition to the intern program, the farm was planted and weeded by a homeschool group, kids as young as 5 years old, and resulted in the older kids teaching younger kids the right way to care for the plants. This project led to children of various ages, learning and teaching, social interaction, and fun times. Good, healthy playtime. Halfway through the season we got help from the Department of Corrections sending out people to help with the more demanding weeding and fence building. All in all, this has been a great experience for everyone involved.
So now we are in need of help. We have opportunity to expand this project to another couple acres nearby, ditch irrigated from the same Antonio Lopez Ditch, established around 1860, but we can't expand until this farm is more secure in its management. Right now we can offer a Manager $300 per week, starting the beginning of April and continuing until the end of October. Trinidad is a zone 5 growing climate. It will take a bit of orientation before starting. Housing can possibly be arranged. Last year we had a Volunteer Coordinator and a CSA Coordinator and hoping that this year will be the same or better in that respect as this project becomes more fine tuned. We will be taking applications until Friday, March 18th.
This is a great opportunity for the right person(s). Thank you.

Carter Morris
Farm Manager, Earth Mountain Education Farm
719-680-3528
earthmountainfarm@gmail.com