2018 Peasant Permaculture Design Course in Montana

Man!  I wish I were free to do this!  This sounds super awesome!!!

Quick question:
The description doesn't state whether meals will be provided (i.e. included in the cost) or whether they will be extra.  I saw that there will be people that will need to help with prepping the meals, but the description doesn't indicate if this is included in the cost.  Could you please clarify?

Just trying to help make this a huge success!

--matt

I have the same questions about food.  

Please let us know.
Thanks
Rich

At the very bottom of the page it says

Participants will be responsible for their own food throughout the course. We hope you share our preference for all-organic foods, and encourage you to bring along your favorite staples or your own local produce if you can. Past groups have organized potlucks and communal meals, kitchen rotations, and treats. Sometimes individuals opt out for reasons of diet or budget. Those with special diets, please bring what you need.

Is there another part of the page that confounds that?

I think that that key is that, officially, food will not be provided.  But!  I do know that Lily is already lining up some organic staples.   Not sure if it will end up being oodles of food, or if it will be just a little.   Lily also plans to teach folks a bit of foraging so that some of the food that students eat will come from foraging.  I know that I am donating a five gallon bucket of organic peanut butter (we ordered too much peanut butter for an earlier event).   I also get the impression that there might be some other folks stopping by during the event that will want to make sure that there is oodles of food for the students and boots - it's great to be loved!  

I kinda get the impression that this might be just the beginning - there might be lots more food.

So, officially, food is not provided and all students should prepare to feed themselves.  And, I know for sure, that there is at least a little food that will be here.  And there might end up being more than a little.

Plus, a big part of the work being done during the peasant pdc is to grow the food so that there will be lots of food for next year's peasant pdc.

I know that that takes everything from one flavor of confusion to a totally differerent flavor of confusion.  I hope it helps.

"Why 'Peasant' PDC?"  
Well, one of the first things most people notice about a conventional Permaculture Design Course is the price tag.  $1200 to $5000 for a 2-week course, or 8 to 10 weekends.  There are good reasons for those costs - but it still puts these fundamental land-care and people-care trainings out of range for a lot of folks who don't have a high-status job or independent wealth.

Another word for peasant is "Yeoman." (We love the Yeomans' Plow which you'll learn about in the course, but would hardly feel right stealing that name.)  In a traditional land- and status-based economy, these folks are a cut above slaves and pages, but their lives are based on service and productive skills, not cash.  They are folks who apply some cleverness and a lot of elbow grease to building solid skill, the ability to survive and bring forth bounty from the land.  

Whether you own your land like a yeoman or some peasants, or rent like other peasants and tenant farmers, it's a place of humble beginnings but fundamental economic importance.  

To some people, "peasant" has connotations of poverty or primitive living conditions.  The living will certainly be primitive for this course.  And while folks who can afford to take 5 weeks out of their lives and pay a few hundred bucks for a self-enriching course are not exactly poor, we did design this course format with the idea that it would be more affordable for folks who may not yet own their own land or have a high-paying job.

If the word "peasant" sounds insulting, think of who you imagine using it that way.  
"Ignorant Peasants!"  Does that person have an expensive and useless pet? a lot of odd-looking jewelry? an annoying and pompous self-expression? and no clue about where the food on their plate actually comes from?

Do you want to be that person?  
Would you even want to spend much time with that person?

Or do you want to be someone with skills to fall back on?
Not just as a wage slave, but to be able to bring forth abundance from the stores of nature itself?  

Folks often come to their first permaculture event or PDC because they want a more wholesome, sustainable, connected-to-the-dirt lifestyle.  Some of these folks are highly educated, good wage-earners, but are sick of the rat-race.  They could easily drive a fancy car and sneer at beat-up farm trucks... but instead, they find themselves envying cool old tools and the people who know how to use them.  We are uneasy owing our allegiance to a system that offers money and "status" at the expense of impoverishing our life (and life on earth).

It's become kind of an inside joke among city folks who study permaculture that it is "Peasant Training."  Schools give us the basic skills to compete for wages, and wealth gives us the basic necessities of life without much effort.  But we dream of going back to a more fundamental definition of "basics" - growing our own food, building our own shelter, co-creating our own communities, and aligning our efforts with greater awareness to foster a thriving natural world.  When you live that way, connected with the greater whole while living in the immediate moment, money and status are almost afterthoughts.


We thought about calling it the "Project PDC," or the Extended Format PDC.  While those are true descriptions, they just didn't grab us the way "peasant" did.  We hope you get what we mean.  

If not, don't let the name bother you. The course certificate will simply say "Permaculture Design Certificate" and look all fancy and professional, a nice status symbol for you, your family, or your business team.

Only you and your classmates will know that it was earned with boots on the ground and elbow grease, as well as brains.

For people that wanna fuel the peasant pdc by stopping by for a few days or sending a sack of oats or .... whatever:

https://permies.com/t/74909/permaculture-projects/allerton-abbey-jetpack-event

Does the web page look okay?  Any typos or grammatical errors?  Any way we can add some polish to it?

On the webpage for the PDC, there are still some tiles have Scubbly links to the Rocket Mass Heater items under the "Permaculture Design Course Instructors" -> "Erica Wisner - 2018 PPDC Instructor" section. If there are more appropriate links to the "Digital Market", you might want to replace them.

Also the META tag has description of "May 28 - June 10 by Tim Barker and Paul Wheaton. A permaculture design course (PDC) in Montana with emphasis on homesteading design.".

Misspelling on Lily's bio... "steward of a ¼ acer community" of course should be acre.

Just want to say THANK-YOU so very much for putting together the peasant pdc!! I caught the early-bird pricing (incidentally the day after i joined permies.com!) and am so thrilled to be able take this course. With other pdc's i have found that the price is prohibitive, and the length doesn't seem to allow for good immersion. So much gratitude!

Bill Crim wrote:
On the webpage for the PDC, there are still some tiles have Scubbly links to the Rocket Mass Heater items under the "Permaculture Design Course Instructors" -> "Erica Wisner - 2018 PPDC Instructor" section. If there are more appropriate links to the "Digital Market", you might want to replace them.

Also the META tag has description of "May 28 - June 10 by Tim Barker and Paul Wheaton. A permaculture design course (PDC) in Montana with emphasis on homesteading design.".

Misspelling on Lily's bio... "steward of a ¼ acer community" of course should be acre.

Thank you very much for brining these to our attention. I have corrected the META tag and Lily's bio. I am still working out how I am going to find Erica's replacement affiliate codes.

Work trade offer:  

3 openings for work trade


4 weeks of trade.  Arrive april 23 or earlier.

Work traders would need to pay the gapper fee ($100 for the first person, $20 for each person after that - paypal to paul at richsoil.com) unless they have already been here.  

More about the gapper fee:  https://permies.com/t/46350/experiences/gapper-program

Work traders would be part of the bootcamp program:  https://permies.com/t/59706/permaculture-projects/permaculture-bootcamp-learn-permaculture-hard

Thanks for posting this Paul. I'm registered for the peasant pdc in May, but am definitely interested in work trade also...does this just mean that i would pay the $100 gapper fee, come in April and stay for two months?

david omondi wrote:Thanks for posting this Paul. I'm registered for the peasant pdc in May, but am definitely interested in work trade also...does this just mean that i would pay the $100 gapper fee, come in April and stay for two months?

If you have already paid for the peasant pdc, then you don't pay anything.   You come on out, do the work trade, and when the pdc begins, we refund you the difference.

that's awesome...look forward to meeting you in april!

Hi Paul, i am currently in mexico where i took my first PDC but i am interested in getting more hands on practice, so the work/trade bootcamp has meals included and the peasent PDC ? How do i sign up?

Edith Martinez wrote:Hi Paul, i am currently in mexico where i took my first PDC but i am interested in getting more hands on practice, so the work/trade bootcamp has meals included and the peasent PDC ? How do i sign up?

Are you asking about doing the work trade for the PDC or just about joining the boot camp?

Either way, see the bootcamp thread.  Pretty much, you send in the $100 and we will start to work out all the details with you.

What's the waiting list look like?

Talia Ilom wrote:What's the waiting list look like?

No waiting list.  We are still selling tickets!

paul wheaton wrote:

Kyle Neath wrote:On the webpage, there's some conflicting information on pricing:

For your participation on the site projects, the price has been dropped from $1000 to $550, and course has been extended from two weeks to five.

Right Now (through February) Early Bird Price - Only $480
Regular Price: $700

I took that little bit f text out until we can word it a wee bit better.  Thanks for spotting that!  Here's an apple!

In case you didn't realize, ya'll need to take a peek at that again, this price confusion rose from the dead.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:In case you didn't realize, ya'll need to take a peek at that again, this price confusion rose from the dead.

Good catch!  Apples for you!  On it!

I think I fixed all the wonky bits.  Can you spot anything else?

If one were to be unavaible June 10&11, would they be better off waiting for next year?

Marlee Nicole wrote:If one were to be unavaible June 10&11, would they be better off waiting for next year?

June 10 is a sunday.  June 11 is a monday.   As long as it is not the last two days, I think this can be okay.

Glad to see this ppdc coming together Is there space open in the boots program still? I would like to arrive the last week of April via greyhound. I am curiously excited to see if Spring has touched the Rockies yet over there. Instead of snow I am starting to trek mud into the house where Im at.

Kara Haltom wrote:Is there space open in the boots program still?  

Yup!  Although time is running out!

Cool I will book the ticket then. Be in Missoula in three weeks and I'll send an email with exact time of arrival shortly.

I'm getting excited about the number of local assets that we get to share during this course.

A few students have asked about pre-course introductions.  Well, how about a pre-course study guide, and a forum where you can introduce yourselves?

This course will be mostly hands-on and live action learning, in off-grid natural settings.  So we won't be using a lot of videos or digital media in the course.  

You may want to check them out ahead of time, however, or afterwards as you try to absorb all the great information you saw and heard.

Permaculture Study Resources:
Permaculture Design Principles: http://permacultureprinciples.com

Check out their bookstore, so many good resources!  Including this musical version of the 12 key principles:
https://us.permacultureprinciples.com/product/rhymers-manual/)



The original Mollison permaculture curriculum is available online in a couple of formats, for free:
Original PDC pamphlets based on a 1980 course: BarkingFrogsPermaculture.org  PDF download: PDC Pamphlets I-XIV PDF  
Online library of Bill Mollison lectures on core PDC topics... warning: off-key folk music you love to hate...)

For free physical books, Missoula Public Library has more permaculture titles than you have time to read this month.  Pick one that appeals to you.  (Don't get greedy.)

Local Guests and Field Trip Options:  
Some of these will be optional destinations for Saturday field trips, others may work with our class as guest instructors or on special projects.
- Free Cycles, Missoula: collaborators for all kinds of bike-powered and -geared tech.  They have Bike Weld classes and tours Weds, Saturday, and maybe other days.

-
ABC Acres, Hamilton MT: This is a little farther from our site, but they have a pretty slick setup including food forest plantings, integrated grazing for poultry and livestock production. Bitterroot valley.  They have a farm shop and tours on Saturdays.
 [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEvBpaB_oE4 [/youtube]


- Missoula Saturday Markets (Farmers, Peoples, Clark Fork)

- Garden City Harvest

- Quinns' Hot Springs Resort - about an hour away, includes mineral pools, showers, and some lovely cabins if you need a break from primitive camping.  http://quinnshotsprings.com/ Picture attached.


More to come!  I have to stop adding pictures now, but we have a marvelous assortment of permaculture business owners, homesteaders, past PDC students, and other friends and guests who are planning to visit during the course.

Yours,
Erica

Course Expectations:

We have a little planning thread going elsewhere, from which I stole the following list of expectations.  This may be worth looking over for those planning to attend, and those still considering.

Erica explains the Peasant system:

When we thought up the peasant pdc, we were trying to figure out how to make a PDC affordable to folks with limited means - starry-eyed students, future farmers, alternative activists, and practicing farmers who could use a leg up on permaculture practices without dipping into the seed money.

Comparing the price of this workshop to a 'normal' PDC - a 2-week, hands-on PDC with certificate usually costs $1200 to $3600, depending on location and instructors.
How can we offer such a steep discount?
We don't currently have wealthy sponsors, or a magical food garden, although we are open to offers from fellow enthusiasts.

In order for this to work, we need people to pitch in together with labor, love, and in-kind resources in lieue of cash, and take responsibility for our individual and collective well-being.
This course may not be for everyone.
The physical challenges of off-grid conditions and project labor may result in some participants deciding to leave before completing the course, and no refunds will be offered after the course begins.

Price of the course: $$$
Normal price of a full PDC: $$$$
Resources to bridge the gap:
$$ - Project Labor: Our site host has arranged for his land manager to be available to supervise a novice labor crew, 4 hours per day, 5 days per week.  Projects will be 100% permaculture-related, however the labor may be repetitive and basic.
$$ - Nest Building: Self-care in a rugged, camp-style living environment takes time and effort.  Plan on personal and group time for chores and self-care, including cooking, dishes, camp maintenance, errand/laundry runs, and casual acts of love and beauty.
$$$ - FOOD: Participants will be responsible for feeding themselves throughout the month-long course.  There will be flexibility for individual meal plans (such as locals who will commute from home and bring a sack lunch, or those with special diets) and/or a shared, group meal system (pitch in money for shopping, time and skill for kitchen setup, cooking, and cleanup).  All-organic diet is strongly encouraged.
For a stress-free course experience, please calculate your personal food budget for 30 days, then double that figure to allow for buying organic, non-perishable snacks, and high-energy foods to fuel your physical work and brain power in a cool, steep mountain setting.  Or see a reliable food-storage guide (the Mormon church puts out a good one) to calculate the amount of staples a person of your size and age will likely need for 1 month.  Bring an appropriate mix of cash, non-perishable supplies, and local resources to feed yourself or contribute to the group food needs for the full month.

Meal System:
As with past self-service events, the final decision on how to run the kitchen will be up to the group.
Methods that have worked in the past include:
- Pot luck method: Each person prepares 1 dish big enough to feed 4-6 people, or pairs of people collaborate on dishes big enough to feed 6-10 people.  This allows for a hearty 3-course meal, and possibly leftovers.
- Road Trip Method: Each person puts in $20 to the pot, and a designated cooking team plans the menu, buys ingredients, and assigns tasks to complete the meal(s).  When the money runs out, everyone puts in again.
- Stone Soup method: Each person says what they can easily bring (a farmer might bring garlic or potatoes or goat cheese, a city person might have access to day-old bread or bulk soup mix).  A kitchen master determines the best use of these ingredients, and assigns remaining people to obtain specific supplies to make delicious meal(s).
- MRE method: Individuals or the group purchase a crap-ton of crappy, prepared, non-perishable food.  Organic MRE options?
- Bulk Method: Course organizers pre-order bulk supplies from Azure Organics, of food-service-size cans of chili, pasta & sauce, soups, bulk rice and oats, and other quick-fixin organic meals.  Participants contribute high-value things like oils, spices, condiments, dried fruit and nuts, cheeses, and home-made preserves, or pitch in a proportion of cash.  The most experienced cooks take on the kitchen in rotation, and specialists or novice cooks serve as assistants/chore crew.
(Right now, we have offers from staff/instructors of white rice, and peanut butter.  Possibly some home-canned applesauce and animal products.  This is clearly not a complete diet.  So we expect everyone will be stocking up and/or chipping in for bulk supplies on our first supply run(s) into town May 19th & 23rd.)
We'll discuss which system(s) work best for the group on our Intro day, May 21, and continue to adapt as the course goes on.

For those not participating in the group meal system, please bring your own camp stove, cookware, dish washing supplies, etc.  
We intend to designate a separate cooking area for individual meals/snacks, near the group kitchen and water-hauling depot, where self-serve PPDC participants can share resources without interrupting the coordinated group-cooking efforts.  
There may also be opportunities to pot-luck with Boots, Schmoozaroo, or other visitors.  However the course participants have priority in the course's kitchens.

Participants who are unable to contribute, or are caught sabotaging the group efforts, may be asked to leave the course.


Packing for Self-Sufficiency:

Camp Gear:
May and June are change-of-season time in Montana.  Be prepared for blustery storms or harsh mountain sunlight.
We will also be building our own camp improvements, including an off-grid kitchen, and may have opportunities to improve other facilities.

Suggested Camp Packing List:
- Excellent tent, camper, tree-boat, or other shelter
- Excellent sleeping bag or bedroll
- Camp kitchen: BYO dishes, flatware, cookpot(s), dish soap, wash rag(s), mug, wash-water container (5+ gallons recommended)
- Camp cleaning/repairs: BYO broom/brush, rags, repair kit(s)

- Good all-weather clothing, sun- and rain-gear (layers, wool/silk/synthetics not cotton for damp working conditions, cotton for hot days if desired)
- Hydration: BYO water bottles: 1 personal-size and 1 refill size (gallon or larger)
- Snacks: Non-perishable personal snacks (at least 1 week's worth)
- Hygeine/Sanitation: BYO personal care products, including medications, feminine supplies, towel/washcloth, toiletry kit.

- Power: if you have solar or TEG chargers, bring them
- Work Tools:
 - basic PPE (gloves, safety glasses, earplugs, sturdy boots and clothing, respirator or other specialized gear if you have it);
 - any hand tools or battery-powered tools you may prefer for landscaping, garden, wildcrafting, building repair/maintenance, and classroom work.
Examples: Pocket knife or multi-tool; hammer, pliers, hand-saw, shovel, trowel, hoe/rake, digging fork; battery-operated screwdriver/drill, grinder/saw; specialized tools of your trade.
 - Personal transportation

Course Supplies:
- Pencil and notebook
- Note-taking equipment, including camera or cell phone if desired
- Wifi is available off-site at Base Camp, or bring your own data hotspot if desired (some networks don't get service on the lab)
- Presentation materials if desired (markers, whiteboard, big fancy paper, etc)

i have a couple questions:

1) is it acceptable to get a ride to the site from a friend who will not be participating in the workshop?
2) any chance there might be 13 tipi poles lying around unused? would be for a small tipi...14 footer

i was planning to travel there with my truck at the end of april and get some work-trade time in...but my truck blew up! a friend is willing to help me get there before the 15th...but she can't haul tipi poles on the roof of her car

david omondi wrote:i have a couple questions:

1) is it acceptable to get a ride to the site from a friend who will not be participating in the workshop?
2) any chance there might be 13 tipi poles lying around unused? would be for a small tipi...14 footer

Your friend will stay or drop you off and leave? If they stay, some arrangments will need to be made.  Otherwise, sure, no problem.

There are plentiful junk poles, but these have stobs and sharp edges etc....so probably wont work(or need sufficient prep work!).  There is a tent pad at the basecamp that has 4 poles setup as if for a tarp or tepee, but not ideal since you would have a 45min walk or 30min bike ride twice daily to get to the class site.  I'll check into any dissasembled tepee poles being available and comment here.

usually you want lodgepole pine for a tipi.  Fred says there is very little of that here.

one more question. is it ok to arrive on the 16th? fyi, i will not be bringing a tipi. my friend will drop me off, but will not be staying.

david omondi wrote:one more question. is it ok to arrive on the 16th? fyi, i will not be bringing a tipi. my friend will drop me off, but will not be staying.

Yup.

You are welcome to join the bootcamp until the PDC starts - so you get experiences and food.

Or, if you prefer, you can pitch a tent and watch the clouds pass.  

If you are in the bootcamp, you will probably get at least a little bit of time with the "rocket kitchen" workshop that will be going on.   But if you are opting to watch the clouds pass, I would like to ask that you steer clear of that area.  Adding yourself to that event would be disrespectful to the selection process for that event.  

paul wheaton wrote:

david omondi wrote:one more question. is it ok to arrive on the 16th? fyi, i will not be bringing a tipi. my friend will drop me off, but will not be staying.

You are welcome to join the bootcamp until the PDC starts - so you get experiences and food.

Or, if you prefer, you can pitch a tent and watch the clouds pass.  

Thank-you Paul. It has been my understanding that arrivals begin today leading up to the peasant pdc starting next week, hence my reticence to arrive "late". If there is in fact some breathing room, I would opt to take a couple more days before traveling - a friend died a couple days ago, and would be good to spend a bit more time with the family...in which case I would arrive Friday evening. If this is not optimal, I can still come tomorrow...but either way I would prefer to take my time getting settled and catching up on some communications i.e. watch the clouds pass, until the pdc starts. Thanks for all your helpful communication.