PERMACULTURE TEACHER TRAINING
Join us for an immersive Permaculture Teacher Training in Terra Alta, Sintra, from the 3rd to the 8th of May 2026.
This five-day training at Terra Alta invites you to step from being a practitioner into becoming a confident permaculture educator. Guided by experienced tutors, you will explore theory and practice on: how to facilitate, design a course, deliver a class, experiment with hands-on sessions, and reflect transformational learning experiences for a diverse group of students.
Led by certified permaculture teacher Pedro Valdjiu and the Terra Alta education team, the training provides a rich mix of theory, hands-on practice, peer teaching, and facilitation coaching. Terra Alta is grounded in the full spectrum of permaculture: land design, regenerative systems, caring community, and self-development in relation to nature and culture.
Terra Alta is one of the most established Permaculture projects in Europe, located 45 minutes by car from the Lisbon Airport. With over 10 years as a permaculture site-in-development, and a centre for research and education with over 30 Permaculture Design Certificate Courses (PDCs) taught, we offer Permaculture education at the highest level, led by artist and certified Permaculture teacher, Pedro Valdjiu.
Why Terra Alta:
• Over 15 years of permaculture education
• Living demonstration site: gardens, food forests, econbuildings
• Warm, creative community learning environment
• Experienced facilitators with a human-centered approach
Who is this course for?
This course is for dreamers and doers who are ready to bring an educational project to life. Whether you already have experience, or are seeking a training to get started, this course will give you the tools and structure to move forward.
This course is for:
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PDC graduates ready to start teaching
• Facilitators, educators, and community leaders
• Anyone wanting to improve communication skills
• People wishing to teach with regenerative methods
Reserve your spot! Spaces are limited to keep the group structured and ensure personal guidance for each participant.
COURSE OVERVIEW
Over four days, you will move step by step through the full design process:
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How adults learn and how to teach effectively
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Learning styles, modalities, and group dynamics
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Holding space with clarity and confidence
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Designing and delivering impactful lessons
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The art of questioning, sequencing, and storytelling
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Classroom management and co-teaching
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Monitoring student energy and adapting in real time
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How to design and run a complete PDC
By the end of the training, you will walk away with a tools and practices about permaculture education, adapting them to your personal assets and an educational vision that reflects your values, supports your community, and aligns with nature’s patterns.
The course content will guide you through a practical learning experience:
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Daily micro-teaching sessions with supportive feedback
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Practice teaching real PDC topics
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Developing teaching presence and personal voice
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Using visual tools and natural materials in teaching
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Strengthening confidence, flow, and creativity
A COLLABORATIVE EXPERIENCE
At Terra Alta, learning extends beyond the classroom. All meals (except breakfast) will be prepared together, with students and crew sharing the cooking and harvesting. Care for the communal spaces — from tidying to cleaning — is also a collective effort. This rhythm of collaboration is at the heart of the course: living, learning, and working side by side in community.
Save Your Spot
PROGRAM INFORMATION
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Rooted in Rosemary Morrow’s PTT methodology
• Embodied, land-based learning at Terra Alta
• Community-centered education and shared agreements
• Evening sessions: movies, storytelling, reflection
• Closing ceremony and certificate of completion
COURSE FEE
The course fee includes three vegetarian (mostly vegan) meals per day* with food sourced from our gardens as well as accommodation for 6 nights (Sunday 3rd is arrival day and Friday 8th is departure day). Upon registration you will be asked for your details and registration fee of 200€ to secure your spot. This is a deposit and part of the course fee. You just pay the balance upon arrival.
Depending on your seelcted accommodation type, the course fee will be:
- 390€ for 5 nights in our camping tent (6 available, 1 person per tent)
- 490€ for 5 nights in our wooden A-frame hut or bell tent (3 wooden A-frames, 6 bell-tents available, fits 1 person).
Please note that we work on a first comes, first serves basis.
Please make sure to read our refund policy in our FAQ section.
*on the arrival day there will only be dinner, and on the departure there will only be breakfast
COURSE LANGUAGE
All our courses at Terra Alta are conducted in English.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is included in the price and will be in one of our beautiful cabins nestled in our cork oak forest on the land. The options are listed below with pictures. You can choose your preferred accommodation in the registration form.
MEET THE TRAINERS
Pedro Valdjiu
Course Instructor
Pedro is a certified Permaculture teacher of the UK Permaculture Association. A student of "rebel farmer" Sepp Holzer and deeply committed to the teachings of Permaculture pioneer David Holmgren, Pedro hosts and facilitates Terra Alta's PDCs, and continues to shape this unique programme 10 years in the making.
Melina Feuvrier
Co‑host and Co‑facilitator
Melina is driven by the desire to see cultures and humankind in a close relationship with the Earth. To pursue her path, she enrolled in Kalø Organic Farming School and cultivated her skills within communities, regenerative farms, permaculture initiatives and wilderness projects throughout Europe and the United States.
These experiences shaped her work in farming, cooking, mentoring, and earth‑based education, and led her to discover her love for the process of learning. She thrives in learning communities, where she aims to facilitate collective intelligence, embodiement, inquiry and feedback with playfulness and aliveness. Since completing her PDC in Portugal (2019), permaculture principles and philosophy have anchored and nourished her holistic thinking. She uses them to design projects and gardens, steward land, and explore the realm of inner landscapes.
Jean Marc Pace
Teaching Assistant
Jean is passionately curious about all things living - plants, soils, and humans.This curiosity brought him to Terra Alta as a student and volunteer back in 2013. Since then he has worked in various farms, classrooms and research projects. Jean faciliatated 7 PDCs in 2025 at Terra Alta, adding a pinch of botanics, soil science and ecology in the mix.
Rita Seixas is a dedicated educator and community leader who helps to bring about transformation by nurturing children through a renewed educational context and hosting visitors at Terra Alta with her attention to detail. Founder of Terra Alta and Escola da Terra -a Waldorf school near Terra Alta, she is highly connected to Anthroposophy, a spiritual science created by Rudolf Steiner and the belief system underlying Waldorf education. She is also a skilled artist in the areas of crafting, painting, and drawing--talent that translates into the ability to retrofit spaces to improve both function and aesthetics.
Devoted mother of 2 girls, she is on the cutting edge of education in Portugal, leading a school of 50 children with her full heart and soul.
Guest Teacher
Rita Seixas
