PTM – Teacher Training through the eyes of two participants
Report on PTM Training in Mallorca (Permaculture Teachers’ Matters Training) – October 2015
The warm Mallorcan sun and the sound of bells from the grazing sheep, greeted us goodbye as we departed the “Son Barrina” farm that cool Friday morning. It was October 23rd 2015 and we have just completed one of the most life-changing training workshops: the Permaculture Teachers’ Training with Rosemary Morrow.
The two of us, embarked on this joined journey two months ago – motivated to learn and help bring the change in Cyprus, through Permaculture. Budget was tight and time was getting closer, so after a “crazy” idea thrown out there by Gabriel, we decided to go for it: Let’s turn to our community and see – Will “Care of People” support us achieve our goal? So the decision was made: Crowdfunding it was!
It took a clear declaration of our goal and an analytical breakdown of the expenses we were asking to cover and within a couple of hours we began observing a much promising pattern: Our community was determined to back us up! The most pleasant surprise was that it didn’t take longer than two weeks to reach and surpass our set goal and so attending our Permaculture Teachers’ Training in Mallorca, was now possible.
Every second of the way, was a life-changing opportunity. Through our course, we had the great privilege of meeting and get trained by one of the most renowned Permaculturists in the world: Rosemary Morrow – a woman who has travelled the globe for four decades, often in countries shattered by war and disasters, sharing her passion for permaculture and social justice. An inspiring teacher who serves this world with an open heart, sharing generously every bit of information and resource she has backing up her motto “that access to useful knowledge is a basic human right.”
Rosemary’s assistant teaching team, proved to us the power of collaboration and the importance of teaching styles diversity.
Alfred Decker, a motivated individual involved with social movements and projects all across Europe and the Americas and the founder of Permacultura Barcelona, is now committed in furthering even further the PTM teachers’ training platform. Throughout the course, Alfred was always attentive to the classroom’s needs, taking charge of guiding us through critical matters of our Teachers’ Training while at the same time coordinating group discussions in the most balanced and skillful way.
Patricia Pereira, a woman passionate on sustainable ways of living who has devoted her time running educational programs back in Portugal with the use of storytelling and permaculture, consisted the calm power of the teaching team. Leading the way on clear and effective communication, she demonstrated how true listening and immediate correspondence to the classroom’s needs is perhaps one of our most powerful tools as future Permaculture Teachers.
Going through this intensive six-day workshop, the gifts we were offered went beyond any expectation. We were able to learn about different teaching methods, experiment and apply a diversity of teaching styles and tools on a daily basis, helping us built a superbly creative and playful classroom environment. The course taught us how to apply non-violent communication skills and showed us the significance of constructive mediation throughout our many collaborative projects with our fellow classmates.
Something that you can’t really get out of books or through the screen of your computer, was the power of the community we’ve experienced throughout this course. With 24 participants originating from 15 different countries from all sorts of backgrounds and expertise levels – we ‘ve experienced highly diverse learning sessions with endless creativity and educative potential.
Imagine: How about working in a group where an enthusiastic 14-year old Permaculture designer works alongside experienced permaculture teachers, with over 20 years of experience in designing and teaching Permaculture? The potential for innovative work, was simply endless and the room for playful creativity – infinite.
The support and understanding of the community that developed throughout the course, taught us in the most efficient way, that Permaculture, is not merely about the Care of the Earth – it’s also about the Care of the People and about Fair Share: a share of knowledge, experiences and skills.
Now, we return back to our island, grateful for this grand opportunity our community has offered us, propelling us to acquire an invaluable training in one of the most precious tools we have to regenerate and restore our world – the one of Permaculture.
We are inspired and motivated even deeper now, to spread the word on these existing solutions and facilitate in our own personal way, the creation of a fairer, healthier and more balanced world.
We thank you for your trust and support.
Let’s bring the positive change our earth and we all need, together.
Sofia & Gabriel on a Permaculture Mission for Change
Their photographic memories of the course
*A special thanks goes out to good friends Natalia & Nektarios from Naturally Smart Stuff, for their help in creating our campaign video. We are truly grateful to you and we know we wouldn’t have made it without you!
*If you want to learn more about our IndieGoGo campaign, you can watch our video and read our story here.
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