About the Facilitators…

Joana Amorim, Leah Van Winkle, Michael Beck, and Ryan Rising are all organizers with the Permaculture Action Network, a collective that has mobilized over 12,000 people to days of action building permaculture sites, regenerative systems, and community spaces across the continent. Joana, Leah, and Michael all organize with the Mid-Appalachian BioRegional Crew and are located in the Berea, Kentucky area. Ryan organizes with the California BioRegional Crew of Permaculture Action Network and founded the organization in 2014. ​

Ryan Rising is a community organizer and permaculture educator based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, and co-founder of the Permaculture Action Network. After a decade of local organizing around direct action, food justice, ecological design, and community living, Ryan organized the Permaculture Action Tour with music producer The Polish Ambassador in the fall of 2014. Ryan has since co-organized over 80 Permaculture Action Days throughout 25 US states, bringing hundreds of people at a time to build greenhouses, rainwater catchment, gardens, and regenerative systems at 80 different local community projects including public food forests, urban farms, and ecovillages. Ryan co-founded the Gill Tract Community Farm, which produces tons of organic food annually distributed for free all around the Bay Area, and the Omni Commons, an urban commons and community center. Ryan focuses on creating community access to land for local food growing and regenerative living, connecting people to take direct action; and social permaculture—the ways we make decisions, build resilience, resolve conflicts, and organize in community. ​

 

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Michael Beck joins Permaculture Action Network as a steward of land in Kentucky, natural builder, aspiring young farmer, and nature enthusiast. He is currently building an Appalachian-style log cabin with his partner and friend in Disputanta, Kentucky. Co-founder of international natural building network, thePOOSH.org, as well as the more recent Hands On Earth Permaculture, Michael has hosted and helped organize several Permaculture Action Days in Kentucky, Tennessee, California, and Illinois. Michael’s current passion in the permaculture world is food forestry and edible landscaping design. He has been involved in many build projects and led several natural building workshops over the last six years. He took his Permaculture Design Course in Portugal with Doug Crouch of Treeyo Permaculture. ​

Leah Van Winkle makes her home in the Appalachian foothills of central Kentucky, where she grows food, teaches yoga, offers Thai Bodywork, plays, and explores! Rooted in land-based permaculture design, her passion is to expand this holistic lens to facilitate nurturing social relationships in her community. Health is Leah’s main focus, stemming from a belief that human health is interdependent on health of the land and harmony within the ecosystem we occupy. An avid student, she is always seeking more opportunities to expand her knowledge, having already trained with Starhawk and Pandora Thomas in Social Permaculture, Doug Crouch of TreeYo Permaculture, Susana Lein of Salamander Springs and Cliff Davis of Spiral Ridge. Her favorite things to grow are blueberries, holy basil, and mustard greens.

What you’ll get out of this course..​

1. A more holistic understanding of the important role humans play as a keystone species of Planet Earth, including how we as a species can manifest positive change.
2. Both theory and hands-on skills in permaculture landscape design, natural building, organic food growing, ecological literacy, social permaculture, forestry management, self-resilience and much more
3. Facilitation and community building skills that will empower you to create the world you want to see, whether you’re starting in your own backyard or working to transition your whole region.

Registration Fees

– $100 OFF Early Bird any tier (sign up before March 1st)

– $850 Camping (registrations after March 1st)
– $950 Shared Yurt
– $1,150 Private Yurt

Bring a friend! Sign up a friend by referral and receive a $50 discount off your registration fee.

The registration fee covers six days of facilitated education including design, hands-on skills, social permaculture, and practical organizing and implementation trainings; three organic, local meals per day; and accommodations (camping, private yurt, or shared yurt depending on your fee level choice).

Register by contacting Seven Springs Holistic Retreat Center.

Get updates and follow along on the course facebook event page.