Food Forest Course Portugal

Join us at Keela Yoga Farm for our food forest and agroforestry permaculture course in Portugal.
A food forest is a man-made forest that provides you with lots of food. It can fit in a back garden or a larger field. It combines trees, shrubs, vegetables and perennial plants. It is highly diverse and the most sustainable way to grow food.
Join us and learn about the various different ways to plan and plant a food forest, we have planted different methods since 2017 and will show you the pros and cons of each method. Also experience how to manage and maintain food forests, which is essentially gardening.
Join the residential course and experience community living on a permaculture project. Enjoy daily yoga and meditation practice in the beautiful Portuguese countryside!
Food Forest in Portugal
Aerial photo of two of the food forest after 2 years at the end of summer in 2019.

Food Forest & Agroforestry Course 2024 Dates

Tuesday 1st October – 7th October 2024
This course follows a 2-week PDC, join the PDC and food forest course combined and get a €100 discount

  • Join as a residential or non-residential course
  • €400 residential (with three meals and yoga)
  • €300 non-residential (lunch only)
  • €50 per day if only joining one day (barter accepted and includes lunch)

Daily Schedule*

2nd Oct: Introduction to food forests, agroforestry and silvopasture. Tour of the agroforests and food forests. How to select companion plants & design a guild (am)
3rd Oct: Plant and Tree propagation (grafting, cuttings, layering, seed stratification etc)
4th Oct: Foraging for wild edible plants
5th Oct: Tree pruning (fruit frees and native trees), water management and Irrigation methods (automated, manual, pumped, gravity, rain catchment, swales and ponds)
6th Oct: Planting into the agroforest (pm)
Past Food Forest Course Dates

  • Spring 2023 : 24th April – 7th May 2023
  • Autumn 2023 : 9th – 22nd October 2023

Accommodation Costs

  • Your own tent: Free
  • Rented tent with (proper) mattress and bedding: 80 EUR
  • Caravans: EUR 150
  • Click here for accommodation information

Click here for information on our food forests

Your Hosts

Laurence Manchee

Laurence Manchee - Food Forest Course Portugal
Laurence Manchee teaching at the first food forest course at Keela Yoga Farm

Your teacher Laurence has been running food forest courses since 2017. Students learn and build the food forests at Keela Yoga Farm. Laurence has managed the permaculture farm since its inception in 2017.  Laurence also teaches permaculture workshops, sustainable living workshops and natural building workshops.
After attending many courses including PDCs and food forest courses, Laurence realised that most courses don’t actually teach you the practical aspect of gardening and creating a food forest so created this course for people who want practical hands-on experience in permaculture gardening and food forests. Laurence runs the course to give you hands-on experience in all aspects of designing, installing and maintaining a food forest. This is not a demonstration but a real-life experience of what it would be like if you had to do it for yourself.

Kimberly Manchee

Kimberly teaching Yoga on our yoga deck

Kimberly is the co-founder of Keela Yoga Farm, she will teach you yoga, the fermentation workshop and help you will all aspects with your stay at keela yoga farm.
Click here for information on our food forests
Click here for photos from our March 2019 one month course
Click here for photos from our October 2018 one month Course
Click here for photos from our March 2018 one month Course
Click here for photos from our November 2017 one month Course
Course Outline
All these topics will be included in the one week course:

  • Learn and eat from the existing food forests:
    • Chicken managed food forest
    • Guild and polyculture mixed food forest
    • Restoration Agriculture food forest (for sheep)
  • Design and help to expand each of the above food forests
  • Learn how to draw to scale drawings for design and planning
  • Implement the design for a new food forest at Keela Yoga Farm
  • Learn about the food soil web, how to make organic fertilisers and cultivate microbiology for the soil
  • Discover how to properly research trees and their companions
  • Learn how to design guilds and a food forest
  • Plant trees and guilds in the food forest
  • Propagate perennials to plant into next year’s food forests (how to get free plants)
  • Learn how to design, select, buy and install irrigation systems
  • Plan and perform earthworks for water catchment, swales and ponds with a tractor
  • Learn how to graft trees trees
  • Learn how to prune trees
  • Daily Yoga Class
Group shot
Each student is standing by the tree they planted. they also arranged each guild and surrounding paths, sheet mulching and cover crops

What else is included:

  • Three healthy meals daily with lots of produce from our own land
  • Optional yoga classes every day (included and free of charge).
  • Have time to relax in nature

Permaculture Systems on our farm

What to bring on the course and how to get here – Please click here

Video about being at Keela Yoga Farm (made in 2017)

Bookings

Ticket Price Quantity
Deposit €100.00 Sold out
Caravan €100.00 Sold out
Rented tent or tipi €100.00 Sold out
Own caravan €0.00 Sold out
Own tent €0.00 Sold out
Non residential €0.00 Sold out
PDC Deposit €100.00 Sold out

Please let us know of any food restrictions or allergies that you have

What do you want to get out of this experience?

How did you hear about us

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