PDT-SoilSc-19 - Social Permaculture: The Art of Building Community & Relationships

Course Description

Social permaculture, otherwise known as the "art of designing beneficial relationships," is the study of human behavior in and outside of groups. Many believe that our relationships are the biggest constraining factor towards transforming society. This course will look closely at these relationships through a permaculture lens.

In this course, we will review the work of several well-known social permaculturists both locally and nationally. Students will engage with each other through discussion boards as well as learn about issues affecting their individual communities through in-person meetings with community leaders. Each participant will choose a community project they want to work on over the five-week online course and will share their work with other students online.

According to Starhawk, author of “The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Collaborative Groups,” the key insight of social permaculture is that while changing individuals is indeed difficult, we can design social structures that favor beneficial patterns of human behavior. Just as in a garden, we might mulch to discourage weeds and favor beneficial soil bacteria, in social systems, we can attempt to create conditions that favor nurturing, empowering relationships.

Social Permaculture is a five-week online course: Intro Week: March 18 - 22 and Course Dates: March 24 - April 19.