Week of September 18-23, 2011

Integral Farm and Garden Systems: Urban Permaculture Design

This dynamic five-day experience gives you the opportunity to learn in the Esalen Farm and Garden and Community. Local food security is a major issue facing communities worldwide. There is no greater form of activism than growing one’s own food, no greater sense of connection to the land than sowing, cultivating, and harvesting from the earth that sustains us. This is the essence of SLOW food (Sustainable, Local, Organic and in respect to the Wild). Come into a deeper relationship with and celebration of the whole process.

Learning directly with Esalen staff and permaculture design experts, you can experience the realities of what it takes to make a garden thrive. Typical days begin with the morning harvest and hands-on experience with composting, seed starting, cultivation, irrigation systems, transplanting, companion planting, and biodynamic farming techniques. Afternoon and evening sessions will look deeply into specific questions and topics of interest. Designing sustainable urban food systems and urban permaculture design will be explored. Urban design includes food systems that integrate with population centers. Using the principles, ethics, and design methods of permaculture, we’ll examine the sustainable urban food system, including its inputs and outputs. This workshop can help deepen your relationship to the permaculture network and the international community.

Please note: Graduates of the UCBX Sustainable Design program may be eligible for a permaculture design certificate following the completion of this course.

Reservations Information (Accommodations & Pricing)