TLC Farm will be hosting a full 72-hour Permaculture Design Course this summer. This course will be a two-week intensive that will meet from June 11th to 27th. The course can be taken as residential, or not. The fee for the non-residential option is $1000 - 850 sliding scale. The fee for the residential option is $1300 -1100. Limited work trade may be available. More about the course: A Permaculture Design Course explores sustainable human habitation. We begin with the ethics and principles of permaculture which support a philosophical reverence for life and provide a framework for making healthy choices. The objective of a Permaculture Design Course is to provide a comprehensive overview of sustainable futures, based on permaculture philosophy, techniques, and strategies that one could incorporate into their everyday life, or enhance their career. These courses provide hands-on experience. The intention is to facilitate a systems approach to thinking about different issues, encouraging care for the earth and its inhabitants as a diverse community. Topics Include: * Permaculture Philosophy & Ethics * Permaculture Principles * Concepts and Themes in Design * Permaculture methodology * Pattern Understanding * Reading the Landscape * Climatic Factors * Edible Landscaping & Organic Gardening * Trees and their Energy Transactions, Tree Crops * Water, Water Harvesting * Soils & Composting * Earthworking and Earth Resources * Natural Building * Animal Husbandry * Urban Permaculture * Appropriate Technology * Intentional Communities * Sustainable Forestry & Agroforestry * Ethnobotany/ethnoecology * Plant Propagation * Ecosystem & Native Plant Restoration * Mycology * Permaculture Networks * Bioregionalism * Local Economics * Ecological Design * Ecovillages * And more.. Instructor Bios: Marisha Auerbach will be the lead instructor of the course. Marisha has been practicing, studying, and teaching permaculture in the Pacific Northwest for the past decade. She encourages sustainable futures through sharing knowledge with others on a variety of topics including: permaculture, polyculture gardening, seed saving, flower and gem essences, local economics, community building, ethnobotany, herbalism, edible landscape design, and organic gardening among others.  Matt received his Master's Degree in Education with a focus on Leadership in Ecology, Culture & Learning from PSU in 2008 and is also a certified Permaculture Designer and Teacher. For more information about this course, please email perm...@tryonfarm.org or call Matt Bibeau at 503-245-3847. To be considered for this course, please fill out the questionnaire below and send to perm...@tryonfarm.org. TLC Farm PDC Application Full and Preferred Name: Address: Phone: Email: 1. What is your experience with permaculture? What do you hope to do with this certification? 2. Do you have any dietary restrictions or allergies that we should know about? 3. Do you have any medical conditions or physical limitations that we should know about? (TLC Farm is not currently an ADA-accessible site, so any alter-abled students should let us know about their needs and concerns). 4. Are you applying for the residential (camping) or non-residential (commuting) option? 5. How did you hear about the course?

James Mujuru, from Zimbabwe's Masango Cultural Center will be visiting Portland on Friday, February 27th at 7pm at Tryon Life Community Farm (www.tryonfarm.org) to give a talk and slide show about the exciting developments at the center. He will also be performing at Reed College on the 28th.

Masango Center, in the heart of Seke, is just 30 km from Harare, yet far enough out of the city to be immersed in nature. Masango's vision is to ensure the indigenous arts and culture in Zimbabwe thrive in the daily life of all Zimbabweans, while working towards a sustainable future by building healthy relationships with the land, ourselves, and each other.

The three focuses at Masango are: empowering participants through learning and practicing collective leadership; sustainable building and farming techniques; and traditional arts and culture.

James comes from a long lineage of mbira musicians. Originating from Rusape, in the eastern part of rural Zimbabwe, his music carries the ancient prayers of his elders into the present. Weaving story telling and song into his performance, James offers the beauty and intelligence of the mbira music to the rest of us, straight form Zimbabwe.

James currently lives in British Columbia and recently spent two productive months in Zimbabwe completing the cob and thatch community center, building of wells and gardens, and visioning the future of Masango.

Despite all the suffering in Zimbabwe right now, there is hope and this hope is tangible in the enthusiasm experienced at Masango. Come see what is possible. Donations of $5-50 are suggested.

We will have two very special guests at this Saturday's natural building workparty: James Mujuru, a natural builder and musician from Zimbabwe, and Joshua Klyber, our local natural plasters guru and old friend of the Farm. Together, we'll be plastering our new office loft in the barn, and working on the light-clay straw insulation for the first floor of the barn.

Come get muddy with us! 11-4ish on Saturday, Feb. 28. Bring your lunch--we'll make tea and snacks.