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Workshop: Fundamentals of Soil Permaculture & Food Forests, Senegal
Date
28.- 31. January 2026 (4 days)
Price
Learning what feeds the Earth
This four-day workshop offers a thorough introduction to the principles and applications of permaculture. In the midst of a growing oasis of regenerative agriculture, you will learn how to design healthy, restorative systems that promote soil fertility, increase biodiversity and strengthen local food sovereignty.
Through a combination of theory, design exercises and practical fieldwork, you will acquire the tools to plan and implement permaculture and food forest systems in your own context â in Senegal, Europe or elsewhere.
Workshop Contents
Permaculture â Ethics, Principles, Life Cycles
With clear ethics, simple principles and living cycles, you plan places that nourish people, retain water and heal nature â that is permaculture.
- Fundamentals, history and benefits of permaculture
- Ethics & principles: Circularity and sustainable methods
- Praxis Beispiele
The objective is to develop the ability to plan and create your own plantations and to organise introductory events.
Feed the Ground – Understanding soil & soil structure
When we feed the soil, the soil feeds us: you will learn about soil life and how to use mulch and biomass to build fertile, water-retaining humus.
- Der Boden als lebendiger Organismus
- Compost production
- Production of biochar in a pyrolysis oven
- Mulching and watering: using water resources effectively
Food Forest Systeme & regenerative Landwirtschaft
Food Forests sind Polykulturen: essbare BĂ€ume, StrĂ€ucher und GemĂŒse arbeiten zusammen wie ein junger Wald â Vielfalt, Ertrag und Widerstandskraft wachsen jedes Jahr.
- Fundamentals, history, examples
- Polykulturen & Pflanzengesellschaften
- Vegetables and medicinal plants in the food forest
- Planning & design: from idea to realisation
- Unterschiedliche Designprinzipien und -möglichkeiten
Implementation â from design to the field
We go out into the field: you learn all the necessary practical basics so that you can safely replicate the system at home.
- Plants, seedlings and nurseries: from cultivation to care
- Creating a hill bed
- Anlegen eines Food Forest Systems
- Maintenance, succession, and pruning
- Harvest and processing
Objective & Benefits
The aim is to enable participants to independently conceive, plan and implement regenerative systems â tailored to different climate zones and conditions. Whether for private gardens, agricultural businesses or reforestation projects: you will gain inspiration and learn specific methods and tools to implement transformative agriculture step by step in your project or business. In addition, you will become part of a growing network of permaculture practitioners in Senegal and will be able to exchange ideas with like-minded people even after the workshop.
FĂŒr wen ist der Workshop gedacht?
- Multipliers and trainers in the field of sustainable agriculture
- Farmers and those interested in agroforestry, with or without prior knowledge of permaculture
- Studierende, NGO-Mitarbeitende und Changemaker, die regenerativ wirken wollen
Aufbaukurs: Syntropischer Agroforst (4. â 7. Februar 2026)
The following week, a second workshop will take place, building on the foundations laid here and introducing the practices of syntropic agroforestry according to Ernst Götsch â a complex method for establishing high-yield forest ecosystems. The course is an ideal complement, and it is possible to stay on the farm between the two workshops.
Find out more about the âSyntropic Agroforestryâ workshop here.
Organisatorisches
Registration: The number of participants is limited. When registering, please tell us why you want to take part in the workshop, whether you already have projects or land, and how you intend to share the experience you gain. Register now [link to âRegistrationâ section] and be part of the positive change!
Location: Farm Ana Fonio, Kelle/Toubab Dialaw, Senegal
(50 km south of Dakar, 15 km from the airport)
Location Google Maps [Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/x7aZie9NDXXep9YA8]
Language: The course is bilingual and will be held in French, German or English, depending on the trainer and participants, and translated into French or Wolof. Please indicate your language preferences and skills when registering!
TeilnahmegebĂŒhr: RegulaÌrer Kostenbeitrag: 160.000 CFA /245 ⏠pro Workshop: ErmaÌĂigter Beitrag: 40.000 CFA / pro Workshop (fuÌr Einheimische ohne finanzielle UnterstuÌtzung â bitte nimm mit uns Kontakt auf, damit wir die Voraussetzungen besprechen koÌnnen).
Der Beitrag umfasst die Teilnahme, digitale Kursunterlagen und Verpflegung wÀhrend den Unterrichtszeiten.
Certificate: All participants are welcome to stay at the farm for a few extra days and help with creating raised beds and maintaining the agroforestry systems â the ideal opportunity to further deepen what you have learned! Participation is free of charge, but donations to the food fund are welcome.
Verpflegung: Gesunde, lokale Verpflegung (Morgenessen, Mittagessen und Snack). Bitte teilt uns Allergien oder spezielle ErnÀhrungsformen im Voraus mit.
Unterkunft: Es ist möglich auf dem GelĂ€nde zu zelten. Zelte und Campingmatten können gemietet werden (10.000 CFA / 16 âŹ). Das Abendessen wird durch die Teilnehmenden selbst organisiert oder ist separat zu bezahlen.
Wer eine Unterkunft im Dorf bevorzugt, dem können wir mögliche Adressen empfehlen.
Planting activity: All participants are welcome to stay at the farm for a few extra days and help create raised beds and maintain the agroforestry systems â the ideal opportunity to further deepen what you have learned! Participation is free of charge, but donations to the food fund are welcome.
Trainers
Claudia Utz-Seck
Claudia ist Agronomin, MitbegrĂŒnderin und treibende Kraft von Ana Fonio. Sie widmet sich seit dem Studium der Permakultur und begleitet die Arbeit des FoodForestNetworks seit vielen Jahren. Sie ist wĂ€hrend dem Workshop fĂŒr die Ăbersetzung, das Organisatorische und Kulinarische und die Arbeit hinter den Kulissen verantwortlich.
Jens Hauck
Jens ist MitbegrĂŒnder des FoodForestNetwork e.V., des Sarsarale-Projektgarten und des PermaFoodForest im SĂŒdsenegal und Designer, Berater und Trainer bei Ana Fonio. Als dipl. Permakultur-Designer und systemischer Trainer mit umfassenden Aus- und Weiterbildungen u.a. in Ăkosystem Management, syntropischem Agroforst und natĂŒrlicher Medizin in den Tropen ist er ein Changemaker fĂŒr eine regenerative Zukunft.
Seit ĂŒber zwei Jahrzehnten und ĂŒber verschiedene Klimazonen hinweg engagiert sich Jens in den Bereichen Farm Aufbau, Permakultur, Food Forests, Heilpflanzen, Kreislaufwirtschaft und autarkes Leben. Sein Fokus liegt auf syntropischem Agroforst, der Entwicklung kopierbarer Blaupausen fĂŒr Food Forests sowie Workshop- und VortragstĂ€tigkeiten.
Pape Seck
Pape is co-founder and project manager of Ana Fonio. This all-rounder with green fingers works passionately to raise awareness and promote permaculture and food forests in Senegal. Pape leads the practical parts of the workshop and works behind the scenes to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Mame Fatou Seck
Mame Fatou is a trained organic vegetable gardener with further training in permaculture and syntropic agroforestry. She passionately tends to Ana Fonio’s vegetable garden and tree nursery. During the workshop, she teaches the theory behind vegetables in food forests and, together with Pape, leads the practical sessions.
Lernort Ana Fonio
The Ana Fonio farm was founded in 2017 by Pape and Claudia and is a place of learning and a natural laboratory for regenerative agriculture in Senegal. On three hectares of formerly depleted land, a living ecosystem of food forests, vegetable gardens and integrated animal husbandry is being created here. We produce organic vegetables, fruits and medicinal herbs for the local market and share our knowledge through farm tours and workshops. Ana Fonio is a meeting place for people from the North and South who come together to learn, experiment and work on sustainable agriculture.
Website Ana Fonio
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