Pine Ridge Permaculture

Please join me as I take a trek out to the Pine Ridge reservation to earn my Permaculture Design Certificate and help create self-sufficiency for members of the most impoverished community in America.

The Pine Ridge Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota is in inhumanely deplorable condition.
A brief summary of the challenges faced are:
Lakotah men have a life expectancy of less than 44 years, lowest of any country in the World (excluding AIDS) including Haiti.
The Lakotah infant mortality rate is 300% more than the U.S. Average.
The rate of diabetes is 800% higher than the U.S national average.
Median income is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year.
97% of Lakotah people live below the poverty line.

This is an historic occasion. You have the opportunity as an evolver to step up and get to work learning how to live sustainably while assisting perhaps the hardest hit group of people in America.

Details are below:

Permaculture Design Course at Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Sept 12-Sept 27, 2009

Permaculture design course offered at Pine Ridge Lakota reservation in South Dakota.

Learn how to create sustainable food systems, water harvesting, built environments, economies, communities and more. Gain these essential skills in a Native American context, a very unique opportunity. The Oglala Lakota tribe has a rich history and Pine Ridge reservation is at the center of it with Wounded Knee and other key historical sites.

In addition to the 72 hour certification course, workshops will be offered by tribal members on appropriate technologies, tribal history and native practices and there will be field trips to view sustainable projects and other aspects of the reservation.

Instructor will be Warren Brush who is a permaculture designer and educator in North America and Africa, founder of True Nature Design, and co-founder of Quail Springs Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm and Trees for Children.

CONTACT for more information or to register:

Cory Brennan, email cory8570@yahoo.com

There are some exciting sustainable projects ongoing at the reservation and this course is an opportunity to contribute to this process and make a difference. Come one day early for a special tour of aspects of the reservation.

Registration details

Prices include tuition, certification, handbook/course guide, organic catered meals, and camping accommodations nearby. Teepees will be available for early registrants.

Early registration with deposit to secure a place in the course is advised as enrollment is limited and the course is expected to fill quickly.

Early Bird discounts for payment in full by July 25, 2009.
Early Bird price: $1,300
PDC Graduates/Refresher Course Early Bird price: $1,200
Regular registration $400 deposit to secure your space with balance due by Sept 1, 2009. Regular price: $1,500
Couples price for second partner: $1,200
Families with children please ask about options for family rate and childcare program.
Limited work trade options - inquire early!

CONTACT for more information or to register:

Cory Brennan, email cory8570@yahoo.com

About the Instructor:

PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATION COURSE PINE RIDGE LAKOTA RESERVATION, SOUTH DAKOTA SEPT 11-SEPT 27, 2009

72-hour Permaculture Design Certification Course will give you the tools to…

Create sustainable food systems in any environment

Practice water catchment and harvesting

Work with built environments

Build healthy communities

Share your knowledge to create urban farms, aid in rural areas and more

For more info click here for a PDF file you can print.

Location:
Take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn these essential skills in a Native American environment. The Oglala Lakota tribe has a rich history. The Pine Ridge reservation is home to Wounded Knee and other key historical sites. Additional workshops and field trips will be offered by tribal members on sustainable technologies, tribal history and native practices.

Instructor:
Warren Brush, Certified Permaculture Designer and Educator throughout North America, India and West Africa, founder of True Nature Design, and co-founder of Quail Springs Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm and Trees for Children. For more than 20 years, Warren has enlightened thousands of people on their discovery of sustainable living and respect for land and communities.

He teaches courses including: Permaculture Certification, Rainwater Harvesting Systems, Ferro-Cement Tank Building, Compost Toilet Systems, Greywater Solutions, Water for Every Farm, Drought Proofing, Cultural Mentoring, Introduction to Permaculture Systems, Corporation Sole Formation, Various Origins Skills, Food Forestry, among other offerings.

Learn more about Warren Brush organizations and programs:

Quail Springs Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm, www.quailsprings.org, a 450-acre arid land Permaculture demonstration and educational center located in the southern California mountains.

Trees for Children, www.treesforchildren.org, is an organization that teaches youth how to plant trees in ways that contribute to their community’s resilience and stability. It also raises funds for tree planting projects.

Mentoring for Peace, www.mentoring4peace.com, is a research project that is discovering the nature of how to mentor our children to be peacemakers with broad concentric rings of influence.

True Nature Design, www.truenaturedesign.net, is Warren’s Permaculture design and education company

Wilderness Youth Project, www.wyp.org, a youth centered organization that mentors youth in learning nature observation and origins skills.

This course is being delivered in coordination with Olceri, a project to create sustainable, self-sufficient systems as a demonstration and educational site at Pine Ridge reservation.