Workshop Natural Farming – info in English
More harvest, less work!
Do-nothing farming, or “natural farming”, makes everything happen according to nature’s flow: no ploughing, pruning, fertilising, irrigating, crop care, phytosanitary treatments, pest control, etc. After a few years of soil regeneration, your work as a farmer or gardener is limited to sowing, mulching and harvesting. So after 3 or 4 years, you have much less to do compared to other methods.
1 day of theory and 1 day of practice with a lot of attention for seed balls making and spreading while enjoying music and dance. In the context of international Earth Day we will also organise a film evening on Friday 22nd of April (more info below).
Choice between one workshop during the weekend (Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 April), click here for tickets.
or spread over two weeks on Fridays (22 and 29 April), click here for tickets.
Location: Utrechtse Heuvelrug – exact details after registration.
For your questions: sovieja@protonmail.com
Who is this two-day workshop for?
For everyone living in the Netherlands or elsewhere, who wants to get inspiration for their vegetable garden, orchard, food forest or reforestation project, such as:
- Individuals who want to be more self-sufficient – e.g. fruit/vegetables in the garden.
- Small-scale farmers who have 1 or 2 ha. of land at their disposal to experiment with
- Owners of private estates
What can you expect?
– lots of learning and action
– energy and joy!
– good contacts & connections with like-minded people
Distinctive method
What is the added value in comparison to other permaculture and food forest courses?
– It is a unique method, that teaches you the basics of intervening as little as possible (from design to harvest)
– You learn to trust your inner nature
– You strengthen the bond with your environment (plant, animal and man)
– It is also a lifestyle, it feeds your soul
– You learn reforestation and gardening with seed balls
In short: it is very complete!
Workshop content
Topics on day 1 of the workshop include:
– Philosophy and applications of natural farming
– How to bring the soil back to life
– Management of herbs on the farm
– The garden in natural farming
– The natural form of fruit trees
– Natural cereal production
– Planning a natural farm
– Observations and comments on the spot
– The “natural farm of Edessa” (Greece) and the organisation of sowing
Practice on day 2:
– Clay preparation
– Preparation of the clay and seed mixture
– Processing of seed balls
– Throwing seed balls
– Mulching the soil
– Creation of a natural vegetable garden
– Mulching with 25 cm hay
– Transplanting
No prior knowledge is required.
The event is plastic-free and Zero Waste.
Your investment
We have kept the prices (for both workshops Sat 23/Sun 24 April and Fridays 22/29 April) as low as possible, in line with Dr. Fukuoka’s philosophy.
– Basic rate € 90 including 1 x dinner
– Medium rate € 110 including 1 x dinner
– Supporting rate € 130 including 1 x dinner
Choice between one workshop during the weekend (Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 April), click here for tickets.
or spread over two weeks on Fridays (22 and 29 April), click here for tickets.
Please state:
– Your full name
– Email, phone, address
Which workshop you want to participate in: Sat 23/Sun 24 April or Fridays 22/29 April
– What type of garden/terrain do you want to work on?
– Do you want 1x or 2x a delicious vega(n) lunch of Foekje’s Eko Food LINK https://www.foekjesekofood.nl ? You pay € 14 per lunch separately.
– Do you want to attend the movie night on Friday 22-4? See below for more info .
– Do you want to spend the night at the location (attic, or in your own tent)?
– Location from where you travel to the workshop because ofto carpooling options)
After registration you will receive more information about what materials you need for the workshop and how to get started at home.
Cancellation policy: if cancelled within 3 weeks of the start of the workshop, the full amount is due and no refunds will be given. Regarding the lunch, there is a deadline of 1 week before the start. If you cancel after that, we have to charge you the costs. The reason is that we have to hire Foekje before that date.
Instructor
The workshop will be led by Kutluhan Ozdemir, who trained in Greece and South America with Panos Maniani and with other direct students of Masanabu Fukuoka. He then moved to Italy where he shares his experiences with Fukuoka’s teachings free of charge, and from his experiences with natural cultivation techniques at the Edessa Nature Farm in Greece, which he manages.
Read more about Ozdemir Kutluhan: www.dogal-tarim.org
Movie night
On Friday evening 22nd of April, we will screen the film FINAL STRAW: FOOD, EARTH, HAPPINESS at a location near Utrecht from 20 to 22 hours. Inspired by the work of Masanobu Fukuoka, author of the groundbreaking environmental book The One Straw Revolution, the film weaves meditative landscapes, an eclectic original soundtrack and inspiring stories from some of the world’s leading figures in the natural farming movement. Together, this cast of farmers, chefs, mothers, city dwellers and teachers give current relevance to age-old ideas about food, the environment and happiness. Final Straw offers itself as a seed, to help us grow solutions to some of the most difficult global environmental and social issues we face today.
The film itself will last 104 minutes. Before that there is a short (interactive) introduction.
It is also open to people who are not participating in the workshop. For the movie night we ask €12 if you only come for the film and €10 if you also attend the workshop (€2 discount). Be quick because space is limited!
Preparation: there will be a Zoom session in March with Kutluhan Özdemir in which we will try to answer your questions concerning preparation for the workshop.
Follow up: we will schedule an online follow-up session for all participants approximately 3 months after the workshop. If you are interested in participating in this online session as well there is an additional cost of €15.
Measures: we do not check for QR codes since this is not our task. We value and respect the sovereignty and responsibility of each human being.
Organisation of the workshop: association SoVieJa; Alexandra & Marnix
For questions: sovieja@protonmail.com
We look forward to seeing you!