The Permaculture Institute of Tanzania (PIT) is a project of Mainsprings designed to provide permaculture education and training to organizations, community members and permaculture practitioners around the world.  PIT was born after Mainsprings realized the enormous success of its own farms could be replicated within other farms and organizations, ultimately helping more people be profitable and sustainable, all while helping to restore their environment.

Mainsprings and The Valley Foundation are delighted to host the Permaculture Institute of Tanzania’s (PIT) second annual Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) Course from February 10-17,2020, sponsored by the Reed Jules Oppenheimer Foundation. This 72-hour course will provide farmers and leaders of grassroots organizations with the knowledge and skills of permaculture design principals and concepts, equipping graduates with an internationally recognized certificate in Permaculture design.

More information about the 2020 Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) Course

For the first time ever, Mainsprings and the Valley Foundation, with support from the Reed Jules Oppenheimer Foundation, are offering grants to grassroots organizations working in Sub-Saharan Africa that wish to improve their own farming practices and implement permaculture techniques on their

land. Organizations that are chosen to participate in this grant challenge will be asked to send at least one key staff member (preferably two) to the PDC training on Mainsprings’ Kitongo campus. A travel allowance to Mwanza and the PDC Course Fees will be covered by the grant. Upon completion of the course, the organization will receive a seed grant to implement the permaculture techniques learned on their own land, with design assistance and consulting provided by Mainsprings and/or the Valley Foundation. Please click on the links below to find out more about this grant or to apply for your organization today! Grants for the 2020 Grant Challenge are due by December 20th, 2019.

Grant Information and Application Process

Complete a PDC Grant Application