AUGUST 3 - AUGUST 22, 2010
Permaculture Design Certificate Course with Julia and Charles Yelton and guests
and Yoga Intensive at Sivananda Ashram Yoga Ranch, Woodbourne, NY

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Learn practical skills for cultivating peace of mind and living sustainably. Observe and learn to work with patterns in nature from a place of balance and center.

'Yoga' means 'union.' While Yoga practice unites individual consciousness with Universal Consciousness, Permaculture integrates humanity with nature. Both approaches ask us to observe and interact with the world consciously and with care. All are welcome! - No prior experience with permaculture or yoga is necessary.

TOPICS COVERED

Daily Yoga and meditation instruction provides a unique opportunity to integrate personal well-being with ecological health and to develop a personal practice that supports Earthcare. Participants will earn a Permaculture Design Certificate and explore the following topics through lecture, experiential exercises, group discussion, hands-on implementation, field observation, field trips, and student-led design projects. Hands-on projects will be a major component of this course.

• Ethics and Principles of Permaculture
  
• Permaculture vs. Organic and bio-dynamic Farming
  
• Soils, Composting, Soil Rehabilitation
  
• Food systems, Four Season Gardening and Wild Food
  
• Animal Integration into the Homestead
  
• Wildfire Prevention, Cover Cropping and Fertilizers
  
• Water Storage, Conservation and Grey Water Systems
  
• Keyline Design, Ponds, and Aquaculture
  
• Map and Topography, Design Layout
  
• Property Design, Zones and Sectors
  
• Creating a forest garden
  
• Timber Forestry, Coppicing
  
• Alternative Energies for a home, community and village
  
• Alternative Building Techniques
  
• Communities and Village Design and Intentional Communities
  
• Team Building, Group Dynamics and Project Management
  
• and more!
  

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Experienced teachers with both regional and international experience
  
• Daily Yoga, Meditation, and Kirtan
  
• Organic Vegetarian Meals
  
• Significant Hands-on Project Component
  
• ~100+ hrs of instruction
  

SITE FEATURES

• 77 acres of hilly meadow and woodland in the Catskill Mountains
  
• Revived orchards and new food forest plantings
  
• Expanding organic annual garden
  
• Pond, Nature Trails
  
• Russian-style wood burning Sauna
  

HANDS-ON PROJECTS and REGIONAL FIELD TRIPS

OUTSTANDING GUEST TEACHERS including:

• Skotty Kellogg, Radix Ecological Sustainability Center (co-author of The Toolbox for Sustainable City Living)
  
• Andrew Faust, Center for Bioregional Living
  
• Ethan Roland, Appleseed Permaculture
  
• Kay McGrenaghan-Cafasso, Sowing Solutions
  
• Michael Judd, Project Bona Fide
  

Stay tuned for course updates, field trip info and specific hands-on projects...

Email permaculture (at) sivananda.org for more information or to REGISTER NOW!