Overview
Study abroad in South America and investigate new ways of creating sustainable human habitats at Ecoversidade - a grassroots ecological institute in tropical central Brazil. Learn permaculture principles and create your own unique ecological design as you study and apply sustainable community development theory in a real-world environment.

The course offers a unique opportunity for students to gain environmental and international experience and the inspiration to adapt appropriate technologies and sustainable agriculture techniques to their own climates and cultures. Students receive four transferable college credits in one of the best places to study permaculture and sustainability in Latin America.

Students who complete the program become Certified Permaculture Apprentices, able to receive a Diploma of Permaculture Design after 2 years of applied work.

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Ecoversidade

Ecoversidade, part of IPEC (Permaculture Institute and Ecovillage of the Cerrado), is located in the Cerrado ecosystem between the Amazon and the Atlantic. It serves as a model of viable rural settlement. Utilizing appropriate technologies, living systems and natural buildiing, Ecoversidade offers the realities of sustainable community life from a holistic perspective. The community is a dynamic place where residents and students take part in community activities, including in activities including Portuguese instruction, yoga, meditation, Women's Food Cooperative events and Capoeira, a Brazilian mix of sacred dance, acrobatics and martial arts.

Read more about Ecoversidade and its location »

Highlights
	Visit a World Heritage Biosphere, home to endemic rare flora and fauna.
	Explore renewable energy and its viability in different settings.
	Develop alternative solutions to everyday challenges in Latin American society.
	Visit Caxambu, Furnas and Lagolandia.- neighboring rural traditional and intentional communities.
	Become a Certified Permaculture Apprentice eligible to become a Permaculture designer after two years of applied experience.

Students study grassroots development, learn permaculture design and get hands-on experiences building with renewable resources such as adobe. More photos »

Course Information

The official UMASS course title for this 4 credit program is: Plant and Soil Science 398P Section 2

Course Topics

Sustainable Shelter
Concepts and themes of design; Natural building and architecture; Renewable energy; Appropriate technologies

Aquaculture
Water technologies; Earth movement; Dry composting toilets; Water harvesting, storage and distribution; Recycling water; Desertification and the salting of soils

Community Development
Indigenous, intentional, alternative and traditional communities; Economic strategies; Globalization; Visits to various communities in the region

Cultivated Ecosystems
Organic Gardening; Food forest; Small animal systems; Tropics and sub-tropics; Dryland strategies; Cold climate systems

Portuguese Language (optional)

Natural Building Design (optional)

Academic Credit
Earn 4 transferable credits through the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Find out about transferring credits to your home school »

View the full curriculum for this program »

Faculty

Lucia Legan, M.Ed. candidate in science and environmental education at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and diplomate of the Permaculture Institute of Australia, has worked in community development for more than 15 years with Aboriginal communities, women's groups, young people, and farmers. Since arriving in Brazil, she has co-founded both IPEC and the Mollison School for Sustainable Studies where she remains as Executive Director. Lucia has authored a nationally selected prize-winning environmental education guide called "Escola Sustentavel" ["Sustainable Schools"] which is currently in its second edition. She has recently launched a nationwide program, "Habitats na Escola," which empowers students, parents, and teachers with the skills to create sustainable habitats in school.

Andre Jaeger Soares, master’s candidate in environmental education at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, is a cofounder of Ecocentro IPEC, trilingual teacher, natural builder and permaculture designer. He founded the Permaculture Institute of Central Queensland in Australia. As national coordinator with the United Nations Development Program, Andre taught more than 2000 people throughout the country in permaculture design. Andre was given the Casa Claudia award for innovative design in natural construction and is acknowledged as one of the 50 most important people in environmental development in Brazil. His leadership in sustainability has attracted a partnership with the Swiss foundation AVINA creating new projects in the area of low impact architecture and social development in South America. In 2005, Andre also worked as an international aid worker in Haiti as a team leader in sustainable development. He is a diplomate of the Permaculture Institute of Australia.

John Gerber, UMass Faculty Sponsor
Ph.D., Vegetable Physiology/Agricultural Education/Soil Science, Cornell University
M.S., Vegetable Physiology, Cornell University
B.S., Botany, University of Rhode Island
UMass Amherst professor of plant and soil sciences and former dean of the College of Food and Natural Resources, Executive Director, Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, and former VP of the American Society of Horticultural Science. Gerber teaches courses in Sustainable Agriculture, Plants and the Environment, Dialogue on Agricultural Issues, Agricultural Systems Thinking, and Sustainable Living. He has published numerous books, articles, reviews and texts, including Agriculture and the Environment: Bridging Food Production and Environmental Protection in Developing Countries. Presenter at dozens of conferences and workshops including Agricultural sustainability: a global perspective - a 1994 USAID Workshop on Agricultural Sustainability, Gerber has conducted research in vegetable cropping systems, plant nutrition, seed emergence and seedling vigor of new sweet corn genotypes, and pepper flowering and fruit set.