Permaculture Scholar, Jo, Tells Us What the Course Has Meant to Her

14th January 2022

As part of our funding for Permaculture Kernow’s projects, we paid for the scholarship of two people to take a 10-day Permaculture Design Course. The course covers the unique gardening techniques that the Permaculture movement has cultivated through the years. It’s taught by Joshua Gomez who is also a co-founder of Permaculture Kernow.

We caught up with Jo, who has since completed the course, to find out more.

Why did you want to take the course?

I took the course because I wanted to make a bigger difference to saving the planet and that’s what Permaculture is all about - living in harmony with the Earth. 

What did you learn? Were there any facts that really stood out to you? Joshua taught us how to treat planet Earth well through growing and harvesting in ecologically and sustainably sound ways that support biodiversity and wildlife. He’s a mine of information and is a brilliant teacher with an abundance of resources. I loved learning about botany, looking at examples of re-greening desert, urban permaculture, into tiny, massively productive city gardens, forest gardens and rooftop gardens. And that was just one day of the course! A fact that stood out to me was that in 80 years or so there will be no topsoil left in the UK if we don’t put back what we take out.  I left the 10-day course with a Permaculture Design Certificate wondering why Permaculture wasn’t more mainstream and why farmers weren’t using these valuable techniques in the 21st century.       Have you been able to apply what you’ve learnt?

Yes, I designed a permaculture garden for my back yard! I learnt how to set up a wormery so that I could make my own compost really quickly and get rid of my wastepaper and food-waste sustainably. I created a herb circle which then expanded into vegetable growing using the no-dig practice which, as a single mother, was literally life changing, especially when you know you aren’t shattering the mycelium and ecology of the soil. I also now make sure to take apples from trees to be juiced every year, instead of going to rot. 

I also joined my Community Permaculture Garden Group. I've loved gardening with others and we built a polytunnel and installed a huge water butt which, considering the long dry periods we've had, has been invaluable. I’ve planted veg, fruit bushes, flowers and grape vines.  

Did the course change your perception of water? I’ll never look at water in quite the same way again! Water management is one of the bedrocks of the Permaculture approach, all the more important to consider when we’re living with extreme climate events. When Josh said that every time we go to the toilet we flush away good clean water that’s actually drinkable, my appreciation of and the way I experience water changed dramatically. Precious stuff. Like pure gold, he said. I learnt how mulching keeps water in the soil and weeds down. In my own garden, I’ll be putting a drainpipe on my shed to catch water and, considering plants grow faster with rainwater than with tap-water, this is a must.

We want to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Jo for not only learning all about these techniques and gaining her certificate, but also on applying those techniques to her own life. It’s truly inspiring.