From 23 July to 7 August 2026, join us at Afrinoon Farm in Brittany for the full 72-hour Permaculture Design Course, one of the few UK-certified, English-language PDCs based on a working farm in continental Europe. All teaching in English. Accredited by the Permaculture Association (UK).
It often starts with a book, perhaps by Bill Mollison or David Holmgren, or a growing curiosity about how we live, grow food, and build community. Then comes the realisation: real systems are more complex, and more connected, than anything on the page.
At Afrinoon, you step into that reality.
Whether you’re working with a garden, a balcony, a piece of land, or exploring the social side of permaculture, you begin to see how it all fits together. Here you start to understand the patterns, relationships, and practical design elements.
This is where theory becomes something you can actually use.
Permaculture makes the most sense when you can see it, question it, and experience it.
At Afrinoon, you’re learning on a real smallholding in Brittany, where the systems you’re studying are part of everyday life. Compost, water, trees, animals, and growing spaces are all around you, shaped and developed over years of hands-on practice.
Nothing is staged. Everything has a purpose.
Karen is a certified educator with the Permaculture Association UK and an EuPN Assured Teacher, so your certificate is recognised across the UK and Europe. Afrinoon is also a registered Permaculture demonstration site.
The course is taught in English and is one of the few UK-certified, English-language PDCs based on a working farm in continental Europe.
You leave not just with a certificate, but with a way of thinking, and a practical design approach you can apply wherever you are.
I grew up on a smallholding in South Africa, living close to land, food, and animals. Most of my adult life was then spent in the corporate world—three decades in finance and IT across the UK and the Middle East.
I discovered permaculture in 2010 and completed my PDC in 2011. It changed the direction of my life completely.
Afrinoon has been built since 2017 with my husband Glen. He brings a strong background in construction and systems thinking from his Royal Naval engineering career, along with more recent focus on forestry, woodland management, and beekeeping. Together we combine practical design, building, and land-based skills to shape the farm as a working demonstration site that continues to evolve each year.
I teach from experience, because I remember what it feels like to start from scratch. Most people who come here are in that same place, and that’s exactly why this course is run here.
You can find my educator profile on the Permaculture Association UK and the European Permaculture Network.
We are really happy to share that Jo Holleran will be joining us for a few days during the course.
Jo is a permaculture designer, educator, and sustainable gardening specialist. I have had the pleasure of working alongside her for the past three years, and together we created The Teaching Grove project.
She has been working in the permaculture world since completing her PDC in Leeds in 2007, supporting a wide range of projects across the UK and Europe, from edible gardens and eco-businesses to wildlife-friendly smallholdings. Jo holds a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design, has lectured at a specialist land-based college in Yorkshire, and has produced designs for sites in Portugal, Italy, and France. She is also a Permaculture Association certified teacher.
Jo is currently based in southwest France, where she designs, grows, and experiments on her own one-hectare plot. She brings both real hands-on experience and a genuinely thoughtful approach to everything she teaches, and we feel lucky to have her join us.
The PDC runs from 23 July to 7 August 2026 and is a 72-hour certified in-person course. Most of the learning takes place at Afrinoon, where the farm itself becomes the classroom—supported by our two other teaching spaces. We also visit other sites to see different approaches and widen the perspective beyond a single holding.
Days are shaped by combining observation, discussion, and hands-on engagement with real systems as they are designed and managed.
The curriculum covers
Suitable for beginners. Most students start without prior permaculture training. If you are not ready for the full two-week commitment, the part-time PDC covers the same curriculum across nine weekly sessions for €485.
A PDC can be one of the most intense and rewarding learning experiences of your life—plus great fun too. Surrounded by like-minded people on a real working farm, you will gain the tools to understand and work with the natural world, and build greater resilience in your own life. No previous experience needed.
The course runs 23 July to 7 August, with a two-day rest break built into the schedule. Days run from 9am to 6pm. Evenings are left open for you to prepare your own dinner, giving space for rest, reflection, maybe some homework, and informal time with fellow participants.
Food is an important part of the learning experience and a chance to connect, share, and slow down together.
Each day includes a hearty, delicious lunch prepared by Fede Fantini—she’s an artist, forager, and cook who brings creativity and deep knowledge of seasonal, local ingredients to every meal. Lunch is made using produce grown on-site at Afrinoon Permaculture or sourced from our network of local organic growers and farmers.
Breakfast is simple and self-serve, set up each morning for you to help yourself at your own pace.
Together, these shared meals help build a sense of community rooted in good food, local connection, and seasonal living.
We kick off with a welcome dinner on arrival night—a chance to meet your fellow learners before the journey begins.
Come ready to get your hands dirty. Bring clothes you don’t mind working in.
A full timetable will be sent to all participants two weeks before the start date.
Community
A small group of learners sharing knowledge through discussion, practice, and collaboration with people and place.
Curriculum
Practical activities, design exercises, site walks, guest teachers, and real-world observation of ecological systems.
Three sites
Permaculture in action across three distinct locations, each with its own landscape, systems, and lessons.
Teaching
Delivered in English and designed for different learning styles, open to all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels.
Rhythm
A mid-course break and unhurried evenings. Permaculture is as much about observation and reflection as it is about doing.
Sliding scale
The PDC uses a sliding scale. There are no income checks and no questions asked. You choose the tier that honestly reflects your current financial position.
Deposit is deducted from your course fee.
If money is genuinely tight
€650
Seed
For anyone where the full fee would be a stretch right now.
Standard rate
€750
Sprout
For anyone in a comfortable financial position. Most people choose this tier.
Pay it forward
€820
Bloom
Helps open a Seed tier place for someone who needs it.
To hold your place on the July PDC, please send your deposit by 3 July 2026. After that date Karen cannot guarantee availability.
Accommodation is not included in the course fee, and learners are responsible for arranging their own stay.
We do, however, offer three accommodation options for the duration of the PDC: two on our property and one off site in a village not far from us.
For camping and yurt accommodation you will have access to a shower, a compost toilet, and a shared outdoor kitchen.
Please indicate your preferred option when you enquire, and we will confirm availability and current pricing for your dates.
Bring your own tent or live-in vehicle and pitch up in our designated camping area. The most flexible option for those happy to keep things simple.
Our furnished yurt with a double bed, wood burner, outdoor kitchen, and private compost loo and outdoor shower. Ideal for couples.
A self-catering farmhouse a short drive from the teaching site. Own transport needed to and from the farm. Please enquire about availability and pricing when you book your place on the course.
Afrinoon is located near Priziac, in the Morbihan department of Brittany. The nearest TGV station is Lorient, with direct high-speed trains from Paris taking around 3 hours.
From Lorient station, local bus services run directly to the nearest village to Afrinoon, making it possible to complete the journey without a car.
Flights are available to both Rennes and Nantes, with onward train connections from each city to Lorient.
Many participants also use BlaBlaCar, which is a common and convenient way of sharing lifts within France.
If you are travelling without a car and would like help coordinating shared transport with other participants, please mention this when you enquire and we will do our best to support arrangements.
At a glance
“Doing my PDC with Karen was an enriching and exciting experience. Through the two weeks we developed an amazing relationship as a group and really covered so much more than the basic design process. Karen was always willing to put in the extra effort and time to facilitate discussions, explore countless ideas and make the course both a personal and group journey.”
“This is a small-group course. I keep the PDC to a limited number of participants so that everyone gets real time in the field and in conversation. Places are filling for the July intake. If you have been thinking about this for a while, now is the time to ask the question.”
Karen · Afrinoon Permaculture
Karen replies to all PDC enquiries within two working days. It helps to include where you are travelling from, which accommodation option interests you, and any dietary requirements. You do not need to have decided on a tier yet.
A plain-language walkthrough of what the course looks like from arrival to departure, how the sliding scale works, and what to bring. No pitch, no hard sell. One email with the guide attached.
The July PDC runs 23 July to 7 August 2026. Deposit €200 by 3 July 2026 to hold your place.
Priziac, Brittany, France