COURSE Dates and Times - PLEASE CHECK YOUR TIMEZONE

This course is OPTION 2, starting on the 3rd of July and ending on the 21st of August 2021.

It runs for 8 consecutive Saturdays

Classes will be held at this TIME - AEST (UTC+10) 9pm-1:30am.

Equivalent times:

Tehran - 3:30pm-8pm

Paris - 1pm-5:30pm

London 12pm-4:30pm

New York - 7am - 11:30am

COURSE INTRODUCTION

Becoming a Syntropic Gardner is a 8 week LIVE online course that is structured and delivered in an individualised way. The course will take participants through the foundational aspects for becoming an autonomous syntropic gardener - one that is able to make sound decisions amidst the unknown variabilities of reality.

Syntropic Agriculture is a lot more than simply allocating plants into a pre-determined spatial configuration. As I understand, it actually involves an immersive process of decision making where many variables regarding crops, land, climate, resources and people must come together harmoniously and be able to withstand the uncertainties of reality.

The quality of the interaction between the grower and its environment, is what largely determines the success of syntropic agriculture. and success is by no means measured in kilograms of food output, but on quantity and quality of consolidated life, which in turn has a direct relationship to productivity - the more life, the more food can be produced with less external output!!

Understanding what it takes to increase the quantity and quality of consolidated life is thus where our focus lies. As such, I put a lot of emphasises during the online course to facilitate a gradual process where context, theory and practice is married individually and by each course participants. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I cannot tell what to plant and how to manage, these are your own decisions, but I will present and discuss numerous contextual, theoretical and practical concepts that you will need to pay attention to in order for you to make numerous decisions that are approximately right for you and your life.

Of particular importance to me, is to make sure that each course participant is able to understand his/her own context, to digest all the theory and to be confident with all the practices. My teaching approach is based on dialogue (not monologue) and I will encourage (or perhaps demand) all participants to ask as many questions as they have - there is no silly question!!!.

What I value most is to relate experience to concepts, or reality to theory, so the more participants are able to bring their own questions (based on their own contexts) the better we can ground the theories and methodologies into reality, which makes learning much more interesting and assimilative. Together, as a group of students, we will become a macro-organism and help each other out as we navigate through some unknown territories collectively.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

I will deliver an online experience that takes participants through an in depth process of becoming a knowledgeable, competent and enthusiastic Syntropic Gardener. And I will guide you to not only be able to grow food, but also to establish a meaningful and reciprocal relationship with your land (no matter how big or small) as you regenerate it.

The structure rests on the premise that for you to be able to go beyond recipes, you need to be confident, flexible and capable of making numerous decisions... and consequently you need to be familiar not only with the theories and practices of syntropic agriculture, but also with your own context, and the forces at play in the natural world.

The framework is divided into 3 broad, but intrinsically related areas, that move and evolve simultaneously as the course progresses. These are:

Reality - where your context is defined, your land is understood and your environment is grasped.
Theory - where the foundational theories and philosophy of Syntropic Farming are presented and translated into your context. We also explore how natural forces work and how humans should interact with nature so both grow together towards abundance; and
Practice - where theory and reality are put to the test and become manifested through your own comprehensive syntropic design, appropriate implementation strategies and attentive management.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

As we navigate and re-iterate the complex relationships between context, theory and practice, the following objectives will emerge:

Facilitate thorough understanding of syntropic philosophy, theory and practices;
Explore and engage with the natural world and its laws to create regenerative and productive systems;
Foster individualised/contextualised syntropic decision making;
Ensure participants are able to work with processes and are independent of recipes;
Facilitate knowledge absorption through grounding theory and practices on experience and examples;
Instil resilience to work through time and space;
Have a focus on regeneration as to ensure productivity;
Inspire and encourage community support.

COURSE DETAILS

COURSE MODE: This is a 100% live online course through ZOOM, and all sessions will be recorded and made available to course participants 24 hours after the session. Session will have a mix of white board presentation, pre-recorded practices, powerpoint presentation, Q&A, small group activities.
DELIVERY: The course consists of 8 sessions (8 consecutive Saturdays) that have a duration of 4.5 hours each.
SESSIONS: Each session is composed of two classes of 2 hours each with a 30 minutes break in between.
HOMEWORK: Participants will be encouraged to do numerous tasks at home to help them understand their context and natural surroundings.
COMMUNICATION: Throughout the course all participants will be part of a messaging group so we can keep supporting each other outside class engagements.
CONTINUAL SUPPORT: After the course, I will be holding a monthly meeting where all course participants are invited to attend, so we can continue to support each other. These meetings will be held continuously for an indeterminate period of time.
DATES: The course starts on Saturday the 3rd of July and runs for 8 consecutive Saturday until Saturday the 21st of August.
TIMES: Classes will be held at this TIME - AEST (UTC+10) 9pm-1:30am.
- Equivalent times (PLEASE CHECK YOUR TIMEZONE):
  Tehran - 3:30pm-8pm
  Paris - 1pm-5:30pm
  London 12pm-4:30pm
  New York - 7am - 11:30am
INVESTMENT: AUD$379 + booking fees (Humanitix).
PARTICIPANTS: 10

COURSE CURRICULUM

Session 1 – Contextualizing

Syntropic Agriculture World view and its implications in decision making;
Syntropic Agriculture Contextual Framework;
Understating and defining your own context;
- Holistic management principles
- Where are you and where do you want to be (move towards)?
- Climate, biome, soil, seasons, water access
- Organizational capacity and vocation
- Commercialization, subsistence, other interest/focus
- Individual resources (money, time, people, skills, inputs, tools, etc.)
- Mental capacity, anxiety and emotional support
- Managing expectations and working with the unknown
- Relationship between farmer and nature

Session 2 – Understanding Forest Dynamics

Forest in motion
Natural Succession –
- Movements in time – Successional Epochs (colonization, accumulation, abundance stages), Successional Stages (placenta, secondary, climax and transitional), Successional life cycles (individualised)
- Movements in space - Stratification (space dynamics dictated by light requirements)
Reproductive strategies and functional elements
Observing nature and learning the plant’s language
Soil life and dynamics
Pests and disease
Diversity and cooperation
Natural regulation and organisms niches

Session 3 – Syntropic Principles, Practices and Processes

Introduction into agroforestry systems
What is process-based agriculture
Syntropy as a tool for regeneration and production
Human functions within the macro-organism
Different types of agroforestry systems across the globe
Tao of syntropic agriculture (15 principles)
Focus on photosynthetic production
Accumulating energy and generating organic matter
Dynamizing the system through human intervention
Seeing and understanding every being’s functions

Session 4 – Management Theory and Practices

Variables to work with - Water, energy, nutrient, community dynamics
Selective weeding
Pruning
Pulsing
Observing
Understanding the Macro organism
Senescence
Planting water
Time management
Pros and cons of different types of organic matter and how to organize them
Managing for organic matter production
Flowering inductions
Replanting annuals
Management tools
Understanding how crops are evolving and how to intervene
Managing and learning from pests and diseases
Spontaneous plants (weeds) – what to do?
Below ground responses from timely management and mulching
Climatic considerations on management
Pruning, thinning and stratifying high density plantings

Session 5 – Implementation Considerations

Choosing planting areas and defining its size
Organising the area pre-planting (pasture and treed areas)
Organising organic matter prior to working the soil
Bed shape and orientation (rectangular/circular, concave/convex, flat/raised, up-down/contour, N-S, E-W)
Marking area and preparing the soil
Organic fertilization
Seed vs seedlings
Covering the soil
Managing the corridor/edges
Order of planting
Preparing seeds, seed balls, seedlings, cuttings,
Planting strategies
Planting demonstrations (banana, roots, seeds, microbes, cassava/cuttings, sweet potato)
Planting entirely from seeds (bed and inter-rows)
Pathway considerations
Bed width considerations
Implementation tools
Irrigation considerations
Managing borders (trees)
Role of exotic species

Session 6 - Design Theory

Questions to ask yourselves when designing
Understanding and using Successional tables (life cycle x Strata)
When does a plant start to need its “own strata”
Respecting nature’s timings
Veggies/horticulture (placenta) considerations
Trees/fruit/nut/wood considerations
Biomass production – planning, consortiums, management considerations
Designing pictures and making successional movies
How to choose species
Deciding on how many strata in one row
Strata combinations and "rules"
Over positioning of functions
Adding and substituting plants
How to organize beds
Inter-rows and pathways
Diversity vs simplicity
Optimising horticultural succession (up to 400% production)
Harvesting considerations
Climatic and successional considerations of design

Session 7 - Design Practice

Designing agroforestry systems in practice
Putting it all together through different examples
Exploring my own designs and systems
Other examples of designing
Live design demonstration with students (2-4 cases from students)

Session 8 – Commercialization potentials, pitfalls and considerations

Understanding different complexities in commercial systems (plants x humans)
Economics of patience in regenerative agriculture
Lining up all variables for complexity management and commercialization
Short term economic potentials
Mid-term economic potentials
Long term economic potential

COURSE INCLUSIONS AND EXPECTATIONS

8 x 4.5 hour online sessions using the Zoom platform
Monthly meetings after the course
Access to a community of like-minded participants eager to grow and learn, through social media group platforms
1-2 hour practice ‘homework’ per week on your own land
Recording of each session

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR

I've been studying, researching, practicing, sharing and being deeply immersed into Syntropic Agriculture for the past 5 years and I have been actively involved with environmental and food production matters for over two decades.

My experiences have thought me that regenerative food production is the most humbling and necessary of human activities, one that put us in direct contact with Mother Earth and allow us to feel connected, responsible and free. It also allow us to fulfil our role as stewards of the Earth and apply our creative capacities not only towards its restoration but also to conduct the Natural World to a place that it cannot reach by itself.

The more I observe my and other's relationship with the Natural World through different regenerative practices, the clearer it is to me that the most appropriate pathway to success (ecologically, economically and emotionally) is an individual one. A pathway navigated and crafted by you and in accordance with your specific context (climate, land, resources, skills, goals, etc...).

Thus my educational approach is individualised, holistic, enthusiastic and focused. Meaning...

Individualised: All my educational services are designed and delivered to provide an individualised experience, where participants are heard, encouraged and empowered to find answers to their own questions.
Holistic: My role is to facilitate a process that makes you aware and curious to know more about numerous variables that you must take into consideration when embarking and navigating on this journey - so you can make approximately right decisions!!
Enthusiastic: I am deeply passionate about regenerative food production and I will do my best to translate my enthusiasm about it. The regenerative journey is certainly not a short and sweet one... and enthusiasm plays a vital role to ensuring our longevity... - slow, smiley and steady!!!
Focused: There are two key areas (or questions) that we must keep our focus on - 1) where are you now (current reality)?; 2) Where do you want to be in the future (future reality)? By understanding these two positions in time and space, you are able to craft a potential bridge that is fully aligned with your context and that keeps you on track, but also flexible to adapt as your reality changes (and do not follow your perfect plan :)).

Much love,

Victor Pires

Our Students Experiences...

Kalki Gleeson

"Your course is the coolest thing I’ve done with my adult life. It was truly grounding, and I am really enjoying playing in my garden and trying out different plants and learning to observe and really see so much more."

Brad Curtis

"This course was exceptional. Victor preaches what he practices. He has established a stunning array of Syntropic systems on his property which he has used to further his theoretical and practical understanding of this agroforestry method. His teaching method and experience provide a concise, clear demonstration of Syntropic Agriculture and will give any practitioner the skills, confidence and knowledge to start their own system."

Joshua Lamont

"Victor is a hidden gem at the fore front of the syntropic culture movement in Australia. He's one of the greatest minds I've been witness to in my life. I highly recommend if it's possible for you to do so, to witness his language and outlook. Being around Victor has given me a lot of content to work with as I further put together my own understandings, to witness my own experience. I hope the east coast is ready for Victor, because he is a beacon to a long bridge in moving forward to a unified state of being."