Juan Fernando Restrepo
Garden and Irrigation designer - ColumbiaOSU PDC StudentPermaculture is the best method to analyze a place, taking into account the multi-dimensionality of the site and being able to understand its potential, analyzing its pros and cons, from a point of view with common sense and its relationship with others. Coming to an OSU permaculture course opens the door to finding the potential of the site as well as asking many useful lifelong questions. Thank you very much to the instructor Javan for his words and his effective way of communicating, seeking to enhance the positive side and broaden the horizons of the designs. A highly recommended course for all those who want to expand the world in a holistic way, learning from the designs of others and enhancing their own perception of space and oneself.
Vinay Kumar
Electronic Engineer - IndiaOSU PDC StudentCompleting the Permaculture Design Course at Oregon State University in the USA marked a pivotal turning point in my life. This course was not just a journey, it was a transformational experience that I am grateful for.The course presented its fair share of challenges, but the rewards were immeasurable. It gave me a deep understanding of the core principles of permaculture, which serve as a blueprint for crafting sustainable and resilient systems.
I dedicated substantial time and effort to mastering these principles through hands-on assignments. These assignments were not just tasks but opportunities for growth and learning. They allowed me to explore and apply the intricate nuances of permaculture in practical scenarios.
One of the highlights of this course was the chance to review my peers’ permaculture projects. This collaborative learning process was nothing short of fantastic. It broadened my perspective and instilled a sense of community and shared purpose.
Coming from a background in Electronics, this course was a paradigm shift for me. It broadened my horizons and deepened my appreciation for sustainable living and design. It provided me with a new lens through which to view the world.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Andrew Millison and the dedicated staff at Oregon State University for curating this life-altering experience. Additionally, I want to offer a special thanks to Javan K. Bernakevitch for his invaluable assignment reviews, constructive feedback, and unwavering support throughout the course.
In retrospect, I can confidently say that this Permaculture Design Course was nothing short of life-changing. I consider myself fortunate to have embarked on this journey, and I’m deeply appreciative of the profound impact it has had on me. I wholeheartedly endorse the Permaculture Design Course at Oregon State University to anyone seeking to explore permaculture or to build a more sustainable and resilient life. It’s an opportunity not to be missed.
Thanking you,
Jaeyoon Lee
Design Management - South KoreaOSU PDC StudentOverall it was a great experience. The template provided was new and very helpful. It pointed out the essential learning objectives and acted as a guide. When starting the course I thought this course would turn myself into a professional. However, after deep diving into the world of permaculture for the first time, I realize that each aspect of permaculture such as water management, soil, vegetation & ect requires additional study time. I wasn’t able to thoroughly look at all the reading material provided. Looking forward to doing that one by one. All in all the course left me with a great guide to work from and a study guide to follow through with.
Janet Hoffmann
Conservation District Educator - Wyoming, USA“I discovered Andrew Millison’s YouTube channel which led me to the OSU Permaculture Design Course. I pretty much obsessed about it until I figured out a way to enroll in the course. It was a huge time commitment and daunting at times. But WOW…the take aways! The course was incredibly well designed with a template and tutorials for each assignment. I would start each assignment thinking, “I don’t know how to do this.” And then I would dive in, watch the learning material, follow the template directions, and get to the end of the assignment amazed at what I was able to produce. I was blessed to have Javan Bernakevitch as my direct instructor. He hosted bi-weekly zoom calls where we could ask any questions and he gave in depth responses with his wealth of knowledge and experience. A very helpful aspect was a shared document all students had access to where he recorded all the books and resources he mentioned in the calls. This course has given me the tools to implement permaculture on my own land and in professional projects. One word to sum it up… transformational! Thank you for an incredible experience, I hope my path meets again with my fellow OSU Students and instructors. What a great community to be a part of!”
Francis Wang
Entrepreneur and University Professor - Ontario, CanadaI learned so much from Javan (check him out at All Points Design), he has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of everything permaculture — plants, soil, water harvesting, intangibles, etc. Most valuably, Javan has a wealth of knowledge from many ecological design projects all over the world, their successes and failings, and how those learnings can be incorporated into the next steps for our particular situation.
Leon Mead
English Language Teacher - Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, China,Absolutely amazing, I can not speak highly enough about the OSU Permaculture Design Pro course.I have been on a journey, I developed a business and through the learning process of creating a product and marketing it, I realised that no artificial goods are sustainable, this led me to stop producing my product and researching degrowth, that led me the energy crisis in particular peak oil, both led me to permaculture. A mitigation strategy that can mitigate the predicaments the planet faces and that we in turn face. A friend from the Isle of Wight in England introduced me to this course.The structure of the course is incredibly easy to follow, it strategically takes you through each process of design. The lessons themselves are via recorded videos and the lecturers are incredibly good at explaining the content, it is very easy to engage with the learning material. The book that accompanies the lessons is also incredibly well written and runs along side the course very well. To add to this, within each assignment are more video lessons, helping you and guiding you through the assignments, they are incredibly detailed and also very very easy to follow thanks to Javan’s very smooth and talented teaching methods. Encompassing all of this content are regular face to face webinars with the teachers, to discuss the assignments and ask questions about the design process. The adoration for permaculture and the different elements within permaculture are very evident through the teachers, they really do make this course, they are splendid and have a wealth of information to learn from.
The PDC also has a very non-pressured feel to it. I am currently a full time teacher and I only had my time at the weekends and free time to work on my assignments. It is very manageable and I can definitely recommend it to people who are currently working full time.
To summarise, I have learnt invaluable information about mapping land, water management, soil management and a deep dive into plant and tree matrixes. I will miss this course dearly and I would go as far to say, that it has significantly changed my outlook on my life, on my knowledge of biodiversity and the wider scope of people and community. Thank you to my teachers and Oregon State University, I will never forget this experience and I’m looking forward to using my newly learnt skills.
I cannot recommend this course enough, it is immensely important and inspirational! Thank you so much!
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!