Permaculture Design Courses 2025 - Selva Negra, Nicaragua
Permaculture Design Course
Sunday February 9 to Saturday February 16th.
You don't want to miss this permaculture design course taught by one of the premier teachers in the U.S., on one of the most outstanding examples of permaculture in the Western Hemisphere. At a stunning 1,000 acre farm in Nicaragua called Selva Negra.
In February when it's cold and rainy in the U.S. but warm and sunny in Nicaragua!
The cost is $1,750. Fee includes three organic meals per day and lodging. Airfare is extra.
BONUS: THIS COURSE INCLUDES A SIGNED COPY OF ANDREW FAUST NEW BOOK!
A trip to the Pacific resort town of San Juan Del Sur is also available Feb. 18 - 21. Let us know if you're interested. Price available upon request.
7 Day Course at Selva Negra
Permaculture Tropical Agroforestry
Creating Eco-Resorts & Training Centers
Day 1
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Orientation to the site and the course
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Hike the Forest preserve
Day 2
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Water Systems
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Spring development
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Gravity fed systems
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Cisterns, Ponds and distribution
Day 3
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Biodigestors
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How they work
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Wastes Into resources
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Cooking with Biogas
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Feedstocks
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Management
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Solar Thermal Hot Water Systems
Day 4
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Organic Vegetables
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Biodynamics
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The CSA
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Growing for the Eco-resort
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Compost
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Vermiculture
Day 5
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Agroforestry
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Coffee plantings and over story trees
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Organic treatments for the coffee
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Interplanting Coffee with Citrus, Avocado, Macadamia and Cacao
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Field exercise
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Laying out plantings on Contour
Day 6
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Animals
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Chickens, Pigs, Dairy and Beef cattle
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Rotational Grazing
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Heritage Breeds
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Microhydro Systems
Day 7
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Coffee, drying packaging, roasting
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Cacao and chocolate making
Come find out why our graduates call our Permaculture Design Certification course LIFE CHANGING! We have been holding space for everything permaculture in the greater NYC metropolitan area for over 14 years!
Come and learn with us and join our thousands of students who have set upon their permaculture journey to positively impact life on earth.
Our Permaculture design certification course imparts a positive and empowering vision for social and ecological transformation.
Andrew Faust - Founder | Director
One of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with over two decades of experience in the field. His passionate and mind expanding talks and curriculum have motivated teachers, students since his decade long career as a H.S. teacher at Upattina's, a open community free school in Glenmoore, PA.
Andrew created his own Permaculture PHD project, in 1999, a fully off grid, Straw Bale educational center in Pocahontas County W.V. He moved to Brooklyn in 2007 and has been applying his knowledge to the urban landscape. Faust has been inspiring film makers with the message of Permaculture culminating in the film: Inhabit, and a life changing Permaculture Design Certification course, with thousands of graduates.
Faust received a dual diploma in Design and Education from Permaculture Institute of North America in 2016. Andrew and Adriana Magaña with their daughter Juniper run the Center for Bioregional Living in Ellenville, NY., a hands-on educational campus for students and clients. Andrew is a certified Alternative School Teacher, focusing on Bioregional Education; he instructed at Upattina's Open Community High School from 1992-2001. Faust holds a B.A. in comparative religions from Guilford College.
Earth is Our Home: Bioregional Permaculture, A New Model for Economic Prosperity
Earth Is Our Home articulates an optimistic vision for a new way of living and being, one that is Earth-centered and honors our interdependence with our planet.
This book is about regional planning with Permaculture design and how to create a human scale, localized economy.The book provides comprehensive solutions for addressing the planetary scale challenges we are all faced with today:
- Ecological overshoot
- Climate chaos from millennia of deforestation and desertification 500 years of colonialism, exploitation and extractive technologies
- Addressing the epic, ethical responsibility, to heal the wounds from industrialization, centralization, environmental racism and chemical contamination.
Andrew Faust offers a clear design process for you to follow, based on his lifelong experience, geared towards healing and creating abundance for all. Adapting how we live collectively, globally and locally, to be more suited to how our beautiful planet actually works, this is the key to how our species creates a true and lasting legacy of well-being and prosperity for all life on Earth.
FREE ONLINE PERMACULTURE COURSES
INTRODUCTION TO PERMACULTURE
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20TH - 6PM
Permaculture addresses the major issues of our day with a whole systems approach. It is a worldwide movement that is helping to regenerate local ecologies and economies.
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History of Permaculture
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Designing Your Home, Farm & Business
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Regenerative Farming, Biodynamics and Climate Resiliency
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Andrew Faust is the founder and director of Center for BioRegional Living and a permaculture designer, teacher, and activist. Andrew is known for his dynamic teaching style and his ability to inspire people to take action and make positive changes in their communities. He’s also an advocate for social and environmental justice. He believes that permaculture can play a crucial role in addressing issues such as climate change, food insecurity, and social inequality by promoting sustainable and regenerative practices. It all might sound very serious but believe me, it’s very ticklish stuff as you’ll hear.
What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a design process and a worldwide movement that is helping to regenerate local ecologies and economies by addressing our social justice and environmental issues.
Permaculture Center for BioRegional Living - Farm Tour
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See a working Permaculture Educational Farm
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Learn how to grow more of your own food
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Learn how to set up big rain tanks for water security
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See our straw bale cabin, outhouses and natural classroom
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See how create ponds and to find and develop springs
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Visit our Dwarf Nigerian Goats, heritage chickens, nut trees natural buildings Biodigestor and more.
Available by appointment only - $100.00
Please call - 917.584.4588
JOIN OUR ON LINE MONTHLY PERMACULTURE MEETUP
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20TH 6PM
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Real Estate Appraisals
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Energy Consulting
"If it was not for Andrew I would have completely bought the wrong piece of Land and wasted tens of thousands of dollars. After sharing my goals, Andrew patiently took months of narrowing down properties I sent him from online listings. Then he went to visit the best and final online selections in person, selecting the best of the best within my budget. Hiring his services was well worth every dollar. I would highly recommend leveraging his experience to anyone serious about buying land. " - Property Analysis Client
Permaculture Gardens and Landscapes
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Gardens
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Agroforestry
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Native Pollinator
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Orchards
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Biodynamic
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Meadows and Landscape
- Design, build and maintain diversified, beautiful, edible and native landscapes for our clients using permaculture design principles. We fully utilize southern exposure for rare and delicate fruits and cooler areas for rare woodland medicinals and other appropriate plantings. We will disperse detrimental energies like wind and sun and increase privacy and the diversity of use by the strategic placement of the plantings we create on-site.
Permaculture Consultation - Natural Building Services
 Strawbale/Off-grid-Hillsboro,W,V,My permaculture Homestead/educational Center,Black locust posts from on site and clay for the walls, local hemlock framing and strawbales from a local oats farmer |  Strawbale-Sullivan,NYPole barn framing all from site. We sited, designed and built this 2200 square foot home from start to finish. |  Straw bale houseCochecton,NY a client and graduate of our class we designed and built this passive solar house for. |
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 No plastic wraps-All clay&woodEarthen plasters directly onto the bales with a wood siding for the final exterior and plaster on the interior. |  Clay walls done by handWe like to do earthen plasters from local clay after we paint the bales with clay slip. |  Passive Solar OrientationA straw bale earthen plastered, slab on grade home heated with radiant floor heating from a solar thermal array.It is a pole barn framing system with unique engineered metal joiners.Every stick of wood in the building came from on-site. |
 Wood sidingWide overhangs protect from summer sun,let in the winter sun.Solar thermal on the roof into the slab, thermostat inter tied to tankless propane hot water for winter heating, |  Solar Thermal-Passive hot waterSolar Hot water is your key to resilient domestic hot water and low effort winter warmth we put the suns energy right into the foundation of your home and into your water tank! |  2-5 sided Strawbale-Accord,NYWe designed and built and sited this 2 -5 sided strawbale healing sanctuary as part of a masterplan for a 40 acre property,for a client in Accord,NY |
 Solar thermal into slabWe built the forms and put the pex in for the solar thermal and sub contracted out the pour, |  Posts from on siteStanding seam metal roof and posts from on-site,ready to stack bales. |  2-5 sided strawbale-doneEarthern plaster finished w/lime wash. |
 A straw bale earthen plastered building It is actually two, 5 sided structures connected by a breezeway we designed, we sited and built for a client with ash posts from on-site and poplar framing from the area.It is slab on grade with radiant floor heating from solar thermal hot water and biofuels.We can do this for you! |  Inside the sanctuaryAll interiors earthen plasters and natural finishes. |  Posts sit in side balesThis way you can appreciate the beauty of the wood framing materials, |
 Roof insulated from outsideOur innovation we blanket the whole outside with salvaged rigid blue foam and then put the metal on so you get the beauty of seeing all your rafters and great insualtion! |  Built in shelvingThe details are all tailored to the clients needs. |  Tiny House Gardiner,NYLocal natural materials, non-toxic and passive solar writers studio,We designed and built . |
 Tiny house -Natural interiorAll non-toxic natural interiors in this tiny house project,Clay onto drywall and citra solve w /tung oil for the floors. |  Sunroom-Stone Ridge,NYOur team designed and built this addition for a graduate of our class , |  Sunroom |
 Latest Strawbale-Stonykill,NYSeth one of our crew and his wife Sarah are design/building this strawbale home for themselves based on the houses we built for our clients over the past 6 years in the region, |  |  |
 Outbuildings-Stony kill,NY |  4-stall-Outdoor showers,Stonykill,NYRain fed out door showers made for increased hosting at a Tai Chi center in Accord,NY |  |
 |  Straw bale pole structure we are building here in Ellenville. |  |
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 |  Our classroom and summer kitchen in Ellenville from local lumber and poles on-site. |  Outdoor Classroom Waldorf SchoolAccord,NY .We are building natural structures with on-site trees with parents and students helping. |
 Teaching carpentry by doing, with Juniper's class at Acorn school in Accord, NY. |  Tent platformsModular and made with local rot resistant wood. |  Rain water catchment incorporated into outbuildings, as you see here, to create reliable water supplies on remote sites is one of our specialties. |
 1500 gallon rain tankWe can put water on a platform to get you the pressure you need! |  A structure for water supply and storage made from local materials. |  Pole construction with local rough cut hemlock.We built this at the high point in our 10 acre meadow to catch hold and store rainwater for our primary water supply on-site . |
We combine our experience in natural building and landscape construction to create healthy homes for healthy people. We will site buildings to be well located in regards to water drainage around them and maximize the natural benefits of being oriented to the sun for winter homes and towards the north for passive cooling and root cellars.
Humanity is more than ever threatened by its own actions; we hear a lot about the need to minimize footprints and to reduce our impact. But what if our footprints were beneficial? What if we could meet human needs while increasing the health and well-being of our planet?
"INHABIT - IS QUITE SIMPLY THE BEST FILM EVER MADE ABOUT PERMACULTURE" - Permaculture Magazine
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WHAT WE DO:
Educational Initiatives
Permaculture Design Consultation
Water Quality & Regional Planning
Herbalism, Food & Healing
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS: