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Description
From food to medicine to building materials, this short course will cover useful tropical plants for the homestead. We will go deep into selecting, planting and caring for your plants.

Topics covered include:

tSelecting plants that are right for your site
tPlanting and caring for young trees
tUsing plants to build soil fertility
tDesigning plant guilds/companion planting

We will also introduce you to some of our favorite all-star tropical species and share resources for finding plants in Costa Rica!
INSTRUCTORS
Rachel Jackson & Scott Gallant

Rachel holds a Masters Degree in Sustainable Landscape Planning and Design from the Conway School in Conway, Massachusetts. She has been practicing permaculture in the tropics since 2009, working in both the rainforests of Costa Rica and the dry forests of Nicaragua. She is passionate about creating harmonious, healthy relationships between humans and the landscape. From urban renewal projects in New England to food forests in Latin America, Rachel has used her skills to create integrated, whole-system designs in difficult locations. She has also worked as a garden-based youth educator, art handler, photographer and carpenter and harbors a life-goal of trying as many varieties of tropical fruits as possible.

Scott Gallant is an agroforester and food system designer from small town Ohio. He graduated from Wabash College in 2008 with a degree in Economics. As the farm manager at Rancho Mastatal he works with an amazing team to cultivate 15 acres of a emerging tropical agroforest. He is the lead permaculture design instructor on site and one of the principle founders of the Rancho Mastatal Design/Build Collective.  Passionate about regenerative agriculture, holistic thinking, ethnobotany, community development, and re-skilling, he still makes time to hike and bike, read exhaustively, and work on his basketball jump shot and frisbee throw.  He and his partner Laura have traveled and volunteered extensively in Latin America, leading to a love of the culture, food, and language, which they speak.  Scott is a certified Wilderness First Responder, writes for the Permaculture Research Institute and has been featured on the Permaculture Voices podcast.
LANGUAGE
This course will be offered in English.  If we have enough interest from Spanish-speaking students, we will translate the course to Spanish.  The instructor is bilingual.
Cost
Includes all food, lodging and instruction.  
$150

ACCOMMODATIONS
All food and lodging is included in the cost of  the course.   Students will stay in the Ranch bunkhouse with options for upgrades.  We provide high quality mattresses and linens and blankets.  Please see our Accommodations page for more information.
GETTING TO RANCHO MASTATAL
Please see our Directions page for detailed information on how to get to Rancho Mastatal.
COURSE PAYMENT
Please see our  Payments page for information about how to pay.
ENROLLMENT
To enroll in the class, please fill out our Online Registration Form.  For more information please contact Tim O’Hara at info@ranchomastatal.com and/or call the Ranch at 2200-0920.

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Permaculture Design Course
 

July 3 – 16, 2016
Regenerative Lifestyle, Integrating Health, Practical Design,
Community and Social Awareness
Explore all aspects of sustainable practices by learning from those in the field.

Program Includes:

~ 72 hour Permaculture Design Course & Certificate upon completion
~ Discussions in: Triple Bottom Line Business, Education Alternatives, Slow Food, Economics in Agriculture, Green Building, Alternative Energies, Community Development and more…
~ Hands on Projects (more focus for hands on activities during the practical)
~ Daily Yoga
~ Sea Kayaking, Mud Bathing & Snorkeling

Topics Covered: what to expect…

The World Situation
What is Permaculture?: Ethics, Principles & Characteristics
Ecological System Basics & Bioregions
Design Methods & Map Reading
Climates, Elements & Microclimates

Understanding Soil
Earthworks
Water Management
Plants to Trees & Trees to Forests
Windbreaks and Wind Corridors
Patterns in Nature; Context (culture, climate, etc.)

Zone 0: Bio-Architecture
Zone 1: Home Garden
Zone 2: Fruit Tree Forest; Animals & Orchards
Zone 3: Field Crops & Large Animals
Zone 4: Harvest Forests
Zone 5: Forests
Wildlife Management & Integrated Pest Management
Ethical Investment, Land Ethics and Access, Incomes from Acres
Suburban & Urban Permaculture

Ecovillages
Invisible Structures Models

Design for Disaster

Workshops & Field Activities:

Orientation to Punta Mona and Tropical Ecosystems
Weekly Sharing Circles
Compost Making, Biofermentation & Micro Organisms
Permaculture Design group project

Water Management Exercise
Soil Exercise

Bio-Char

Chinampas
Onsite Analysis

Discussions:

Value Added Products, Triple Bottom Line Business Models and Fair Trade Practices
Creation of an Ecovillage: Tacotal & La Ecovilla

Integrating a sustainable lifestyle in the modern world
GMO crops, CSAs, Economics in Agriculture and the Slow Food Movement

Daily Flow:

6-7 am: Morning Yoga

715-830 am: Breakfast

830-9 am: Farm Duties

9-12 pm: Class Time

12-2 pm: Lunch Break

2-5 pm: Class Time

5-6 pm: Break

6-7 pm: Dinner

7-9 pm: Evening Activity

* all projects determined based on group interest
Tuition for 2 Week PDC: $1700
Includes program, Permaculture Design Course, all meals, lodging, activities and daily yoga.
Tuition includes all meals, lodging, all activities, internet access and all workshops/activities.
COURSE CREDITS NOW AVAILABLE TO
UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
THROUGH SUNY STONY BROOK!!
Or inquire with your university/professor about receiving internship or independent study credits! 

To Apply: please copy, fill out and send to:

Contact: Sarah Wu, Co-Director,  INFO@PUNTAMONA.ORG

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Hometown:

Current Location:

Why do you want to particpate in the program?

How will you be an addition to the program?

What is your current knowledge about permaculture?

Oudoor Experience:

Trainings or Certificates: 

Existing medical conditions?

Dietary Needs:

How did you hear about the program?

Email &/or phone number:

Emergency contact info:

Anything else we need to know?

* Transportation to Punta Mona by boat is not included, cost is $10-50 per person (depending on number of people in boat).

* Meals are organic and primarily vegetarian. Eggs and cheese are included and occasional fresh, line caught fish & organic chicken.

* Costa Rican citizen/resident prices available upon request. 

Refund Policy: All deposits are NON-Refundable, Course fees are refundable up until ONE month before the course starts.
Facilities, Housing, Meals & Participation
Permies will be housed in shared double and triple co-ed accommodations for the entire program. We have availability for couples to come and have a private room, we also have a few private cabins, which are available for an additional $400. Private cabins can house two people and are good for a couple or a small family.

Lodging is rustic and comfortable with custom-made no-see-um bed nets and screened rooms with locks. Beds are singles and doubles and will be first come first serve in regards to who sleeps where.

Facilities are shared by all living at Punta Mona. We have 3 showers with solar hot water and dry-composting toilettes in two locations.

Most classes are hosted in our outdoor classroom, in the living room of our main lodge or in the Yoga Shala. We recommend you bring your own yoga mat or little pillow to sit on.

Meals are communal and prepared fresh daily from fruits and vegetables grown organically on site or purchased from an organic farm in Costa Rica. At Punta Mona we are dedicated to wholesome, organic meals prepared with love. We consider the cuisine to be “jungle gourmet” and have a trained and seasoned staff to make sure all meals are mind blowing. We serve vegetarian meals and can accommodate vegan and gluten free diets.

We will serve farm fresh eggs daily as well as local cheeses and once weekly organic, free-range chicken from a neighbor’s farm. Fresh line caught fish is also available when we go fishing.

Permies will participate in various daily activities around the farm such as trail maintenance, beach clean up, housekeeping, composting and helping to clean the kitchen after meals.

We are an off-the-grid farm and all energy usage must be fully respected. Permies can have one shower per day and can charge their devices during the day-time only. We have internet available during specified breaks and encourage you to disconnect to reconnect.

Located in the deep tropics, on the beach, Permies can expect bugs, rain, sunshine and humidity. Please follow the packing list that is sent to you upon registering to ensure comfort and a pleasant living experience”.

Instructors:
Coordinated By Sarah Wu, teaching adjunct workshops in plant medicine, kitchen remedies, abdominal massage and cacao

Stephen Brooks and Itai Hauben are the primary instructors for each PDC.

Adjunct teachers in yoga, homesteading and plant medicine change for each session…

Itai Hauben
– Born in Israel, from an early age was fascinated by nature, ecology, sports and art. Study and experience Permaculture first in Israel at Adamama, a demonstration farm which he joins by 2002, so starting his way into the world of Permaculture Design , Organic Agriculture and Sustainable Living .

Itai completed his training in the method Biointensive with the master John Jeavons, than traveling throughout Central America on a Sustainable Solutions Caravan and decides to stay in the final destination of his journey, Costa Rica, settling in educational farm Punta Mona, where he lives on and off for two years, work and learn through immersion in the tropics

Itai qulifies as a Permaculture teacher and is currently pursuing his MSc. with Gaia University .

Itai is dedicated to the design and implementation of production systems and edible landscapes and to the formation of other permaculturists. Itai teaches Permaculture courses in different countries and seeks above all to inspire others through example, creating his livelihood and family as a real experience of sustainable living.

On 2007 Itai, along with his wife Melina have developed Symbiosis design. It is the idea of providing a professional service of ecological consulting, creating a symbiosis of knowledge and interests between a client and a consultant and between the different components of any living system.

Itai is father to two children, whom he teaches with dedication and passion the importance of connecting with nature and learn from it.