Courses & Other Educational Programs

Gaia Guidance bietet verschiedene Kurse und Weiterbildungsveranstaltungen zu Permaculture und verwandten Themen an.

Planned events are available for registration in the event calendar. Additional events can be requested and booked. Please contact Gaia Guidance if you are interested

Introduction to Permaculture

Discover Permaculture as a versatile design approach and tool for sustainability.

Water – Our life and our responsibility

A course on water retention, from garden to landscape. From principle to implementation.

Introduction to syntropic agroforestry

Learn what lies behind the concept of syntropy and how corresponding agroforestry systems are planned, installed and managed.

Info:

Gaia Guidance is interested in partners who want to implement water retention measures or syntropic agroforestry systems and are willing to provide corresponding areas for practical course content. In return for the use of the location during the course, a tangible example of its content remains, which can be further developed and serve as a starting point for further projects.

To the event calendar

Introduction to Permaculture

Permaculture as a design approach

Duration: 1 day

Most people associate Permaculture with gardening. But while the origins of Permaculture do indeed have to do with the cultivation of plants, its potential and scope of application extend far beyond that. There is probably hardly any area of our society in which Permaculture cannot make a contribution. So the more people work with it, the more its potential can unfold.

The aim of this one-day event is therefore to raise interest and awareness of Permaculture. In order to do justice to its wide range of applications, the focus is on the design aspect of Permaculture. An interactive and playful approach is used to convey a basic understanding of what working with Permaculture entails.

The event is aimed in particular at people who are considering attending a Permaculture design course and would like to gain some insight beforehand.

Content:

  • Origin, concept, and ethics of Permaculture
  • Potential applications
  • Design principles & models
  • Design tools

Back to Overview

Water – Our life and our responsibility

Water retention in the landscape

Duration: 6 days

Diese Kurse sind eine Einladung, sich über den Verlauf von sechs Tagen intensiver mit der Thematik „Water Retention in der Landschaft“ auseinanderzusetzen.

The core of the event deals with ways in which water can be saved, collected, stored, and used effectively on the basis of Permaculture. In addition to a theoretical part, in which relevant strategies are presented, there will also be a practical part, if possible, in which various structures for water retention in the landscape will be created. In order to delve deeper into Permaculture as a connecting culture, the time spent together will be enriched by elements of wilderness education, community building, and mindfulness practice.

The range of applications for the content presented extends from your own garden to landscape management. Background knowledge of Permaculture is helpful for understanding and applying the content, but is not required for participation.

Content:

Theory:

  • Introduction to the water cycle and water distribution
  • Principles of rainwater harvesting according to Brad Lancaster
  • Means of collecting, storing, and distributing water in the landscape
  • Keyline-design
  • Strategies for irrigation and soil treatment
  • Introduction to the use of domestic gray water
  • Methods for more successful establishment of plantations under dry conditions

Practice:

  • Construction of water retention structures (depending on venue and number of participants)
  • Application of methods (low-tech) for terrain surveying and characterization
  • Irrigation methods
  • Mulching
  • Planting

Back to Overview

Introduction to syntropic agroforestry

Syntropy instead of entropy

Duration: 2 days

In syntropic systems, the collection and concentration of energy plays a central role in accelerating succession processes and creating systems with greater complexity. The concept of syntropy can thus be seen as a counterpoint to the more familiar concept of entropy. The latter is characterized by the dispersion of energy and the transition of systems to simpler states.

In agriculture, the concept of syntropy manifests itself in a special form of agroforestry systems. This is strongly based on the traditional agricultural and forestry practices of indigenous people in the rainforests of South America. However, since the underlying mechanisms remain the same, the approach can also be applied to other climate zones.

Erfahre in diesen Kursen, wie du komplexe und resiliente Agroforstsysteme planen, anlegen und pflegen kannst, um Nahrung, Holz, Medizin sowie Lebensraum zu generieren und gleichzeitig Bodenaufbau zu betreiben.

Content:

Back to Overview