Testimonials from Permaculture Design Courses: 
Weekend Series and two to three week Intensives, from the 1990’s to present.

Lost Valley Educational Center: PDC
 December 2007

Permaculture as presented by Jude Hobbs, Rick Valley and Marisha Auerbach has changed my life, opened my eyes and provided me with the inspiration, information, and skills to move towards a better life, for myself, those around the world and me.  G.B.

This course provided a new path for my life's journey, one of 'positivism"!  P.K.

Urban PDC April .07

An amazing introductory course- it opened up the world and community of permaculture to me.  Everywhere I walk now, I’m noticing the things we talked about and seeing ways to work with them. This course was a great investment!  Carolina

It is not enough to prepare our children for the world; we must prepare the world for our children. Anonymous

Thank you so much for the learning opportunity; you truly have so much to share with the world, and I look forward to continuing to utilize and share what you have given us. I am so thankful to have been able to help and participate. You seriously rock. –terra

Over the course of these weeks, I visited exotic lands with remarkable people.  I will never forget this class.

For someone without extensive gardening background, this was a class in engaged whole-systems thinking. Anon.

Prepare to be inspired and inspire others!  Mikey

2006 PDC’s
La’akea Hawaii
A great overview for the practices and philosophies that will keep our earth and all its creatures healthy and thriving.  Judy

I’ve extended my family. Tracy

It was more than a course it was a journey, an adventure.  Loriel

A deeply soulful experience which, combined the mind, body, and heart- all while learning some key nuts and bolts ways to live in harmony with the land and your fellow man.  Brad

Permaculture is just a word, however the actions of permaculturalists (and the like) are the beginning of directed, creative and conscious evolution of human beings, symbiotically co-existing with the planet. Tierra

Urban PDC
2006

…   It was another great class today and I am so grateful for the hard work that you do to put our class together and the wealth of information that you provide for us.  I also really love your spirit, determination to keep us all on track and your sense of humor!  Warmly,   Pamela

Permaculture offers a path that will lead us through the peak oil period ahead.  MG

This course rocked my sox!! And taught me the important things in the life of Ducks and good Compost  D.F.

I thought I was a resourceful and knowledgeable gardener but I was blown out of the water (or garden) by the amount of info and ideas and lingo that I learned.  I feel like my world was really expanded.  Majory

This course allowed me to make a place for myself in a new community with shared values, while learning highly useful information to further my vision of intelligent living in my local environment and beyond.  Pamela

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I learned so much about so many different things and more importantly, am now very inspired to go learn and put these ideas to use.  Matt

We can change the world and this class showed real life ways how. The learning environment is hospitable and instructors are full of information and experience.  Jessica

I went from being nearly clueless to being ready to create my own permaculture design.  Sandra

Winter PDC at LVC
2006

The Permaculture design intensive provides the means to positive change- tools for growing food, healing the land, and simplifying your needs, networking and communal work. F.P.

Permaculture is valuable and important even to people who have a strong ecological background or farming experience.  Two weeks of info uptake, personal growth, and community building—just don’t expect to sleep. M.O.

Feel so jam-packed with knowledge and bursting to get out and start practical Permaculture! T. G.

A wonderful intense learning experience in a wonderfully nurturing environment- beautiful setting and loving and inspiring people- I’m sad it is coming to and end. K.L.

Small and intensive to take over the world. WOW!

This PDC was an amazing mix of building community, sharing ideas with fellow classmates, gaining a solid foundation in the principles of permaculture and hands-on experience in putting them into practice.

2005 PDC’s
Loved the teaching technique of, this is how you do it---let’s go outside and do it!
This course helped make the permaculture principles very clear and made them second nature when thinking about site analysis and design.  The instructors are a wealth of knowledge.  Chas

Applicable do-it-yourself way to change your own land and the world.

Vive la Permaculture revolution!

Essential information for Permaculture implementation necessary for survival in the 21st century.  Micha

My life is richer from this experience.  Anastasia

The PDC gave me a foundation of knowledge that I can use in every aspect of my life.  This course is useful to everyone, no matter what they do or where they live.  Should be required coursework before they impact the land, air, or water. Aaron

If you are tired of whining about the problems in our corrupt system it is time to take a PDC and do something about it.  Madison

Everyone is going to need this stuff, if our children grow up learning it from us they will have such an advantage! Geneivive

2004 PDC’s
This course met and exceeded my expectations.  I was welcomed and participated as a beginner and completed the course eager and able to create a sustainable and restorative garden, home, and participate in my community more fully and effectively. Karen

Permaculture offers solutions to a vast number of today’s problems.  To ignore it would be a detriment to the survival of humanity and indeed, the entire biosphere. Adam

The opportunity to take a class in my bioregion with people in my community added so much to a great curriculum and incredible instructors. Janine

Jude and Toby teach together well, complimenting one another’s styles.  I was able to get my questions answered in a supportive atmosphere, not common in some university settings.  Jadene

2003

I will never look at my world in the same way again. This hugely powerful, yet common-sense knowledge, is the key in unlocking the door leading to a future of health for our planet, power through self-reliance, understanding of interlocking ecological systems and ultimately a sustainable future for all of earth’s inhabitants.   –Mark

Rarely have I been in a group of such highly intelligent passionate individuals.  Extraordinary experience. Thank you all so much!  -Colleen

Permaculture may be Gaia’s last chance effort to save humanity from realizing it’s own destruction. So I highly recommend the PDC as a starting point to help save the Planet. –Keith

This Permaculture Course was comprehensive, inspiring, and revolutionary in its approach to living sustainably with the Earth and it’s many inhabitants.  It gives the tools for living in harmony with nature and all it’s creatures, including ourselves!  – Denise

A wealth of hard-won experience and real-world knowledge.

I find permaculture both comforting and exciting, comforting because it reflects my view of the world, like it puts into words and ideas what you know to be true, and exciting because it provokes ways of actively living in sync with that view..  Jennifer

2002
This course has given me the knowledge I have been seeking for years, to help me live the life I have dreamed. The kind of life I feel in my heart that is responsible to others, myself, and to all beings.  -Catie P

This course plants the seed in each participant to go out, grow, develop and foster community. - Justin

Permaculture design is the best hope for a happy and healthy future. Toby and Jude demonstrate this by teaching it’s principles, applications and purpose with exceptional grace and style. -Ronnie

2001
This course was an excellent opportunity to learn about Permaculture from knowledgeable, easy-going facilitators.

What a life changing experience.  This course has metamorphosed my way of thinking.  It’s opened my eyes to see the world as a whole being. – Anji

Permaculture is a process in which we can break down the destructive unsustainability of the civilization and start to recreate the sustainable wellness in which we once new.  It is vital that we all begin to start the process.  – Katie

What a Great team- keep on rockin’. – Tom

LVEC 2000

Rick, Toby and Jude will show you boot camp for earth healers.  The smartest people I’ve hung out with in awhile-  Heiko

I went to the Permaculture Design Course with high expectations.  Every one of then was blown away.   In addition to developing an amazing comprehensive course in the principles and application of permaculture, the instructors/facilitators and guest lectures opened up pathways to integrating these ethics and principles into a whole life approach.  Joseph

The course material presented by three amazing and diverse instructors, was more than I ever expected.  I feel this course has given me confidence.  The participants are all resources and I felt encourages to join them on the path of future learning and experimentation.  Devon.

An inspiring course that gives you the tools to establish permaculture into your everyday thinking.-  Thomas

I learned a lot about PC and myself in relationship with working teams and group effort.  Not only am I inspired about projects I have at home but I have an expanded view of how ecosystems work, of the cycles of life, insects, water, animals, plants, all feeding off each other- intensely and diversely in balance.  Mary

Prepare for perception of life to expand greatly!  Mathew

A truly rewarding intensive experience that brings the instructors’ years of diverse practice to assist a wide range of participants to leave with valuable practical knowledge of permaculture design and group process. Glen

The experience of growing together as a small classroom community, stretching to meet each others desires for knowledge, perfectly illustrated what we are creating on a global level.  Jerret

LVC 1999
One of the most empowering things I know is to learn about how to live in the framework of the earth’s processes.  This course went a very long way towards teaching me this.  Scott

Great collaborative teaching- really provides a broad and in-depth understanding of the principles and practices   Laura

There is more to Permaculture than there is to be found in the pages of a book    R Houle

Life changing! It opens your eyes and mind to new ways of perceiving and understanding yourself and the world we inhabit and must learn to care for.  Cecil

1998
The whole experience added up to far more than just taking in knowledge.  The group experience and community setting added tremendously to my personal growth.  Erik

Lost Valley PC Course was a life connecting flow of teaching that grabbed my attention like no other teaching has.  Noah

I believe this system to be pivotal for the healing of the planet and restoring balance of human interaction with the land which sustains us and our communities.  Mary

Are you ready for two weeks of inspiration, information, and connection?  Get ready to reintegrate Human and Nature.  Elias

I had never before found anyone defined activity that was able to embody all of my cultural, emotional, and economic and spiritual needs until I met PC.

The PC course was like a bag full of seeds spread out randomly on my fertile ground, the result of its impact shall be a chaotic assembly of guilded beauty.  Laura

This course transformed the way I look at the land and its potential to sustain people  Jason

PC is the dream of the earth.  Marantha

This has been a stellar learning experience for me.  I came with high hopes and was blown away by the people, the learning, the fun, the food, the resources, and connections.  Therese

1997

"Lord be praised! Before I knew permaculture life was boring, straight lines, and monoculture.  I am saved!  Diverse edges with multiple functions, and appropriate technologies!  Halleluiah!  Life is rich and multi-layered thanks to Tom, Jude, and Rick"  Jono

"Mind-expanding, life changing and fun!"  Shanna

"Tom, Jude and Rick are a diverse, dynamic and perfectly balanced team of dedicated professionals,  Their obvious respect for one another and their commitment to the work at hand is inspiring."  Bonnie

"Tom, Rick, and Jude work wonderfully together to make sure that each participant senses that to be connected to the earth and each other is the only way that humanity will survive itself.  Throughout the course, I felt inspired, amazed, and confident.  I am now sure I can have a positive effect on the planet and the people that will co-evolve with it.”  Tobey

Testimonials from Advanced Permaculture Design Course in Teaching

Experiencing Jude and Tom's teaching skills was the most effective learning for me.  They create a wonderful space for students to learn. Their presence and presentation skills embody the love they have for the subject. I am empowered!! -Josh

The balance between Tom and Jude...experience, knowledge, patience, facilitation style, efficiency...all worked together to create an incredible course. - Eric

This course was very effective in enhancing my teaching abilities since the hands-on presentations were so helpful.  Watching myself and then watching others is the definition of learning. - Ken

Thanks for sharing your tricks of the trade!  -Sallie

I am grateful for their transparent teamwork, their knowledge of content, their fluidity, and sense of fun.- Kevin

What an incredible experience it has been to do the teacher training.
I emerge refreshed and inspired You are exceptional teachers!  Delvin

Transparency.... Jude and Tom are a great balance, funny, personal, approachable.

Tom and Jude are seasoned PC trainers and provide a safe and fun environment for learning. Carol

This course empowers! Peter

Jude and Tom, as individual instructors and as a teaching team, provided valuable information and transparency of process that gave a solid foundation for fledgling Permaculture instructors.  Tao

Jude  and Tom..
I'm back in Taiwan, my mind reeling with all that I experienced at your course and afterwards. It was a good chance for me to learn what's going on in the Permaculture world on Turtle Island and it was a very rewarding experience. It opened my eyes to a new kind of whole and interactive Permaculture course, unlike the often rote learning that I remember from my PCDC. P.

I'm happy to see you're offering another teacher training. I think about something from our course every day and have been in touch with some of the folks sharing thoughts and lessons  Nyree