Permaculture Design Certification Course
LOCATION
Rancho Mastatal Sustainability Education Center
DESCRIPTION
Join our diverse team of permaculture instructors led by Scott Gallant for this annual life-changing 2-week experience. The course covers the core Permaculture Design curriculum and emphasizes creating diverse multi-functional human landscapes based on ecological patterns. Utilizing Rancho Mastatal as a living classroom, the class will mix lectures and hands-on work, exploring design solutions for both temperate and tropical regions. Putting Permaculture into practice, the course concludes with students working in teams to create their own permaculture site design. This course is applicable to anyone with an interest in designing resilient and regenerative futures as well as professionals in the fields of architecture, planning, ecology, education, farming and community development. The whole-systems design thinking outlined in the course will give participants the tools to re-design and improve their surroundings; from gardens, farms and homes, to livelihoods, relationships and communities.
To learn about who this course is designed for, learning outcomes, what to bring, and much more, please read our PDC Course Information Book.
Topics covered include:
History of Permaculture
Principles and Ethics of Permaculture Design
Design Methodologies and Site Analysis & Assessment
Pattern Languages in Culture and the Landscape
Reading the Landscape and Pattern Recogintion
Simple Mapping and Surveying Techniques
Client Interviews and Goal Setting
Map Reading
Master Planning and Design Presentations
Climate and Microclimate Design
Water: Cycles, Catchment, Ecology, Conservation, Treatment
Greywater and Blackwater Systems
Earthworks, Pond Construction, & Water Storage
Soils: Biology, Ecology, Fertility Strategies
Biochar, Biofertilizers, Mulching, Biomass Production, Microorganisms Cultivation, Compost Making
Introduction to Keyline Design and Holistic Management
Gardening from the Tropics to the Temperate Regions
Orchards Management and Agroforestry
Plant Propagation, Grafting, Nursery Management
Silvopastural and Aquaculture Systems
Fermentation, Post Harvest Handling, and Harvest Strategies
Shelter and Siting
Natural Building Techniques
Urban and Suburban Permaculture Applications and Case Studies
Energy and Appropriate Technology: Photovoltaics, Biodigestor Design, Alternative Cooking Models
Regenerative Economic Models
Social Structures, Decision Making, and Community Organizing
Professional Designer Project Case Studies
LANGUAGE
The course will be taught in English and simultaneously translated into Spanish. Este curso será traducido simultáneamente al español . Se requiere un mínimo de dos hispano hablantes para ofrecer servicios de traducción.
LEAD INSTRUCTOR
Scott Gallant
Scott Gallant is an agroforester and food system designer with nearly a decade of experience working in Central America. He is the co-founder of Porvenir Design, a landscape design firm specializing in productive landscapes. He graduated from Wabash College in 2008 with a degree in Economics. He was the farm manager at Rancho Mastatal for nine years, and has worked with diverse projects such as VersaLand, Open Source Ecology, Project Bonafide and many more as he has developed his skill-set in permaculture design.
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 has traveled extensively in Latin America, leading to a love of the culture, food, and language, which he attempts to speak. Scott writes for the Permaculture Research Institute and has been featured on the Permaculture Voices and Abundant Edge podcasts.
You can find him on instagram here.
Teaching Team *subject to change with COVID travel restrictions
For complete teaching team bios, please visit our the Rancho Mastatal website.
Rachel Jackson: Previously lived at Rancho Mastatal, Conway School of Landscape Design graduate
Durga: Farm Manager at Sat Yoga Ashram, graduate of EARTH University
Jorge Salazar: Founder of La Iguana Chocolate, Translator for the PDC
Kealy and Solin Garcia: Founders of KIS Botanicals
COURSE START AND ARRIVAL DATES
The course will start at 9 a.m. on November 22. Students are encouraged to arrive on November 21. Lodging the night of November 21 is included in the cost of the class.
COURSE END AND DEPARTURE DATES
The course will end at around 5 p.m. on December 6. Most students will depart on the morning of December 7th. Lodging the night of December 6th is included in the cost of the class.
COST
Central Americans, US$950
Residents and Ex-Pats, US$1350
Foreigners (non-Central American) US$1,500
These prices include 15 nights lodging, all meals (except on Sunday nights when we support a local restaurant), course instruction and full access to Rancho Mastatal and its private wildlife refuge.
ENROLLMENT
To enroll in the class, please go the Online Registration Form at Rancho Mastatal’s website For more information please contact Tim O’Hara at info@ranchomastatal.com and/or call the Ranch at 2200-0920.
