Including

PERMACULTURE & ECOVILLAGE CURRICULUM

HANDS-ON ACTION-LEARNING

SOCIAL PERMACULTURE

COMMUNITY & DYNAMIC GOVERNANCE

ANIMAL SYSTEMS & FOOD FOREST GARDENING

NATURE AWARENESS & INDIGENOUS WISDOM APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

EMBODIMENT PRACTICES

INTEGRATIVE ECO-SOCIAL DESIGN

INNER ECOLOGY

INVISIBLE STRUCTURES

SONG, CEREMONY, RITES OF PASSAGE

& MUCH MORE

Hosted By

La A’kea Community

Facilitators, Teachers & Constants

Jenny Pell

Jay Ma

Max Meyers

Angelica Papio

Tracy Matfin

La ‘Akea Community

Additional Instructors & Special Guests

to be announced soon!

Course Inspiration

“Aloha ‘Aina” is Hawaiian for “love of the land”, or “to love, respect, and nurture the land.” As human beings now facing a time of great environmental and social transformation, we believe that it is through this spirit of reconnecting to ourselves, to our communities, and to the Earth with a spirit of love and care that we will renew and restore a healthy balance of human beings living in harmony with each other and their natural environment. We are inspired and grateful to be offering this holistic permaculture design intensive to the greater Island Community to further empower and synergize our efforts of personal, ecological, and social regeneration.

Course Description

The Aloha ‘Aina Holistic Permaculture Design Course will include the standard 72-hour permaculture design curriculum based upon the original Mollison and Holmgren ideas and design philosophies published in The Permaculture Designer’s Manual, as well as be a nourishing retreat and hands-on immersion experience of sustainable living ecovillage design. In addition to the standard permaculture design certification curriculum, we recognize permaculture as an expanding, holistic design philosophy encompassing many fields. Accordingly, this permaculture design course will include and integrate additional content and activities such as nature awareness, indigenous wisdom, embodiment practices, inner work, group process, ecovillage design, hands-on, and more. With a focus on tending the inner, outer, and community landscapes... course participants will work with each other and local community residents on tangible design project scenarios to implement positive transformation within themselves and in the local community. For a more detailed description of course contents and instructors see below.

Topics to Include:

What is Permaculture?

Permaculture is a holistic design philosophy described as the art and science of creating community ecosystems in which plants, animals, human beings, and all forms of ecological diversity interact to produce a prolific, ecologically-sound, and regenerative system that can support itself and life indefinitely. The focus of permaculture is to design and establish societal systems that provide for humanity’s material and non-material needs including food, water, shelter, energy, and health in a way that is symbiotic and synergistic with the Earth’s natural ecosystems. More recently permaculture is incorporating an ever-growing landscape of diverse fields and skill sets and is being applied towards areas such as business, government, economics, group process, social systems, and inner work.

Certification Applicability

Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a Permaculture Design Certificate. Design Certification is applicable towards Gaia University Degree Programs.

Photos from previous Aloha ‘Aina Courses

To View Photos of Aloha ‘Aina 2009 Click Here.

To View Photos of Aloha ‘Aina 2008 Click Here.

Contact

For more information email education@livingmandala.com

Or Call: 707-634-1461

To Register Click Here.

Tuition & Registration

Standard Course Tuition is $1500 U.S. dollars, which includes instruction, lodging, and 3 delicious, nutritious, and locally grown meals a day for the duration of the course - 17 days.  Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a Permaculture Design Certificate.

* The tuition also includes the Dynamic Governance, Social Permaculture, & Village Design Intensive directly following the course. (More Info Below).

2012 New Year Special!

Register and pay in full before January 8, 2012 and receive a huge discount off course tuition - $1250!  Special Promotion with limited number of spots. First Come, First Serve!

Click here to register before Jan 1, 2012 to receive this discount.

Kama ‘Aina Rate

We are offering a special discounted kama ‘aina rate of $995 for locals who live near by and are staying off-site. (real residents of Big Island only). An additional fee of $10 per night will be charged for any nights stayed over at La ‘Akea.

If you are a local click here to register for the kama ‘aina rate.

Dynamic Governance, Social Permaculture, & Village Design - March 17-18, 2012

This course will include an additional 2 Day Intensive on Dynamic Governance, Social Permaculture, & Village Design. We will explore the fundamentals, methodologies, and tools for dynamic governance through the lens of Village Design. Participants will learn strategies and proven modalities for creating and sustaining intentional communities, democratic decision-making processes, and agile project management skills for collaborative endeavors.

Developing a culture of inclusion and equality, reaching consent as a whole group, and being empowered to act swiftly and decisively are benchmarks of success for any organization, project, or community. Dynamic Governance is a proven approach that builds trust, inspires participation, and allows cohesive teams to effectively get results within their own sphere, while supporting the broader goals and success of the entire organization.

Learn a Fresh & Effective Approach To:

-  Successful and productive meetings

-  Streamlining group processes

-  Defining and achieving goals with your group

1. - Giving and receiving effective leadership while remaining peers
   

2. -Agile project management for collaborative endeavors
   

3. - Organizational structures and democratic decision-making modalities for intentional communities
   

To Register for the Dynamic Governance, Social Permaculture, & Village Design Weekend Workshop Click Here.

Site Details - La ‘Akea Community

La’akea is one of the oldest (and newest - compared to the indigenous Hawaiian people) Permaculture inspired and practicing Intentional Communities on the Hawaiian Islands. Their vision as an intentional community is to steward the land at La’akea, continue the mission of teaching permaculture at La’akea while expanding into others aspects of sustainability such as personal and relationship growth, communication techniques, emotional processing, healing arts and creative arts. For information on La’akea Community including visiting La’akea, doing a work exchange, internship program, and membership process visit them on-line at http://www.permaculture-hawaii.com/

Ecovillages & Intentional Communities

Over thee last 50 years, the international Ecovillage and Intentional Communities movement has birthed communities all over the world and connected together communities that already exist or have existed for thousands of years. Some of these communities include eco-towns like Auroville in South India, the Federation of Damanhur in Italy and Nimbin in Australia; small rural ecovillages like Gaia Asociación in Argentina and Huehuecoyotl in Mexico; urban rejuvenation projects like Los Angeles EcoVillage and Christiania in Copenhagen; permaculture design sites such as Crystal Waters, Australia, Cochabamba, Bolivia and Barus, Brazil; and educational centres such as Findhorn in Scotland, Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales, Earthlands in Massachusetts, large networks like Sarvodaya (11,000 sustainable villages in Sri Lanka); EcoYoff and Colufifa (350 villages in Senegal); the Ladakh Project on the Tibetian plateau;  and many more.

internationally, we are on the brink of a back to the land and back to community movement, the likes of which are just beginning in Russia today. Where is your water source, food source, and community?

Worktrade Scholarship Opportunities

There are limited work-trade opportunities available. We generally do not offer worktrade below half the tuition cost of the course, and request that the worktrade be completed before the course begins.  Some worktrade opportunities include arriving early and doing hands-on projects at La ‘Akea a week before the start of the course. To inquire about worktrade scholarship opportunities for this course email: education@livingmandala.com

Lodging

Various lodging opportunities are available for the course on-site. Standard lodging will be a choice of camping or sleeping on mats in a large group bunking facility. Smaller private or shared rooms with beds are available for individuals, couples, or groups for an additional cost. Please contact us if you are interested to upgrade to a private or shared room.

Refund Policy

Cancellations up to 2 weeks before the course before Feb 25 will be refunded, excluding a $125 processing fee. No refunds are given after Feb 25. In the unlikely event the course is cancelled, participants will be given a 100% refund. A $500 deposit is required to hold your spot in the course, with payment due in full by Feb 25.