Permaculture Design Course
in Portugal
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26th December 2025 - 3rd May 2026
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With Eduardo Terzidis, Nick Steiner, Scott Gallant,
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Online theory and a week of practical learning!!​​
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Self paced theory for autonomous learning
72 hours Permaculture Design Certificate​
Also check our fully Online Permaculture Design Course! Click here
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20th - 26th April 2026
@Fazenda Compadres, Aljezur, Portugal
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Read full schedule below!
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Course Overview
Building soil – Building community – Building resilience
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No previous experience is required! Just openness and willingness to become part of the regeneration movement!
This unique course gives you the opportunity of spending several days learning by doing!
What will you learn? ​
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In the study of Permaculture, we challenge the current paradigm of where our food and water come from, the way we are constructing our villages and towns, and how we live our day-to-day and interact with each other.
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What can you do after? ​
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Our Permaculture Design Course graduates have gone on to become change-makers all over the world, designing their own land projects, founding eco-communities, redesigning their businesses, becoming consultants, teachers, writers, content creators, spearheading policy change, and continuing to spread the permaculture principles and ethics.
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Tuition
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Early bird price (book by 31st October)
€1450
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Full price (book after 31st October)
€1600
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For more info on what the tuition includes, scroll down.
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Can't afford this? Reach out and let's see if we can help you!
Program​
Every module of this certified online permaculture design course includes one interactive class where students will have the opportunity of asking questions and solving any doubts. Moreover, students will have access to the online forum where they will receive ongoing support from the facilitators.
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Why recorded classes?
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Recorded classes come from a previous 72 hours online PDC and will include moments of debate and questions from the students that had joined the course. The reason for this is that great part of a PDC are moments of reflection, and we have chosen to include other student's questions and debates to allow you to reflect and part-take in the process on your own.
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All online classes are recorded and available for self-paced study
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MODULE 1 - INTRODUCTION TO PERMACULTURE (Online)
26th December - 16th January 2025
Introductory call will be 26th December at 6 pm CET​
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• Permaculture: Evidence that we need to act - Ethics & Principles
• Concepts and themes in design: Natural ecosystems - Web of life - Yield and Resource -
• Design Methods: Observation - Analysis of elements - Flow analysis - Maps & data overlay - Zones & sectors - Slope & aspect - Guilds - Scale of permanence
• Patterns: Understanding natural patterns and how to use them in design
• This module will include an extra recorded class on mushroom and microgreens production with Jack Patch
MODULE 2 - CLIMATES, WATER AND TREES (Online)
16th January - 13th February 2026
Introductory call will be 16th January at 6 pm CET​
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• Climatic factors: Main climatic zones and their characteristics - Climatic factors - Climatic effects - Landscape profiles
• Trees: Trees and their role in the ecosystem
• Agroforestry & Food Forests: Natural forests and natural succession - Food forests - Layers - Greening the Desert
• Water: Water cycle - Water in the landscape - Strategies for water management
• Earthworks: Design - Tools - Types of earthworks (swales, dams etc..)
• This module will include an extra recorded class on water management with Nick Steiner
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MODULE 3 - SOILS, ANIMALS AND SOCIAL PERMACULTURE (Online)
13th February - 4th April 2026
Introductory call will be 4th April at 6 pm CET​
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• Soils: Soil composition - Soil management - Compost - Nutrient management and closed loops - Animals in the landscape
• Social Permaculture: Project management - Group dynamics - Non-violent communication - Local economies - Community living & Ecovillages​
• This module will include an extra recorded class on soil science with Oli Inglis and an extra recorded class on Agroforestry with Scott Gallant
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MODULE 4 - PRACTICAL WEEK (Live in Portugal)
20th - 26th April 2026
@Fazenda Compadres, Aljezur, Portugal​
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Here is a list of the topics covered during the practical week:
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• Design and implementation of a new agroforestry system
• Market gardening
• Agroforestry for herbal medicine
​• Maintenance of an existing agroforestry system
• Water management and earthworks
• Social Permaculture
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The practical week will be facilitated by Eduardo Terzidis, Scott Gallant and Oli Inglis.
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Note that the exact topics of our practical week will depend on weather, group requests and machinery availability
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MODULE 5 - FINAL DESIGN PROJECTS (Online)
10th April - 3rd of May 2026
Presentations will be 3rd of May
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To be able to provide an international 72 hours Permaculture Design Certificate, the course will include a final design project. All students will develop a project simulating the design for a client. This will be developed at your own pace, in groups. The project will be presented at the end of the permaculture design course and will be a great opportunity for the students to metabolise the newly-acquired knowledge and receive feedback from the teacher.
The hand over of the final designs will be organised with the teachers, who will provide feedback before delivering the certificate.​
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Tuition for this Permaculture Design Course Includes:
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– 72+ hour Permaculture Design Certificate upon completion
– Lifetime access to online community with past students to keep exchanging and learning
– Course content and materials, all lectures, forums, and activities
– During your stay in Portugal, three vegetarian meals per day
– Lodging in your own tent
– Lifetime possibility to join any final design sessions of future Permaculture Design Courses
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We ask for a €200 NON-REFUNDABLE and NON-TRANSFERABLE deposit to be sent to hold your space.
What is included?
The Venue
Fazenda Compadres is a market gardening and agroforestry farm that Eduardo Terzidis has been managing for the last year. It is a great example of the early stages of regenerative agriculture, and it already presents many interesting elements showing the benefits of this practice. The farm is a sister project of Mushroom Compadres, and the two businesses operate with a circular model. The waste products from the mushroom factory are brought to the farm and turned into fertiliser - which is the only input the soil receives.
The goal of the farm is to produce food to run the local food truck and to supply a CSA initiative - delivering vege boxes to local families. Some herbal agroforestry systems have also been implemented to supply the herbal apothecary that will soon be opened on the site.
The Facilitators
Eduardo Terzidis is a storyteller with an ecological heart. As an engineer, he wanted to help the world, yet he felt the need to “be out there”, learning and sharing with the very people who seek the same change he envisioned. At the core of his work is the understanding that global change needs to be carried from the inside out, recognising the intricate web of which we are part and being able to play our role in support of all life. Today he focuses on teaching and managing consulting projects as well as producing films and books.
Nick Steiner is extremely passionate about exploring, developing, and sharing ways of regenerating the world around us. His focus is on working with water and finding smart ways to grow more with less work. He has been working and educating in the field of regenerative agriculture and permaculture for almost a decade. Through his job in building up Climate Farmers he has worked with hundreds of farmers all over Europe on their regenerative journeys.
Scott Gallant is a permaculture designer and educator with fifteen years of experience working predominantly in Central America. He is the co-founder of Porvenir Design, a landscape design firm specializing in productive landscapes, syntropic farming, water systems, and design of large multi-stakeholder projects.
Jack Hodgson is a qualified Permaculture Designer from London. He ran his own Permaculture No Dig Market Garden in Greater London for 4 years supplying the local community, markets and chefs his beyond organic produce.
He now runs an urban project where he grows microgreens and mushrooms in a 20ft shipping container, which he specialises in teaching others how to grow. He currently teaches and consults for a variety of projects.