LEARN TO BE MORE SELF-SUFFICIENT AND HELP OTHERS DO THE SAME WITH THIS QUALIFICATION

A unique qualification which may be undertaken with a view to preparing for a change in the way you live or perhaps in preparation for establishing a business or career providing services to the community in this discipline.

The course develops skills in producing day to day products using low cost, environmental friendly practices and to lower food, energy and housing costs.

Some of what this certificate level qualification covers:

• Mud brick building.
• Growing fruit and vegetables, herbs and other crops organically.
• Raising poultry, sheep and goats.
• Nutrition and creating a balanced diet.
• Alternative energy supplies.
• Permaculture and sustainable agriculture.

It can be a life changing and liberating experience to learn how to provide for your own needs and the needs of your family.

Many of the tutors in this course have shown, through their own lives, that it is possible to grow your own food, produce your own energy and make many of the things you need in your day to day living.

When you study Self Sufficiency through ACS you are learning from people who are both academically trained (in things like farming) and who are applying aspects of self sufficiency to their own daily lives.

Modules

Note that each module in the Certificate In Self Sufficiency is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.

What is covered in the Modules?

Core Modules:

Self Sufficiency I covers ten lessons which develop your understanding of self sufficiency, food and nutrition, and making the right decisions about changes in lifestyle; as well as showing you how to do a whole range of practical things such as mud brick building, making crafts, growing fruit, vegetables, herbs, and other crops; raising poultry, sheep & goats, extending the life of clothing, conserving energy, recycling, simple home medical care and first aid, and lots more.

In Self Sufficiency II you learn to be self sufficient with your food. You learn about nutrition and how to balance your diet, as well as how to produce, process, store, and use different types of food. This includes berries, nuts, milk, cheese, eggs, bread making, preserves, & dried food. Cooking, freezing, drying, bottling, making bread, planning a vegetable garden to give produce all year round, and lots more are covered over ten lessons.

Elective Modules
Only four of these are studied.

Alternative Energy
This course has eight lessons as follows: 

• Problems & Energy Sources
• Understanding Energy
• Generating Electricity
• Electricity Storage and Use
• Non Electric Systems
• Energy Consumption
• Energy Conservation
• Converting to New Systems

Mud Brick Construction
This course has 10 lessons as follows:

• Scope of Mud Brick
• How to make a mud brick
• Planning and Site Works
• Legal Considerations
• Foundations
• Laying Bricks
• Doors, Windows, and Roofs
• Finishes
• Services
• Other types of Earth Building

Permaculture Systems  
The course is divided into eight lessons as follows:

• Permaculture Principles
• Natural Systems
• Zone & Sector Planning
• Permaculture Techniques
• Animals in Permaculture
• Plants in Permaculture
• Appropriate Technologies
• Preparing a Plan 

Advanced Permaculture 
There are ten lessons in this module as follows:

• Evaluating Design Strategies
• Understanding Patterns
• Water
• Earthworks
• Humid Tropics
• Dry Climates
• Temperate to Cold Climates
• Planning Work
• Costing
• Sustainable Systems

Sustainable Agriculture
Eight lessons:

• Introduction: Scope, Nature of Sustainability
• Soils
• Water
• Land care: Weed control, Tree Management, Pest and Disease, Fire, etc.
• Financial Sustainability
• Broad Management Strategies
• Enterprise Selection & Management: Plants
• Enterprise Selection & Management: Animals

Poultry
There are eight lessons as follows:

• Introduction: Terminology, Breeds
• Nutrition
• Diseases In Poultry
• Layers
• Broilers
• Incubation
• Brooding
• Record Keeping, Economics & Marketing

Organic Plant Culture
The ten lessons are as follows:

• Introduction - Gardening styles, basic organic procedures, etc.
• Plant Culture
• Understanding Soils
• Fertilizers and Plant Nutrition
• Soil Management
• Pests & Diseases
• Mulching
• Seeds - Collecting, storing & sowing
• Vegetable Growing in your locality
• Fruit Growing in your locality.

Herb Culture
Lessons cover:

• Introduction to herbs, definitions, uses. Classification of herbs; use of a botanical key.
• Cultural Techniques...planting, soils, drainage, feeding, mulching, composting, pruning.
• Propagation Techniques...propagation mixes, growing structures, cuttings, seed, separation & division, layering.
• Identification of plant health problems...pest & disease, frost, heat, water stress, etc.
• Processing & Use of Herbs
• Harvesting & Storage
• Mentha species: Peppermint, spearmint, applemint, wintermint, pennyroyal, corsican, ginger mint etc.
• Lavender (Lavendula varieties) & thyme (Thymus).
• Assorted Lamiaceae varieties:Lemon Balm, Hyssop, Rosemary, Bee Balm (Monarda), Basil, Savory, Marjoram, Sage.
• Artemisia species...Southernwood, Wormwood, Tarragon, Mugwort.
• Miscellaneous Asteraceae: Chamomile, Tansy, Safflower, Costmary, Yarrow, Calendula, Dandelion etc.
• Parsley, Coriander, Dill, Caraway, Angelica, Cumin, Fennel, Lovage, Sweet Cicely etc.
• Chives, Leek, Garlic chives, Tree onion, Welsh onion, etc.
• Garlic
• Rosaceae (Rose, Burnet, Strawberry, blackberry, etc)
• Miscellaneous: Lemon grass, Lemon verbena, Bay, Sorrel, Dock, Juniper, Horseradish, Evening Primrose, etc.
• Scented Geraniums; Australian Natives, Eucalyptus and Others
• Companion Planting
• Natural Pest Control: Herb sprays, biological control, etc.
• Landscape Design Principles and Practices: How to draw a landscape plan
• Home Gardening With Herbs; Cottage gardens, hedges & borders, tubs, baskets, kitchen gardens, herb lawns, herb indoor plants.
• Public Landscaping: Historic herb gardens (Knot gardens etc), herbs for low maintenance & colour in parks..etc.
• Establishing & Operating a Herb Nursery: Open ground vs container growing, nursery layout, potting soils, pots and labels,marketing, etc
• Establishing & Operating a Herb Farm:Soil Preparation and management (plastic mulch, organic mulches, cultivation), row cropping.
• Evaluating Herb enterprises, assessing market demand. Deciding how to proceed.

Starting a Small Business
There are 12 lessons in this course:

• Introduction to Small Business
• The Business World
• Your alternatives - different types of ventures
• Marketing
• Planning
• Basic Bookkeeping
• Sales Methods
• Budgeting
• Developing a 12 month business plan
• Implementing a business plan
• Reviewing progress in a new business
• Improving profitability

Bush Tucker Plants
Learn to identify, grow and use Australian Indigenous Plants for Food.  There are many Australian plants that are edible, and even some that are in very high demand as foods throughout the world.  The Aborigines lived off the land before white civilization came to Australia. Plants contributed significantly to their diet. Many of these native plants are worthwhile growing ‑ others might not be.  There are many different types of bush tucker foods, including:

• Nuts and seeds (e.g. Acacia, Macadamia, bunya nuts)
• Drinks (e.g. hot teas, infusions of nectar laden flowers, fruit juices)
• Flavourings (e.g. lemon scented myrtle)
• Berries (e.g. Astroloma, some Solanum species)
• Fruits (e.g. quandong, Ficus macrophylla, Syzygium)
• Vegetables
• Wattle seeds ground to produce ‘flour’
• Plant roots ground to produce a paste or flour.

Why do this course?

• To become more self sufficient in your own life.
• To help others become self sufficient, perhaps teaching or maybe by developing a "green" industry business.

AFTER YOUR STUDIES

• Apply the knowledge you have gained from your extensive studies to better your lifestyle.
• Start a business to physically help others to do the same.
• Start a consultancy to show others the way to a sustainable and more natural way of life.

WHAT SETS ACS APART?

Service – We put the student first.  Tutors and administration can be contacted 5 days a week, 50 weeks of the year, by phone or email.

We provide Better Learning – We’ve been delivering distance education for over 3 decades, and we understand how people learn by home study.

Our methods are unique, developed through experience with a focus squarely on helping you learn.

Up to Date – We are continually revising and updating courses. We listen to our students feed-back and we always improve the course if a change is identified that will help significantly improve your learning.

More Choice – Graduates need a set of skills that will set them apart and give them an advantage over competition in the world after study. We have a wide variety of study choices, and give you lots of options to choose different paths throughout a course. Doing this has meant our graduates very successful.

No Short Cuts –You can’t take short cuts in learning, and that is why our courses are often longer than you will find elsewhere. You could choose to study a short course, quickly sit an exam (while the information is fresh) and pass, but if you want to really understand something and retain it, that takes time.

More than just Learning Facts – We understand that success in the workplace or business requires you to not only learn things, but also build networks, understand the commercial world, be able to solve problems, communicate with people, and have an attitude that will function in your chosen industry.

Contact us to help you choose the right course- use the link below.