Vila Pinheiro · Bairradas, Central Portugal
Complete your Permaculture Design Certificate through flexible online study or join our immersive 14-day course at Vila Pinheiro in Central Portugal.
Observe deeply.
Design wisely.
Regenerate together.
Choose your learning route
Both routes develop the same foundations in ecological literacy, systems thinking, ethics, observation, and regenerative design. Choose the learning environment that best suits your life and aims.
Online PDC
Study online at your own pace, following a recommended 16–24-week pathway. Work through structured modules, section assessments, applied activities, tutor feedback, and a final design presentation.
In-Person PDC
Join a 14-day intensive at Vila Pinheiro, combining facilitated teaching, site walks, practical activities, reflective learning, and collaborative design work.
What you will learn
Eleven connected modules build your confidence step by step, from ecological foundations to a design you can explain, defend, and begin to implement.
History, ethics, principles, ecological worldview, and regenerative thinking.
Pattern literacy, site analysis, base maps, sectors, zones, and design methods.
Soil food webs, compost, mulch, biochar, cover crops, and biological fertility.
Hydrology, harvesting, retention, contour, irrigation, and drought resilience.
Forest ecology, succession, guilds, agroforestry, silvopasture, and Montado.
Microclimates, Mediterranean adaptation, dryland design, and wildfire resilience.
Passive design, appropriate technology, energy, waste, and ecological integration.
Ethical integration, rotational grazing, stacked functions, and relationships.
Communication, governance, community resilience, livelihoods, and invisible structures.
Small-space growing, retrofit thinking, and resilient systems for settled places.
Bring everything together through site survey, analysis, concept design, rationale, and presentation.
The Vila Pinheiro experience
Learn directly from real Mediterranean conditions. Observe how sun, wind, water, soil, vegetation, buildings, animals, and people shape one another over time.
Leave with more than a certificate
Recognise patterns, resources, constraints, flows, and opportunities before reaching for solutions.
Understand movement, storage, scarcity, and the role of water in resilient Mediterranean systems.
Connect ecological, social, and built elements so each relationship strengthens the whole.
Create maps, explain your rationale, collaborate well, and present a coherent proposal.
“Permaculture is not merely about information acquisition. It is about cultivating perception, responsibility, and regenerative action.”
MPAP PDC Professional Handbook
Frequently asked questions
The programme is designed for growers, land stewards, designers, educators, community builders, homeowners, and anyone ready to develop practical ecological design skills. Prior permaculture experience is not required.
The Online PDC uses structured digital lessons, section assessments, applied activities, reflection, tutor feedback, and a final design presentation. The In-Person PDC combines facilitated sessions, site walks, mapping, practical demonstrations, group work, design studio time, and presentations.
Assessment is continuous and developmental in both routes. Online students complete section knowledge checks, applied activities, reflection, tutor-reviewed work, and a final design presentation. In-person students are assessed through participation, practical and reflective activities, collaborative design work, and a final group presentation.
Online students need a reliable internet connection and a computer or tablet, plus access to a familiar place or project they can observe. In-person students should bring suitable outdoor clothing, sturdy footwear, a notebook, water bottle, sun protection, wet-weather clothing, and optionally a laptop or tablet.
Online students complete the required modules, knowledge checks, activities, tutor-reviewed assessments, and final design presentation. In-person students attend the full 14-day programme, participate in practical and reflective activities, contribute to group design work, and demonstrate competence in observation, systems thinking, and regenerative design.
Begin your PDC journey
Tell us whether you are interested in flexible online study, the immersive 14-day course, both current routes, or a future Hybrid PDC. We will respond with information relevant to your plans.