Permaculture Design Certification Course
LOCATION
Rancho Mastatal Sustainability Education Center
DESCRIPTION
Join our diverse team of permaculture instructors led by Scott Gallant and Hugo Soto 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 Recognition
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
Silvopasture 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.
LEAD INSTRUCTORS
Scott Gallant
Scott Gallant is an agroforestor 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 , Abundant Edge, and Making Permaculture Stronger podcasts.
You can find him on instagram here.
Hugo Soto
Hugo started down the permaculture path in 2012; Hugo’s study of organic agriculture led him to continue to deepen his ways of relating to people and the place. A native of San Jose, Costa Rica, Hugo began by promoting urban permaculture through projects such as community gardens and creating edible spaces featuring native plants. While developing communal gardening projects Hugo also focuses on leading workshops and courses within communities to shift to better soil management and production strategies.
Hugo compliments his passion for design by tying communal design for living well into his approach to planning; he has been trained in working with several forms of design for invisible social structures. Hugo is a member of the Red Permanezca, which seeks to creatively promote permaculture in Costa Rica with the end goal of inspiring deep societal change. Hugo’s goals include promoting permaculture through education and site visits, having time to swim and hike in the mountains while living in a collaborative eco-community.
Additional Instructors
Jorge Salazar: Founder of La Iguana Chocolate
Kealy and Solin Garcia: Founders of KIS Botanicals
Rancho Mastatal Staff
COURSE START AND ARRIVAL DATES
The course will start at 9 a.m. on April 25, 2021. Students are encouraged to arrive on April 24 Lodging the night of April 24th is included in the cost of the class.
COURSE END AND DEPARTURE DATES
The course will end at around 5 p.m. on May 8th. Most students will depart on the morning of May 9th. Lodging the night of May 8th 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.
Central Americans can apply for limited scholarships here.
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.
