There seems to be a great amount of interest about learning permaculture these days. It also seems that many people who practice permaculture want to send people who inquire about it to permaculture design courses to get their education about permaculture.
While I think there is certainly a time and place for many to take a PDC I don’t think everyone who wants to learn, practice, or even teach others about permaculture needs to take a Permaculture Design Course.
So where do I point people who want to learn and practice permaculture? I point them to 5 Free Resources; Books, YouTube, Podcasts, Websites, and Free Courses. Now let’s dive into each one of these resources to get a better roadmap for learning permaculture for free.
1. Read Great Permaculture Books
A great free permaculture education is just a library card away. Of course, it’s great if you can purchase the books but you don’t have to in many cases.
I have an entire post on 21 Great Permaculture Books but let me introduce you to 3 here that can get you started learning about permaculture and how to start practicing it on your property.
Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway has always been one of my favorites for a simple and practical introduction to permaculture practices you can actually start implementing right away.
- Ships from Vermont
- Hemenway, Toby (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Last update on 2024-07-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre, and the Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City by Eric Toensmeier, and Jonathan Bates is another book that can provide you with practical teaching and advice to start putting permaculture to work on your homestead immediately.
- Toensmeier, Eric (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 240 Pages - 01/25/2013 (Publication Date) - Chelsea Green Publishing (Publisher)
Last update on 2024-07-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The Resilient Farm and Homestead: An Innovative Permaculture and Whole Systems Design Approach by Ben Falk is one of the most informative and applicable books I have ever read on permaculture design.
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Falk, Ben (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Last update on 2024-07-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
2. Subscribe and Watch Permaculture Teachers on YouTube
There are so many great teachers on YouTube who are sharing an abundance of great information. I won’t give an exhaustive list of all the YouTube content creators teaching permaculture that I like but I will introduce you to a few.
Discover Permaculture with Geoff Lawton
Geoff Lawton is a world-renowned permaculture consultant, designer, and teacher. His mission is to inspire people to care for each other and the earth through permaculture design, education, and demonstration.
Canadian Permaculture Legacy
This is a channel I only recently discovered but am blown away at the amount of great information shared. The videos are usually filmed at a home permaculture property project that is absolutely beautiful.
Parkrose Permaculture
Parkrose Permaculture is a family run farmette on 1/4 acre in Portland, OR. Specializing in perennial food crops, unusual fruit, beekeeping, duck and chicken-keeping, and permaculture design.
Angela has been teaching permaculture and sustainable living workshops at her home for years, and now offers short informative videos to help teach those concepts and basic gardening strategies to gardeners everywhere.
The Gardening Channel With James Prigioni
If backyard permaculture food forests interest you then this is the channel for you. You will discover the potential food production from a great small scale design.
Edible Acres
Edible Acres is a project in the Finger Lakes area of NY state focused on permaculture principles, forest gardening, and low cost and no cost approaches to simpler living. Their main focus is their perennial, super hardy, edible, and medicinal plant nursery, but this video channel also documents life around the concepts of homesteading, soil building, fuel reduction, and nature oriented and inspired design.
3. Listen To Great Permaculture Podcasts
I’ve been a Podcaster for many years, hosting the Modern Homesteading Podcast but before I ever started podcasting I was a fan of listening to podcasts and still am.
When I have a long drive ahead I enjoy filling that time up by educating myself by listening to a few of my favorite podcasts that talk about permaculture.
Here is a list of just a few:
Making Permaculture Stronger Podcast hosted by Dan Palmer
The Urban Farm Podcast by Greg Peterson
Regenerative Skills Podcast by Oliver Goshey
4. Visit Permaculture Focused Websites
It’s amazing how much good information is being shared for free in the form of articles that are only a Google search away. Of course, you probably already know this because you found this website.
Here are a handful that I visit frequently:
Permaculture News – Permaculture Research Institute
Tenth Acre Farm – Amy Stross
- Stross, Amy (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 356 Pages - 03/23/2018 (Publication Date) - Twisted Creek Press (Publisher)
Last update on 2024-07-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Permaculture Apprentice
Deep Green Permaculture
5. Take A Free Permaculture Course
While I haven’t found too many free permaculture courses, the ones that are out there can be very beneficial to anyone eager to learn about permaculture.
Here is one I have heard some good things about:
I will throw in another resource just for fun. You can watch a few permaculture documentaries, these can both educate and inspire you along your permaculture journey. Check out my article on 15 Best Permaculture Homesteading Documentaries to find some great recommendations.
