Workshop syntropic agroforestry, Senegal

The workshop on the Ana Fonio farm near Dakar offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the principles of syntropic agroforestry. In Senegal, where challenges such as climate crisis, desertification, biodiversity loss and food security are particularly tangible, our work focuses on solutions that benefit people and nature alike.
Our existing systems and plantations are inspiring and instructive examples that show how regenerative approaches can be implemented in practice. In the workshop, we want to work with you on the underlying theories and put what we have learnt into practice in the field. A guided tour of the project area, where you can get to know other food forest and garden models in addition to the syntropic systems, as well as short, practical inputs on the use of a pyrolysis oven for the production of biochar and the correct pruning of trees and shrubs will round off the programme.
The workshops will be held in two languages: German and French – with a little Wolof 😉

Workshop Contents

The syntropic agroforestry system was developed by the farmer and researcher Ernst Götsch and is one of the most sophisticated and effective approaches to regenerative agriculture.
Together with the participants, we will expand Ana Fonio’s existing systems and thus gain a deeper understanding of the theory and functioning of syntropic agroforestry systems. The aim is to enable participants to implement what they have learnt in their own projects.

• Fundamentals of syntropic agroforstry
• Planting and maintaining consortia: polycultures & plant communities
• Soil structure & cultivation: ‘Feed the Ground’ with mulch, chop-and-drop techniques
• Strata, succession and design in 4 dimensions: Space, time, layering and dynamics
• Key plants in the system: selection and integration
• Guided tours through existing systems: learning from projects that have already been implemented
• Practice: Planting a new, unwatered syntropic system

This workshop is intended for

• Farmers, small-holders and permaculture designers with basic knowledge of permaculture and agroforestry
• Multipliers and agricultural trainers who want to expand their repertoire of sustainable cultivation methods
• Students, trainees and NGO employees with basic knowledge of permaculture and agroforestry

Your benefits

• Intensive exchange: collaboration with experienced permaculture designers, trainers and local stakeholders
• Practical experience: In-depth understanding of theory through practical application in the field
• Replication: Planting planning to start implementing what you have learnt in your own project
• Network: Exchange with the trainers and participants beyond the workshop.

Planting campaign

We will need helping hands!

After the workshop, we will finish planting the unwatered, syntropic system. Anyone interested is welcome to stay at the farm for a few days longer and help with the planting (accommodation and meals provided).

Learning Location

The Ana Fonio permaculture project was launched by Pape and Claudia in 2017. Since then, they and their small team have been working tirelessly to breathe life back into the 3 hectares of sandy, depleted soil and build a diverse, stable ecosystem. Food forest systems with varying degrees of cultivation and irrigation are being created and are gradually transforming the site into a biodiversity oasis.

We produce organic vegetables, fruit and medicinal herbs for the local market and practise integrated animal husbandry with goats and chickens for our own use.
Since the very beginning, the farm has also been a meeting and learning place that attracts interested people from near and far to learn, experiment and work together on a regenerative future.

Impressions