Rebecca Reiber

Hi Ocean! Thanks for connecting. Please let me know more about what you're doing in Santa Fe. email: hola@8thLifePanama.org

Help us to create a community that:

Is ecologically sustainable,

Economically viable,

Satisfies its members needs,

Doesn’t exploit or contaminate,

Is self-sufficient in the long-term,

Has close ties with neighboring communities for mutual benefit, and

Leads to the strengthening of local economies based on local production and consumption.

We’re creating a model system that can be scaled and adapted throughout the world - an ecological initiative that demonstrates solutions for prospering sustainably on our planet.

Why do this?  Our planet is talking to us!

If we keep consuming and contaminating at current levels, soon our planet won’t be able to sustain human life.

It’s not realistic to think that constant growth can exist on a finite planet.

It’s crazy to believe that we are above all other life forms and we can control them and even nature itself.

The great deception of modern times
Is that we must act competitively, and that growth, expansion and accumulation are good. These beliefs don’t serve us, the majority, but only the few rich and powerful.

We must unmask the deception!

Only through cooperation, working with nature and her laws, can we live abundantly on our finite planet.

We need to set aside the scarcity mentality that makes us hoard and compete, and learn from nature to live with her cycles, with less stress and more peace.

We have to limit growth and consumption, care for the earth and care for people. If we do this, we can truly prosper.

Help make a change!
Let’s work together for sustainability. The most important and urgent jobs to be done are: building soil, restoring ecosystems & learning to live in community starting locally. If supporting the transition to a sustainable world is your first priority, you will love this & we are looking for you. Please check out our website and then reach out to us.  http://8thLifePanama.org

How much of this is relevant to the tropics - Panama to be exact?

Design your Life - Create your Future

Our 4-week PDC focuses on the thought processes, patterns, and principles of permaculture because these are fundamental for change. We need to change our thoughts, minds and attitudes if we want to get better results. And these all inform our research, selection and implementation of appropriate techniques, methods, and technologies in our designs. What’s more, techniques, methods and technologies are more easily learned than new habits of thought.

Of course, we also provide examples of techniques, technologies and methods as well as links to resources. And, based on the priorities of the EcoVillage project and on participants’ designs you’ll get to practice a variety of techniques. This course is especially useful if you’re trying to figure out 'how to create a better life', 'how to design for the future' or 'how to get out of this rut'. If this sounds good to you, and you’re interested in applying what you learn at a newly-forming ecovillage, we encourage you to keep reading!

4-week PDC at 8th Life Panama EcoVillage Project

The 8th Life Panama EcoVillage Project http://8thLifePanama.org and the Integral Permaculture Academy https://academy.integralpermaculture.org/ have teamed up to offer a unique Onsite/Online PDC taking place in September and December, 2019.

Get your PDC while you help design and implement some of the initial interventions at a forming ecovillage.

The Course:

Held at the 8th Life Panama EcoVillage Project’s guest house and 21Ha of rolling hills, meadows & forests set between a stream and a river (with an incredible waterfall).

Consists of more than 90 hours of study, exceeding the minimum 72-hour standard for a PDC and includes a more multi-disciplinary perspective of Permaculture. The full contents of the course are described here https://8thlifepanama.org/ipdc-curriculum/.

Awarded by the Integral Permaculture Academy, a network of experienced permaculture designers, social activists & change agents who have been working together to co-create an international, multilingual community since 2001.

Supervised by Aline Van Moerbeke, a long-time facilitator of Permaculture Design through the Association Permaculture Mediterránea (PermaMed), and eternal student of applied Permaculture. Aline received her Diploma in Integral Permaculture Design from the academy under the supervision of Stefania Strega Scoz whose extensive experience as a permaculture designer, eco-economist and community developer led her to found the academy, among other initiatives. Stella now walks in the next world & is greatly missed.

Facilitated on site by the founder of the 8th Life Panama Project.

The Difference:

This PDC course runs for 4 weeks, while the standard PDC course is 2 weeks. Our course is longer than usual because after experimenting with the standard formats for many years in the past, the Academy team concluded that such a short time doesn’t do justice to the radically transformative potential of the curriculum.

During your time with us, you will learn through a variety of approaches such as online multimedia presentations, discussion, hands-on learning, and individual and group design projects. The practical work will include contributing to our continued efforts to make our guest house more ecological and permacultural and to designing and implementing some key initial interventions on the land.

The course schedule allows a free day each week so that you can explore the incredibly beautiful part of Panama where our project is located.

Compared with other 15-day PDCs which can cost thousands, our 4-week course at $750.00 (including course + dorm accommodation + shared meals) is a great deal.

All online materials are bilingual – English & Spanish. The primary language of instruction will be determined by class composition and all bilingual students support other students in discussions and activities.

Enrollment:

The online course fee of EUR 286 fee is paid directly to the Integral Permaculture Academy. In the section of Basic Courses you can choose which of the courses you would like to enroll in. If you select an advanced option, note that on-site we will facilitate through the basic PDC and you can continue your studies online for the more advanced options.

Room and board fee for the 4 weeks, USD $405, is paid directly to the 8th Life Panama EcoVillage Project by Western Union, PayPal or by direct deposit to a bank account that will be provided once you contact us.

Please contact hola@8thLifePanama.org or WhatsApp +507-6741-9672 to enroll or if you have any questions. For complete information on the course click here.

Course Dates:

September 1 – 29, 2019 (Enroll by 31 July)

December 1 – 29, 2019 (Enroll by 31 October)

Ask about our special Renewal Celebration December 31, 2019 - January 2, 2020

Well - we're in Panama & setting up an ecovillage, in case that's interesting to you.  http://8thLifePanama.org - also can be found on FB & IG.

We're forming community in Panama and you seem to have the kind of experience that sure would be helpful. 8thLifePanama.org & can also be found on FB & IG. Yeah, a bit far from Saskatchewan.

Permaculture Design Certificate - $750
4-week combined on-site and online

Join the founding members of the 8th Life Panama EcoVillage Project in rural Panama to learn how being a Permaculture designer can lead you to real environmental solutions, both locally and globally. Permaculture provides us with the tools necessary to live more lightly on our planet. Applying this design science to our lives and all our projects we can create the new (or perhaps adapt a very old) way of living that is needed if our species is to survive. We’re destroying ourselves and our planet. She will survive, but we may not. It’s time to STOP THE DESTRUCTION.

The course will be held at Villa Astoria, the project’s guest house, and Finca Astoria, 21Ha of rolling hills, meadows & forests set between a stream and a river (with an incredible waterfall) the project’s EcoVillage site. Help design and implement some of the initial interventions at this forming ecovillage.


Internationally recognized Certification

8th Life Panama has teamed up with the Integral Permaculture Academy to offer this course, which exceeds the 72 hour standard of study required for a Permaculture Design Certificate, the standard PDC. This iPDC consists of more than 90 hours and in addition includes a more multi-disciplinary perspective of Permaculture. The full contents of the course are described here.

The Integral Permaculture Academy is a network of experienced permaculture designers, social activists & change agents who have been working together to co-create an international, multilingual community since 2001.


What's unique about this course?

The truly outstanding value of this course is that the Academy Team has been working hard to continually improve our courses since 1998, with a team of dedicated students and tutors, focusing on perfecting the kind action learning that gets results in your real life after the course, for the long-term. This on-site Integral-focused Permaculture Design Certificate (iPDC, or Integral PDC) is unique in many ways:

An Online Component

We encourage you to enroll in the online component of the course before the onsite dates so that you can make the most of your time by:

meeting the tutors and your other course companions. This enhances the probability that you'll continue to stay in touch after the course, which is important as you learn to APPLY permaculture in the real world.

familiarizing yourself with the online learning platform

reviewing the Project's website and asking about practical designs requiring support; and

asking any questions you have.

When you return home after the course this same platform allows you to:

keep in touch with everyone or anyone you wish and help each other with designs;

review any or all of the classes at your leisure;

go deeper into anything that interest you, especially using the e-book;

take your time to develop and present the 2 practical designs which are necessary for the certificate, as they show that you are able to apply the theory you learned, at least at a basic level. It is possible to complete these designs on site if time allows.

While most courses give you take-home notes, with the Academy you get the whole course online, as well as a multimedia Integral Permaculture Designers’ Manual (the e-book) and an online support group which you can use to review and dive deeper into the theory and knowledge behind your experience at 8th Life Panama. Through the online community base, you can continue your learning journey, using this international group of permaculture designers to help and inspire you in developing your life designs & permaculture projects.

This kind of ongoing support from colleagues is crucial for implementing permaculture ideals in the real world, and this is what our neighborhoods, ecosystems and society desperately need. This also makes it very easy to continue learning at higher levels as the iPDC can lead to the Diploma level in Integral Permaculture - a smooth and easy transition that is unique to the Integral PermaCulture Academy.


Action-Learning

This iPDC course runs over 4 weeks, while the standard PDC course runs over 2 weeks or 5 weekends. Why is this one longer? After experimenting with the standard formats for many years in the past, the Academy team concluded that such a short time doesn’t do justice to the radically transformative potential of the curriculum.

It is important that the very deep theoretical content be integrated into as much observation work and practical hands-on designing and living the alternative as possible. There also needs to be plenty of time both for personal reflection and group discussion for the content, which is often quite new to most people, to be truly understood and successfully integrated into one’s life.

Of course, it isn’t possible for everyone to take 4 weeks out of their normal life to embark on such an experience, which is why the Integral Permaculture Academy focuses on delivering online courses (also because the real design work for most of us takes place in our homes, projects or neighborhoods). So, this offer is designed for those people who can take time out and is especially recommended for those who are looking to radically redesign their lives, for whom leaving their regular environments and habits can be a distinct advantage. We encourage you, if you can’t join one of our classes this year, to enroll in the Academy and begin the online course.  Then, when you have the time you can join an on-site course as a refresher or, who knows, to help co-facilitate.

Varied & Enjoyable

The course includes a variety of approaches such as multimedia presentations, discussion, hands-on learning, and individual and group design projects. Past students have loved the community atmosphere, and the experience will be adapted to you and your fellow students to maximize your learning and enjoyment.

Part of the practical work will include contributing to the basic maintenance routines at the guest house and the initial interventions on the land. Along with being great open-air physical exercise for you, we count this as part of your accommodation payment - which is why the course costs are quite low.

In this beautiful landscape you will enjoy the unique opportunities of hands-on learning. As a group, we will explore holistic, systemic, integral solutions to modern challenges with a focus on People Care, Earth Care and Future Care.  This is all about real-life, practical experience and outcomes, so expect it to be intense - but also intensely rewarding!

Time to Explore

The course schedule allows for most weekends free, so that you can explore the incredibly beautiful part of Panama where the 8th Life Panama Project is located. Group excursions can be planned by the group (each assumes his/her own cost).


Bilingual English & Spanish

One of the most enriching parts of the Academy and its on-site/online combo courses is that it is an international environment, with interesting people from all over the world living together for a time.

Apart from the cultural richness, this also means we can practice lots of languages, especially Spanish & English, which are respectively the 2nd & 3rd most spoken languages in the world (the first one is mandarin). We’ve even had students set up impromptu language support groups, where they wanted to accelerate the benefit of being around native speakers.

Everything we do in the Academy is published in these two languages. So, whether you speak in English or Spanish, you can take this course and have the opportunity to improve your language skills, which makes this a very multi-functional course (multi-functionality being an important permaculture principle).

This course in Panama will be held primarily in the language (English or Spanish) of most of the students. Bilingual students and the facilitator will support students in the other language to participate in discussions and activities.


People

This course is for you if you are...

Interested in developing projects with a focus on sustainability

Looking for hands-on action-learning

A pioneer or activist

Interested in healing the land and people you encounter

Looking for an alternative to our 'DestructoCulture' way of life

A gardener (urban or rural), artist or designer

A member of an NGO, ecologist, educator or social worker

A current or wannabe community member

In search of a closer connection to Nature

Any age, with any life experience

Curious about learning and expanding your world-view

Who We Are

Aline Van Moerbeke, a long-time facilitator of Permaculture Design through the Association Permaculture Mediterránea (PermaMed), and eternal student of applied Permaculture, assumed the role of supervising diplomat in September 2018. Aline holds a Diploma in Integral Permaculture Design from the Integral Permaculture Academy.

Stefania Strega Scoz founded the academy and until September 2018 was the supervising diplomat for this course. Her experience as a permaculture designer, eco-economist and community developer is detailed here: StellaCVeng. She now walks in the next world and is sorely missed.

Rebecca Reiber, the founder of 8th Life Panama, will facilitate learning activities on-site and all participants will engage in practical exercises related to the forming ecovillage and to their own lives and projects.

Course Dates

June 2 – 30, 2019
September 1 – 29, 2019
December 1 – 29, 2019
Ask about our special Renewal Celebration December 31, 2019 - January 2, 2020



Upper left - dorm accommodations at Villa Astoria.                          Right - courtyard garden at Villa Astoria.
Lower left - waterfall bordering Finca Astoria.



Enroll

Step 1

In the Courses section of the Integral Permaculture Academy you can choose which of the courses you would like to enroll, the minimum for this course being the PDC, which is what will be facilitated on-site.  If you choose a higher level, you can continue your studies online for the more advanced options. Follow the instructions online to pay the EUR 286 fee directly to the Integral Permaculture Academy and be sure to note that you will be attending the on-site PDC in Panama. You will receive confirmation directly from the academy upon enrollment to the online course.

Step 2

The room and board fee for the 4 week course is USD 405 which is paid to 8th Life Panama, by direct deposit to a bank account that will be provided, or by Western Union or PayPal. Please contact the Course Coordinator to discuss any aspect of the course.  And definitely contact us once you're enrolled at the Academy so we can provide payment details for your lodging.  We can be reached at hola@8thLifePanama.org or Whatsapp +507-6741-9672.

Most of the photos about the course were taken on site at the 8thLife Canarias EcoVillage project - & mostly by interns.
If you're interested in interning at 8th Life Panama, please reach out to the above contacts.

8th Life Panama is looking for co-founders for our EcoVillage project in Panama.  http://8thLifePanama.org and we're also on IC. We have a 9br guest house (operates as a hostel & serves as our co-working/co-living space) that is 30min from our land where we're currently working on the food forest and pioneer camp.

We're looking for co-founders for our ecovillage in Panama - altho it seems you're set on Europe, just thought I'd let you know of the option.

Sound advice by Dillon & Artie.