Regenerative Agriculture Design Course (Richard Perkins)
9 DAYS: 18TH - 26TH JANUARY 2025 FACILITATED BY RICHARD PERKINS (SWEDEN) & GERARDO RUIZ SMITH (MEXICO) AT FAVOUR FARM,GEORGE WESTERN CAPE ,SOUTH AFRICA
Cost: R18500 Including all meals and basic camping.
Based on the Keyline Scale of Permanence, this 9-day intensive training leads participants through a systematic approach to designing productive, resilient and efficient farm landscapes. Working through the ‘layers’ of the Scale of Permanence, with a strong focus on economics and the business and decision-making aspects of farm management, each day participants can develop the corresponding layers of their own land plans. We will also be focusing our attention on the host site, using the training as a live consult to develop and refine the strategies and planning of the clients.
KEY THEMES IN OUR APPROACH
Managing Holistically
Defining your Context is the very basis of Managing Holistically. It is the very foundation in all our design work, as well as how we manage our farm and lives. Farm Scale Permaculture offers principles and attitudes for designing success, but we always integrate Managing Holistically to deal with the complexity of making decisions regarding human relationships, ecology and economy.
Keyline Design
The Scale of Permanence offers us an organisational framework for the design of larger landscapes, which we have used for many years in our work. Our whole training program follows the same order of prioritisation with which we approach landscapes, to leave you with a coherent and
intelligent approach to whole systems design. Topics include climate and biome considerations, landform and mapping, reading the landscape, understanding water in the landscape, water systems and management, trees and woody crops, access, infrastructure, integrated animal systems, soils and closed loop fertility management.
Tree and Woody Crops
Agroforestry is a vital component in the future of broadacre land regeneration. By understanding the functions of woody systems in different parts of our landscapes we can clarify the agroforestry assemblies suited to our land base. Virtually every farm on the planet could benefit from more woody crops, and so we look at design considerations, planting and management strategies and all the additional yields woody ag offers.
Low Cost Infrastructure Development
With an ageing farmer/ landowner population, most farmers cannot afford to get out of farming as their capital is locked up in assets. Consequently young people wanting access to land have a hard time getting in the game. Due to the educational aspect of our work, we specialise in low cost, scalable and modular enterprises that could run on rented land and small properties alike. We delve into the mobile and modular infrastructure, fencing and appropriate technologies, etc, that help make small farms work.
Integrated Animal Systems
Pasture based production is so vital to farms of the future, as there are no shorter chains of production than converting sunlight to flesh via grasses. Yet so little emphasis and understanding has been placed on grass physiology and ecology. Diving deep into this fascinating subject, we will also gain insight into Holistic Planned Grazing and monitoring your grassland using different survey techniques. We will also look at Pastured Egg Mobiles, Broilers and turkeys; fantastic profitable small farm enterprises that play a very important role in rekindling tired pastures and that can easily be scaled up and down accordingly. Ridgedale operated one of Europe’s lowest cost approved slaughter facilities, and has helped many other farms establish on- farm slaughter, processing and nutrient cycling facilities.
A No-Dig Approach to Market Gardening
No-Dig represents the very best soil building approach to growing annual vegetables, and combined with BioIntensive spacings and good crop planning this makes for a fantastic small scale economically profitable enterprise. Ridgedale used innovative approaches to composting, growing microbiology as well as harvesting, storing and planning. We will get into the back end of the planning and design considerations that reduce the workload of this intensive enterprise. You’ll also learn all about microgreens and intensive tunnel cultivation of tomato and cucumbers.
Closed Loop Fertility
Soils are the basis of everything we are looking to create. For us, the basic premise of regenerative agriculture is that it must be soil building. There are many ways to capture carbon back into increasingly productive agricultures, which we cover as a theme in all the topics. We will also
explore approaches to closing fertility loops on the farm as far as possible, including topics like making your own composts, bio-fertilisers, compost teas, biochar, growing microbiology, etc.
Regenerative Enterprise
Ultimately it is effective decision making, diligent planning and monitoring that make it all work. In arm Scale Permaculture we aim to observe and understand natural patterns to be able to design more effective and resilient systems. Economic considerations are no different. We can design enterprises that benefit all involved and marketing local food systems presents opportunities and leverage points that give us an upper edge. Selling what you produce is half the work and so we explore CSA’s, buying clubs, farm currencies and other innovative ways to reduce the work and risk whilst building community.
Course Logistics
Costs: R18 500 including all meals and basic camping facilities. Alternative accommodation available at extra cost. We start early on Saturday. We offer dinner at 6pm on Friday 17h Jan, so please aim to arrive by 3-4 pm. Plan to depart after 7pm on Sunday 26th Jan, or sleep the night and leave Monday morning after breakfast. Please note, we cannot accommodate you or help with transport outside these times.
YOUR FACILITATORS
Richard Perkins
Richard Perkins has inspired farmers all over the globe with his pragmatic no-nonsense approach to profitable system design, instructing thousands through his live trainings and online courses. A recognised leader in the field of regenerative agriculture, he is the owner of one of Europe’s foremost examples, Ridgedale Farm. He is also the author of the widely acclaimed manual Regenerative Agriculture, which was declared “a must on every aspiring farmer’s bookshelf” by the world’s best-known farmer, Joel Salatin. The two other books in the Ridgedale trilogy are Ridgedale Farm Builds and Farm Fish Hunt Pick Bake. Richard advocates small-scale, diversified farming and mainly uses Permaculture Design, Holistic Management and Keyline Design. His approach to no dig market gardening and pastured poultry production has been emulated by thousands of people in all corners of the globe and many of his students have started their own successful farming businesses. He has worked professionally in every major climate zone across several continents consulting to projects, farms and industry, and is now focused on educating a new generation of farmers who want to restore soils and feed their local communities whilst making a good living from it.
Richard Perkins (@richardperkins.co) • Instagram photos and videos / RIDGEDALE FARM AB –
Home (ridgedalepermaculture.com)
Gerardo Ruiz Smith
Gerado Ruiz Smith is currently based in the Chihuahuan Desert of northern Mexico, and has spent most of his life amongst the deserts of Mexico and the southwest United States. Through his work as founder and director of Agroasis, a regenerative agriculture design and consultancy business, he is able to combine his engineering background with his deep appreciation and understanding of arid ecosystems and traditional ecological knowledge from indigenous cultures. For the last 10 years he has worked throughout North America, both as a consultant and as educator, in the regeneration of arid landscapes through holistic land planning, grazing, Keyline Design and agroforestry systems. Troughout his career, he has had many unique opportunities to collaborate and learn directly from indigenous elders in Mexico as well as from world-class mentors like Eric Toensmeier, John D Liu, Gary Nabhan, Darren Doherty, Joel Salatin, Eugenio Grass, Jairo Restrepo and Richard Perkins. He is a visiting professor at both the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and the Universidad del Medio Ambiente (UMA), where he teaches Holistic Land Planning courses for their Master’s degree programs in agroecology and agroforestry sciences. Additionally, he Serves on the board of directors of two non-profit organizations and it’s the current director of Fundación Pro Cuatrocienegas, a bioregional organization working to preserve and restore the Biosphere Reserve of Cuatro Cienegas in the Chihuahuan Desert through rewilding, silvopasture and regenerative grazing initiatives.
https://www.instagram.com/agroasis.mx/ / https://agroasis.mx
