The programme will be very full and intense but will also give
space for reflection and recap. It will weave thinking and understanding
with practice all the way through. The practice will include ‘doing’
in a number of ways and this will be tied in closely with one
of the main themes of the course, that of facilitation. Whilst
we will be ‘teaching’ we will also be enabling you
to learn from your own experiences. A variety of practical outside
work will be laid on throughout the course.
The first day will be one of lighting fires. We will do various
exercises to get to know each other, to set up our organisation
of the two weeks, to raise burning issues, and to look at the
context we are all working in and what it means. A tour of Ragman’s
Lane Farm in the afternoon will begin the Permaculture journey
and give everyone a good sense of the immediate surroundings.
The rest of Sunday and all of Monday will focus on ecological
processes – a description of the natural processes that
surround us. On Tuesday we explore social interactions and group
dynamics. These are of course huge topics but we will cover them
in a thorough introductory way, giving you an insight into our
current situation. From here we introduce two frameworks for working
with the complexities of social, ecological and economic forces.
These frameworks are Permaculture and Holistic decision-making.
We will end the week by going on a field trip to Stroud to learn from
the experiences of a Community Supported Agriculture scheme. Saturday
and Sunday will be days off, a time to relax and absorb. You can
either stay on the farm or go back home.
The aim of week two will be to consolidate what you have learnt
in week one. The programme will be more open and to some extent
we will design the detail according to what comes up in week one
and what you would like to focus on as participants. This again
relates very much to the theme of facilitation, which we will
weave into the programme everywhere. The daily practicals will
continue in week two. There will also be a comprehensive Design
exercise in which you will use what you have learnt about Permaculture
and holistic decision making. In week two we will also look in
more depth at Permaculture and at organisational issues related
to working in groups.
Later in the week, we will have an open space session, which
will give you the opportunity to learn how to use this process
effectively, as well as run discussions on topics of your choice.
During the week, we will offer individual support/mentoring. Towards
the end of the week we will plan how we can stay in touch and
support each other in using the process you have learnt for working
with groups.
If you read this and are keen to attend the course and want to
know anything more about the programme please don’t hesitate
to get in touch.
John Wilson Matt Dunwell July 09
info@ragmans.co.uk 01594 860244
