Food Security through Biodiversity – PDC in Belize!

I am so thrilled to be teaching a Permaculture Design Course in Belize this February!  What a great month to get away from the Pacific Northwest and be in the jungle on a permaculture farm that specializes in cacao and vanilla.  The teaching team for this course is one of the best that I have had the opportunity to work with yet!
The cast of teachers –
Christopher Nesbitt (steward of MMRF) is keen on biodiversity and our theme for the course is “Food Security through Biodiversity.”  The site has many examples of appropriate technology and diverse plantings to meet their food needs year round.  Students will be immersed in this ideal environment for learning permaculture design.

Albert Bates will be the lead teacher.  He has written many books, most recently The BioChar Solution:  Carbon Farming & Climate Change.  He has been a resident of The Farm in Tennessee since 1972 and has been key in the Global Ecovillage Movement (GEN).

Nicole Foss was recently in Portland to share about her studies in communities who have reached economic collapse and peak and the ways that they have responded and adapted to the change.

I was at the site 10 years ago on my first trip to Latin America.  Christopher had taken a degraded cattle farm and turned it into a thriving permaculture paradise.  Now, ten years later (and 25 years old), Maya Mountain Research Farm is one of the oldest sites in Latin America.  The farm is in a remote area of Belize that is not reachable by car.  You can either hike in or take a dugout canoe up river to get there.  The river is pristine and perfect for swimming.  The landscape will serve the class well as we deepen into our observation skills and study permaculture design.

I am excited to be a part of this fine teaching team and I look forward to what I will be learning about the research and experience that they all have to contribute.

All instructor bios can be found on the website:  http://www.mmrfbz.org/_9th_Annual_Permaculture_Design_Course.html

It is going to be beautiful and warm in Belize in February.  For every two full paying participants, we give a scholarship to someone from the local community.  Can you please help me spread the word?  The event announcement is below.

Thank you so much!  Wishing everyone a happy solstice and 2014!

Marisha

9th Annual Permaculture Design Course:  Food Security through Biodiversity

February 10 – 22nd, 2014
at Maya Mountain Research Farm,
in San Pedro Columbia, Toledo, Belize.

The course will be held from February 10th through February 22, 2014. This is a certificate course that follows the standard established 72 hour curriculum. This year’s teachers will be Albert Bates, Marisha Auerbach and Christopher Nesbitt. The course costs USD1250, and that covers all food and lodging, field trips (with the exception of fees to National Parks or Archeological sites) and material for the course. You can read bios of the teachers at our web site, http://www.mmrfbz.org/_9th_Annual_Permaculture_Design_Course.html

The venue of Maya Mountain Research Farm is one of Central Americas oldest permaculture farms. It is a former cattle and citrus farm that has been rehabilitated into a lush tropical food forest. Accommodations are simple, but clean, with photovotaic powered lights in every room. It is truly a wonderful place to learn about permaculture, whether you are new to permaculture or have several design courses under your belt. This is a good opportunity to see permaculture principles and practices as MMRF is the result of thought, design work and decades of work.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact Christopher Nesbitt at  christopher.nesbitt@mmrfbz.org

, or call Christopher at 001-501-630-4386.–

come to Belize…Travel far south; to the back of beyond; to a remote
valley accessible only by dugout canoe.  Study
permaculture surrounded by a lush, productive
forest of edibles, medicinals and tropical
hardwoods.  Eat organic food, sleep in dorms
powered by renewable energy, bathe in a sparkling
pure river….

ALBERT BATES
NICOLE FOSS
MARISHA AUERBACH
CHRISTOPHER NESBITT

Permaculture Design Certificate Course
Dates Feb 10 to 22, 2014
Place: Maya Mountain Research Farm
San Pedro Columbia, Belize

For Details, or to register, please see http://www.mmrfbz.org or contact Christopher at info@mmrfbz.org.

Ven a Belice…

10 de 22 Feb 2014
Curso de Diseño en Permacultura
Montaña Maya Research Farm

a guided tour of NGO projects in the region immediately precedes for those who can come early.

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