This October we are returning to the magical La Garrotxa, near Barcelona, for our 3rd Permaculture Design Course in Spain.

We are excited to offer a 17-day PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATE (PDC) PLUS Course with over 90 hours curriculum, full of practical knowledge, hands-on experiences and design exercises in a place of great natural beauty.

The PDC program integrates with optional daily yoga sessions ,mindfulness practices, Deep Ecology/ Nature Connection exercises, outdoor learning and community living. The course takes place from the 2nd-18th of October 2015 in a wonderful, rural, stone house and stunning natural surroundings of La Garrotxa, near Girona and Barcelona. Participants will be immersed in an inspiring learning environment while living close to nature for the full duration of the course.

We have Rico Zook from the US joining us as the main facilitator. In addition to academic and professional credentials, Mr. Zook has spent more than 25 years living in nature, including long-term residencies in California’s Yosemite National Park, the demanding Sangria de Cristo Mountains of Northern New Mexico, and as a homesteader in Northern California wilderness. For more than a decade as Land Manager for the Lama Foundation, a spiritual community and retreat center North of Taos, NM, Mr. Zook designed and transformed the rugged, semi-arid high-altitude site that had been decimated by wildfire into one of beauty and productivity.

Outdoor learning with Rico during last year's PDC (La Garrotxa)

Using permaculture practices, a lifetime of observation and interpretation of the natural world and the knowledge of how to create human harmony with it, he has built a visible and successful permaculture demonstration and teaching site. It is a model of design, integrating the needs, resources and yields of community and nature in proactive and abundant ways with respectful and restorative impacts on the environment. Mr. Zook is a graduate of Sonoma State University, from which he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies focused on land restoration, with minors in Biology and Philosophy. You can find out more about his work here: www.i-permaculture.org

Kate and Roman from Soil Sun Soul have been involved in organizing and working with Permaculture and alternative education since 8 years in 5 Continents. Visit their blog here

http://soil-sun-soul.blogspot.com/

Our aim with Soil Sun Soul is to design and offer whole person learning experiences which aim to:

- increase ecological literacy,

- empower individuals to design regenerative life systems using ecological principles, 

- reconnect us to the Earth

- encourage holistic thinking and decision making. 

As Warren Brush says in his podcast interview: ¨The Permaculture Design Course is a basic training for living in the 21st century in a way that actually makes sense.¨ This course helps you to awaken to the fundamental patterns in nature and reconnect yourself to the web of life.

Once again, the course location is in the area of La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, in Catalonia, northeastern Spain. Some parts of the park, including the best preserved volcanic cones, are fully protected as nature reserves. The mountain landscape, the sun and climate provide a variety of vegetation, with holm oaks, common oaks and beech trees of exceptional value to the landscape.

Breathtaking landscapes of  La Garrotxa

The Mas Pujou Team: Artiz, Narcis, Carmen and Oliver came to this beautiful site in 2014. Their home is an ideal place to enjoy the peacefull nature and sorroundings.They started to work together in the forest, to renovate the old stone house and establish vegetable gardens.

The restored stone masia where we host the course at Mas Pujou

Stunning views from Mas Pujou

They also joined the CIC, Cooperativa Integral Catalan, a Transitional initiative for social transformation from below, through self·management, self·organization and networking.You can learn more about CIC here: http://cooperativa.cat/en/

The local Regenerative Agriculture Farm Planeses usally is our main organic, local food supplier. This project is another amazing initiative in the La Garrotxa area and we had the pleasure of volunteering there ourselves, planting and harvesting vegetables and taking care of chickens.We aim to support the local economy, by keeping money circulating in the neighbouring community and cooperating  with people from our local area.

Overview of Planeses Farm

This farm runs a  CSA project with over 90 custumers and is using cutting-edge direct marketing and regenerative agriculture techniques. During our 17 day PDC PLUS Course we also plan to visit this inspiring project.

Vegetable production at Planeses

This time, the Mas Pujou team will be organizing and preparing much of the delicious, healthy food we serve. It will be sourced from their organic gardens and from a local cooperative they are working with.

This 17 Day experience will give us time for some hands-on experiences on site at Mas Pujou.We also integrate optional morning yoga sessions. some midfullness practises and some Nature Connection excercises during the course. There will be a "Food as Medicine" talk by special guest Martina Wastl from PranaKitchen who will also share some of her delicious recipes to try.

Overall, this will be a one-of-a-kind experience as the Soil Sun Soul team always does its best to take  everyone involved on another transformational learning journey!

Slideshow from one of our past courses with Rico Zook in Spain here:

more slideshows here:

Soil Sun Soul Course Slideshows

We are looking forward to be learning,sharing and growing together! 

SOIL SUN SOUL Blogspot : Soil Sun Soul Blog