Change your life
Boost your creativity
Rubha Phoil offers you a two week nature connection and permaculture program.
August 4 – 19th 2023
Prices according to income: £1200 – £ 800 – £1*
*Generous bursaries are available for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, courtesy of the Arkbound Foundation.
Do you feel dissatisfied with your life? Are you struggling with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, low self esteem? Are your coping mechanisms not serving you any longer?
Are you struggling to pay your bills. Are you fed up of being poor?
Are you dreaming of a better life? Of taking control of your destiny and your happiness? Of growing your own food, building your own home, escaping the rat race?
Would you like to boost your creativity?
This 2 week program might be just right for you.
Rubha Phoil and Earth Ways, with Ludwig Appeltans and other guest teachers will be delivering a Nature Based Permaculture Program over two weeks.
The course will take place at this exquisite location: The young permaculture community at Rubha Phoil, Isle of Skye Scotland.
Rubha Phoil is a 15 acre peninsula in the South of the Isle of Skye, covered in stunning native woodland, with breathtaking views across the Sound of Sleat to the mountains of Knoydart and the small isles. Lichen-covered trees, a rich under-storey and an abundance of birdsong create a feeling of wilderness that is hard to find. Otters and seals are regularly spotted near the shore as well as 80+ different bird species. If you’re lucky, you might even see some dolphins or whales.
Rubha Phoil is the home of a young nature-based permaculture community. The aim of the community project is to educate and inspire people about permaculture and nature connection and the vital role it can play in helping communities work with nature to become more resilient and self-sufficient in the face of today’s global challenges. We aim to make permaculture attractive and achievable for anyone and highlight its place in modern life, and plan to do this by creating a beautiful working example.
Within the woodland there are some clearings and a 2 acre field which are used to grow a variety of vegetables, herbs and flowers. There are several camping pitches and a wooden house which give the chance to sleep close to nature, while still having the option of a hot shower and a warm meal around the fire.
It will be a rich experience and a wonderful learning journey for us all. Ludwig has been preparing for this course for more than 35 years. He will bring a wealth of experience and expertise in all things relating to permaculture and nature connection to support you on your learning journey.
You will not be disappointed. Former students report major shifts in their understanding of permaculture and connection to life and nature.
You can read many testimonies here.
The dates are:
August 5th – August 19 2023
How to apply:
You can apply to join the program here: https://forms.gle/39qjihbZxsdTGYFM7
What is on offer?
The two week program gives people age 16+ the opportunity to learn about and experience:
– Permaculture: What is permaculture and how can I use it to design your way out of poverty into abundance.
– Nature connection routines and nature awareness skills. How can nature connection help to improve your well being? How can nature inspire and boost your creativity?
– What is a connecting and regenerative culture? How can living together with other people nurture your whole being?
– Hands-on experience. By helping out in the garden and in the forest, you will be able to experience hands-on what living close to the land is like and how it can boost your well being. Many of us are struggling with mental health issues. Modern life and society are not designed to make us happy and to help us fulfil our full potential.
– Accommodation or a tent:
You will receive a bed in a wooden home or if you feel up for it in a tent or you can build your own simple home in the forest, to facilitate a full nature connection experience.
– The permaculture core routines are developed by Ludwig as routines that are essential skills if you want to be able to make a good permaculture design.
During the course we will cover insights and tools which can help create a new culture; where gratitude, care and connection are part of our everyday culture. We will practise these tools during the whole of the course so that as a group you can experience a healthy culture emerging in our group. A culture which will support your happiness, your creativity, your feeling of self worth and support us into becoming fully alive, fully human.
The course will be residential with 4 staff members and a maximum of 8 students. So there will be a lot of personal time and support available for you.
– Creative Support. During the course we will be creating time and space to let our creativity flow. We will be providing opportunities to publish your work if you agree and wish to do so.
Prices are on a sliding scale according to financial means and income.
£1.200 for people who can afford it.
£800 for people who have a low income.
Thanks to funding support by the Arkbound foundation, generous discounts and bursaries are available for people with disadvantaged backgrounds as those who experience significant social exclusion as a result of a long-term characteristic, including, but not limited to: a disability, low income, unemployment, experience of custody, prolonged social isolation and so on. We may even be able to offer you a free place. (£1 is the minimum registration fee for the Virtual Village, but we can give you a £1 coin back when we meet.)
Other ways to reach a fair exchange can be negotiated. Please don’t let money be the reason you can’t come.
Special conditions:
– The course will be completely alcohol and drugs free. We reserve to right to terminate our agreement and send people home, without a refund, who do not adhere to these restrictions.
– The food will be ‘permaculture’. We will eat as much as we can foods that are good for us, good for the planet and treat producers fairly. Expect the food to be vegan and poor in sugar.
– We can’t accommodate your family, friends or pets during this stay.
FAQ
– Why would I choose this program over others?
If you’re curious why we are so confident that this program is so wonderful, please read on:
• The teaching quality is unusually high with unusual yet effective teaching methods. Ludwig, the main teacher has more than 15 years experience in teaching permaculture and 20 years of experience of nature connection.
He spend 4 years living in a tent in a forest and prefers to live amongst the trees. He is a true wild human being.
You can read more about him here: https://www.earth-ways.co.uk/about
• Ludwig is a living example of the power of permaculture as a design tool to design your way out of poverty. He came to Scotland with 50 Euros tucked away in his socks for an emergency ticket back to the EU. As the property owner of Rubha Phoil, he can now be considered part of the 0.1%. He achieved this without a mortgage, inheritance, having had a job or savings.
You can see how did this here.
• As an autistic man, Ludwig has first hand experience of marginalisation and as you can see above of poverty too. He is a living example of how being different can be a solution.
• Perfect location; our venue is the beautiful Rubha Phoil surrounded by the beautiful Scottish wildlife, which gives us excellent nature observation opportunities and will inspire you. Combined with the nature connections routines, your creativity will surely get a boost!
• The course will be taught on the premises of a beautiful community, which gives you an -on site- example and a chance to practice the permaculture principles you’ll learn.
• Eating two weeks Healthy Vegan food with an alcohol and drugs free experience will give your body a rest and a chance to recover and built resilience for a fresh start.
• By taking part, you will be able to become a member of the wider Rubha Phoil community and build strong links to a regenerative community
• Testimonials are here
– How do I book?
To request participation, fill in the form here: https://forms.gle/Dbe38iJKT8nCnsi69
– How does the deposit and refund procedure work?
£500 part returnable deposit is required from all participants to reserve your place.
£200 is non-refundable.
£300 is refunded if cancelled before July 25th.
After July 25th £300 will be refunded only if we manage to fill your space.
(always worked so far as we usually have a long waiting list)
After July 31st 2023, no refund of the deposit will be issued.
If for any reason we need to cancel or postpone the course, the deposit and fees will be returned in full.
Full payment needs to be made before July 25th 2023.
We will only consider you booked when the deposit is paid. If the full course fee is not paid by July 25th, we reserve the right to give your space to someone else. We can’t risk financial difficulties due to people dropping out at short notice.
If you have financial difficulties, we will do what we can to help. Explain on the form how much you can afford.
– How does the sliding scale price work?
The cheapest price is for students, job seekers or those who do not earn enough to pay taxes. People who earn more pay more; for those at the highest end the price rises to £1200. This is also the cost for organisations or those who really can afford to help sponsor others.
– What do I need to do to ask for a bursary?
The people who pay higher prices will help pay for bursaries to enable people to take part who otherwise cannot afford it. Putting the permaculture ethic of fair shares in action straight away. Thanks to an anonymous donor, we can already offer generous bursaries, maybe even a free place.
Don’t hesitate to book: https://forms.gle/ci8Ps3dCkGkCkMqN8