Salamander Springs Farm is joining forces with the The Year of Mud to host a Permaculture Workshop. This course is an exciting opportunity to discover the myriad aspects of living on an off-grid farm with a strong dedication to permaculture farming practices. Develop hands-on skills and experience an off-grid, solar-powered farm built from scratch over 20+ years. Learn all about no-till staple crops, intensively managed vegetable production, perennial fruit and tree crops, building hugelkultur beds and swales, and more. This permaculture workshop is for anyone wanting to get valuable firsthand experience on the ground.
Workshop Info at a Glance:
- Workshop Dates: September 13-15, 2024
- Location: Salamander Springs Farm, 15 minutes outside Berea, Kentucky (map)
- All-inclusive: Workshop includes camping accommodations, and delicious home-cooked meals each day
- Hands-on learning: off-grid farm living, no-till staple crop and vegetable production, hugulkultur, soil building, contour swales & water management, seed saving, natural building, appropriate and solar technologies, and more!
- Led by Susana Lein, permaculture farmer with over 30 years of experience, assisted by Ziggy Liloia & April Morales
- Cost:
$380 Early Registration Discount (save $40 before August 15)
$420 Regular Registration (after August 15)
Work-trade & BIPOC scholarships available
Food and Dining
We provide all meals during our workshops. The lovingly prepared meals will largely consist of hearty organic vegetarian dishes featuring locally grown ingredients. You will not go hungry with us! In fact, you might have a hard time leaving the table after each meal. We do our best to accommodate dietary restrictions and food allergies. (We’ll follow up after registration to make sure we have your preferences on file.) It’s recommended that participants bring snacks and specialty items only if they wish (example: your favorite tea or coffee, any food you can’t live without) to supplement the otherwise complete meals.
Lodging and Accommodations During Your Stay
All accommodations are included in the cost of the workshop. Here is what you can expect during your stay:
- Ample camping space on workshop site
- Access to composting toilets
- Outdoor solar shower facilities
- 15 minute drive into town for whatever town needs you might have
Workshop Location
The Permaculture in Practice Workshop is located 15 minutes outside of Berea, Kentucky (map) at Salamander Springs Farm in the gorgeous Clear Creek Valley. Salamander Springs Farm is an off-grid, intensively managed small farm with well-established no till staple crop fields, vegetable gardens, perennial crops, fruit trees, and many other examples of permaculture in action.
Berea is a small town in central Kentucky, home to an active population of craftspeople, artists, woodworkers, musicians, social activists, and homesteaders. Berea has a longstanding tradition of diversity, social justice, environmental responsibility, and community service. The historic Berea College is the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, and its influence on the town remains to this day.
Workshop Schedule
Students should arrive between 4-5 p.m. on Friday, September 13th. We’ll begin the weekend with a shared meal and meet-and-greet after dinner. The class itself will formally begin the morning of Saturday, September 14th, and end late afternoon on Sunday, September 15th. Please factor this in to your travel plans!
Permaculture Workshop Highlights
- Create fertile, living soil, hugelkultur, contour swales & ponds.
- Use local resources and energy, water systems, and cycle “waste.”
- Grow diverse food crops, staples and cover crops without tillage.
- Experience building with clay & straw, local lumber and salvage, timber framing, earthen floor, a passive solar tiny house, solar shower, humanure compost toilet, solar food dehydrator and more.
- Enjoy farm-grown, preserved and fermented veggies and staple foods, fruits, herbs, wild forage, nuts.
The Permaculture in Practice Workshop is your opportunity to develop hands-on skills and experience an off-grid, solar-powered farm built from scratch over 20+ years. This is for anyone wanting to get firsthand experience with permaculture principles and methods on the ground. Hands-on practicums and intensive education in principles, methods and materials, timing, lessons learned are included — not to be missed!
Susana Lein received her PDC at Crystal Waters Permaculture Village in Australia, worked 8 years with small farmers in Latin America and has practiced permaculture for 25 years. Over the years, she has taught more than 80 permaculture & natural building workshops, on-farm and for organizations in 9 states and 4 countries. Check out her Salamander Springs Farm website for more information and the Workshops page for information about Skills Day classes.
This is an inspirational weekend workshop that you will cherish!