Applied skills training and work readiness to increase employment and eco-enterprise development in urban township communities.
R7000 – provides a bursary for one Cape Flats youth to attend the Applied Permaculture Training
In South Africa, the transition to a Green Economy is lagging other regions whilst at the same time, the future of young people and their inclusion in a formal economy is arguably one of the greatest challenges facing the country in the immediate term. The acute problem of high youth unemployment means young people are not acquiring the skills or experience needed to drive the economy forward. This inhibits the country’s economic development and imposes a larger burden on the state to provide social assistance. The statistics show that:
- More than 50% of young people under the age of 30 are unemployed compared with approximately 25% of adults over 30.
- Only 12.5% of working age adults under 25 years of age have a job compared with 40% in most emerging economies.
- Employment of 18 to 24 year olds has fallen more than 20% since December 2008.
- Unemployed young people tend to be less skilled and inexperienced – almost 86% do not have formal education, while two-thirds have never worked.
SEED has established and been recognised for its Applied Permaculture Training (APT) Programme, a practical entry level programme to permaculture. Facilitated as a three-week short course, the course is able to accommodate youth who may not have completed school or who have completed school with little opportunity to access further education and training opportunities.
To date SEED has facilitated five three-week APTs and graduated 80 young people. Participants have testified to the value and life changing benefits on the course and have achieved a 75% absorption into “green jobs” right out of the programme. This has been successful in three main areas: Some graduates have successfully started their own green businesses, while absorption into jobs within Government Departments and other non-Profit Organisations has also been strong. Employed people who have participated in the course have been able to move up the career ladder as green skills become desirable across all sectors.
What is Permaculture?
It is a practical design approach to sustainable development which has been used globally in hundreds of countries, and has thousands of practitioners around the world.
Permaculture designs human ecosystems where our needs are met sustainably. These systems are also known as cultivated ecologies: a weaving together of people and culture, plants, animals, buildings, energy systems, economic structures and more into a productive and harmonious whole.
Who would benefit from this course?
People with careers in or wanting careers in agricultural extension work, land-use practices, horticulture, urban design, environmental education, community development and anyone wanting the tools to create sustainable livelihoods would find it relevant. This course offers the foundation skills to work as sustainability professional in a meaningful career in a rapidly growing field.
The APT aligns with the following Unit Standards
US ID 116221 Identify and apply Permaculture Principles
USID 116279 Implement a Permaculture Site Design
Participants will also receive an internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certificate.
- Global environmental issues and case studies of solutions
- Ecology – foundational understanding of ecosystem laws and processes
- Permaculture Ethics andPrinciples
- Permaculture Design
- Water Management
- Soil management
- Pioneering and rehabilitation
- Food Forests
- Organic Food Production
- Seed saving & Propagation
- Natural Building
- Introduction to Green Technology
- Alternative economics
SEED facilitates its operations out of Rocklands Urban Abundance Centre, in Mitchells Plain. There are immense benefits to teaching within an established Permaculture environmental system that includes demonstrations of relevant viable sustainable agricultural systems, renewable energy, earth-sensitive building and operating community enterprises. In this way learners get to experience a range of in-situ learning and gain valuable insight into the context about which they are learning.
Lead Facilitator: Alex Kruger Co-Facilitator: Calvin Dias Assessor: Yoliswa Mahobe