[Pil-pc-oceania] Jim's Permaculture

[steve_burns at wvi.org]

Although the list seems to have responded much more fully to the discussion
about the PPP, I wonder if Jim's Permaculture is actually more of a threat
to the credibility of permaculture?

I would hesitate to call myself a 'highly skilled and dedicated
professional' after only 80 - 120 hrs training.... of course Jim's training
might be better than a few years studying Ag and Hort, or completing a PDC
then putting it into practice for years... mmm...  it'd almost be amusing
but then I recall Jim's excellent marketing department!

of course, as with the PPP idea, permaculture has well and truly bolted so
Jim will do with it what he wills...  and the publicity may end up being
beneficial to the wider PC community... perhaps more people will pick up
Permaculture books and find their own ways to PDC trainings...

; )

Steve



                                                                           
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                                       Re: [Pil-pc-oceania] Jim's          
             09 Jul 2007 07:45         Permaculture                        
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What they seem to need, rather than employees, is to set up a small
business
with the PDC as qualification, by the sounds of things...

Great to see businesses start to refocus on sustainability lines.

Just got a few questions though. Maybe it would have been good for them to
increase the skill base and require a person to have an acredited
permaculture certificate.

This is what they say on the website:

*******A Permaculture Franchisee must have a genuine concern for the
environment and a desire to promote sustainable living. At the same time,
our focus is on Permaculture as a business rather than a hobby.
Construction
work should be charged at a minimum rate of $35 per hour, and design work
at
least $50 per hour. Our Franchisees are highly skilled and dedicated
professionals, and deserve to be paid as such.

A Permaculture Franchisee is a Mowing Franchisee who has done our one-week
Mowing induction course, which covers a wide range of business and
gardening
topics. They have also done an 80 hour Permaculture course which licenses
them to do Permaculture Designs. Depending on their interests and the
number
of leads available, they may organize the construction themselves and take
part in ongoing maintenance, or supervise another Jim¹s Franchisee to do
this work. In recognition of their interest and skills, they are entitled
to
use the Jim¹s Permaculture logo on their vehicles, uniforms and
stationary.*******

Not sure that doing their one week 'mowing' course and a PDC is enough to
go
and design peoples food systems and maintain them... things like design,
safe construction, pest management and maintaining fruit trees and so on
need a certain depth of knowledge.

Would you get a much better product by having as well as a PDC, an
accredited course graduate or a person with a hort cert, landscape design
cert or landscape architect degree or someone with years of practical
experience?

...Fiona