Permaculture Teacher Training with a Focus on Refugees (PTT4R)

By Alfred Decker, edited by Marguerite Kahrl

This course was supported by Permaculture for Refugees (P4R) and 12P Permaculture Design and held at Permacultura Llobregat, an ecovillage in Catalunya, Spain. The facilitation team comprised Habiba Youssef, Yau Fan, Sonita Mbah, and Alfred Decker.

“I don’t believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is so vertical. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person. I have a lot to learn from other people.”
― Eduardo Galeano

In 2022 and 2023, the team delivered two editions of PTT4R, featuring students and facilitators from over two dozen countries. The diversity, cultural richness, and solidarity we experienced were truly inspirational.  For this edition, given the ongoing crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean, we focused on students from the Levant. We organized four crowdfunding campaigns that provided 16 scholarships for participants from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Afghanistan, enabling them to join other students, facilitators, and volunteers from Europe, Africa, and Asia. Alfred Decker shares his reflections on the experience: Fourteen years ago, I participated in a permaculture teacher training course with Rosemary Morrow. Drawing from Rosemary’s decades of international teaching, that training was a transformative experience for me. Following this, I began mentoring and collaborating with her, which continues today.

In the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, the upheaval in the Middle East, and the increasing numbers of refugees seeking asylum in the European Union, public attention has turned to the issue of mass migration. There is now a greater opportunity to support displaced individuals by training them to teach and empower one another. As Permaculture for Refugees (P4R) explains, “Our aim is to support refugees in transforming the places where they live —be these refugee camps or communities in receiving countries — into productive permaculture-designed communities, and ultimately to equip them for integration into society for the collective benefit of all.” P4R uses the term refugee “interchangeably with asylum seekers, forced migrants, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and stateless persons.” 

Building on P4R’s vision to tailor permaculture training for refugees, I have been adapting the teacher training specifically for this purpose. While the PTT4R course focuses on facilitating permaculture education for refugees, it is also designed for anyone interested in teaching permaculture using Rosemary’s participatory learning methods. I am grateful to have participated in a passionate learning community with individuals worldwide, particularly from the Middle East. Meeting in person, sharing meals, engaging in conversations, singing, and celebrating brought a sense of resilience and hope for the future. One moment that stuck with me was last night when participants from Palestine and Lebanon expressed how special it was for them to come together, as borders usually keep them apart.

In gatherings like this, some of the most valuable learning occurs in the classroom and the conversations outside of it. I enjoyed witnessing people from diverse backgrounds and cultures engaging with a shared sense of solidarity and common values. Rosemary designed the teacher training in a non-formal educational structure, with the central idea that we are all teachers and learners. As Eduardo Galeano said about solidarity, “I have much to learn from other people.”

I gained valuable insights from the participants from the Levant, just as I did in Ukraine last May, particularly about resilience. How can we endure and adapt to the increasingly common crises and disasters while embracing a love for life? For peace with justice, _Alfred Decker.


Permaculture Teacher Training with a Focus on Refugees (PTT4R)

Below are testimonies from the students who attended the course

Mohammad Saleh reports….

As a permaculture teacher who has run courses before and worked with refugees and displaced people, this training enriched my perspective and further defined my role. I gained a deeper understanding of teaching methodologies and techniques, empowering me to better tailor my approach to the unique challenges faced by these communities. The course also reinforced the importance of cultural sensitivity and practical, resource-efficient solutions, which are invaluable in my work.

Another impactful aspect of the training was connecting with inspiring Permaculture activists from the Levant and the rest of the world. Building these connections has broadened my perspective and created a valuable network that continues to shape my work.

Overall, the training has been an enriching experience, equipping me with the skills, confidence, and community to advance my efforts in Permaculture education in my context.

Thank you for facilitating such an impactful program and highlighting our experiences through this initiative.

Mohammad Saleh

Mostadam Eco Design

Zarghunas’ reports…

During our time living together and sharing three meals a day, we had the opportunity to connect deeply. We exchanged experiences, cultures, feelings, and stories about our homelands. It was remarkable to bond with people from different countries, all gathered with a shared purpose. I had never before met such amazing women from Belgium and Palestine. These interactions brought us closer, helping us think together and understand each other’s perspectives on building a better future. We danced, sang, hugged, and wiped away each other’s tears. I genuinely wish courses like this could be held everywhere.

Day by day, I felt emotionally healthier and realized I had found the right people in my life—people I could trust to share my feelings and challenges as a refugee. I received so much support from them. Among them, I no longer felt incapable or helpless, even though I don’t speak the language of the country I’m in.


Qasim reports…

I had a very good experience and joyful time at the Permaculture Teacher Training. I am happy that I attended the training and learned so much. When I first heard about the opportunity, I was reluctant to participate in the training. I am glad I did!

The training was filled with people from diverse cultures, from facilitators to participants. This permaculture teacher training (PTT) focused on refugees and taught us how to run PDCs or other permaculture learning we already do or want to initiate in our communities. Every participant had talents; for some, it was a professional career.

The teaching process was based more on activities and fewer lectures, which is common in our current teaching practices. They would suggest 30% lecturing, and the rest of class time should involve other types of delivering methods, such as the involvement of participants and facilitators to help and guide the conversations and activities. Beyond this, charts, drawings, group activities, some sessions on green open space, and many other possible ways are used. 

We had music around the bonfire, laughter together, joyful moments, and sometimes sad moments. Now, I understand that permaculture can be implanted in any sector, from urban to rural areas. One of the effective ways to change the mindset of the next generation is to implement the ethics and principles of permaculture in primary schools.

From my experience, before taking PDC, I could not connect myself with nature and thought I was not one element of nature. Contrastingly, I thought, “I am above all and can use it to serve me.” But through time, when new ideas sank into my thoughts, I realized they were not true and how flawed they were. I think if permaculture is integrated into primary school, then, from an early age, the kids can connect with nature and could have a deeper understanding of nature with the ethics of permaculture in their mindset, they probably make more cautious decisions that, as a whole, will affect rightfully human lives, Earth, nature, and other species.  

Throughout the course, we made many emotional connections and understanding of human connections, which transcended cultural differences. Fear in the eyes of those who become refugees with so many uncertainties, and the understanding in the eyes of participants who had normal lives and no refugee experience.

We had music around the bonfire, laughter together, joyful moments, and sometimes sad moments. The training came to an end, and we had to say our goodbyes. Personally, after feeling emotionally intense, saying goodbye was hard. I hugged everyone and promised to stay in contact.

Eléonroe reports….

Buongiorno, My name is Eléonroe, and I’m from the West side of the Mediterranean, in Italy and France. Strangely enough, I found more harmony and connection with all these incredible people I met from the East side of the Mediterranean than with other Northern European Countries.  Many of them have challenging situations, and still, the atmosphere during the course was light because we all have a common purpose: transcend our fears, repair the Earth, and honor each other’s work.

Future collaborations will come when the time and place are right. 

This experience opened my eyes on many levels and my heart.

Nothing can replace a “live” encounter and getting to know the truth from the people on the other side of the “game,” as some call it.

May all of you be well. Talk soon; I carry you in my heart ~

Eléonore Todini


 Permaculture Teacher Training with a Focus on Refugees 

Videos describing this work click here and click here.

More inks

12P Permaculture Design

 Rosemary (Rowe) Morrow.

https://architectsoflife.earth

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