Nathan & Natalie Riva
Lineman and Marketing - Ayampe, EcuadorClient, Land Design, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentMy sister and I bought a beautiful piece of land in the wonderful country of Ecuador. Both of us, being rookies to the world of permaculture design, had no idea where to start. Luckily, one day, I came across a youtube video advertising the Oregon State University’s Permaculture design course. I was ecstatic having come across this course. I felt a sense of reassurance that taking a six month long course like this would be extremely valuable in the journey of permaculture design. It turned out to be even more valuable than I had originally thought.I started the course, and was assigned my professor for the next six months, Javan Bernakevitch. To my surprise we are both living in Ecuador and originally from Canada! What a crazy coincidence; to be in a foreign country taking a permaculture design course and your professor is also there!Over the next six months we were doing assignments, meeting in groups, discussing and learning the ins and outs of permaculture design. What a data dump of information that six months was. Javan had many insightful discussions with myself and the class over this time, which made comprehending this avalanche of information easier.At the end of our six month permaculture design journey, it was time to put to practice on our land all that was learned. Javan really helped me throughout the course to make a workable and professional design. However, I still felt overwhelmed at the task of starting this permaculture farm from a completely raw piece of land.This is when my sister and I decided to ask him if he would be willing to travel to our site and do some consulting in person. We came up with an arrangement, and before you knew it, Javan had showed up in the flesh on the coast of Ecuador. It was surreal to meet him in person after spending six months with him online.He spent two days with us, and I can’t express enough how valuable those two days were! He made us feel comfortable about starting this project. He answered the entire mountain of questions we had, and guided us through everything we needed to do, in order to start things off on the right foot! Again, I can’t express enough the value of his visit. There was the knowledge value we gained as well as the savings in committing rookie errors. We would not have felt comfortable starting this project the way we did if Javan had never come.I would highly recommend to anyone new to farming / permaculture design to not only take the permaculture design coursethat Javan is a part of, but also, to have him come to your site and assess it in person! You will save money in the long run, but more importantly he will give you the confidence and the knowledge to make sure you are doing things correctly. There is much room for error undertaking projects like this. Having Javan help you along the way is invaluable. And not only is he great at his job, but he is great to be around and has wonderful enthusiastic energy. You can tell he is very passionate about what he does, and the knowledge he brings to the table is vast! I implore people to consult with Javan if you need help and are feeling a bit overwhelmed with your farming project. My sister and I would love to have him back to the land one day. He is and will always be a part of our land. Without him, I honestly don’t know how things would have turned out.
Anezka Sebek
New York, USA - Professor Emeritus, The New School Visiting Professor IIT GandhinagarOSU PDC Student, PDC StudentThis course is for all of us who love and care for the earth. If you are ready to dedicate time, energy, and focus on the 20 weeks that this course demands, this is an extraordinary investment. It will begin your journey as a permaculture designer if you have not already gotten your skills up as a landscape architect or farmer. For me, this was completely new territory. At times, I was seriously overwhelmed by the requirements. As I would tackle each assignment methodically I got over my state of overwhelm and learned from this journey of discovery. The attention that I got from Javan Bernakevitch was endlessly patient and kind. The materials contained in the course will take me another six months to fully navigate, explore and continue my permaculture education. The course is open to us for several years and I know that I will need to consult the resources many times as I practice what I learned. The learning in this course is not only on an information level. In this course we are required to become aware of the community of permaculture and regenerative agriculturists in our immediate environment. In this way, we are encouraged to broaden our understanding of the local ecology and permaculture and regenerative practices. 20 weeks ago, I faced a truly steep learning curve but with the helping, and encouraging input from our instructor and coach during the course, I now look forward to learning more.
Timothy Stewart
Project Manager - Memba, MozambiqueEducation, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentI started my regenerative journey two years ago. I had also done an introductory course from Elaine Inghams soil food web, I had a keen interest in permaculture, but I have never taken a pdc before. I was developing tools for landscape restoration and design but I still didn’t have a toolbox in which to organise everything. I had heard that the OSU advanced PDC program was one of the most comprehensive with some of the best instructors in the world. It most certainly lived up to my expectations.I did not know I was going to be assigned to Javan as a teacher and serendipitously I had already encountered Javan’s work through some courses I had done through regenerative living and already knew Javan’s approaches to be deep and holistic.The course exceeded my expectations in ways I hadn’t anticipated. The bi-weekly meetings with the class and Javan, were invaluable in tying everything together. Javan’s input truly stands out and makes this course exceptional. Bringing together people from all over the world—each from unique climates, soils, weather patterns, cultures, and challenges specific to their ecotones—to share their approaches to creating a net positive impact on the biosphere was inspiring. Having someone with Javan’s depth of experience guide these discussions is priceless and highlights the true value of this course.
Nathan Riva
Tower Rigger - Canada/EcuadorEducation, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentThe Permaculture design course truly was worth every penny. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is seriously consideringdesigning a landscape whether big or small. I first started reading books about permaculture, and watching Andrew Millisons Youtube videos. His videos really resonated with me. His ability to explain things clearly and eloquently helped me get started and interested in learning the techniques and skills required to design a landscape. So, when I saw him advertising a six month long design course with Oregon State University, I jumped at the opportunity.I am working on a homestead in Ecuador, and was feeling overwhelmed with trying to design a permaculture site. The books and videos were a great introduction, however, the course really opened up the world of what it means to intelligently design something.Thanks to my great professor, Javan Bernakevitch, I was able to make the best of this six month long course. Javan was extremely helpful and insightful. The knowledge and experience Javan brought to the table was first rate! I feel very fortunate to have been one of his students. I know what I learned during this course will serve me for the rest of my life. Thanks Javan and Oregon State for the last half year. It was great!
Belkis L. Roman Vazquez
Public Servant, Commonwealth of MassachusettsLand Design, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentI enrolled in this course one week late, making the decision hastily just hours before the enrollment deadline. I knew that if I considered the time commitment and the potential impact on my family and myself, I would find numerous reasons not to proceed. Yet, I chose to quiet my rational mind and listen to a deeper, non-rational awareness. I had an inner “knowledge” that this course was exactly what I needed at that precise moment. I obeyed this voiceless wisdom, often ridiculed or belittled as irrational or irresponsible by our Western mindset.
I am utterly happy I took this class. From the moment I decided to enroll, to this juncture of completing the course, I have been excitedly and humbly accepting the fascinating glimpse this course has given me into the permaculture world. I approached all the materials with childlike curiosity, diving into research and rabbit holes that sometimes took me away from the assignments. However, I allowed myself this freedom, understanding it as part of a beautiful web of interconnected information.
I commend you, Javan, and the rest of the OSU and permaculture community for building and sustaining a top-notch course with knowledgeable, meaningful, and comprehensive materials.
In my humble opinion, permaculture principles are applicable to our sites, our jobs, our interpersonal relationships, and especially in our relationship with ourselves. Thank you for gifting me a new set of tools!
Channa Abeygunawardene
Entrepreneur - Sri LankaEducation, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentTaking this class has been a truly rewarding experience. You’ve been an exceptional [lecturer/mentor/advisor], and I can honestly say I haven’t encountered a more inspiring teacher. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Linda Danda Nash
Nurse Practitioner - Pennsylvania USAEducation, OSU PDC Student, PDC Student“The only thing I regret about my PDC experience at OSU is not enrolling in this course earlier. Had I enrolled in this class during my 2019 home purchase, I would have saved both money and time. I gained important knowledge and skills from this course, like water harvesting techniques and planting on slopes, that I wish I had known before. I also learned about regional challenges and how to incorporate features to mitigate these challenges like fire and flood. Although I had already integrated permaculture features in my garden like rain barrels and composting, the newfound knowledge made me more efficient and organized. For instance, the assignment on watershed and run off calculations highlighted the ineffectiveness of rain barrels on my property, resulting in my instructor suggesting the minimum use of an IBC tank instead.I received feedback from my classmates and Javan my instructor on all my assignments. He hosted biweekly zoom calls covering important components of assignments and professional aspects of Permaculture design. Whenever I find myself stuck, I submit my questions, which are answered on the recorded zoom meeting. The cross section assignment was challenging for me but Javan walked me through it during a one-to-one zoom call. Thanks to his expertise and video links, I can construct a Hugelkultur, draw cross sections even with my lack of drawing skills and improve the soil using the leaves on my property.I am thrilled to continue this journey and grateful for Javan’s incredible support throughout my OSU Permaculture design course experience. I can’t wait to start implementing my design and delving into topics such as soil building and water harvesting. “
Deanne Vincent
Business Developmen & Web Designer - Ottawa, CanadaEducation, General, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentI chose to do the PDC course through Oregon State University because of the level of professionalism, expertise, and guidance that was offered. It’s an established program that has an abundance of resources to cover everything you need and more. I gained so much knowledge going through it because of how the course was set up; with the online material, office hours, and applicable design project. Having Javan as my course instructor was the best part of this course. The energy he brings to office hours, constructive feedback, and any engagement with students is one of a kind. His use of technology and depth of experience and knowledge really elevates the course and I couldn’t imagine anyone better to learn from. This course was a great mix of being welcoming and challenging you to further your growth in this field. The projects were exactly what you need to learn and well thought out to use moving forward for any other designs. I’m so grateful, thank you Javan and OSU PDC! I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in Permaculture — we need you. Know that what you put into it will be fruitfully returned!
Meera Rajesh
Social Worker - Karnataka, IndiaEducation, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentThanks to Javan for guiding through the course. It was excellent learning experience, reviewing portfolios of other student it gave me an opportunity to learn other world ecosystems, climate, plants and other public policies.
Concept map designing was a piece of cake! It’s all because of kind of research the course made me to do in earlier assignments. Doing that, everything fell in its place without any hassles. Enjoyed the course as well as felt very challenging with most of assignments asking for ecological data, indigenous people in my country it’s not document properly and had to rely on primary data. Overall it turned out to be good. With this it does not stop i have further many other question which i need to dig into and learning is a never ending process. Finally i am doing this to serve for mother earth and children who are the future. Hopefully one day i will also have farm.
Ashley Paton
United States Postal Service Officer in Charge (OIC) - New York, USAEducation, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentWow! I can’t believe that it’s over! I’m extremely grateful that I decided to take the leap toward this course because it taught me so many different things, as well as re-framed my thoughts when it came to landscape design. It has been refreshing to learn about permaculture and really challenge myself in terms of design. This is something that I will constantly learn about and grow with and evolve from, so I am very excited to start working on other projects and actually implement this design on our own property.
Thank you for the well thought out coursework and assistance throughout the last twenty weeks! It’s been amazing to hear your perspective and learn from you and I’ve extremely grateful for that.