Online Permaculture Design Diploma
Sustainable Agriculture Institute
Associate Diploma of Permaculture Design, A.Dip.P.D.
The Online Permaculture Diploma Program educates Permaculture students on a career path in Environmental Sciences.
The Online Permaculture Diploma Program gives an applied hands-on experiential education along with the traditional lecture-based course works of Permaculture Design and Sustainable Systems.
The Online Permaculture Diploma Program has all the components to assure a well-rounded graduate who will have learned and be able to use the Online Permaculture Design Toolset to enact change in the world.

The Online Associate Diploma of Permaculture Design Program
You can earn your Online Permaculture Diploma with the online Associate Diploma of Permaculture Design, A.Dip.P.D., the Online Permaculture Program teaches the fundamentals of Permaculture Design and Sustainability which helps build the skill sets to work in Environmental Sciences.
This Online Permaculture Diploma equips the graduate with essential skills and practical experience that could lead to a career in the Environmental or Sustainability Sectors.

The motto of Permaculture is “Ingenio Patet Campus”,
Latin for the phrase “The Field Lies Open to the Intellect”.
This motto demonstrates integrated field design as a science.

“We already know “How To” build and inhabit Sustainable Systems.
Every essential problem is solved, but in the everyday lives of people, this is hardly apparent.
The wage-slave, peasant, landlord, and industrialist alike are deprived of
the leisure and the life spirit that is possible
in a cooperative society that applies its knowledge.
Both wardens and prisoners are equally captive in the society in which we live.”
Bill Mollison, Founder of Permaculture as a Design Science
Table Of Contents
1. Fee Structure – Online Permaculture Diploma
2. Curriculum – Online Permaculture Diploma
3. Open Universities – Online Permaculture Diploma
4. Educational Quality Assurance – Online Permaculture Diploma
5. Sustainability & Agroecology – Online Permaculture Diploma
6. Environmental Science – Online Permaculture Diploma
7. Who is it Intended For? – Online Permaculture Diploma
8. Permaculture Certification – Online Permaculture Diploma
9. Not Convinced Yet? – Online Permaculture Diploma
10.Other Sustainability Programs – Online Permaculture Diploma
Permaculture Associate Diploma Pathways
The below Associate Diploma Options are available to Permaculture Students through the Sustainable Agriculture Institute:

Pathway 1 (P1) - Completion of PDC + Fieldwork Hours
P1 – Option 1 – Associate Diploma Pricing
+ Prior PDC (10 Credits) ⇒ 50 USD
+ 150 Fieldwork Hours (20 Credits) ⇒ 200 USD
= 250 USD 30 Credit Associate Diploma
P1 – Option 2 – Associate Diploma Pricing
+ SAI PDC (10 Credits) ⇒ 195 USD
+ 150 Fieldwork Hours (20 Credits) ⇒ 200 USD
= 395 USD for Associate Diploma (30 Credits)

Pathway 2 (P2) - Completion of PDC + Advanced Permaculture Courses + Fieldwork Hours
P2 – Option 1 – Associate Diploma Pricing
+ Prior PDC (10 Credits) ⇒ 50 USD
+ SAI APP (10 Credits) ⇒ 195 USD
+ 75 Fieldwork Hours (10 Credits) ⇒ 100 USD
= 345 USD for Associate Diploma (30 Credits)
P2 – Option 2 – Associate Diploma Pricing
+ SAI PDC (10 Credits) ⇒ 195 USD
+ SAI APP (10 Credits) ⇒ 195 USD
+ 75 Fieldwork Hours (10 Credits) ⇒ 100 USD
= 490 USD for Associate Diploma (30 Credits)

Pathway 3 (P3) - Completion of PDC + Mix of Advanced Permaculture Courses + Fieldwork Hours
P3 – Option 1 – Associate Diploma Pricing
+ Prior PDC (10 Credits) ⇒ 50 USD
+ 1 SAI Advanced Course (3 Credits) ⇒ 75 USD
+ 120 Fieldwork Hours (17 Credits) ⇒ 170 USD
= 295 USD for Associate Diploma (30 Credits)
P3 – Option 2 – Associate Diploma Pricing
+ Prior PDC (10 Credits) ==> 50 USD
+ 2 SAI Advanced Courses (6 Credits) ==> 150 USD
+ 105 Fieldwork Hours (14 Credits) ==> 140 USD
= 340 USD for Associate Diploma (30 Credits)

Need Any Assistance?


Online Permaculture Design Course - PDC
Online Permaculture Design follows the 14 Chapters of Permaculture: A Designers Manual by Bill Mollison (founder of Permaculture). Learn how to become Certified in Permaculture

Online Natural Building Course - NBC
The Online Natural Building Course teaches the Art of Natural Building. Building with the materials beneath our feet, allows for creating beautiful homes that help save the plant with Sustainable Materials.

Online Permaculture Consultant Course - PCC
The Online Permaculture Consultant Course teaches the Professional skills used in a Permaculture Consultancy. Learn Project Management from a Permaculture Design Prospective.

Online Permaculture Teacher Course - PTC
The Online Permaculture Teacher Course is meant to give a By-the-Book Permaculture Foundation to Permaculture Educators. Learn directly from the Designers Manual how to be a Professional Educator.

Thus, teachers have given courses in very remote and sometimes dangerous areas, and will always continue to do so.
The Sustainable Agriculture Institute, in partnership with the Rak Tamachat Permaculture Institute, set up the Institute as an open ‘Institute’, and gives these certificate courses and accredited Permaculture Diplomas in accordance with ISO 21001:2018(en) — Educational organizations, as pertaining to “Management Systems Requirement for Educational Organizations”.
The below link will allow you to look over the Standard which all S.A.I. Institutes operate in accordance with:
Our wish is for every person to have access to a Certificated Permaculture Design Course, to know how to design sustainable houses, villages, economies, and land-use systems.
To eventually achieve a widespread education in Permaculture, we must always concentrate on “letting teachers lose” in their own cultures, using their own languages, and teaching their own people.
However, while this work continues, the Sustainable Agriculture Institute operates as an Open Institute delivering knowledge of Permaculture Design and Sustainable Living to as wide an audience as possible with Permaculture Design Courses, Natural Building Courses, and Higher-Level Permaculture Design Diplomas.

The LMS assures that the Permaculture Design Curriculum is delivered in accordance with all International Standards for Quality Management Systems, as pertaining to Higher Education Requirements.

The S.A.I. LMS controls the Permaculture Design Learning Journey through rigorous adherence to the following:
1. Pedagogical Plan – seeks to embody a learning design, articulating it in a hierarchical structure that incorporates degrees of abstraction suitable for supporting reflection, communication, and reuse.
2. Taxonomy Plan – sets a specific organizational structure for the delivery of online Permaculture Design Curriculum; in short, it controls the curriculum management through the use of the Learning Management Systems, LMS.
3. Curriculum Management Plan – S.A.I. provides support in the development of curriculum guides that are of high quality, well-aligned, provide an adequate cognitive challenge, and articulated vertically with antecedent and subsequent learnings.
4. Quality Assurance Certification – The Quality Assurance Management Systems for application of Higher Education Requirements, as adopted and implemented by e-campus Education LMS, meets the requirements as outlined by ISO for the Standardization of Educational practices across international borders.

What is the Traditional Definition of “Sustainability?”
Sustainability is most often defined as:
“meeting the legitimate needs of the present generation without diminishing the ability of future generations to meet their needs as well.”
This “shallow” sustainability usually focuses on making our current systems more sustainable; that is, reforming our agricultural, transportation, and energy systems by increasing efficiency and substituting non-sustainable materials and energy with more sustainable alternatives.
Permaculture Design goes beyond this simple definition by focusing on the root problem, not a quick fix solution. In Permaculture Design “The Problem is the Solution“.
Permaculture as a Solution:
For example, this type of sustainability would aim to correct our transportation crisis by creating more efficient cars that use alternative fuels.
Permaculture Design recognizes that there is a difference between doing things right and doing the right thing. Basic sustainability focuses on doing things right, on the means we use to accomplish an end.
Permaculture Design addresses the ends themselves:
The Permaculture Diploma Curriculum teaches that the correct approach to say the “Transportation Problem” would focus on the creation of higher quality of life. This would put the focus on the solution of creating lifestyles where people are able to meet their needs close to where they live so that the need for automobile transportation is greatly reduced.
The development of Sustainable businesses, societies, and communities is dependent upon those entities being comprised of highly developed individuals.
Such development means doing more with less. It means creating a higher quality of life while consuming fewer resources. Sustainability is about creating a thriving world in which we lead rich, productive, and fulfilling lives — without depleting the environment or ourselves.
To fully meet our responsibility to current and future generations, “we must connect with our own inner nature and take action”.

What is Environmental Science?
Environment Science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical, biological and information sciences (including ecology, biology, physics, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanology, limnology, soil science, geology, physical geography – geodesy – and atmospheric science) to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems.
Environmental studies also incorporate social sciences for a deeper understanding of human relationships, perceptions, and policies towards the environment. Environmental engineering focuses on design and technology in order to improve environmental quality in every aspect.
What can I do with a Permaculture Diploma in Environmental Science?
An environmental science degree equips you with essential skills and practical experience that could lead to a career in the environment sector or a range of other occupations.
Jobs Options directly related to your Permaculture Degree include:
- Environmental consultant
- Environmental education officer
- Environmental engineer
- Environmental manager
- Marine biologist
- Nature conservation officer
- Recycling officer
- Sustainability consultant
- Waste management officer
- Water quality scientist
Jobs where your degree would be useful include:
- Environmental health practitioner
- Landscape architect
- Town planner
- Toxicologist
- Transport planner
Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don’t restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Recent Permaculture Design Course Graduates
The Permaculture Diploma Program is perfect for Permaculture Design Course (PDC) Graduates who would like to take a “Deep Dive” into the world of Permaculture Design in order to help foster a possible career path in Environmental Science. You will learn what it takes to be a “Professional Permaculture Consultant” with Advanced Permaculture Design, including all the professional level documentation, and Permaculture Master Planning Techniques to support your Environmental Science career path.
Practicing Permaculturalists
You may have taken your Permaculture Design Course and headed straight into building your Permaculture Paradise. Now you are looking to expand your basic knowledge of Permaculture Design by learning more “Advanced Permaculture Design”. This could be just to make you a more well-rounded and “Certified Professional Permaculturalist, or you may have aspirations to take your Permaculture Practice to the next level by trying your hand at Permaculture Consulting, teaching or working in the Environmental Science Field.
Permaculture Consultants
If you are a Practicing Permaculture Consultant, you can refresh your knowledge of Advanced Permaculture Design by learning the “Permaculture Consulting Techniques” practiced by the Rak Tamachat Permaculture Design Consultancy. You will be able to compare your processes and pick up many new tips and tricks to help make your Permaculture Consultancy more profitable and better able to serve your clients and the environment at large.

Permaculture Associate Diploma Awards
As a graduate of the online Associate Diploma of Permaculture Design, A.Dip.P.D., you will be awarded a full Associate Diploma of Permaculture.
You can learn all the Design Theory, Design Science, Design Strategies, and Implementation Strategies from the convenience of your home, and get a fully certified and recognized Permaculture Associate Diploma.
Becoming a professional Permaculture Designer is a life-changing experience and we are proud to be the choice of many of the leading Permaculturists entering the Permaculture Design market, whether it be for designing their own farms, working to learn to be a Permaculture Design Educator or a Permaculture Design Consultant.
You can never stop learning about Permaculture, the journey will take you to places you have never imagined. Learn more about SAI’s Masters of Sustainability in Permaculture Design Here.
9. Not Convinced Yet to earn your Online Permaculture Associate Diploma?
Why Not Take Our Free Permaculture Design Course Introduction!
We love being able to offer to the world something that is Truly Free!
The Sustainable Agriculture Institute and Rak Tamachat Permaculture Institute have offered to the world two complete Chapters of the Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual – as taught on our Physical Permaculture Design Courses – for Free in the Online Permaculture Design Course Introduction.
Also, feel free to share this amazing opportunity with those who may not be able to take a PDC due to poor circumstances. We think everyone has the right to know about Permaculture!

Free Online Permaculture Course Introduction
The Free Online Permaculture Course Introduction is a great way to find out what Permaculture Design is all about. Learn all about the first Chapter of the Designers Manual a 3 Hour Lecture.

Online Permaculture Design Course - PDC
Online Permaculture Design follows the 14 Chapters of Permaculture: A Designers Manual by Bill Mollison (founder of Permaculture). Learn how to become Certified in Permaculture

Online Permaculture Consultant Course - PCC
The Online Permaculture Consultant Course teaches the Professional skills used in a Permaculture Consultancy. Learn Project Management from a Permaculture Design Prospective.

Online Permaculture Master Degree - M.P.D.
The Online Master of Permaculture Design, M.P.D. is a Master Degree Program for the achievement of a Research Based Permaculture Master Degree for the "Successful Defense" of a Thesis.