Sustainable Living Skills
Immersion Program + Permaculture Design Certificate Course
| When: | July 26 - Aug. 27th |
Where: |
Aprovecho Education Center |
| How Much: | $1,750 - $2,850 |
Aprovecho's Sustainable Living Skills Program is the oldest program of its kind in the Northwest and includes hands on training in appropriate technology, sustainable forestry, natural building, and sustainable agriculture.
The 72 hour Permaculture Design curriculum is woven throughout the 5 week program leaving students with a framework for integrating strategies and techniques into cohesive designs for sustainable human settlement. A certificate of Permaculture Design will be presented at the end of the program.
THIS PROGRAMS IS COLLEGE ACCREDITED through Humboldt State University as an extended education program. Click here for more info on receiving college credit for this program.
As a well established and ever evolving 30 year old site, Aprovecho's campus is an excellent working classroom for the development of hands-on skills. During the course, students will have an opportunity to construct a solar shower, install a greywater system, create chinampas in our pond, and work with the overall site design for active and passive water harvesting.
Additionally, students will have the opportunity to become proficient in mixing and applying natural plasters and finishes, harvesting trees with hand tools, building bicycle powered machines, understanding and experiencing aquaculture and aquaponics systems, and much more.
We look forward to sharing these and other skills with you and hope to see you soon!
Course Syllabus
WEEK 1
1. Introduction
Tour the Aprovecho Property
Watershed Hike
Kitchen Orientation: Cooking with Whole Foods, Fermentation, Bread Baking
2. Permaculture and Ecological Design Theory
Permaculture Ethics and Principles
Patterns of Ecosystems
Design Methodologies
Land Survey, Mapping, and Observation Exercises
Aprovecho Zone and Sector Analysis
Climate and Microclimate Effects on Design
WEEK 2
4. Appropriate Technology
Principles of Solar Hot Water
Hands-on Solar Shower Building
Bike Machine Construction
Wood-Fired Cooking
Rocket Stoves
Humanure Systems
5. Invisible Structures
Financial Models
Land Acquisition Strategies
Political and Decision Making Structures
Non-Violent Conflict Resolution
WEEK 3
6. Sustainable Agriculture
Organic Gardening Principles
Soil Ecology, Biology, and Chemistry
Bed Preparation
Compost Systems
Integrated Pest Management
Crop Planning for Continuous Harvest
Year-Round Gardening
Medicinal Herbs and Wild Edibles
Sexual and Asexual Plant Propagation
Animal Systems
7. Water
Water Harvesting Strategies and Earthworks
Pond and Swale Design and Construction
Keyline Design
Aquaculture
Greywater and Rainwater Systems
Ferrocement Construction
WEEK 4
8. Forestry
Forests in Permaculture
Forest Surveying
Tree Falling with Hand Tools
Horse Logging
Green Woodworking
Bamboo Cultivation
Mushroom Cultivation
Agroforestry
Forest Gardening
WEEK 5
9. Natural Building
Introduction to Natural Building
Earthen Plasters and Finishes
Building with Cob
Slip Straw and Other Alternative Insulations
Round Pole Construction
10. Urban Strategies
11. Permaculture Design Project Presentations
12. Talent Show!
Contact: For questions (541) 942-8198 or email: 