Abundant Food Forests: An Advanced Permaculture Course
This comprehensive course explores the world of regenerative agroforestry, offering a rich blend of historical context, design principles, and practical implementation strategies. Through a combination of inspiring lectures, storytelling, and immersive hands-on activities, students will gain the expertise needed to design, establish, and maintain thriving food forests across diverse climates and contexts.
Journey through the rich tapestry of agroforestry’s global heritage, studying inspiring examples that reveal the profound cultural and ecological importance of food forests across diverse landscapes and bioregions. We’ll emphasize their crucial role in promoting food security, community resilience, and environmental sustainability.
Throughout the course, you’ll dive into the art and science of designing, implementing, and maintaining perennial edible polycultures. Learn comprehensive techniques for propagation, harvesting, and processing that will enable you to create thriving food forests and share their abundant harvests with your community. From initial design to long-term maintenance, you’ll gain the practical skills needed to transform landscapes and cultivate regenerative ecosystems.
Curriculum Preview
What you’ll learn…
Design Principles and Techniques
Students will learn key principles and methods for food forest design, including:
- Biomimicry and observational awareness
- Whole diet design approaches
- Understanding forest systems, structures, and succession
- Utilizing design tools and software for effective planning
- Adaptive design strategies
Environmental Impact and Biodiversity
A significant portion of the course focuses on the environmental benefits of food forests, including:
- Contribution to biodiversity conservation
- Role in mitigating climate change
- Positive impacts on the water cycle
- Soil health
- Promotion of food sovereignty
Students will gain a deeper understanding of how perennial plant communities contribute to holistic land stewardship, and explore opportunities for incorporating native plant-based restoration in their designs, helping enhance overall biodiversity and supporting resilient ecological networks.
In addition, we’ll explore the critical intersection of governance and food forests, examining how design choices directly impact food sovereignty. Through in-depth analysis, you’ll learn to create ecological systems that are not just environmentally sustainable, but also socially just and empowering for local communities.
Harvesting and Processing
Students will have the opportunity to learn methods for abundant harvests, and how to utilize productive yields in various ways:
- Drying
- Fermentation methods
- Canning/Preserving
- Seed Saving techniques
Traditional Land-Tending Practices
In partnership with local indigenous tribal educators, we’ll examine traditional ecological practices, exploring time-honored approaches, profound environmental ethics, and time-tested techniques. By centering indigenous perspectives, we’ll illuminate how ancestral wisdom directly informs and enriches contemporary agroforestry design and implementation.
Hands-On Learning
Throughout the course, students will engage in practical, hands-on activities that reinforce theoretical concepts and provide real-world experience in food forest design and management. By the end of this course, participants will have the knowledge and skills to create, implement, and maintain regenerative agroforestry systems that not only produce abundant, diverse yields but also contribute to ecosystem health, community resilience, and global sustainability.
Course Dates
Aug. 20-24, 2025 – 5 days of hands-on skill building at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Sonoma County, CA.
Cost
$1,450 is the base cost for individuals, due at the time of registration. Includes onsite lodging and organic, vegetarian meals during the on-site training.
Early-bird discount – $100 off if you register at least 30 days before the start of the course.
Group discounts – $50 off for each person in your team of two or more. Sign up at the group rate and add your teammates’ names to your registration form. And yes, you may combine the early bird with the group discount for a total of $150 off each for up to 4 people.
