Design tool: design web
I feel like I don't have a coherent plan for my diploma as a whole, and what I want it to look like. I need to sit down with the accreditation criteria and see where I have gaps and what I need to do to fill them. I also want to save several design 'spaces' in my portfolio for when we move house.
Status: ongoing (implementation, pause, reflection)
Design tool: design web
We have packed most of our belongings, and are doing extensive renovation and decorating work to our existing house. We are doing most of this work ourselves, which has resulted in many new skills - I, for example, have learned to plaster. This is frustrating at times, but we now have the skills to work on our new house, if it needs work. We have also saved a lot of money doing this. I need to think about how this design will end - will it finish when we move house, or will it become an umbrella 'home' design with 'old house' and 'new house' designs sitting under it?
Status: ongoing (implementation)
Design tool: SADIMET
I have a new plan for the garden now, focused on making it ready to sell the house. It needs to be low maintenance and look good - I am covering bare soil with wood chip, planting quick-growing annual flowers in pots, and pruning large bushes. I have not deliberately grown any food this year (although I have had a good gooseberry harvest). I need to write this up into my design, and take some more recent photographs
Status: ongoing (implementation)
Design tool: SADIMET (using Permaculture Research Handbook)
I have neglected work on this lately, but recently spent time finishing my part of the draft report and sending it to my collaborator. I need to draft the write up for my own portfolio.
Status: ongoing (implementation)
Design tool: O'BREDIMET (adapted)
I have decided to pause this design until we have moved house. We are currently using the experimental soap I made ourselves, but I will not be making any more or sending it to others for testing until we have moved.
Status: paused
Design tool: design web
I'm unsure whether this will be a design, or just an encompassing part of ensuring I can fit everything I want to into my life. I've written more about it in this blog post.
Status: reflection
Design tool: not yet adopted
This is a project I planned with another apprentice to design a garden for a friend of hers. We had an afternoon of observation and each went away with a section of garden to plan... but I never did mine. I have contacted my collaborator to see how far she's got, and offered to pull out of the project if she'd rather progress alone.
Status: unsure
If I include all of these designs, I nearly have enough for my portfolio already. However, it doesn't feel right. I never had an overall plan for my diploma, but this doesn't look how I thought my portfolio would look. I need to do some more thinking about this. I've also been pondering some potential future designs to incorporate:
- New garden (once we've moved house) - we are likely to have a considerably bigger garden so this may be quite a big design
- Preserving and storing food - we plan to both grow more of our own food, and live further from shops than we do now
- Nature diary/year of observation - I'd like to know more about the natural world, and this feels like a nice way to get to know our new neighbourhood when we move. I might combine it with a daily/weekly walk, and some kind of seasonal observations
It's looking increasingly unlikely that I'll finish within three years or even four. However, I'm reconciling myself to that. I've been reading the diploma handbook, which suggests that two years is an absolute minimum to get the required experience, and that very few people ever finish in two years, so I'm not sure why I thought I would, with working full time and many other activities on top. I'm feeling more positive about the diploma being a journey now - it will take as long as it takes and the important thing is to do it properly and feel happy with my work.