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2008, Living Mandala
creative services by: 360 Degrees

In Association With

Nor Cal Aquaponics

Finca las Nubes

Mendocino Ecological Learning Center

Facilitators & Instructors

Max Meyers

John Valenzuela

& Special Guests

TBA

Course Inspiration

What if there was way to produce an abundance of organic food using 98% less water, while producing up to ten times more food in the same amount of area and time? What if you could achieve this using 1/4 the amount of energy, in a system that does not require fertile soil, saves you labor, makes you a good living and is incredibly sustainable?  Well the exciting news is that such a system of farming exists! It’s called Aquaponics and is a combination of Aquaculture and Hydroponics. It is one of the most sustainable and productive farming system in the world! Sound too good to be true? At a time of global climate change, depletion of resources, pollution of water and huge losses of top soil worldwide, there has never been a more important time to learn about Aquaponics! This unique one-of-a-kind course will be the longest and most in depth Aquaponics Training of it’s kind ever offered... and will be hosted at the beautiful Ecovillage Resort sanctuary of Finca las Nubes.

Course Description

This bilingual Aquaponics and Permaculture 10-day intensive December includes 10 days of outdoor classroom instruction, and hands-on experience at the Aquaponics mini-farm located at the beautiful Ecovillage Resort of Finca Las Nubes. Students will learn about Aquaponics, Permaculture, experience luxurious eco-village living, and much more from experienced trainers & professionals sharing their knowledge and experience in Aquaponics, Permaculture, land restoration, tropical food forest, social justice and self sufficiency. You will learn the skills needed to design and create sustainable Aquaponics systems and Aquaculture farms that integrate Permaculture principals through out. All this while, we will be staying in an amazing Eco-village Resort with gorgeous luxury accommodations, permaculture gardens, views of the ocean, amazing wildlife, monkeys, nearby beaches, horseback riding, hiking and much more.

1. *This is a rare opportunity to learn from an operational Permaculture inspired Aquaponics system with the addition of tropical Permaculture in paradise at ridiculously affordable rates. It’s an opportunity not to be missed!
   

Advanced Aquaponics Intensive

Aquaponics at Finca las Nubes

All students will have an opportunity to learn hands-on from the beautiful Aquaponics system completed at Finca Las Nubes in April 2010. The system contains 500-600 Tilapia, a variety of vegetables, and soon to be prawns. The other many developing food forests and organic gardens also provide for amazing living classrooms full of tropical plants and animals (Howler monkeys are a common early morning site).

This 10 day intensive includes:

1. •A detailed Aquaponics Course manual covering all aspects of Aquaponics including:
   

2. ‣Day-to-day operation of the system
   

3. ‣Design checklist
   

4. ‣Field tested formulas, calculations, estimates and guidelines.
   

5. ‣Complete designs, plans and materials lists.
   

6. ‣And much more in this nearly 100 page manuel.
   

7. •NorCal Aquaponics Systems step-by-step construction manual with variations and site specific applications intended to make it easy for anyone to build an Aquaponics system.
   

8. •A set of detailed construction plans, including site plans, and piping schematics.
   

9. 
   

10. * This training will be custom tailored to meet the dreams and desires of you, our students as we welcome you into our  growing community of Permaculture & Aquaponics pioneers and prepare and empower you with all the most cutting-edge information we have in this promising new Green Career of the Future.
    

What is Aquaponics?

Aquaponics is one of the most sustainable and productive farming systems in the world. It combines Aquaculture and Hydroponics to create a truly self-sufficient closed loop system that uses only a fraction of the water, labor, energy, etc. that other methods use. Combining Permaculture Design with Aquaponics creates an even more sustainable, dynamic, productive & regenerative system. In this intensive training you will learn some of the most cutting edge pioneering aquaponics systems and gain a solid foundation from which to create your own Aquaponics System, Farm & thriving Green Business.

Permaculture & Aquaponics

By fusing Permaculture and Aquaponics truly sustainable closed loop systems are created that provide all the needs for the system with in the system itself. Max Meyer focus is on aquapionics systems that that produce virtually all of the system’s needs (water, energy, fish, feed, heat, gas, etc.) onsite! Products of the Meyers systems include; Solar electricity, Solar heated air, Solar heated water, fish, prawns, vegetables, fruit, aquatic plants, algae, minnows, snails, worms, dry and liquid fertilizers, even methane gas!

Contact

For questions and more information regarding the course

e-mail: aquaponics@livingmandala.com

phone: 707-634-1461

Watch a Video of Max Meyers Talking About Aquaponics at the Ukiah High School

PARA INFORMACION Y REGISTRO EN ESPANOL HAGA CLICK AQUI.

Tuition & Registration

includes 3 delicious meals per day at this luxurious Eco-Resort, outstanding instruction with personal attention, a detailed Aquaponics Manual, Permaculture Resource DVD, to-scale construction drawings, & how-to descriptions for building Aquaponic Systems, and much more.

1. *This will be a bilingual course with Spanish translation.
   

PARA INFORMACION Y REGISTRO EN ESPANOL HAGA CLICK AQUI.

Standard Tuition: $1500

Early Bird Special: $1250 (ends Nov 1)

Couple’s Discount-  Half off for the second person. Enter coupon code: couplesdiscount25

Permaculture Design Course Graduate Discount -  $888

For those who have successfully completed a permaculture design course certification course (must provide evidence).

Package Deal - Permaculture & Aquaponics Intensive & the Oil to Soil Course - $1,650

For those who register for the Oil to Soil Course as well as the following Permaculture & Aquaponics Intensive. For more information on the Oil to Soil Course Click Here.

Accommodations at Finca las Nibes

The tuition rates above are for camping accommodations at this amazing site. Luxury accommodations in single or shared rooms on-site at Finca Las Nubes are available for only an additional $15 per night! This special rate is only available for the 10 nights of the course: Dec 6 - 15. Regular rates for those who wish to arrive early or stay late are estimated at $55 per night, pending on the selection. Booked privately, the cost would be substantially more. For a more detailed description of the incredible accommodations available at Finca las Nubes click here.

Travel

Participants are responsible for their own travel to and from Finca Las Nubes. The nearest airport is Managua, Nicaragua (MBA), with buses and shuttles available from there. We will provide you with more information and assistance on transportation information upon registration. Please contact us with any questions.

Snail Mail

To complete your registration via mail, send the full name of the course registrant(s) with a check or money order out to "Living Mandala" and mail to:

Living Mandala

Attn: Aquaponics

P.O. Box 704

Sebastopol, CA 95473

Refund Policy

Cancellations up to 2 weeks before the course before Nov 2 will be refunded, excluding a $100 processing fee. No refunds are given after Nov 22.

Site Details - Finac las Nubes

Finca Las Nubes (Farm of the clouds) is located approximately two miles from the ocean some 1200 to 1500 ft. high on a plateau offering a cooler climate than down below. Surrounded by a steep escarpment on two sides and mountains on the other, it offers unparalleled privacy and security. The farm has spectacular views of Costa Rica to the south, miles of beaches to the west and volcanoes rising out of Lake Nicaragua to the east. There are protected valleys for farming and large open pastures for grazing animals surrounded by natural forest with creeks and waterfalls. There is abundant wildlife including three types of monkeys, sloth, deer and many bird species.

Finac Las Nubes Farm, Community, & Vision

Wildlife & Culture

Aquaponics Facts

1. •AQUAPONICS USES 98% LESS WATER THAN CONVENTIONAL FARMING DOES!
   

2. •AQUAPONICS IS ENERGY-EFFICIENT: IT REQUIRES ONE-THIRD OF THE ENERGY OTHER FARMING SYSTEMS USE!
   

3. •AQUAPONICS HAS EIGHT TO TEN TIMES MORE VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN THE SAME AREA AND TIME!
   

4. •LABOR IS REDUCED AS MUCH AS 40% AND MANY USEFUL BYPRODUCTS ARE CREATED THAT CAN BE USED TO FARM OTHER CROPS, TREES, SOIL, WATER AND ENERGY!
   

5. •A PERMACULTURE INSPIRED SYSTEM PRODUCES ALL OF THE SYSTEM’S NEEDS (WATER, ENERGY, FISH FEED, HEAT, ETC.) ON SITE!
   

6. •PRODUCTS OF THE SYSTEM INCLUDE; SOLAR ELECTRICITY, HEAT, FISH, PRAWNS, VEGETABLES, AQUATIC PLANTS, ALGAE, SNAILS, WORMS, FERTILIZER, EVEN METHANE GAS!
   

Why Aquaponics?

Growing our food in closed systems that require no soil allows us to farm soil and water outside the system! We plant soil and water in our damaged and depleted landscapes which not only aids in the restoration of the soil, groundwater and native forests, but has the added benefit of offsetting greenhouse gases by removing carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere. This is one of the practices used in what we call “Carbon Farming”. Soils contain approximately 75% of the carbon pool on land — three times more than the amount stored in living plants and animals. Did you know that 1” of healthy top soil spread over 1 acre of land sequesters the same amount of carbon a healthy forest of the same size does annually? It is estimated that our crop and range lands lose 4 tons of topsoil every year for every person alive! That’s 21 gigatons of soil washed or blown out to the sea and lost for productive use on land, releasing vast amounts of carbon in the process (New Scientist, December 2006). Being able to use land considered “Undesirable” by conventional farming, Aquaponic farmers have the added benefit of access to cheap lands and lease agreements. Often using otherwise unused space such as fill, gravel, concrete, abandoned commercial sites, even roof tops. “The only limit to our designs is in the mind of the designer.”