surpluspermaculturedesignOrganic Gardening: The Permaculture Way at Azula, Portugal 19th – 27th April 2020
Azula and Surplus Permaculture Design are excited to invite you to a unique learning experience designed to empower you to reclaim your food freedom by learning to grow your own organic food.
This workshop will be focusing on Organic gardening, teaching you the fundamental techniques and knowledge to get you started with growing quality, fresh, organic vegetables all year round. From the urban balcony to the rural farm this workshop will teach you how to grow more veg in less space than you ever imagined to be possible! Maximising your available space and producing an abundance of nutritious and delicious vegetables, herbs and fruit.
The Permaculture design strategies will also be introduced to give you an inspiring insight into how Permaculture can re-shape your thinking, future and our gardens.
What to expect from the workshop?
This course is a hands-on course and you will gain first-hand experience of techniques during practical sessions. During this time of the year, there are many different tasks that need to be completed to ensure that Azula has an abundance of fresh organic produce during the growing season and these tasks will form the basis of our experiential learning.
These practical sessions will be supplemented by theory and question and answer sessions in the classroom.
Key topics in the workshop will include:
Soil Building & Remediation:
Discover the secrets behind making awesome compost and other soil amendments. Learn how to apply green manuring techniques, crop rotation and soil food web technologies to help keep your garden healthy and fertile.
Plant propagation:
Develop your green fingers by learning different techniques on how to grow your own plants. Gain a deeper understanding and the practical skills to be able to: Save your own seeds, propagate seed, take cuttings, layering and air layering, division and grafting.
Organic Pioneering:
Learn about “No dig” & “Biointensive” gardening techniques, which can help you to pioneer extraordinarily healthy and productive gardens, even if you’re starting from damaged land or an overgrown neglected plot!
Integrated Pest Management (IPM):
The ecological garden aims to host a diverse range of plants and animals, mimicking a natural ecosystem in order to provide services such as pest control & pollination. Learn how to create habitats which attract beneficial beings. Identify the root causes of potential disease and pest problems in order to create a harmoniously integrated edible ecosystem.
Garden Planning:
Apply the science of Permaculture design in order to map, plan and arrange all the elements of your garden to maximise efficiency and productivity. Regardless of the size of your garden permaculture design can help you to get the most out of it in terms of; production, energy efficiency, economy and enjoyment.
Food forestry:
How to mimic natural forest systems to create an abundance of food, fibre and fodder. Explore the art of designing and creating edible landscapes which not only provide an abundance of food but also require less and less maintenance over time.
Course price: € 430
Early Bird Discounts:
Get in there early and secure this workshop for an incredible € 400 if you sign up before January 31st 2020
This price includes all meals, a place to stay for the duration of the course, transportation to and from the farm and all course tuition and materials.
We ask all registrants to make a deposit of € 100 to secure your spot and for the remaining fee to be paid in cash on arrival.
Please arrive before 13:00 on the 19th of April.
Azula would like to be as transparent as possible with their finances, as an example to other projects and to be open and honest with visitors and students, who each contribute so much to the building and development of the farm and community.
Azula is currently funded by its founders but they want to create a more resilient economic model by diversifying their streams of income. Creating a volunteer program and by running courses and workshops will help develop the systems on the land. The money paid for your course fee will be divided between Azula project and the facilitators, meaning Azula can go forward with developing the project and purchasing of materials, and the facilitators can continue with their passion to teach and inspire.
Please Note:
In the unlikely event of us cancelling the course your deposit will be refunded in full, additionally, we will not be held responsible for any financial losses accrued. The closing dates for registering for the course is April 12th 2020. Deposits are non-refundable. We will accept late bookings if there is space available.
Fundraise for your Tuition
If you are interested in a creative way to come up with funds for this course, look into fundraising for it through WeTheTrees.co. It is a great way to reach out to your family and friends, let them know what you are up to and give them a easy way to contribute to your education.
Meet the Facilitator:
Kyle has practised horticulture and community living on a kibbutz in Israel where he was inspired to pursue a career in horticulture. During his studies he completed an internship at Soil for Life, a Cape Town-based non-profit organization teaching people how to build the soil and grow healthy plants using organic and low-cost methods. After completing his studies in horticulture he worked at Kirstenbosch Botanical gardens in Cape Town, South Africa. His main focuses were conserving indigenous plant species, rehabilitating degraded ecosystems, designing and establishing education gardens on the grounds of the botanic garden. Kyle recently left his position as the perennial plant manager at Panya Project, Thailand, where he spent 3 years teaching, designing and co-coordinating the volunteer and internship program. He is currently a nomadic permaculture consultant and teacher; travelling and connecting with Permaculture projects around the world. Kyle is also a designer and consultant for Surplus Permaculture Design. He is passionate about conserving soil ecosystems, plant propagation and small-scale ecological agriculture. He is working towards empowering people to grow their own food, become more self reliant, and regenerate degraded ecosystem.
Azula is a place, a project and the home of two families that share the same vision, to raise their children in a beautiful safe environment and to cultivate their land and themselves to enjoy life fully
Founded in August 2016, in the beautiful Alentejo region of Portugal. The founders are full of enthusiasm, passion, determination and knowledge, and they are transforming this previously heavily grazed land, into an abundant off the grid farm by applying fully integrated Permaculture design systems. This is a fantastic opportunity to see how you can really make dreams into reality by designing and building a Permaculture project from scratch. Not only will you be partaking in a two week immersion into permaculture, but you will also be part of the beautiful Azula community and thereby learn how to live and thrive with people from all walks of life, go back to basics and becoming more connected with nature. Our aim is to create a supportive learning community for the duration of the course where trust, compassion, support and connection is built among participants, facilitators and community members.
The Accommodation:
Accommodation during the course will be provided in a cob earth roundhouse dormitory with comfortable mattresses and pillow. However for those that would prefer more privacy there is the option to rent a private bell tent for a maximum of 2 people at an added charge of € 40 a day. They are placed in private and beautiful surroundings in close proximity to toilets and showers. We have limited private tents so booking them in advance is a must. If you prefer, you can also bring your own tent and camp in the designated areas. Please be flexible about your sleeping space. If for some reason you would strongly prefer to be in one space or the other, please let us know, and we will try to make that happen for you.
The Food:
Fresh and organic vegetarian food will be provided throughout the course and will be sourced from the farm itself and the local market. Special dietary needs can be accommodated for but please let us know in advance.
To find out more please visit the Azula website
Contact information:
Please feel free to email us on info@azula.bio for any additional information you may need.