Permaculture at Earthaven — Everyday Activism
Designing for Resilience
A hands-on, place-based Permaculture workshop
Three-weekend series:
- September 18-20, 2026
- October 9-11, 2026
- November 6-8, 2026
Earthaven Ecovillage
Near Asheville, NC
Register for Live Info Call
Join Earthaven villagers for three autumnal weekend workshops in Permaculture as a land-based care model, with International Permaculture activist Wade Burley, South Carolina Permaculture designer and instructor Matt Kip, and permacultureally engaged Earthaven land stewards who are continually proposing, disposing of and embracing the best demonstrations of the Permaculture principles for the temperate mountain climates in the Southern Appalachians.
What can you learn? Each weekend we will meet Earthaven land stewards, tour their homesites and projects, and investigate ongoing efforts in the ecovillage neighborhoods, some that are still in dream form and some that are actually proving sustainable yields that encourage their stewards to keep building on past successes.
Through the lens of the principles of permaculture, which follow three basic imperatives for design and development— earth care, people care, and fair share — participants will be able to connect with and absorb many of the key principles of permaculture through actual hands-on experience and review of specific projects, discussion and a chance to be creative either in dream time or right on the land right then.
September Weekend
- Permaculture: Definitions, history and ethics, Principles
- Soil: Soil food web (including soil analysis, IMOs, ways of rebuilding soil) and Soil activity (composting, Hugelkulture, etc)
- Animal integration into gardens, succession planting
- Global systems and our pathways into an uncertain future — integrating ourselves into the overall design
- Introduction to design, including a mini design activity. (Might shift to October weekend.)
October Weekend
- Water in the landscape: Catchment, storage, and resilience in times of drought and excess.
- Water activity: Contour measurement, swale and berm building, etc)
- Silvopasture and related topics
- Trees and forests, annuals and perennials, plant polyculture
- Intro to design including a mini design activity if not done in September
- Homesite in Earthaven
- A permaculture approach to pests and invasives
November Weekend
- Homesite visit to see many examples of permaculture design in action.
- Harvest, seed saving, food preservation.
- Mini group design project.
- Carrying the fire into our lives and the world.
Additional topics
- Patterns: Patterns in nature, their characteristics and using them as inspiration for design
- Natural building with renewable and non-toxic materials.
- Social permaculture
- Farmscaping for beneficial insects and integrated pest management
- Foraging
- Beneficial plants (weeds) around us for food, fiber, and medicine
Program Schedule
Friday
7:00–9:00 Opening Circle
Saturday and Sunday
8:30–12:15 AM Sessions
12:15–2:00 Lunch and Independent Time
2:00–5:15 PM Sessions
Families and Youth
We are not offering a youth or child care program for 2026.
Most of the program curriculum involves focused, sit-down presentations, so attending with a younger child will likely mean being less able to participate fully in the program.
This program is primarily designed for adults. However, mature young adults under 18 years old are also welcome with a parent. Please contact us to discuss the enrollment of passionate individuals under 18 who would like to attend without an adult.
Logistics
Cost
Adults
Tuition Sliding Scale: $695 – 1,400 per adult for all three weekends
$550 Scholarship rate
$500 BIPOC rate
Youth
- Toddlers (0-3 years): free
- Children and teens (4-17 years) attending with an adult: $300
What’s Included
Tuition includes lunch, instruction, and all materials. Camping is available for an additional cost.
Registration
Complete the registration form once per participant. It takes 5-10 minutes, and you will complete your enrollment with a credit card authorization.
After your enrollment is processed, you will receive several confirmations…
- An automatic confirmation of receiving your registration form
- A payment confirmation from our card processor
- Confirmation that your registration has been processed
Please contact us before registering if any of these apply:
- You have a service animal.
- You are bringing a trailer or vehicle longer than 25′. There are limited spaces to park large vehicles at Earthaven.


