Permaculture Design Certificate Course in Costa Rica
Live, Learn, and Design on a Tropical Farm in Costa Rica
Spend 15 days living inside the food, water, energy, and ecological systems you are learning to design
Learn to design food forests, regenerative homesteads, productive farms, and resilient ecological systems that can thrive in any climate.
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A Living Classroom for Complete Ecological Design
For 15 days, Finca Tierra becomes your home, classroom, and design laboratory.
You will train on a working off-grid tropical farm where food forests, staple crops, gardens, water harvesting, renewable energy, soil regeneration, waste systems, and household food production operate together as one integrated system.
This internationally established 72-hour Permaculture Design Certificate curriculum teaches a complete ecological design process—from observing and mapping a site to planning water, soil, food, buildings, energy, and community systems.
The tropical setting provides an intensive living example, while the design process can be adapted to temperate, arid, subtropical, urban, and rural environments.
You will not simply study permaculture concepts. You will observe working systems, practice essential skills, and complete a design exercise that gives you experience applying the process to a real site.
Who This Permaculture Design Course Is For
Homesteaders
Farmers and landowners
Designers and builders
Educators
Community organizers
Sustainability professionals
People preparing to purchase or develop land
People seeking practical ecological design training
This course is especially valuable for people who have gathered ideas from books, videos, or previous experience but still need a clear process for turning those ideas into a complete design.
For many students, this is when permaculture stops feeling like a collection of disconnected techniques and becomes a practical framework for making decisions about land, water, food, energy, buildings, and daily life.
Course Overview
Next Course: October 4–18, 2026
Now Enrolling: Only 3 spots remaining
Duration: 15 days / 14 nights
Tuition: $2,000 USD
Early Bird Tuition: $1,850 USD
Reserve Your Spot: $400 deposit
Includes: Accommodation, all meals, field trip, course materials, and PDC certification
Class Size: limited to 12 students
Location: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica
Other upcoming dates:
Student Reviews
For more than 15 years, over 1,000 students from 40+ countries have come to Finca Tierra to study permaculture, live inside a working off-grid system, and learn how to apply ecological design to real land.
“I came to the course already understanding the fundamental principles and ethics of permaculture—the ‘why’ and the ‘what’—but I did not know how to apply them to an actual property.
After the course, I felt confident that I had the fundamental understanding needed to begin designing a site anywhere in the world. Ian and Ana know permaculture not only in theory, but through real application.
The course gives you a foundation: how to get started, what techniques actually work, and how to continue finding the information you need.”
★★★★★
— Joshua Smith, PDC graduate
More From Our Graduates
★★★★★
“Worth every penny. It changed my life.”
— Ryan K.
★★★★★
“I feel confident designing my own edible landscape.”
— J.J. Johnson, PDC and internship graduate
★★★★★
“If I could give a 100-star rating, I would.”
— Kara F.
★★★★★
“I learned more in those weeks than in my entire degree.”
— Angus, New Zealand
Why Learn Permaculture at Finca Tierra?
Finca Tierra is an off-grid permaculture education center in Costa Rica’s Caribbean lowlands.
What makes the course different is not simply that it takes place on a beautiful tropical farm. It takes place inside a complete household-scale living system that has been developed, tested, maintained, and refined over more than 15 years.
You will observe how food production, water, energy, waste, buildings, nutrition, and labor affect one another in everyday life.
A Small Group With Direct Guidance
The course is limited to 12 students.
With a maximum of 12 students, each participant has more opportunities to ask questions, practice skills, receive detailed design feedback, and work directly with the instructors.
A Working Tropical System
You will learn inside:
Mature food forests
Staple-crop production areas
Biointensive gardens
Rainwater-harvesting systems
Solar-energy systems
Greywater and biological waste systems
Composting and biochar systems
Bamboo buildings
Small-scale animal and aquatic systems
A farm-to-table kitchen
Diet Design: From Growing Plants to Feeding People
Many ecological courses focus on plants without addressing whether a system can produce enough calories, protein, fats, nutrients, and reliable harvests to support the people who depend on it.
At Finca Tierra, you will receive specialized Diet Design training that connects landscape design with household nutrition, staple crops, seasonal production, preservation, and realistic labor requirements.
You will learn to think beyond “What can I grow?” and begin asking, “What complete food system could support the needs of this household, farm, or community throughout the year?”
What You Will Learn
The course combines ecological design theory with direct observation of the systems operating at Finca Tierra.
Design and Site Analysis
Permaculture ethics and design frameworks
Site observation and analysis
Landscape mapping
Pattern recognition
Sectors, zones, and microclimates
Climate-resilient planning
Design sequencing and implementation
Water, Soil, and Landscape Systems
Rainwater harvesting
Greywater systems and biological treatment
Contour, keypoints, and water movement
Composting and biochar
Soil-food-web principles
Waste-to-resource practices
Food Production and Plant Systems
Food forests and orchards
Staple crops and household food production
Integrated garden planning
Biointensive growing systems
Medicinal and edible crops
Support species and companion planting
Tropical pruning strategies
Propagation and Nursery Management
Plant identification
Seed saving
Nursery management
Propagation by seed, cutting, grafting, and rhizome
Natural Building and Energy
Bamboo-building principles
Small-scale renewable energy
Passive and climate-responsive design
Integrating structures into the wider landscape
Community and Regeneration
Regenerative economics
Ecovillage and community design
Urban and suburban permaculture
Bioregional thinking
Social and community systems
Hands-On Skills You Will Practice
Mornings focus on practical skills and direct work on the land.
Tools and Landscape Observation
Sharpening blades and tools
Plant identification
Reading vegetation and site conditions
Food Forest and Tree-Crop Management
Food-forest establishment
Tree planting
Support-species management
Tree pruning
Propagation and Nursery Skills
Seed saving and propagation
Nursery management
Potting-soil preparation
Vegetable Production
Biointensive and tropical vegetable-garden techniques
Soil, Water, and Fertility
Compost and biofertilizers
Soil pH testing and balancing
Swales and contouring
Finding keypoints and keylines
Food Processing and Preservation
Ferments, vinegars, and mead
Each activity is connected to the larger design process, so you understand when, where, and why a technique should be used.
What You Leave With
By the end of the course, you will leave with:
A completed one-acre design exercise, including base maps and a concept plan developed through the full permaculture design process
A reusable step-by-step design method you can apply when beginning work on your own land
Experience analyzing a site as one connected system, including water, soil, access, food, energy, buildings, and human needs
A practical planning toolkit for food forests, gardens, water systems, soil improvement, and propagation
A stronger understanding of Diet Design and household-scale food production
The 72-hour Permaculture Design Certificate
The final design project is a learning exercise rather than a construction-ready plan. Its purpose is to give you direct experience working through the complete process so that you can approach your own site with greater clarity and confidence.
More importantly, you will leave with a way to organize complex decisions before spending money, clearing land, placing buildings, or installing systems that may not work well together.
How the Course Is Taught
The course combines classroom instruction, direct observation, practical fieldwork, and design exercises.
Approximately half of the instructional time takes place outdoors, where you will observe working food, water, soil, energy, and waste systems and practice skills such as propagation, composting, soil testing, mapping, and landscape management.
You will also complete a design exercise, applying the course framework to a real site.
The course includes a field visit focused on Indigenous land stewardship, ethnobotany, natural building, and relationships between culture, territory, and forest ecosystems.
The Permaculture Design Course — Day by Day
Day 1 — Arrival and Welcome Dinner
Arrive after 2:00 p.m., settle into your bamboo cabina, and meet your cohort.
Share a farm-to-table dinner under the jungle canopy and receive an introduction to the course.
Day 2 — Permaculture Ethics and Whole-System Thinking
Study the foundations of permaculture ethics, ecological design, and systems thinking.
Tour Finca Tierra’s food, water, energy, waste, garden, and building systems.
Day 3 — Ecosystem Patterns and Energy Flows
Observe how natural systems organize through patterns, relationships, and energy cycles.
Walk through food forests and staple-crop areas to study diversity, succession, and resilience.
Day 4 — Reading the Landscape and Mapping Designs
Learn basic mapping skills and terrain interpretation.
Practice tool sharpening, food-forest maintenance, and reading natural landforms.
Day 5 — Tropical Planting and Pruning
Study companion planting, support species, pruning, and long-term tree management.
Establish or maintain productive trees within existing systems.
Day 6 — Water Harvesting and Soil Ecology
Explore water retention, contour, and small earthworks.
Study the relationship between staple crops, soil biology, organic matter, and fungal systems.
Day 7 — Free Day
Explore Puerto Viejo and the surrounding Caribbean coast.
Local activities include surfing, kayaking, snorkeling, diving, jungle hiking, horseback riding, or simply resting.
Day 8 — Free Day
Swim, explore the coastline, visit the town, or take time to rest and integrate the first week.
Day 9 — Indigenous Land Stewardship and Ethnobotany
Visit a traditional steward of the land.
Learn about Indigenous cosmovision, natural building, medicinal plants, ethnobotany, and relationships between people and forest ecosystems.
Day 10 — Building Living Soils and Biofertilizers
Create compost and biological fertilizers.
Make and apply biochar, test soil pH, and use plants and weeds as indicators of soil conditions.
Day 11 — Earthworks and Resource Management
Use leveling tools to locate contour and keypoints.
Study earthworks and resource-management strategies that influence water movement, erosion, access, and landscape stability.
Day 12 — Design Across Climates and Garden Planning
Compare tropical, temperate, subtropical, and arid design strategies.
Begin developing your final design project.
Day 13 — Aquatic Systems and Ponds
Study aquatic ecology and water-based food systems.
Explore the design of small ponds, fertility cycles, and integrated aquaculture.
Day 14 — Regenerative Economics and Community Design
Expand from the household scale to communities and bioregions.
Explore ecovillage design, regenerative economics, and community systems.
Present your final design and receive your Permaculture Design Certificate.
Day 15 — Farewell Breakfast and Departure
Share breakfast and closing reflections.
Check out by 11:00 a.m. and leave prepared to apply the design process to your own project.
What Is a Permaculture Design Course (PDC)?
A Permaculture Design Course, or PDC, is based on the internationally established 72-hour curriculum in ecological design.
It teaches a complete process for:
Observing and assessing a site
Understanding ecological patterns
Mapping existing conditions
Planning integrated water, soil, food, energy, and building systems
Developing a concept design
Sequencing implementation over time
At Finca Tierra, you learn this process through direct observation and practice inside mature tropical systems. You will study the principles, see how they perform in real life, and learn from both successful systems and the challenges of long-term maintenance.
Accommodation at Finca Tierra
Stay in hand-built bamboo cabinas constructed from materials grown on our land.
Elevated and screened, each cabina offers jungle views and the experience of sleeping close to nature.
Cabinas
Eight cabinas total
Four private cabinas with queen beds
Four shared cabinas with two single beds
Bamboo walls and floors
Large mosquito nets included
Facilities
Bathrooms with rainwater biological-flush toilets
Solar-heated rainwater showers
Sheets and towels included
Organic biodegradable shampoo and soap included
Private cabinas are allocated on a first-paid basis once the course balance has been completed.
There is no additional fee for private accommodation.
Farm-to-Table Meals and Kitchen
You Will Eat Inside the System You Are Studying
We cook from the land.
Many ingredients come directly from our gardens and food systems. We make our own flours, coconut milk, ferments, honey, chocolate, and other foods on site.
Meals are plant based and may also include free-range eggs, yogurt, and cheese.
We accommodate vegan and gluten-free diets. Please provide dietary information when registering.
Dining is part of the educational experience. Meals demonstrate how tropical staples, perennial plants, garden crops, preservation, nutrition, and kitchen systems can be connected to the design of the land.
Learn in a living system.
Step inside a tropical classroom where the lessons continue after class ends.
The water you use, the food you eat, the buildings you sleep in, and the energy supporting the campus are all part of the system you are learning to understand.
Permaculture Design Course Dates
Fall A 2026
Sunday, September 6 – Sunday, September 20, 2026
SOLD OUT
Fall B 2026
Sunday, October 4 – Sunday, October 18, 2026
Now Enrolling — Only 3 spots remaining
Reserve Your Spot →
Fall C 2026
Sunday, November 1 – Sunday, November 15, 2026
Now Enrolling — Only 4 spots remaining
Reserve Your Spot →
Winter A 2027
Sunday, January 10 – Sunday, January 24, 2027
Now Enrolling — 6 spots remaining
Reserve Your Spot →
Winter B 2027
Sunday, February 7 – Sunday, February 21, 2027
Now Enrolling
Reserve Your Spot →
Winter C 2027
Sunday, March 7 – Sunday, March 21, 2027
Now Enrolling
Reserve Your Spot →
Tuition & Registration
Tuition: $2,000 USD
Early Bird: $1,850 USD
Available when tuition is paid in full at least 30 days before the course.
Reserve Your Place
$400 deposit
Balance Payment Options
Early Bird Balance: $1,450 USD
(When paid at least 30 days before the course)Standard Balance: $1,600 USD
(When paid fewer than 30 days before the course)
Accommodation Priority
Private bamboo cabinas with queen beds are limited.
They are allocated to participants in the order that full balance payments are received.
All cabinas are included in tuition. There is no additional fee for private accommodation.
What’s Included
All classes and hands-on training
Accommodation
All meals
Field trip
Course materials
Permaculture Design Certificate
Not included:
Airfare
Travel to and from Finca Tierra
Optional activities on free days
Language: English
Group size: Limited to 12 participants
Refund and Transfer Policy
The $400 deposit holds your place in the selected course.
Tuition paid above the deposit is refundable until 30 days before the course begins.
Within 30 days of the course, the remaining balance may be transferred to a future course.
This flexibility allows participants to preserve the value of their payment when unexpected travel or personal circumstances arise.
How to Travel to the Course
Fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in San José, Costa Rica.
Pre-arranged shuttles to Puerto Viejo normally leave daily at approximately 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Check-in
Sunday after 2:00 pm
Arrival options
Arrive Sunday morning and take the 2:00 shuttle
Or arrive Saturday and take the 6:00 am shuttle Sunday
Check-out
Sunday before 11:00 am
More information about travel, transportation, and what to bring is available in our course guide.
Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC)
You will graduate with a Permaculture Design Certificate based on the internationally established 72-hour permaculture design curriculum.
The certificate documents your completion of comprehensive training in ecological observation, systems thinking, site design, water, soil, food production, energy, buildings, and community design.
Graduates commonly use the framework in personal land projects, farms, homesteads, community initiatives, education, environmental work, and ecological design practice.
University Documentation
Some students have received independent-study or program credit through their own universities.
Approval depends entirely on the student’s institution and should be arranged in advance. Finca Tierra can provide curriculum descriptions, instructional hours, and supporting documentation upon request.
Meet Your Instructors
Co-Founder of Finca Tierra
Costa Rican human rights lawyer, environmental advocate, and founder of the BioRegional Plan for Talamanca.
Ana teaches wellness-kitchen systems, nutrition, Diet Design, sustainable living, regenerative economics, and community-scale thinking.
Ana Gaspar A.
Co-Founder of Finca Tierra
Designer and educator with more than 15 years of hands-on tropical permaculture implementation.
Ian teaches system research, ecological design, land planning, food production, water systems, and production modeling.
Ian Macaulay
Together, Ana and Ian teach from the experience of building, operating, evaluating, and continually adapting an off-grid tropical living system.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Permaculture Design Course
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No. The course is designed for complete beginners as well as people who already have experience with gardening, farming, sustainability, construction, conservation, or land management.
Some participants arrive knowing very little about permaculture. Others understand the principles but need a clear process for applying them to real land. The course begins with the foundations and develops toward a complete design exercise.
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Tuition includes:
The complete 72-hour Permaculture Design Certificate curriculum
Hands-on training and design exercises
Fourteen nights of accommodation
All meals during the course
Course materials
The field trip
The Permaculture Design Certificate
Airfare, transportation to and from Finca Tierra, and optional activities during the free days are not included.
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Yes. Although the working systems you observe at Finca Tierra are tropical, the design process can be adapted to temperate, subtropical, arid, urban, and rural environments.
You will learn transferable methods including site observation, mapping, zones and sectors, water planning, microclimate analysis, soil improvement, energy-flow analysis, and implementation sequencing. The course also compares how permaculture strategies change across different climates.
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Yes. Finca Tierra has solar electricity and high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi available on the property.
The connection is generally suitable for messaging, email, video calls, streaming, and ordinary online needs. Participants are normally able to remain connected throughout the course.
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The standard minimum age is 18. Participants aged 16 or 17 may be considered with prior approval when attending with a parent or legal guardian who is also registered for the course.
Most courses include participants ranging in age from approximately 18 to 65, with a mix of students at different stages of life and professional experience.
Please contact Finca Tierra before registering anyone under 18.
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The course includes walking on uneven tropical terrain, standing for periods of time, and participating in outdoor activities such as planting, pruning, composting, propagation, and landscape observation.
The practical work is educational rather than heavy agricultural labor, and participants can usually adjust their level of participation when necessary.
Please contact us before registering if you have mobility limitations, a medical condition, are pregnant, or have concerns about working outdoors in a warm and humid climate.
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Yes. Couples, relatives, and friends are welcome to attend the course together.
Private cabinas have one queen bed, while shared cabinas have two single beds. If you are registering as a couple and would like to share a private cabina, please let us know when you enroll.
Private cabinas are limited and are allocated in the order that full tuition balances are received. Although we will do our best to accommodate room requests, a specific cabina cannot be guaranteed until confirmed.
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Meals are primarily plant based and may also include free-range eggs, yogurt, and cheese.
We can accommodate vegan and gluten-free diets with advance notice. Please contact us before registering if you have severe allergies, multiple dietary restrictions, or specialized medical dietary needs so that we can confirm whether the kitchen can safely accommodate them.
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Starlink Wi-Fi is available, but the course is intensive and includes full instructional days, practical fieldwork, shared meals, and design assignments.
Participants can normally manage essential messages or occasional calls, but the schedule is not designed to accommodate a regular full-time remote workload.
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Because Finca Tierra is a small residential learning environment, accommodation and meals are reserved for registered course participants.
Non-participating partners, relatives, and friends cannot stay on the property during the course. We are also unable to accommodate children, dogs, or other pets.
Couples, relatives, and friends are welcome to attend together when each person is registered for the course.
There are many hotels, guesthouses, and vacation rentals near the beach and Puerto Viejo, approximately 3 km—or about 2 miles—from Finca Tierra. A non-participating family member or travel companion may stay nearby, but transportation between their accommodation and Finca Tierra would need to be arranged independently.
Have another question about the course, accommodations, travel, or whether the experience is right for you? Contact us before registering.