Green Warrior Permaculture Field TrainerInternship Program

Ark Eden is a permaculture demonstration site, education and outreach center based on Lantau Island, Hong Kong, offering environmental solutions-based workshops and design courses as part of a global movement towards sustainable living. Its mission is to cultivate permaculture principles in Hong Kong through educational programs and demonstration of sustainable, resilient, locally based systems of living, in order to safeguard and reinforce our rich natural resources and ensure a peaceful and plentiful future for all.

About Ark Eden

What is Permaculture Aid?Permaculture Aid is a holistic sustainability system used in a diverse range of scenarios. In disaster zones Permaculture aid can assist people to rebuild their communities, economies and ecosystems using the resources at hand. In conflict zones Permaculture aid can be used to implement peace initiatives and rebuild a country’s infrastructure and natural resources. As an alternative to conventional aid, which leaves many communities aid-dependant, Permaculture Aid empowers communities to be self reliant and productive.

In modern Western cities Permaculture Aid can assist a city to redesign its infrastructure and economy to become truly sustainable and resilient. Cities can be redesigned to bring nature back into the cities and reduce pollution and waste. Urban wastelands can be redesigned to become urban farms providing permanent food security. Permaculture itself is a complete eco-design system and Permaculture Aid is the system used to implement permaculture design and socialize true sustainability.

Ark Eden Green Warrior Permaculture Field Trainer Internship Program Why Internships?

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Permaculture Aid specialists need a wide range of hands-on skills that cannot be learned from books. These skills are learned in the field by doing. Field training for Permaculture Aid includes the following:

• Comprehensive course notes and a Green Warrior manual

• Hands-on projects with a wide range of working Permaculture Aid systems

• Structured and independent project design

• Practical gardening and farming skills: soil preparation, mulching, planting, harvesting, seed saving and upkeep

• Local botany, plant identification and propagation

• Animal care and maintenance and farm integration

• Field trips to local Permaculture projects

• Occupational health and safety, safe work practices

• Conflict resolution

• Field hygiene, water and sanitation

• Nursery design and maintenance

• Forest regeneration

• Bamboo construction

• Alternative building methods

• Best practice tool use and maintenance

• Team work, leadership, communications and foreign relations

• Access to Ark Eden library and broadband wifi internet 24/7

• Develop a personal plot in the student food garden

• Learn to conduct community workshops and run short courses

Program Leaders

Steve Cran is a sustainable community development specialist or “Permaculture Aid Worker” with 20 years of field project experience including war zones, post disaster zones, poverty zones and in many difficult areas on this troubled planet most people would shy away from.

Steve focuses on local people training local people by building working models to inspire the rest of the community and bringing solid results.

Steve worked for 5 years with rural Aboriginal communities in outback Australia. In 1999 he went to East Timor and formed a growing Permaculture training network and built the Greenhand Field School in Ache, in of the worst affected areas hit by the 2004 tsunami.

In January 2010 Steve was invited to northern Uganda to work with the Karamajong people to restore food security and assist in ending violence and conflict in an area plagued by conflict and poverty for 40 years.

Steve Cran is now conducting training throughout Southeast Asia on Permaculture-Aid Field Skills and how to turn urban deserts into areas of intensive food production transferring his hard won skills to young people wanting to make a difference in this world.

Jenny Quinton was born in the UK and has lived in the hills of South Lantau Island, H.K, for over 23 years. A dedicated environmental activist & leader, she was drawn to the warrior path when her house was nearly destroyed due to hill fires caused by grave-sweeping festival visitors over 20 years ago.

After witnessing first-hand the reckless and negligent damage caused to our eco systems, Jenny became a passionate and tireless fighter for local solutions to global problems. Joining several community groups supporting environmental issues, she served as an executive member of the Green Lantau Association and a member of the Living Islands Movement, the working group of the Environmental Campaign Committee and the Lantau Buffalo Association.

Jenny is also a qualified teacher and worked with the English Schools Foundation for nine years and currently chairs the Environmental Group of ESF.

Jenny has two children, who are adept at fighting hill-fires, speed racing down mountains and exploring the depths of the ocean. She still lives on Lantau with her troupe of six dogs, one cat, and one pig.

Steve Cran

Jenny Quinton

Course structure

The 10-week internship is structured so the intern works for a full growing season. Each intern will have the opportunity to construct and plant a garden and see it grow to maturity. Some interns will even get the chance to market their produce to experience farmers prospective in making a living.

Interns must each create a field blog complete with photos, stories and how-to-do lessons. These blogs monitor the progress of the interns.Interns may wear suitable clothing with the corporate sponsor’s logo for photos in the blog. Once an intern has completed their training they may elect to volunteer for an overseas project.

Qualifications

Permaculture Aid specialists receive a Diploma of Permaculture Aid after two years of applied permaculture work in the field. Each person applying for a diploma must present their evidence in the form of reports, photos, films, blogs and witness testimony for a peer board review. The board is made up of three people with more than five years field experience in overseas Permaculture Aid projects. This board draws from a pool of allied Permaculture Aid trainers that operate from Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan. East Timor, Malaysia and Indonesia. Proven successful field projects are the measure used in this process.

Ripple Effect

Each specialist emerging from our internships can offer a lifetime of assistance to our planet. Observers will see these highly motivated specialists (Green Warriors) making real changes to our world using clever strategies and proven techniques. Permaculture Aid provides not only the solutions to our Earths problems but also provides role models for other young people.

About the Program

The program is a 10 week internship, generally Monday – Friday, 8am to 4pm, but some Sats and Suns may be required as alternative working days.

Internships run continuously throughout the year. Each intern is partnered with a senior intern and consequently becomes the supervisor of a junior intern later on. Permaculture Aid Specialist, Steve Cran, developed this system for training indigenous people in the field. The intern learns to take direction from an experienced mentor as well as train a junior intern.

Ark Eden Green Warrior Permaculture Field Trainer Internship Program

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Ark Eden Green Warrior Permaculture Field Trainer Internship Program

Program Fees

USD $3,500.00 USD per intern, includes:

• Food Costs for 10 weeks: includes one midday meal prepared by Ark Eden Staff Monday through Friday with the rest to be prepared by students.

• Lodging, Including communal bathrooms and kitchen

• Wi Fi

Students need to pay for and organize their own return transportation

How to Apply

If you are interested in applying as an intern, please contact jenny@arkedenonlantau.com with your Name, Date of Birth, & Contact Information. We will then send you a follow up email with an application form.

We have a max capacity of 10 Interns at the moment.

Program Location

Ark Eden, Mui Wo, Lantau Island, Hong Kong

Google Map link: Mui Wo

Contact:Jenny Quinton

jenny@arkedenonlantau.commobile: +852 9277 4025

tel: +852 2984 8514

Ark Eden11 Tung Hung Mei

Mui Wo, Lantau IslandHong Kong SAR