5. Diploma Pathway

My diploma pathway spans the timescale I have been involved with Permaculture since I first attended a PDC in 2012. It looks back at the learning achieved along the paths taken and plots a route for the future. I used Looby’s design web. This design is non-land based.

Pathway 2016 at the halfway point showing activity undertaken and planning for the future

Pathway 2018 at the end of my diploma. Updated image showing all ten completed designs. The ten chosen designs are shade in yellow. An additional four designs that link with the ten are shaded in yellow with orange cross hatching. The other designs in the white hexagons are designs I’ve carried out but not written up and design ideas that never happened.

Pathway planning

Main Pathway write up

2017 pathway planning

Pathway mini evaluation – A review of the relevant activities I’ve carried out as part of my diploma in a year by year format.

My reflections on the design process and design tools that I’ve used

Reflections on my diploma journey

Design summary and reflections

DESIGN	Pathway design
SUMMARY	I began thinking about my pathway design in a vague way when I began the diploma in 2014. It wasn’t until I was around the mid-point of my diploma journey (Sept 2016) that I pulled all my pathway work together and wrote it up. At this point I wanted my pathway design to look back over the learning achieved to date as well as plotting a course through the remaining years of the diploma.
WHAT DID I LEARN ABOUT PERMACULUTRE FROM DOING THIS DESIGN?	I experimented quite a bit with different design and planning tools and found some that worked well for me. I learnt how important planning is and began to build effective planning into my routines.
WHAT DID I LEARN ABOUT MYSELF FROM DOING THIS DESIGN?	· I learnt that I had done quite a lot of the required work already in various notebooks and that I enjoyed the process of pulling it all together. · I learnt that I needed to ‘stay in the room’ and re-involve myself in Permaculture in order to make it through to the end of my diploma. My available time for Perm dip work was limited and I found it hard to get motivated when diploma hours were few and far between. · I learnt that I like a plan and I do try hard to stick to it. · I need deadlines, either set by myself or external deadlines in order to succeed.
HOW HAS THIS DESIGN HELPED ME?	· This design re-focussed me on my diploma and stopped me from quitting! · It made me see that I could achieve my diploma in the time that I had available. · It assisted me in ensuring that my designs spanned a range of permaculture disciplaines · It helped me to involve permaculture in diverse areas of my life, from my health, to my career, to my garden.
WHAT WENT WELL WITH THIS DESIGN?	· I enjoyed pulling together all of the work done to date and re-visiting my sketchbooks and blog posts. · I like the honeycomb design; this is very pleasing to me. · I enjoyed the self-reflection that was involved · I liked experiementing with planning tools
WHAT DID I FIND DIFFICULT WITH THIS DESIGN?	· Getting motivated to do it · Understanding exactly how to apply a permaculture design process and tools to it. · Keeping up the momentum of adding to this design throughtout my time on the diploma · The amount of time that my diploma spanned, I had wanted tocomplet in less time, so this was a frustration for me
WHAT ARE MY NEXT STEPS FOR THIS DESIGN?	To do my 2017 annual planning and write it up for my pathway designs on my blog. To do a SWOC analysis for each of my potential remaining designs To schedule training days into my diary for 2017 To discuss this design with my tutor To plan out 2018 and how to reach the end of my diploma by spring 2018
WHAT ARE MY LONG TERM GOALS AND VISIONS FOR THIS DESIGN?	To guide me towards the end of my diploma, aims to be in early 2018. Then to consider what I do next with permaculture.