My Lessons

I was going to jump straight into food but for my reader’s sake I’ll diverge into my studies after discussing the humanure…lol

So even though this program is specifically oriented to complete a certificate in Permaculture there are many other classes I take. This was one of the specific highlights for me when I was researching this particular program, because I would be completely immersed in a sustainable farm not just sitting in a classroom learning about permaculture. Even though I still have 4 hours a week in Permaculture class there are a lot more classes I am involved in here.

Weekly I have 4 hours of Hebrew lessons (I learned the alphabet last week) and 2 hours of a class called Judaism in the Land, which basically includes everything from learning the Hebrew calendar and growing seasons, Jewish connections to the land, the agriculture laws and rituals relating to the Torah, and Holiday teachings.
To balance out these classroom lessons we also pick two apprenticeships, each one for two months and then we switch. These lessons focus on sustainability in all factors. I chose agriculture as my first one and am thinking mud/stone building as my second. But I’ve got two month to decide on my next one.

There are also sporadic lessons in many different relating fields. We get a lot of visitors that come to stay a few days on the farm. Most of them are highly trained in specific areas and they teach specific workshops and classes to us while here. For example we had someone recently come and teach us about terracing and we created a new terrace outside our big dome. And then there are other sporadic lessons we receive by our instructors or the Shin-shins that live here like Medicinal Herbs, where we learn when and how to harvest plants to make tinctures, dried teas, salves, lotions, and attributes of the plants. Israel is amazing with respect to the amount of wild edible plants. Outside my dome there is everything from nettles, milkthistles, mustard, and mallows growing wild. We take full advantage of their treasures.

And then there are the field trips where we go and observe sustainable practices in other parts of Israel. On Monday we’re leaving on our first field trip to the Negev desert. We will be Kibbutz hopping.


Yigal my Permaculture and Ag Instructor


Seth bringing up some stones


Building a Terrace