Click here for Permaculture Design Certification Course (PDC) October 2nd to 15th, 2022
Join our diverse team of permaculture instructors led by Valle Escondido team in this two-week experience.
Recognizing the need to create more accessible permaculture educational opportunities in Costa Rica, this course is aimed at Costa Ricans and people from Latin America. That's why it will be taught in Spanish.
We seek to increase the diversity of enrolled students, by making the course more economically accessible. We allow students to choose their own accommodation and manage their own food. Instructor fees are subsidized in part by their own work and Valle Escondido, as the host organization, which will not charge for the use of its space, services and teaching.
This course is only offered by submitting an application
Reach us at WhatsApp (+506) 8570 3668 or
Send an email to reservations@valleescondidocr.com.
THE COURSE
The course covers the curriculum of studies in Permaculture Design and emphasizes the creation of diverse multifunctional human landscapes based on ecological patterns. Using Valle Escondido: Hidden Valley Farm as a living classroom, the class will combine theory talks and practical work, exploring design solutions to the challenges facing
our communities today.
The final project of the course is to create your own permaculture site design by creating work teams among students. This course is suitable for anyone who speaks Spanish that is interested in designing a resilient and regenerative future, as well as professionals in the fields of architecture, planning, ecology, education, agriculture, and community development. The whole systems design thinking described in the course will provide participants with the tools to redesign and improve their environment; from gardens, farms and homes, to livelihoods, relationships and communities.
The cost of the course is $380, with food, lodging and onsite daycare included, scholarships are available. Please request and application to apply for this course.
TOPICS / AREAS OF CONTENT
● Permacultura: Historia, Éticas, Principios de diseño
● Metodologías de diseño: Observación, lenguaje de patrones en la cultura y paisaje, análisis de elementos y sectores, zonificación, evaluación de sitio, lectura de mapas y más. Clima y microclimas.
● Agua: Ciclos, captación, ecología, conservación y tratamiento. Sistemas de aguas grises y negras. Erosión, movimientos de tierra.
● Suelos: Biología, ecología y estrategias de fertilidad (biocarbón, biofermentos, cultivo de MM's, biomasa, compost).
● Plantas y animales: Propagación de plantas, bancos de semillas, huertos, agricultura urbana, especies menores, etc.
● Ambientes construidos y tecnologías apropiadas: energía renovable, construcción ecológica.
● Estructuras invisibles: Aspectos sociales, legales y económicos.
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WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS PDC?
There are many permaculture design courses offered around the world, but you are a good candidate for our PDC if:
• You want to learn from instructors who have many years of experience teaching and practicing permaculture on a daily basis through your own garden, kitchen, community, and habits.
• You want to experience an established permaculture site, largely designed to connect permaculture and food systems with hospitality and tourism.
• You want to be inspired by seeing many practical examples of highly functional systems that were guided by the principles and ethics of permaculture.
• You want to immerse yourself in the famous Monteverde cloud forest, with access to miles of hiking trails and a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean.
• You are ready for an intensive learning experience. As a theory & practice course, there will be a significant amount of lectures and discussions on a daily basis.
• You want to be part of a diverse group of students, in a course that focuses on connecting with Costa Rica and its culture.
LANGUAGE
The course will be taught in Spanish.
THE SITE: VALLE ESCONDIDO
Valle Escondido is a living playground for sustainable design and natural experimentation. Offering different examples of regenerative systems and techniques that reduce human impact and support natural environments, visitors leave Valle Escondido inspired to support a greener world. On-site projects include land management (15-hectare Valle Escondido nature reserve), agroforestry, aquaculture, animal husbandry, gray water management, soil construction, biofertilizers, microorganism cultivation, and more. Valle Escondido presents these projects in a simple and accessible way to reach the wide international audience of guests who visit it. Recognized as a family hotel providing these examples of sustainable living seeks to create awareness for both children and adults. In Monteverde, where the climate can be very extreme, Valle Escondido creates and experiments with culturally appropriate technology design systems to identify pathways to food security and sustainable design that are now necessary to address global climate change. To date, Valle Escondido has presented in person to more than 42,000 travelers the method of permaculture and regenerative systems, in its continuous effort to use tourism as a means of transmission to advocate for a better world.
MAIN INSTRUCTORS
DURGÁ - NATALIA VEGA
Consultant, Agricultural Engineer and Master in Holistic Sciences
Costa Rican, born in the 80's. She is an Agricultural Engineer from EARTH University 2003, Master in Holistic Sciences at Schumacher College UK 2005, has a diploma in Permaculture Design and Teaching with the Permaculture Institute 2016, and has carried out studies of consciousness and life in the community Sat Yoga 2012 -2022.
She is a consultant in solid and liquid waste management, ecological toilets, erosion control, landscaping, seed banks, recycling.
She is a lover of the diverse nature of this planet, she is fascinated by the power of Words, she is a permanent student of Life.
She is currently restarting life at the Los Gansos agro-ecological and biodynamic farm, located in Rivas de Perez Zeledón and continuing her apprenticeship with farmer Víctor Vega.
Roy Cruz Roy es originario de Monteverde, un amante de la naturaleza y de la agricultura orgánica, apasionado por las orquídeas y la observación de aves. Toda su vida ha estado en constante capacitación con instructores como Jairo Restrepo, famoso ingeniero agrónomo y consultor internacional en agricultura orgánica y Allan Chavarría Chang, en temas como nuevas técnicas de agricultura orgánica y cromatografía de suelos. Cuenta con un diplomado internacional de agricultura orgánica, capacitaciones en la elaboración de distintos bioinsumos, así como preparación en el diagnóstico y planificación de fincas para el proceso de conversión hacia la agricultura orgánica. Fue guarda forestal durante 08 años, así mismo, trabajó por años con Eladio Cruz, naturalista empírico quien apoyó a conducir decenas de investigaciones en la Reserva Biológica de Monteverde. También trabajó con Willow Zuchowski,
reconocida botánica y naturalista, autora de la Guía de Plantas Tropicales de Costa Rica. Hace 8 años que colabora como encargado de agricultura orgánica y regenerativa en Valle Escondido Nature Reserve Hotel & Farm, desarrollando la producción de diferentes tipos de cultivos y así como el laboratorio de bioinsumos, logrando llevar la producción de cultivos en la propiedad a un asombroso nivel.
JONAH CHAFFEE
Founder of Valle Escondido
Jonah is an ecological educator, nurse, and landscape designer. He has worked for years in community health education, as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher, and in alternative medicine. He currently manages Valle Escondido in Monteverde Costa Rica. Introduced to the permaculture design method 12 years ago, he has studied with the Permaculture Institute and participated in different courses in Central and North America. Jonah guides Valle Escondido, as a tourist destination, to promote the conservation of natural environments and sustainable practices to support a regenerative future.
Valle Escondido offers classes and provides examples for visitors to better understand regenerative land use, organic agriculture, and permaculture. When Jonah is not playing in the garden with his two daughters or talking to visitors, he may find him surfing or exploring other places in Costa Rica.
Our team will include several local instructors from the Monteverde community.
COST, APPLICATION AND PAYMENT PROCESS
The cost of the course is $ 380 including food, lodging and onsite daycare. Additional scholarships are available. Please ask for an application.
The course is limited to 25 students.
Accepted applicants must deposit 50% of the course fee to reserve space. No later than September 1st, two weeks before the start of the course, the remaining 50% must be paid. Cancellations will be fully refunded if made before September 15th. After September 15th, refunds will depend on course occupancy.
For more information contact WhatsApp (+506) 8570 3668 or send an email to reservations@valleescondidocr.com.
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