Online Tropical Permaculture Course

This course is designed for people who want to build or improve a productive food system in the tropics, whether you are starting with a backyard garden, developing a food forest, planning a homestead, or managing a larger property.

It is especially useful if you want a clear framework for deciding what to grow, where to put it, how much to plant, and how the different parts of your property can work together.

You do not need to be aiming for complete self-sufficiency. The system can be adapted to your land, lifestyle, and goals.

The course is designed specifically for tropical climates, including:

• Humid tropics

• Tropical monsoon climates

• Tropical savanna and seasonal wet/dry climates

It is relevant to regions including Central America, the Caribbean, tropical South America, Southeast Asia, Hawaii, tropical Africa, northern Australia, and many Pacific islands.

As a simple rule of thumb, if crops such as bananas, cassava, papaya, or plantains grow well where you live, much of the course will likely be directly applicable.

No.

The course is designed for beginners as well as people who already have years of gardening, farming, or permaculture experience.

You do not need a Permaculture Design Certificate or any previous permaculture training. The course starts with the foundations and develops into a complete framework for designing and implementing a tropical food system.

No.

The framework can be adapted from a backyard garden to a homestead, farm, retreat, or multi-hectare property.

The 2,000 m² (½-acre) model included in the course is a real-world example that shows how different crops, food systems, and production areas can fit together. It is a planning model, not a minimum land requirement.

The same principles, crop-area calculations, and design tools can be scaled up or down to fit your property.

That is exactly the kind of problem the course is designed to help you address.

You will learn how to build soil fertility using compost, mulch, biochar, support species, organic matter, and natural nutrient cycles rather than simply replacing your existing soil.

Finca Tierra itself began as degraded, compacted cattle pasture, so much of what we teach comes from direct experience rebuilding soil and fertility over time.

You'll receive lifetime access to:

• 25+ hours of lessons

• 60+ tropical crop profiles

• Complete 2,000 m² food system blueprint

• Garden & food forest templates

• Crop area & nutrition calculators

• Wellness Kitchen recipes, food processing & preservation

• Private student community

• Future course updates

Yes.

Growing food is only half the system.

You'll also learn how to cook, process, preserve, and store tropical harvests through our Wellness Kitchen.

This includes flours, oils, sauces, teas, preservation methods, pantry planning, and recipes designed around tropical crops.

Absolutely.

Many students begin with a vegetable garden or food forest, then expand over time. The framework is designed so you can build your property in stages, at your own pace.

That's perfectly fine.

The course helps you design a food system that fits your goals. Whether you want to grow 20% or 80% of your food, the planning framework can be adapted to your lifestyle.

Yes.

No previous permaculture training is required.

Lifetime.

You'll also receive all future course updates at no additional cost.

The course includes more than 25 hours of lessons, but it's designed as a long-term reference, not something you need to finish in a weekend.

Learn at your own pace and return whenever you need it.

Yes.

The 2,000 m² (½-acre) model is a complete, real-world example that demonstrates how the framework works.

The principles, crop-area charts, and planning tools can be adapted to small backyard gardens, larger homesteads, farms, retreats, and multi-hectare properties.

YouTube and books are excellent for learning individual techniques.

This course gives you one complete framework.

Instead of piecing together hundreds of disconnected ideas, you’ll learn how soil, crops, water, food forests, nutrition, animals, processing, and homestead design work together as one tropical food system.

This is is course we wish we had when we started.

Some results can begin within 4–12 weeks, especially with fast-growing greens, herbs, and vegetables.

Staple crops such as cassava, beans, taro, and plantain generally take several months or longer, depending on the crop and your climate.

Food forests develop more gradually and become increasingly productive over several years.

The course helps you combine quick harvests with long-term systems, so you can begin producing food while your larger design matures.

No.

This is a specialized online course focused on designing and building productive tropical food systems. It does not grant a Permaculture Design Certificate.

Finca Tierra offers a separate, certified in-person PDC that includes the full curriculum, practical application, and on-site learning experience.