Testimonials

Praise for the Permaculture Courses

I became Penny Pyett’s student by undertaking the “Introduction to Permaculture” course. The Permaculture Institute was the only Institute I found around Sydney that was offering a 5 day intro course and at that time I thought it would give me the knowledge and tools I was looking for.

But little did I know that I would get hooked to Penny’s teaching and that I would enrol also for a PDC! 🙂

What a wonderful experience! It was definitely a transforming one, for me, but I believe also for the other students I shared the course with.
The extensive knowledge and experiences from all the PDC teachers, along with the numerous tools and learning material provided, truly inspired and encouraged me to practice and promote Permaculture as an ethical and
viable way out of the crisis that we are now facing.

I highly recommend everyone to undertake a course at the Permaculture Sydney Institute!

Adelaide

The Permaculture Design Certificate course gave me the confidence to link the enterprises on our property more effectively. I can now perform a sector, microclimate analysis and master plan of my workplace. Also I can now confidently change the drainage channels already established to swales to use and keep the water on our property more effectively.

Philip New, Rahamim

Penny Pyett is one of Permaculture’s gifts to the world. The TAFE course “Gardening with Permaculture” which later morphed into “Introduction to Permaculture” was a transforming event for me and for many of the students who I shared the course with and others that I have met since. I learned about the design system that I had heard Bill Mollison talk about on the radio in the 70s. It is all so logical and Penny has a wonderful way of leading her students on this first part of his/her journey. Penny’s extensive knowledge and experience has made her a teacher in high demand for many specialist courses and workshops.

Sadly it took me a long time to find my way but it is never too late and I would recommend her as a teacher to anyone who is interested in learning about Permaculture.

Diana Watson

My PDC at Bandusia showed me the life path I want and gave me the confidence i needed to start working on it.

Felicie, Paris

This Intro to Permaculture was fantastic, right down to the food, company and accommodation. I thought I already knew a lot about Permaculture yet Penny, with her wealth of practical and theoretical information from her broad experience, was able to add more examples, ideas and perspectives in a variety of teaching styles.
The two venues for the course were ideal. Bandusia with its small acreage and slopes allowed us to see first hand both water catchment works in the form of swales and dams as well as a large food and animal forest. Karonga school is a wonderful example of a design on an urban site. The garden beds constructed on concrete were fantastic. The whole place demonstrated that permaculture designs can be adapted to any site and situation.”

Karen L.

I did both the Introduction to Permaculture and the Permaculture Design Course through Ryde TAFE with Penny Pyett. Penny said in our first lesson that Permaculture would change our lives, a thought I had some reservation about at the time. Before Permaculture I wasn’t able to grow anything edible, my many attempts ended in miserable failure and I had almost given up when a friend introduced me to permaculture, now 2 1/2 years later I am able to sustain myself on my veggies and the 57 fruit trees are maturing ready to give me their wonderful fruit soon I am sure. I would encourage everyone to do a course with Penny and the Permaculture Sydney Institute.

Elizabeth Crichton

After completing the PDC at Bandusia I can honestly say everything is so clear to me and I have the tools, knowledge and confidence to use them. I had a wonderful time there, the food was excellent and the owners extremely accommodating. I will be attending more courses there. Thanks for everything.

Sue

Every now and then, but not often enough, you come across someone with a special talent to inspire and encourage you to challenge yourself, be creative and to make a difference. In 2010, I was privileged to attend Penny Pyett’s Introduction to Permaculture Course at Ryde TAFE. Penny’s passion, enthusiasm and absolute belief that permaculture is the way forward is contagious. Her talent as a teacher and her generosity to share so much more than just knowledge, provided me with the skills to create a truly environmentally sustainable, productive, permaculture garden. Penny has inspired me to continue further studies and to become actively involved in Permaculture, both as a volunteer and with a view to a future career in this ground breaking field.

Deborah Alderton

Praise for the Workshops

I had no idea what to expect from this workshop but presumed that we would be taught how to grow white and brown mushrooms. What we learnt was amazing. I now feel confident that I can grow at least 8 different kinds of mushrooms, with at least a couple of species throughout the year, with a minimum of fuss. I can’t wait to start, and we were given all of the materials to do that. Will was a great presenter, the other participants were an interesting bunch, and the food was terrific! Many thanks Will, Pete and Penny.This was a good value workshop.

Stephanie Robertson

“The DIY Vertical Garden Workshop organized by PSI will benefit anyone who
want to do a bit of gardening but does not have the time or the space to do
much about it. Even the apartment renters can now start planting in their
bedrooms without worrying too mush about leaving a garden of vegetables
behind when moving to a new spot. You can put the whole garden in the back
seat of your car or even on your shoulder is quite a comforting thought.”

Laurence

“I attended the Bamboo Building Workshop in preparation for doing volunteer aid work in Cambodia. The aid project includes a component to improve rural housing by developing model houses from sustainable and locally available materials, such as bamboo. The workshop has provided me with both the theoretical knowledge and the practical skills that I was looking for. The teacher and venue were excellent and the whole weekend was very enjoyable.”

Johan

“Hi Penny, Thank you for organising the Welding Workshop that was just sooo much fun. Your pizza lunch with lemonade was really yummy. I can’t wipe the smile off my face I haven’t enjoyed myself so much for a long time. I’ve ear-bashed Gordon so much he has already let me into one of his cubby houses to show me his welding gear, nippers, Oxy etc etc. We girls have missed out on all this for too long”.

Shirley

“Your Responsible Backyard Beekeeping Workshop conducted last weekend was excellent. It followed a well-considered structure whilst maintaining sufficient flexibility to allow individual attendees to explore particular issues of interest.

The presenters were informative, personable and involved, and attendees were the beneficiaries of their accumulated knowledge and experience.

Thank you for your interesting and extensive line-up of workshops at Bandusia.”

Wayne Hawkins

In simplistic laymen’s terms Will demystified the art of growing mushrooms. His delivery of information and hands on approach ensured we all went away with a solid grounding to venture out into the world of growing fungi. Generous with both his time and knowledge a workshop not to be missed.

W. Clarke

I arrived at the workshop knowing nothing but willing to watch and learn. During the weekend, Will demystified mushroom cultivation and made the process absolutely accessible to everyone. His message was: ‘give it a go, don’t sweat the small details, these organisms are designed to grow and flourish’. This was inspiring. Everyone can do this and it is a workshop that you must not miss out on.

A. Clark

“Thanks for organising the Food Forest workshop. That was one of my best educational experiences ever! And thank you for your hospitality at Bandusia. I love the informal family atmosphere”

J. Werk

“The vertical garden workshop was packed with great detail on how to grow healthy
plants in vertical gardens. We also got fabulous hands-on instruction to help us build
our own gardens to take home. The course was professionally run and I look
forward to my next Permaculture Sydney Institute event.”

Sadie

Praise for the experience provided

Hi Penny, Just a quick line to let you know how much of a great experience I had at your Bandusia PDC. The facilities and service provided by yourself and Geoff Hawker and staff was wonderful and very comfortable for all, i believe, especially those of us whom had travelled from abroad.

I’m still reeling form the whole event and can’t stop thinking about how much knowledge you and Geoff Lawton and Janet Millington and John Champagne, selflessly and passionately shared with not only me, but the entire group.

The wealth of knowledge and teachings imparted shall remain, I’m sure,eternally with us and stands as a reflection of how professionally and ethically it was delivered to all students present.

I am proud to have been a part of the PDC and the co-creation of what could only be described as a unique event and feel well equipped to further my education and qualification in Permaculture and to face the challenges ahead as one of an ever increasing number of Earths Stewards.

Thank you all for facilitating the opportunity for me to become one of a conscious collective of humans whom choose to be recognised as Permaculturalists.

I personally would like to thank you, Penny,for your commitment to the on-going development and evolution of this great, yet almost forgotten phenomenon, known as Permaculture, being the only way mankind shall find the means to survive our existence on this great wondrous world.

All the best with your future teachings/courses and development of Bandusia as a great learning institute.

Agostinho De Sousa.
Bamaga Farm Co-Ordinator.
N.P.A.R.C.(Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council)

Agostinho De Sousa

“Hi Penny and Geoffrey, just a quick thank you for a yet another fantastic weekend at Bandusia. Penny your knowledge and teaching ability, as always, is just amazing. Geoffrey your hospitality skills make all at Bandusia feel very warm and comfortable. Your ability to work as a very special team is something to be very proud of. Thank you both for sharing your dream and knowledge with me and my family, you help us all to make the world a better place”

Brian and Viv

Thank you so much for organising a great day in a slice of paradise. Your hospitality was exceptional, generous and warm. I’m feeling invigorated about my garden and ready to plant spring vegies.

Margie Hume

“Thanks again for a fabulous weekend. We got a lot out of it and can’t wait to get into making some bamboo screens and structures. We left full of ideas and excitement, so good to see.”

Kathleen Helman

Thank you for a particularly enjoyable and informative weekend. The quality of the information was inspiring, the fact that we could intersperse the theory with actually handling the equipment and putting into practice what we learned was very helpful. The venue is superb, as was the hospitality, food, wine and conversation. All this made up for a memorable and valuable experience that will no doubt be pivotal in the success of the “next stage”!

Andrew Orme-Smith

I just wanted to send you a little….well no BIG, thank you for such a wonderful weekend. I have been infected with the passion for building with bamboo and it has spread to my creativity zone that is now wanting more.

It was also wonderful to stay at your divine space and meet you all in such a relaxed and nurturing environment. Kade and I have only had a couple of nights away without our lillte Pearl and this weekend was much needed time together. I thoroughly loved being there and I’m looking forward to our next visit.

Thanks again for sharing with us and providing such divine food too.

Jani Pride

Hi Penny, Bandusia Country Retreat is a Fantastic place to hold your courses, the accommodation, food and atmosphere were spot on. The mushroom course, Will Borowski from Forest Fungi was excellent, Will did a great job with the presentation it was informative and a lot of fun, and a great group of people. I would recommend the course and the venue to anybody, one word to describe the weekend fanbloodytastic

N. Harris

This was my second time, having the pleasure staying at Bandusia Resort. Now that we have finally our own Permaculture Institute in Sydney run by an amazing team, it is even a greater pleasure to return to this beautiful, relaxing place and investing some time into building up the Institute for further sustainable education.

A big “Thank you”to the Bandusia team for running the workshop so smoothly and enjoyable and their generosity. Also a big “thank you” to the kitchen wizards Nick and Rhydian for spoiling us with their amazing, creative, healthy and yummy meals.
All in all, a great Bamboo workshop, an experience that will linger on for a long time.

Jeanette Bunter PCC

Jeanette Bunter PCC

N. Harris