LA ESCUELA LIBRE DE PERMACULTURA
The Free School of Permaculture
Our Mission
Since 2016 at Alma Verde, we've been able to share with thousands of visitors a different way of life that is more in tune with nature. Today, more than ever, we believe that knowledge about permaculture and sustainable living are crucial for the moment in which we currently live, on a global level. For this reason, our mission is to democratize such knowledge by making it accessible to anyone who wishes to learn it.
Free School
The dream of a free school of permaculture was conceived a few years ago after realizing the need for information related to a lifestyle that is more ecological, economical, healthy, and sustainable to expand at a faster rate than the culture is changing, and that this information should not be exclusive only to those who could pay to access it. The idea of building an educational space was born to educate and share such information so that is it accesible to each and every person who wants gain more knowledge and, in turn, also wants to teach.
We wish to provide not only a center of learning but also being, particularly to the local youth of our region. We partner with regional schools and local organizations that focus on outdoor, lifestyle, and health education for children, women, and more.
How Does the Free School Work?
There are several formats under which the free school will operate:
- dynamic and hands-on learning
- complies with the ethical principles of permaculture, specifically with the principle of fair distribution of resources
- free courses or with a voluntary/ethical contribution, when hosted by Alma Verde
- fair fees for both teachers and students, when hosted by external instructors
- gift economy / time bank / barter system: trading skills and goods
These are distinct ways of operating that go beyond our current economical model.
Classroom
The infrastructure will be a large circular space that is 26 feet in diameter, to be built entirely with bioconstruction (ecological) methods. Bale walls covered with mud, a reciprocal roof with a living deck, large rocket stove, and a beautiful wooden floor will be some of the elements that will comprise and give life to the space, designed to provide an ideal atmosphere for learning and reflection.
As reference, the organic design is embodied by the Little Bryn Gwyn building by the Down to Earth Project.
How and When?
- Budget: aprox. $50,000 USD
- $35,000 USD for materials/equipment
- $5,000 USD to compensate expert builders
- $10,000 USD for equipping/furnishing classroom
- Fundraising campaign: May 2023 - April 2025
- Preparation of site: May 2023
- Procurement of materials: September 2023
- Construction: November 2023 - May 2025
Laborers for the construction will be volunteers, being taught and directed by expert builders who will host free workshops on bioconstruction subjects and specific techniques. Everyone will be learning and training while also building the school!
Fiscal Sponsorship
The fundraising platform for this school project is made possible by our good friends at Trek Relief, a 501(c)(3) USA nonprofit organization (EIN 81-5114205). They also direct sustainable ecology projects here in the Aysén region and advocate our mission.
Your donation to this project is made through Trek Relief's campaign for Alma Verde, in which you will receive a US tax-deductible donation receipt.
Why We Need Your Help 🙏
We are a not-for-profit NGO (currently in process of obtaining legal status as a Chilean nonprofit foundation) and the free school does not aim to recover the investment of the construction of the school through any kind of charge to its visitors, for which the help of all those people who resonate with our mission is crucial.
We ask you to contribute, whether by donation or creating your own campaign to raise funds! Your contribution helps us to provide practical and impactful ways to improve our way of life on this earth and all that inhabit it.
Project Updates
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Invitation
By Mary Oliver
Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy
and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles
for a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,
or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air
as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine
and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude –
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
I beg of you,
do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.
It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.
Thank you infinitely! 🙏 Your contribution is extremely meaningful to us and our local community—those who will benefit from access to the knowledge that the Free School of Permaculture will offer.