Women's Earth Alliance

Drought Proof Farms Workshop, May 1-2-3 2009

Directed by Darren Doherty of Australia Felix Permaculture

According to research of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), because of the phenomenon of the climatic change the effects on the climate of the Mediterranean zone, will include the progressive increase of the temperatures and increasingly prolonged droughts.

This workshop, wants to transmit Darren's extensive experience in zones of the world where these conditions are more common, to our regional context and to provide practical tools of verified efficancy, immediately applicable to real situations.

This case study has a 18Ha organic farm with a wide water catchment, which in the last 2 summers has suffered shortages in the water supply sources. We focus on  the potential to capture and store rainwater to ensure supply during the driest months, but also other aspects to consider when designing a farm guided by a global approach, such as Permaculture, Keyline Design and Holistic Management.

Target public

This workshop is aimed at everyone Interested in learning how to make the most from rain falling on thies land, roof, street,  to anyone interested in how to apply Permaculture  Design in a real case, to PDC graduates as a hands-on design follow up workshop  in order to learn how to analyze the landscape and create a holistic goals that guide our decision-making processes in sustainability issues.

Workshop program

Day 1  - Data Collation: Holistic Goal, Client Brief, Site Plans
            - Data Collation: Site Analysis, Catchment Analysis
Day 2  - Concept Planning: Water Systems, House Placement, Building Retrofit
            - Concept Planning: Earthworks, Landscaping, Vegetation Systems
Day 3  - Detail Planning: Site Design Master Plan, Element Design
            - Detail Planning: Timelines, Costings & Quantification

The course will be in English with translation to Spanish

Investment:

160€/person if registration is made before April 15th

180€/person if later

Costs include: tuition, 3 organic vegetarian meals/day, accomodation (either own tent or in local houses in the area), course materials in digital format, translation (for spanish speaking partecipants)

Payments can be made either by bank transfer to the following account:

IBAN ES24 3025 0002 49 1433229657

BIC/SWIFT code: CDENESBB

Please state your name and “Fincas-Sequia" in the transfer "motivation/causal" field.

or via a postal money order to:

Antonio Scotti

Sardenya 515, entlo 4ª

08024 Barcelona, Spain

Info and registration

Tel. + 34 93 284 88 21
e-mail: info AT permacultura-es.org

Venue

The course venue is in an organic farm 70 km. south of Barcelona in the town of Bonastre (Spain)

The organizers reserve the right to cancel the course in case of failure to achieve the minimum number of participants or other force majeure, in which case they will return the full amount of the paid fee (minus any bank transfer/postal charges which will have to be supported by the recipients themselves)

What to bring along

Sleeping bag, notebook, boots, thorns resisting trousers, pen-drive, energy, good mood, musical instruments...

Darren J. Doherty

Darren J. Doherty has extensive experience across the world in Permaculture project design, development & management. A career-long focus on the profitable retrofit of broadacre agricultural systems has seen Darren acclaimed as a pioneer in this important & often overlooked field. He is a Registered Teacher of The Permaculture Institute, a Certified Whole Farm Planner (University of Melbourne), Approved Keyline™ Designer, & Accredited Permaculture Trainer (APT™) & Certified in Workplace Training & Assessment.

Darren has been involved in the design & development of over 1300, mostly broadacre projects, across 5 continents, ranging from 110,000 acre ranches in Argentina to EcoVillage developments in Tasmania, to R&D Agroforestry & Education projects in Viet Nam and Family Farms across America & Oceania and more with a wide range of private, corporate, government & non-profit clients which has created an international reputation of achievement plus an enviable and expansive network that integrates many disciplines. 

This course is organized by Asociación Cambium Permacultura en Formación