Permaculture Design Courses in Costa Rica 2025

Experience Sustainable Living: Join Our Immersive 2-Week Permaculture Design Courses

Is your goal to grow your own food and create a more sustainable lifestyle?

Whether you're just starting out or already have a green thumb, this course will give you the skills to design and build your dream homestead, vegetable garden, and food forest.

Finca Tierra’s on-site Permaculture Design Course provides a unique approach to Diet Design and Wellness Kitchen which emphasizes the nutritional and healing properties of food. Learn everything you need to build a self-sufficient homestead and grow a complete diet rich in proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals!

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Permaculture Design Course

The Fundamentals of Ecological Design

Permaculture is a conscious, integrated design system based on ecological principles. It provides a framework for creating landscapes that mimic the patterns found in nature, which delivers diversity, stability, and resilience. Permaculture creates an abundance of shelter, water, energy, and food to address local needs in efficient, cost-effective, and productive human environments while reducing our 'footprints' on Earth. 

Course Description

  • Our 72-hour permaculture certificate course adheres to the international standard curriculum, ensuring a comprehensive and globally recognized education.

  • During the Permaculture Design Course, you will learn how to read the patterns of the land, design a plan for a homestead and explore sustainable construction materials, renewable energies, rainwater harvesting, and waste management. You will learn how to grow a complete diet, and build and maintain vegetables, roots and grain gardens, and food forests.

    At the end of the course, each participant designs a sustainable homestead for a 1-acre (half-hectare) plot based on the principles and techniques we’ve learned. So you leave with the confidence to design any land by yourself!

  • Broad and In-Depth Learning: The course provides a broad education in permaculture while also offering an in-depth examination of homestead and farm functions.

    Daily Interactions with Mature Systems: Engage with Finca Tierra's established close-loop systems daily. Providing invaluable on-site practical application, insights and learning opportunities.

    Real-World Focus: Move beyond theory with an evolving curriculum uniquely designed around real-world and current situations and challenges.

    Skill Development: Learn practical skills and design thinking through hands-on projects and immersive experiences needed to implement and manage sustainable systems effectively.

    Field Trip: Off-site visit to experience indigenous cosmovision and land use.

  • Versatile Techniques: The methods and techniques you’ll learn are adaptable to any climate, empowering you to apply your knowledge wherever you are.

  • Natural Living: Stay in handmade natural buildings in the jungle.

    Farm-to-Table Dining: Enjoy delicious meals in our Wellness Kitchen sourced directly from our farm and local organic farmers, ensuring fresh, nutritious, and sustainable food.

  • Permaculture Design Certificate: Upon successful completion, receive a Permaculture Design Certificate from Finca Tierra, validating your expertise and knowledge

  • Mornings: Focus on practical applications, allowing you to apply concepts in a hands-on environment.

    Afternoons: Engage in in-depth course lectures, providing a solid theoretical foundation to complement your practical experiences.

Course Topics

  • Principles and ethics of permaculture design

  • Site analysis and design, from the tropics to temperate regions

  • Landscape master planning and microclimate design

  • Reading the landscape and pattern recognition

  • Design for climate change

  • Regenerative land management and stewardship

  • Water catchment, storage, filtration, and distribution

  • Biologically based treatment of greywater and blackwater

  • Using greywater in the landscape

  • Natural building techniques and vernacular architecture

  • Plant propagation and grafting

  • Organic horticulture

  • Medicinal plant propagation, usage, and preparations

  • Biointensive gardening and seed saving

  • Soil rehabilitation and fertility approaches

  • Orchard design and maintenance

  • Renewable energies

  • Local and regenerative economics

  • Urban and suburban permaculture tactics

  • Ecovillage design and community-building procedures

  • Strategies for creating an alternative nation

Practical Permaculture Skills

Mornings are dedicated to the hands-on application of useful skills.

  • Blade and knife sharpening

  • Land clearing with scythe or machete

  • Plant identification

  • Food forest fundamentals

  • Clearing and planting new disturbances in agroforestry systems

  • Techniques in small-scale vegetable gardening

  • Tree planting fundamentals, support species, and broad-scale fertility management

  • Plant propagation fundamentals, including propagation and planting of seeds, rhizomes, and cuttings as well as various forms of grafting

  • The construction of thermal compost and its use in hot water heating

  • Nursery management, including making an in-house potting soil

  • Soil pH testing and techniques to balance pH

  • Leveling for application of swales, hedgerows, and techniques for finding key points and key lines

  • Food processing skills, including lactoferments of vegetables and fermenting honey to make mead

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Off Grid Tropical Permaculture Homestead

Finca Tierra is a 9-acre permaculture homestead and a food forest located in the lush jungle of the Costa Rican Caribbean Coast. Finca Tierra has become renowned globally as an important demonstration center for permaculture education and sustainable development. It features natural buildings made from local materials  (bamboo, leaf thatch, and onsite timber), renewable energy systems, biological flush toilets, rainwater catchment, organic vegetable gardens, a plant nursery, a seed bank, medicinal plants, food forests, bamboo woodlots, and native trees.

What began as an off-grid homestead on degraded cattle pasture, has been evolving over the past decade into a productive agroforestry system with hundreds of fruit tree varieties, staple crops, and integrated animal systems. Growing local and global interest led to design consulting and establishing education courses focused on permaculture, complete diet design, and wellness kitchen for family and community self-sufficiency and resilience.

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Hand-Harvested And Built Bamboo Accommodation

Overview

Eight bamboo cabinas, built in a blend of indigenous and Afro-Caribbean styles, are elevated on stilts with materials harvested from our farm and surrounding forest, then cured and constructed with hand tools. These cabinas offer an immersive experience with stunning views, akin to camping under a roof above the jungle.

  • Private Cabins: Four with queen beds

  • Shared Cabins: Four with two single beds each

  • Construction: Bamboo walls and floors, large mosquito nets provided

Facilities

  • Bathrooms: Nearby with rainwater biological flush toilets

  • Showers: Warm rainwater via biothermal heating system

  • Amenities: Sheets, pillows, towels, biodegradable organic shampoo, and body wash

Reservation Policy

  • Accommodations are first-come, first-served. Private cabinas are allocated to the first students who complete payment, followed by shared cabinas.

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Tropical Farm-to-Table

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We love to cook! We want everyone to enjoy delicious meals and experience food abundance at Finca Tierras Wellness Kitchen. Therefore our fruits, veggies, greens, roots, and spices are fresh from our permaculture farm. We process many of our produce like plantain and yuca flours, coconut and cashew milk, raw honey, coconut oil, banana vinegar, fermented foods, mead, kefir, and much more. We have a plant-based diet, but we also have free-range chicken eggs. Some other products, like cheeses, yogurts, and other cold-climate veggies we buy at the local organic market.

Finca Tierra caters to all meals during the course.

Plates are typically vegetarian, but we can also cater to vegan and gluten-free diets, please let us know when you register.

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Off Site Visit

Crossing the river and into the jungle, we will learn about Indigenous cosmovision, traditional land use management, natural building, and how our friend interacts with the land to produce his building materials, food, and medicine.

Also, prepare for a good swim in the river!

*We can't guarantee off-site trips because of weather conditions and other factors.

Permaculture Program

Learn to design a sustainable lifestyle + eat healthy + immerse yourself with hands-on experience in a tropical food forest.

Permaculture Design Course 2024 - 2025 Dates

Pricing Options

Tuition: $2,000

Early Bird Tuition: $1,850

  • ($150 discount when full payment is completed 60 days before the course start date)

Deposit: $400

  • Reserve your space with a first payment of a $400 deposit.

  • The second payment can be the early-bird tuition balance of $1,450 (due 60 days prior to the course start date). Or the Tuition Balance of $1,600 (if paid after 60 days prior to the course start date).

Important Details

  • Limited Space: Only 12 to 16 seats available; please register early as the course can fill up quickly.

  • Payment Deadlines: Balance payments are due 30 days before the course start date.

  • Exclusions: Tuition does not include airfare or travel to/from Finca Tierra.

  • Language: The program is taught in English.

Refund Policy

  • The $400 deposit is non-refundable.

  • Tuition, minus the $400 non-refundable deposit, is refundable until 30 days before the course start date.

Logistics and Planning info

For info about how to get here, what to bring and refund policy can be found here

Any Questions?

If you have questions about this design course please contact us at fincatierra@gmail.com  

The Permaculture Design Course Day-by-Day

ARRIVE / EARTHING / FARM-TO-TABLE

Check-in after 2PM Relax with new friends in the Jungle. Enjoy dinner at 7pm.

HUMAN / PHILOSOPHY / EARTHCARE

Holistic Design / Sustainable Outcomes Tour infrastructure (Energy, cooking, waste, processing, heating & cooling) and Kitchen garden

ENERGY / DIVERSITY / ENTROPY

Concepts & Themes in Design Tour: Main crop production and food forest

ELEMENTS / METHODS / MAPS

Patterning of Landscape / Analysis in Design / Species Assembly. Activity: Sharpening tools and food forest maintenance.

LANDSCAPES / GROWTH / TRADITIONS

Understanding & Applying Patterns in Productive Design. Ecosystems as Climate Moderators Activity: Plant identification, clearing and planting.

LIGHT / FUNGI / FOOD FORESTS

Water harvesting earthworks. Trees & their energy transactions. Strategies. Activity: Food Forest, Planting support species & wild foraging

FREE DAY

Experience paradise! Beautiful crystal clear, emerald and turquoise waters. Green fresh jungle. Go get some cold coconut drinks!

FREE DAY

Our town offers a variety of activities like surfing, kayaking, snorkeling, diving, hiking the jungle and horse riding. Calypso in the beach bars all night!

FEILD TRIP

Visit to a Cabecar medicine man and learn about natural lifestyle and ethnobotanicals.

SOIL / COLLAPSE / FERTILITY

Cycles of hummus creation. Mineralizing soil. Weeds as a defence mechanism. Biochar. Activity: Composting, biofertilizer, pH test & plant propagation

EARTH / RESOURCES / ETHICS

Earthworks and terraforming. Landscape restitution. Slope measurements and levels. Activity: Leveling, Keypoints and examine benches at the farm

CLIMATES / DESIGN / GARDENS

Comparison across climates (temperate, tropical and arid). Seasonal timing. Main crops. Mulch and Forage production. House design. Activity: Design exercise.

AQUACULTURE / SPECIES / PONDS

The chain of life in water. Species selection of plants and animals. Pond siting and sizing. Micro to macro applications.

ALTERNATIVE / GLOBAL / NATION

Nature and bioregions, ecovillages, alternative economics. The ethics and new policies for Earth repair. Activity: Design presentation. Certification.

BREAKFAST / GOOD BYES /CHECK OUT

Leave inspired with a new vision for a sustainable future! Enjoy the freshest breakfast with your classmates and farm crew. Checkout is Sunday at 11am.

Why do your PDC at Finca Tierra

We Live What We Teach

Permaculture is Ian and Ana's life. Finca Tierra started as an off-grid homestead, and due to local and international interest, they created the Finca Tierra permaculture education center, to be able to share with you the knowledge of a resilient, peaceful and sustainable future that integrates human life with Earth. 

The Farm

Finca Tierra is a vibrant permaculture farm where you will gain hands-on practical experience directly from mature onsite systems and be immersed in a completely off-the-grid, self-sufficient space and productive small farm. Eating delicious organic farm-to-table meals. Surrounded by food forest and jungle, close to fabulous beaches and rivers. Half of all class time is spent outside in systems on the farm, looking at the function of mature systems to understand the strengths and weaknesses of systems and how they have evolved, as well as seeing the strategies and techniques used in production. We are not just studying concepts. We are looking at observations and interactions over the past decade.

Passion To Action

We seek students that are inspired to learn about the practical application of permaculture. The course is designed to provide you with the confidence to apply permaculture from the homestead to a profitable small farm scale.

University Credit

Many university students have received full or partial grants, and academic credits have often been available from their university. Meet with your academic advisor or professor about receiving internship or independent study credits. Four semester credit or equivalent. (see the below section UNIVERSITY CREDIT for more info)

Permaculture Design Course Reviews

  • “I learned more in those six weeks than in my entire degree. It is hands down one of the best places to learn about permaculture.”

    -Angus, New Zealand

  • “Possibly the most incredible experience of my life. I couldn’t recommend it more to anyone and everyone.”

    -Liam, Florida, USA

  • “The best food we ate on our year trip. We have had such great memories from the Finca Tierra course and will be back once we get our farm and need a refresh.”

    -Andy, Australia

  • “I could listen to permaculture lecture all day but Ian adds enough practical hands on stuff to keep everyone engaged, great mix of lecture and practical. The course instructor was very knowledgeable and engaging not to mention passionate. Always made time for the students and answered any questions we had. The location of the farm is just far enough from town to get peace and quiet but it’s close to some of the better beaches.”

    -Mario, Mexico

  • “This place has changed the way I see the world and the way we choose to live with the land. What I have learned at Finca Tierra I can basically apply anywhere. I’m really excited to be coming back here soon. Ian and Ana are amazing, inspiring, engaging, and really passionate about sharing what they have learned through their experience of rebuilding the land and basically learning to be fully sustainable. You should come here if you want to be blown away! So beautiful.”

    -Gabriel, Louisana, USA

  • “I am very excited to design my own home site and edible landscape and feel confident that I could do so effectively in any climate zone. Ian and Ana are very knowledgeable, passionate, and inspiring, and made us all feel at home on their farm. I would highly recommend this program to anyone looking to develop a thorough understanding of permaculture design principles and gain practical hands-on experience applying those principles. As an added bonus, the food is amazing and the farm is only a half-hour walk from beautiful Caribbean beaches.”

    -JJ from Philadelphia, PA, USA

  • “Doing the Permaculture Design Course was an experience of a lifetime! Ian’s breadth and depth of theoretical and practical knowledge, together with his passion and enthusiasm for permaculture leaves you inspired, and with a strong foundation for knowing how to live in harmony with Mother Earth. It was also really cool to be able to walk around the food forest and just pick something off of a tree or plant and snack on tropical and exotic fruits and veggies. Three times a day we would plunge into a wholesome culinary journey over some really stimulating conversations.”

    -Bemnet, Ethiopia

  • “Wow. I came to the course already knowing the fundamental principles and ethics of Permaculture (the “Why” and the “What”) but did not know HOW to apply those principles and ethics to actually implement a design on a property. Now, after taking the course, I feel confident that I would have the fundamental level of understanding needed to design a site anywhere in the world. I had an amazing time and I highly recommend Finca Tierra to anyone looking to invest in an education / certification in Permaculture.”

    -Josh, USA

  • “I’d take this course once a year honestly 🔥🔥🔥”

    -Ozzy, USA

  • More words from past students can be found here https://www.facebook.com/FincaTierra/reviews/ and on google https://www.google.com/search?q=finca+tierra