The land is the classroom. The village is the teacher.

What if learning meant planting trees, diggi

<h2>A 14‑day deep dive into regenerative food production</h2>The land is the classroom. The village is the teacher.What if learning meant planting trees, digging ponds, turning compost and co‑creating a living ecosystem with a community of like‑minded pioneers? What if the classroom had no walls—just sun, soil, seeds, stories and shared meals under the stars? Welcome to Hands‑On Permaculture 101, an immersive two‑week experience where learning is alive, physical, emotional and collective. It’s a journey into what’s possible when humans reconnect to the land—and to each other—through the lens of permaculture and regenerative design.🍅 What you’ll doThis isn’t theory‑only. We learn by doing—and everything you learn will be grounded in the soil, the systems and the soul of this land. You’ll:<ul><li>Plant food forests and learn the language of trees</li><li>Build compost systems (chicken‑powered, hot piles, humanure and more)</li><li>Solve irrigation challenges and dig swales by hand</li><li>Explore natural building methods like cob, adobe, strawbale and earthbags</li><li>Visit other regenerative projects across Alentejo</li><li>Cook, harvest, ferment and eat together</li><li>Observe, map and design—guided by permaculture ethics and principles</li><li>Get muddy, inspired, challenged and reconnected</li></ul>💡 What you’ll learnAlongside the practical work, we’ll explore:<ul><li>The foundations of permaculture ethics &amp; design</li><li>Water harvesting and land regeneration techniques</li><li>Regenerative urban design + off‑grid strategies</li><li>Soil building, composting and food resilience</li><li>Renewable energy, appropriate technology and bioconstruction</li><li>Community building and collective decision‑making</li><li>How to apply regenerative design—in your home, land or project</li></ul>🌀 Why this course is differentWe’re not teaching from a book. We’re building the book as we go. This is TDF’s first edition—a co‑created, living course in a living village. You won’t be a passive student—you’ll be a contributor, a question‑asker, a friend and a builder of something real. We believe education should:<ul><li>Heal the land</li><li>Strengthen communities</li><li>Be joyful, practical and embodied</li><li>Invite curiosity, not perfection</li><li>Leave you changed—from the soil up</li></ul>👥 Who is this for?You don’t need any prior experience—just curiosity, a willingness to show up, and a love for the Earth. Whether you’re a regen wanting to go from theory to action, a degen seeking meaning beyond screens, a dreamer looking to build your own village or a designer, artist, farmer, hacker or wanderer—you’ll find your place here.🌿 You’ll leave with:<ul><li>Tools to start or support a regenerative land project</li><li>A deeper understanding of natural systems</li><li>The confidence to compost, plant, design and build</li><li>New friends and networks across Europe and beyond</li><li>A body tired from the sun and a heart full of purpose</li></ul>📍 LocationTraditional Dream Factory is a regenerative village in the making—built on a former chicken factory and surrounded by cork oak hills, olive trees and endless sky. We’re 1.5 hours from Lisbon, near the Atlantic coast, and part of a growing ecosystem of regenerative projects in Alentejo.🗓 14 days | 🍽 Meal package available | 🛏 Accommodation options availableSpots are limited—this is a small, intimate experience.👉 Apply now and we’ll send you full details + pricing: traditionaldreamfactory.com/events/permaculture101Or reach out directly at space@traditionaldreamfactory.com<h2>🌾 Full Program Breakdown</h2><h2>The land is the classroom. The village is the teacher.</h2><h3>Day 1 — Welcome to the Ecosystem</h3>Saturday, Nov 1We open with intention. Meet your fellow learners, explore the land, and begin to sense the system you’re stepping into.<ul><li>Opening circle: welcome, agreements, and group intro</li><li>Intro to permaculture: ethics, values, and the story so far</li><li>TDF land tour: past, present, and dreams-in-motion</li><li>Observation exercise: "see like a seed"</li><li>🌙 Optional: quiet evening around the fire</li></ul><h3>Day 2 — Soil &amp; Waste Alchemy</h3>Sunday, Nov 2Waste becomes a resource. Life begins in the compost pile.<ul><li>The problem with waste, the gift of cycles</li><li>Building hot compost, humanure, and chicken-powered systems</li><li>Vermicompost, bokashi, compost tea</li><li>Hands-on: making a compost pile in the chicken coop</li><li>Tour of TDF's nutrient cycles</li><li>🧖 Evening: Sauna session under the stars</li><li> </li></ul><h3>Day 3 — Gardens as Systems</h3>Monday, Nov 3Designing gardens that yield more than food — they grow resilience.<ul><li>What is a yield? What is a function?</li><li>Designing veggie gardens: sun, slope, water, wind</li><li>Companion planting, seed cycles, accessibility</li><li>Urban permaculture and micro-systems</li><li>🌱 Hands-on: garden bed planning + planting</li><li>🍶 Bonus: fermentation workshop in the evening</li><li> </li></ul><h3>Day 4 — Water is Life</h3>Tuesday, Nov 4Where the water flows, life follows.<ul><li>Mapping land with water in mind</li><li>Water harvesting principles and practices</li><li>Swales, ponds, terraces, check dams</li><li>Roofs, gutters, tanks &amp; french drains</li><li>Hands-on: digging swales + winter pond project</li><li>🧖 Evening: Sauna + Sharing Circle</li><li> </li></ul><h3>Day 5 — Diversity is Stability</h3>Wednesday, Nov 5Monocultures are fragile — in farms and in society.<ul><li>Embracing ecological and human diversity</li><li>"Weeds" as teachers and allies</li><li>Refugees in ecosystems and communities</li><li>Tour of another regenerative project (e.g. Tamera or similar)</li><li>🌍 Group reflection: what’s thriving at the edge?</li></ul><h3>Day 6 — Small is Beautiful</h3>Thursday, Nov 6Solutions don’t need to be big — they need to be appropriate.<ul><li>Small-scale tech: micro-hydro, solar, heating people not spaces</li><li>Biochar, KNF, and living soil principles</li><li>No-dig beds and mulch layering</li><li>Hands-on: soil regeneration &amp; check dam building</li><li>🚿 Outdoor eco-shower jam (and optional mud play)</li></ul><h3>Day 7 — Rest &amp; Integration</h3>Friday, Nov 7We pause to absorb, rest, and let it sink in.<ul><li>Optional nature solo / land meditation</li><li>Journaling, naps, hammocks, slow walks</li><li>Casual Q&amp;A with the course team</li><li>🫱 Evening: informal storytelling and music around the fire</li></ul><h3>Day 8 — Building With Nature</h3>Saturday, Nov 8Let the walls breathe and the sun heat your home.<ul><li>Bioconstruction: passive solar design, adobe, cob, strawbale</li><li>Greywater systems: banana circles, mulch beds, outdoor showers</li><li>Solar workshop: parabolic mirrors, solar dryers, water heaters</li><li>Hands-on: clay, sand &amp; sweat</li><li>🌞 DIY building practice session</li></ul><h3>Day 9 — Forest Thinking</h3>Sunday, Nov 9Understand the forest, and you understand time.<ul><li>Natural succession &amp; the 6 forest strata</li><li>Guilds, pioneer species, and layered planting</li><li>What is a food forest, really?</li><li>Field work: observation &amp; planting in reforestation zones</li><li>🧖 Evening: Sauna &amp; Slow Talks</li></ul><h3>Day 10 — Edges &amp; Fire</h3>Monday, Nov 10Design begins where things meet.<ul><li>Edges as opportunity zones: ecological &amp; social</li><li>Fire safety and land management</li><li>Planting firebreaks and jungle hedges</li><li>Hands-on: jungle hedges &amp; slope work</li><li>💻 Intro to permaculture tools (QGIS, Google Earth, Complex Earth, PFaf, etc.)</li></ul><h3>Day 11 — Patterns &amp; Mushrooms</h3>Tuesday, Nov 11From fractals to fungi, nature repeats what works.<ul><li>Patterns in nature: spirals, branches, nets, waves</li><li>Growing mushrooms and mycelium as infrastructure</li><li>Building agricultural terraces: ancient methods, modern tools</li><li>🍄 Hands-on: mushroom inoculation workshop</li><li>🧖 Evening: Sauna + Sharing Circle</li></ul><h3>Day 12 — Zones, Grids &amp; Systems</h3>Wednesday, Nov 12Design is not art — it’s aligned intention.<ul><li>Zoning in permaculture: from kitchen to wilderness</li><li>Systems that support each other (and fail gracefully)</li><li>Hands-on: propagation workshop in the greenhouse</li><li>Web3 and permaculture: open tools for land stewards</li><li>💬 Open circle: “How do we take this home?”</li></ul><h3>Day 13 — Resilience &amp; Chaos</h3>Thursday, Nov 13Things break. Storms come. Regeneration is anti-fragile.<ul><li>Designing for disaster: drought, fire, war, collapse</li><li>Permaculture responses to crisis</li><li>Visit to a cutting-edge regen project (e.g. Terra Syntropica)</li><li>🌳 Reflection walk: “How does a forest respond to change?”</li></ul><h3>Day 14 — Return to the Whole</h3>Friday, Nov 14We close as we began — together.<ul><li>Group design challenge: map a small permaculture system</li><li>Final reflections and visioning</li><li>Rewilding ourselves: embodied nature practice</li><li>Course closing circle: stories, feedback, gratitude</li><li>🍽️ Cooking Extravaganza Feast: we harvest, we prep, we feast together — celebration style!</li><li>🔥 Fire + music + stars to seal the journey</li></ul>Can't make it in person? <a href="https://www.traditionaldreamfactory.com/learn/permaculture-101" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Check our online session</a>.🍄 Bonus: Fungi Course – <a href="https://www.traditionaldreamfactory.com/events/-mycelial-mastery-7-day-mushroom-cultivation-retreat" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Discover the World of Mushrooms</a>Shortly after Permaculture 101, we’re offering a week long Fungi Course to kick off our mushroom farm. This intensive is co‑hosted by Richard from Fungi Academy and Tonya, our in‑house mushroom grower. You’ll dive into mycology essentials: understanding mycelium networks, learning sterile lab techniques, inoculating substrates, and cultivating gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. We’ll also explore how fungi integrate into syntropic forestry and soil regeneration.Permaculture workshop participants receive a special discount on the Fungi Course—it’s the perfect way to round out your learning and deepen your relationship with the unseen web that nourishes our ecosystems. Stay on for the whole month of November, get discounted access to both events, and expand your skillset while helpubg us launch the next chapter of TDF’s regenerative journey!

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Bring your home to TDF 🚐&nbsp;we have spaces in the land that are flat, with shade and with electricity. Perfect for your home on the road. No grey water systems available (it is not allowed to dispose of these in the land). Compost toilets and showers are shared.

Van Parking Space

Wake up to the view of oak trees 🌳&nbsp;Bring your own gear. We recommend a tent, a camping mattress, a sleeping bag and a pillow. If it is winter, make sure your gear is warm and waterproof. Compost toilets and showers are shared.

Camping

Get cosy in a glamping tent for you, and two or three more folks. It’s spacious and comfortable - don’t worry, they are 5m in diameter.The tents are set up on platforms on our land. Compost toilets and hot showers are shared.Book for one and we will allocate you with other bookings, or book as 3-4 people together and you will be allocated your own tent to share.Tents are set up with single beds, bedding and blankets for extra cosyness! We also provide a towel for your stay.Please bring an extra one for the sauna if you can! .

Shared Glamping 

Get cosy in your own glamping tent on the land emerged in nature 🥰They are 4m in diameter so you will have space. You’ll get a double mattress with warm blankets and fluffy rugs.This set up is for two people only, and as a double unless you request a twin.If you are 3+ then you can book a shared glamping.Compost toilets and hot showers are shared and on the land.We provide towels with your booking but please bring extra for the sauna if you can!

Private Glamping

Our dorm is in the chicken factory! A simple but cosy space with dorm beds and desk space.We provide bedding and a towel for your stay but please bring an extra one for the sauna if you can!Please let us know if you do not want to be in a mixed gendered space and we will try to accommodate.Compost toilets and hot showers are shared on the land.

Volunteer dorm

Our small glamping tents are designed for one person —a comfortable mattress, storage for your things, and just the right amount of space to feel at home.During the rainy season, the tents are set up inside our factory building, where you'll have access to electricity.In the warmer months, they move outside onto the land, where it's off-grid with no electricity supply.