Mario Plaatsman -

“Ralph” as he is known to his classmates is a mature age student who undertook the Certificate III in Permaculture at BCC.

Ralph has a history working in food horticulture having worked on farms picking fruit in various locations around the country. After a 6 month stint in Sydney over 20-years ago, he knew he was not cut out for the fast pace of the city and moved to the Northern Rivers region. He has previously studied a Cert III? in Horticulture and undertaken work at the Byron Herb Nursery which he speaks very highly of. Now living on acreage out near Nimbin, Ralph came to the course looking for practical experience to help him manage the land and perhaps derive a livelihood from home. After seeing an ad in the Echo and finding out the fees were heavily subsidised under Smart & Skilled, he decided to enrol.

He is coming to realise that the stand out skill gained from the course will be more in lateral thinking than the practicalities of permaculture. In terms of the landscape, Ralph sees Permaculture as learning the ‘Art of Farming’ and seeing the ‘land as your canvas’. He has begun getting involved in some of his local community projects and is proving to be a mature and grounding force for the whole class. Ralph appreciates the flexible and accommodating elements of the learning, especially the additional support he has received with IT and using the computers.

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