This page is about the LAND Project in England. For more information about the ScotLAND Project, click here.

 

LAND Learners are projects which are in the process of developing to be an excellent public demonstration of permaculture design in practice.

They are supported by LAND tutors to meet all the LAND Centre criteria.



The process of support for LAND Learners

1. Check that you and your project:

  • meet the criteria;
  • are Permaculture Association members;  and
  • are committed to working with LAND tutors to develop your project.



If you have any doubts, try talking to another LAND Centre; their experiences may help you to evaluate your own project.

As soon as you are ready to go ahead, contact the office by email or phone to register your interest.



2. A staff member will then make contact with a nearby LAND Tutor and arrange for them to contact you directly to carry out an Initial Visit and agree a Learning Pathway with you.

3. Your tutor will complete a Record of Progress for you and send you a copy. This lists the criteria you are working towards and provides space to track progress with start dates, progress made and deadlines for completion of work areas. It also enables your LAND tutor to record when each of the criteria have been met.

4. Your tutor will create a Work Plan with you. This identifies goals and tasks, prioritises them, identifies their collaboration needs and resource needs, sets dates for their achievement, and identifies anticipated obstacles and their solutions. It can be used as an ongoing record of progress made towards the areas of work highlighted during the Initial Assessment Visit. It will also be useful for you to complete a Training Needs Assessment form, which helps you to consider your existing skills in a range of areas.

5. Typically, the LAND Tutor will make two visits to you for tutorials.

6. When you are ready, the LAND Tutor will make a recommendation to the LAND Advisory Group to award you LAND Centre status.

7. After consideration by the LAND Advisory Group, the Network Coordinator will contact you to tell you whether or not you have been awarded LAND Centre status.

8. If the Advisory Group consider that you do not meet all of the essential criteria at that time, then you can continue as a LAND Learner and become a LAND Centre at a future date.



This short video explains the above process.

LAND Learner support process from Permaculture Association on Vimeo.





Finding a tutor

When you apply, we will contact the tutor who is closest to you, using this map. You don't have to use the nearest tutor, but bear in mind that you will be asked to cover your tutor's travel costs.





How will your LAND tutor help you?

Your tutor will:

  • work with you to create the Work Plan outlined above.
  • complete your Record of Progress. The tutor will sign off areas of work completed and send the pathway to you after the final tutorial, for your reference and evidence of your Continuous Professional Development.
  • maintain contact with you via email/phone before and after the tutorials.

Your tutor will not:

  • do your permaculture design for you.
  • work more than their contracted hours (although you may make a direct arrangement with them for additional paid work).
  • recommend your project to receive LAND Centre status if you have not met the relevant essential criteria.



Can becoming the LAND Learner process be linked to the Diploma?

If you are working towards your Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design, the permaculture design for your project can count towards one of the designs in your portfolio. The LAND Record of Progress document is an important link between the two. This is completed by your tutor during support tutorials. The Record shows how your project uses the ethics and principles of permaculture and how it fulfils the LAND criteria. You can use the Record as a starting point in assessing how your project also fulfils the Diploma Criteria.



A guide on how to engage with learning support groups and/or peer support guilds can be found in the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design Guidebook.



How much will it cost to become a LAND Learner?

Until July 2013, generous financial support from the Local Food Fund covered all the tutors' costs in England. We are now finding different ways to make sure that LAND Learners receive the quality learning and development support needed.



We are committed to paying our tutors a fair wage for their work to ensure that they provide you with the best possible service. Whilst tutors will normally be paid following the fee schedule below, some LAND tutors are willing to provide support or assessment because they see an opportunity to recruit future students or generally nourish permaculture practice in their area.

In the past we have had bursaries for LAND Learners and we are working to grant fund or crowd fund more in the future.

Some people have crowdfunded their permaculture projects. Other options for funding are Awards for All, local council's Community Chests and one of the 54 community foundations, which cover all of Scotland and Wales, and most of England.





The following fees apply:



Assessment visit: £135 + tutor travel costs

This includes a 2½-hour site visit and 1 hour of report writing by the LAND Tutor. It also includes 2 hours of administration by Permaculture Association staff.



Design support tutorials: £150 + tutor travel costs

This includes a 2-hour site visit and 2 hours of remote support by the LAND Tutor. It also includes 2 hours of administration by Permaculture Association staff.



Flexible Payments

We understand that paying in one go can be difficult for many groups, so we offer interest-free, flexible payment terms which will allow you to pay over a longer period – up to two years. If you want to discuss payment options, contact our Finance Coordinator by email or phone.



Is it worth it?

All LAND Centre assessments and LAND Learner design support tutorials are conducted by tutors in the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design Tutor Network. Each tutor has completed the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design and Diploma Tutor Training. Tutors also have a variety of additional teaching and facilitation training. Examples of their permaculture design work can be found on their profile pages - find them in the Diploma Tutor Register.

The £30 rate for 1 hour of tutor time is the same as that charged for Diploma tutorials. In order to keep costs to a minimum we are charging a lower rate for office administration, coordination and overheads - £15 an hour.



Apply to be a LAND Learner

Please apply by completing the online form.