2 MONTH FARM SCALE PERMACULTURE & REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE INTERNSHIP 31ST MAY - JULY 29TH 2017

READY TO STEP UP YOUR LEARNING A FEW NOTCHES?

Want to start a project and farm in the future and don't know where to start? Are you already farming or managing land and wanting to use regenerative design to overhaul your enterprise? A pre-professional or professional designer wanting to broaden your skills and get practical project initiation skills? Our 2 month immersion into Regenerative Agriculture is specially designed for people wanting a fast-track experience designing, implementing, maintaining and monitoring regenerative systems. Our Internships have served as a fantastic 'reality check' and planning time for people setting out on their own farming enterprises. We created this training as there aren't really any opportunities like it. Come learn where the action is.



This 2 month on farm training includes intensive practical experience and theoretical training in the following areas:

• PRI (Aus) & PC Assoc (UK) certified instructor led
Farm Scale Permaculture Design Course
• Introduction to Holistic Management and Integrated Animal Systems
• On Farm Poultry Processing
• Butchering larger animals
• Keyline Design
• Water and Hydrological Design/ Management
• Agroforestry and Perennial Cropping
• Market Gardening using a No Dig approach
• Regenerating Soils
And a whole bunch more....

The training focuses on the pragmatic and profitable approaches to regenerating soil, ecosystems, local economies and communities. Quite frankly, it's designed to be a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity like we wished we'd found on our pathways, crafted with skill and care to give you a reality check before you go and start your enterprise or project.

KEY ELEMENTS OF THE TRAINING

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 Holistic Management 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. The 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 aging 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 and Broilers, 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. Operating one of Europe’s lowest cost approved slaughter facilities from Ridgedale Permaculture, we will also look at on- farm slaughter, processing and nutrient cycling.

A No-Dig approach to Market Gardening After a very successful start up year growing vegetables in a No Dig system for a 50 share CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), we are doubling the Market Gardens. 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. We use innovative approaches to composting, growing microbiology as well as harvesting and planning. We will get into the back end of the planning and design considerations that reduce the workload of this intensive enterprise.

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 Farm 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.























"RICHARD DISPLAYS A WONDERFUL DIDACTIC BLEND OF CHARISMA, ENGAGEMENT, TEAM-BUILDING, EMPOWERMENT AND HUMILITY"BART SAELEN, PDC PARTICIPANT

More info & booking;
https://www.ridgedalepermaculture.com/2-month-regenerative-agriculture-internship.html