What is syntropic farming
Mutually beneficial, synergistic relationships
International educator
Scott Gallant, permaculture designer and educator
Location
Terény, 2696 Hungary
Prices, discounts
prices, deadlines
00
+days of in-person training
With Scott Gallant
Introduction to Syntropic Farming
Syntropic Farming is an innovative agroforestry practice originating with Ernst Gotsch's farm in Bahia, Brazil. This course introduces you to Syntropic Farming, focusing on growing food and reforesting landscapes from day 30 to year 30. Learn how to use forest succession to regenerate ecosystems and grow food, moving from theory to practical implementation.
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What is Syntropic Farming?
Syntropic Farming is a process and principle based form of agriculture developed and propagated primarily in Brazil. Syntropic farming is a field within the larger domains of agroecology and agroforestry.
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What does this mean more?
Syntropic systems complement the food forest ideas within permaculture design by providing more specific design details, metrics, and arrangements that focus on precisely imitating the spatial and temporal relationships of a region’s native forest ecology. It is a form of successional agriculture, as it is based on leveraging the power of ecological succession.
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What does syntropic farming offer?
Syntropic agriculture provides a set of principles and tools for shifting from organic monocultures and input based agriculture towards a holistic focus on ecology. In the end it is a system that seeks to imitate the forest and all of its processes.
What are you going to learn?
This course is designed to assist your journey into the practice of Syntropic Farming.
Students will:
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plant an agroforestry system that imitates how forests work over space and time.
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gain an understanding of how we can work from “clearing to clearing”, using forest succession as our model.
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explore the unique design and management practices of Syntropic Farming that differentiate it from other agroforestry methodologies.
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plant a 1000 m2 plot from start to finish, including field design, soil preparation, plant propagation, tree planting, and more.
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understand syntropic farming principles and how they apply across contexts and climates.
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design their own syntropic farming field plot and have it reviewed by the instructors.
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create their own consortium of plants and build out a species list relevant to their climate.
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understand the process of implementing their own system from plant propagation to soil preparation to synchronized planting.
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receive an extensive resource packet that includes:
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the best guides for temperate, tropical and mediterranean climates.
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a species list for temperate, tropical and mediterranean climates.
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a list of videos, links, projects, and practitioners to inspire and inform your work.
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This course will give you the confidence to plant your first syntropic square meter!
I always seek to create agroecosystems as close as possible to the natural and original systems of the sites where I work, both in their form and in their function and dynamics.
Ernst Götsch - researcher, writer, agronomist
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days offace-to-face lectures
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practical
training
About Syntropic farming
Article: What is Syntropic Farming?: A Permaculture Perspective
Click on the video titles to view them!
Regenerative lifestyle with syntropic farming
What is synoptic farming?
Syntropic Farming is a process and principle based form of agriculture developed and propagated primarily in Brazil. Syntropic farming is a field within the larger domains of agroecology and agroforestry. Syntropic systems complement the food forest ideas within permaculture design by providing more specific design details, metrics, and arrangements that focus on precisely imitating the spatial and temporal relationships of a region’s native forest ecology.
Ethics
The Syntropic farming establishes a definite ethical system that serves as a guideline for everyone who thinks responsibly about the future.
Philosophy
It is a form of successional agriculture, as it is based on leveraging the power of ecological succession.
Tools
Syntropic agriculture provides a set of principles and tools for shifting from organic monocultures and input based agriculture towards a holistic focus on ecology. In the end it is a system that seeks to imitate the forest and all of its processes.
Daily schedule
What do you need to bring
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Work clothes, gloves and shoes
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Rain gear
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Pens and paper
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Favorite gardening tools
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The main language of this course is English with continuous translation to Hungarian if needed.
Additional Resources:
Friday October 3rd
10 - 11 AM: Meet and Greet
11 - 12 PM: Intro to Eletfa Permaculture
- Host Intro
- Host Logistics: Meals, Lodging, Bathrooms, etc
- Context of Place: Watershed, History, Soils, Culture
12 - 1 PM: Walk the Site
- Get to know the site, existing systems.
- Observation activity in a nearby forest.
1 - 2 PM: Lunch
2 - 3:30 PM: Introduction to Syntropic Farming
- History, Current Movement, Key Concepts.
- Princples: Succession and Stratification.
3:30 - 5 PM: Field Work
- Bed layout, soil preparation.
- Everything is ready for planting tomorrow.
6 - 7 PM: Dinner
7 - 8 PM: Examples from around the world
Saturday October 4th
7 - 8 AM: Field Work
- Tree layout
8 - 9 AM: Breakfast
9 - 11 AM: Syntropic Farming Design
- Key Concepts
- Consortium Creation
- Design and Layout
11 AM - 1 PM: Field Work
- Planting of trees, cuttings, tubers
1 - 2 PM: Lunch
2 - 3 PM: Field Work
- Planting of seeds
- Mulching
3 - 5 PM: Syntropic Farming Management
- Key Concepts
- Management examples
6 - 7 PM: Dinner
7 - 8 PM: Case Study: Start to Finish
Sunday October 5th
7 - 8 AM: Field Work
- Apply cover crops
8 - 9 AM: Breakfast
9 - 11 AM: Field Work
- Management details
- Nest creation
- Paths and access
- Plant propagation and nursery work
11 AM - 1 PM: Design your own Syntropic Agroforestry System
1 - 2 PM: Lunch
2 - 3 PM: Present Syntropic Agroforestry Designs
3 - 4 PM: Course Wrap Up
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€Early Bird 440 € until 30th August.
There is no such thing as plagues. They’re agents who optimize life processes. The only plague I’m aware of in my garden is myself.
Ernst Götsch - researcher, writer, agronomist
Trainers, mentors
Main Facilitator:
Scott Gallant is a permaculture designer and educator with 15 years of experience working predominantly in Central America.
He is the co-founder of Porvenir Design, a landscape design firm specializing in productive landscapes, agroforestry, water systems, and design of large multi-stakeholder projects.
With his team he organized the first Syntropic Farming workshop in Central America, and since then he has studied with some of the foremost practitioners including Fernando Rebello, Thiago Barbosa, Henrique Sousa, Nat Muget, Jorge Espinosa, and Juã Pereira.
He is particularly interested in translating the unique practice of syntropic farming into English and contexts outside of Brazil.
He prides himself on the clear and concise teaching of complex ideas, and more recently has begun exploring Syntropic Farming in the mediterranean climate of southern Italy.
Supporting Trainers & Local Experts:
Istvan is a third-generation permaculture teacher, consultant, and local community developer—and a proud father. With over 25 years of hands-on international experience, he has worked across diverse cultural and ecological landscapes, from wetlands to arid deserts.
He holds a degree in Sustainable Horticulture and Permaculture from Ireland and has participated in numerous advanced training programs led by some of the most respected figures in the field. His mentors include Geoff Lawton, Warren Brush, and Paul Taylor, with whom he frequently co-teaches.
Istvan strongly believes in the learn-by-doing approach. He is passionate about encouraging people to integrate permaculture principles into their daily lives - where they may be.
Gábor graduated as a horticultural engineer. He worked for five and a half years in vegetable seed cultivation and breeding, then worked as a project coordinator at a food industry company. Gabor completed the Permaculture Design Course with the Életfa Permakultura in 2020. Putting what he learned there into practice, he transformed the garden of an office building in Budapest using a permaculture approach and continued to work on the foundation of this area for the following two years. His main areas of interest include soil revitalization, the creation of plant systems, selective breeding, building bridges between cultures, and shaping the attitudes of future generations as a parent.
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00
€Early Bird 440 € until 30th August.
The byproduct of producing food is wood and good soil.
Ernst Götsch - researcher, writer, agronomist
Location
Each area hides a variety of challenges.
Terény, Életfa Permakultúra Open Space - Hungary
Our site is nestled in a beautiful green environment in the heart of county Nógrád, in Terény. About 1,5 hours drive from the capital Budapest. The heart is an 8,600-square-meter farm with a welcome reception area, two yurts, compost showers with hot water and the camping site that makes it an ideal venue for various regenerative energy events. The garden, which is constantly under transformation and growing, represents true permaculture diversity.
The farm is surrounded by +80 hectares of land. Each area hides a variety of challenges, from the almost completely flat field next to the village, through the planted acacia trees, the mud hill covered with protected plants, to the barely accessible ancient hawthorn.
Food & Accommodation
Food - Vegetarian lunch, break snacks and unlimited coffee and tea throughout the days are included in your course. Breakfast and dinner are self-organized.
Accommodation - Camping site on the farm is available free of charge, with warm showers, compost toilets and community kitchen. Camping gear should be ensured by each participant bearing in mind that nights can get chilly in October.
Accommodation is also available in humble straw bale rooms at the farm and in guest houses in the village. If you are interested we can send you more information. Let us know via email at hello@permaculture.hu.
Videos
Prices Include
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3 days training
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Face to face with Scott Gallant
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3 day camping accommodation (bring your tent and gear)
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Vegetarian lunch, unlimited coffee and tea
Prices, discounts
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Standard fee: 490 €
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Early bird: 440 € until 30th August
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Places are limited, reserve your spot now.
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Registration for the program is only valid upon payment of the participation fee!.
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00
€Early Bird 440 € until 30th August.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will we get any recording of the course?
We will create a private online group on our online learning platform where you will have access to the most important documents and resources shared during the course and recordings that we manage to take. Take into consideration that there will be practical implementation hands-on sessions that are not possible to be recorded.
Is this system scalable to more than 1 hectare area?
One of the most interesting aspects of syntropic farming is how it systemsize complex agroforestry systems so that they can operate on a larger scale.
Can syntropic farming be adapted to continental climate?
Yes, there are currently a handful of projects in temperate continental climates that we will draw inspiration from in this course. It should be noted that at this stage in the development of syntropic farming, everyone working in temperate climates is an early adopter, an innovator. We will provide a significant number of resources from all the major professionals and venues working in temperate syntropic farming.
What is the difference between a food forest and a syntropic farming system?
The biggest difference between these systems is that syntropic farming tends to focus more on: Very conscious work with ecological succession, and large-scale production.
Will we get plant lists to start with?
We will design a real plot on the site, so you will have access to the list we work with. Any additional resources will be shared on our private online platform.
Send a message
Contact us
Nóra Miklós (9.00am to 7.00pm, CET - Hungarian timezone):
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