Green Apprenticeship

Permaculture and Ecological Design Course on Kibbutz Lotan

The Green Apprenticeship Permaculture & Ecological Design Course

is a practical training program in sustainable systems design and regenerative community living. We invite you to spend with us an immersive and intensive 4 weeks living and learning together on Kibbutz Lotan, an intentional community in southern Israel. Join us for a truly life-changing experience! On the Green Apprenticeship course you will:

Develop practical skills and acquire confidence in growing healthy food and building with earth
Learn the principles and methods of permaculture design and put them into practice in a design project of your choice
Connect with like-minded people and become part of our worldwide Green Apprenticeship community of change-makers
Live in Lotan’s unique Eco-Campus – share talents, prepare meals, celebrate the desert nights with an international student group
Receive an internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certificate on successful completion of the course

Regenerative Small-scale Agriculture

Local bio-diverse food production
Companion planting, natural pest control

Sheet-mulch, container & square foot gardening
Composting: theory & practice
Seed saving: theory & practice
Transplanting & sowing seeds
Weekly gardening and harvesting

Natural & Alternative Building

Earth mix for building projects
How to test soil for building
Straw bale construction
Hands-on building projects using natural and recycled materials

Alternative Technologies

Grey water systems
Composting toilets
Biogas
Solar cooking

Permaculture & Ecological Design

Passive solar & energy-efficient design
Permaculture ethics and principles
Design techniques including: zone and sector, input and output analysis, POBREDIM
Needs-based project design process

Regenerative Community

Holistic worldview
Group dynamics
Reconnecting to nature
The global economy and the dilemma of growth
Localization and the economics of happiness
Ecovillages and Transition Towns

Green Apprenticeship Accommodation:
The Eco-Campus

A prototype model for sustainable communal living, the Eco-Campus is an integral part of the Green Apprenticeship. Living quarters are super-insulated straw-bale and earth plastered geodesic domes, built on-site by previous course participants. The domes are passive solar heated and use significantly less energy to cool in comparison to conventional buildings. Composting toilets and grey-water systems conserve water in our hyper-arid region. Come live the experience!

The course includes:

Room and board (3 meals a day) for the duration of the program
Domes are equipped with beds, air conditioning, shelves, pillows, sheets and blankets
Shared accommodation (maximum 3 to a dome)
Meals are served either in the kosher kibbutz dining room (vegan/vegetarian options with meal or dairy) or we’ll cook together in our vegetarian Eco-Campus kitchen

Green Apprenticeship Course Dates:

November 11 – December 11 2024
January 6 – February 5 2025

Tuition

Course fees include program and all food and accommodation for one month (30 nights).

Regular course fees (full payment up to one month prior to course start date):
US$3500, including $175 registration fee

Late registration course fees (full payment less than one month prior to course start date):
US$3750, including $175 registration fee

Course Requirements & Application Process

No prior knowledge is required to participate in the course. We emphasize practical hands-on experience. Participants from diverse professional and academic backgrounds have gained applicable tools and knowledge from the course. Whether you come from a background in sustainability or have little or no previous experience, this course can benefit you.

The Green Apprenticeship is open to participants 18 years of age and up. While most participants fall into the 20-35 age demographic, there is no upper age limit. Participation in the course requires a good level of English and reasonable physical fitness.

Step 1

Fill in the registration form and pay the registration fee

Step 2

Send a CV/ resume and passport scan to admissions@klotan.co.il
We will be in contact with further information.

Meet the Team

Mike Kaplin

The Center for Creative Ecology (CfCE) is a school for hands-on learning based on Mike’s philosophy that everyone is a teacher and everyone can choose to Do instead of just talk. He is one of the first Permaculture Instructors in Israel and has taken the formal Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) outdoors into the garden and the workshop. Together with Mike you’ll be planting food, mixing mud, constructing objects of beauty, maintaining conservation areas, having fun and laughing. Observing and interacting with Mike is a first-hand experience in successful business leadership with a big heart.

Tess Lehrich Haber

Tess has been in the field of environmental education for nearly 20 years, and did her PDC with Talia Schneider way back in 2009. In 2012, Tess completed her Masters in Environmental Studies at the Porter School at Tel Aviv University. She’s had the privilege over the years to work with some leading organizations and businesses in the field and mentored numerous young entrepreneurs through the facilitation of leadership programs and more specifically, developing curriculums for teaching environmental leadership.

Over the years, Tess been active in many grassroots community initiatives, and more recently, Tess has been going deeper into the field of Social Permaculture – the application of permaculture ethics, principles, and design tools in designing for social systems and personal growth- and she is currently working towards her Permaculture Diploma.

Mark Naveh

Before joining Kibbutz Lotan, Mark was an underwater researcher in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. His work in marine ecology has extended to human ecology, a deep concern for protecting the environment, and curiosity into how society needs to evolve. Mark leads in-depth nature tours in the desert, practical technology lessons and sessions in new forms of economics and community organization. Mark is active in Israeli-Palestinian co-existance education and trains our staff which hosts thousands of visitors each year.

Sinead Fine

Sinead is an Irish woman who landed in the desert and has since made it her home. Her background is in holistic therapy and she has a BHSC in Natural Medicine alongside other numerous qualifications. She completed a Permaculture Design Certificate while living in Melbourne and has a deep love and respect for nature and its potential for healing. Sinead has an international online school teaching the esoteric arts, and in her spare time drinks tea, runs after her boys and collects herbs.

Deborah Dell'ariccia

Debby brings the joy of her youth in Italy to the desert. She is a Kundalini Yoga teacher and is an engaging group interactions facilitator of the Green Apprenticeship group and the other college groups that work and study on Kibbutz Lotan. She is also the coordinator for our Israeli post-high school “Year of Service” leadership training program. She loves to prepare and enjoy Italian food at our Solar Tea House Restaurant, theme nights and jam sessions.

Daniel Burstyn

Rabbi Daniel puts his theology to work as he manages the landscaping of Kibbutz Lotan which is completely dependent on drip irrigation to survive in the desert. He holds certificates in both Permaculture and Spiritual Direction. You’ll get to know him from his lessons in irrigation and horticulture. He is a semi-professional vocalist, so you’ll want to get him singing while fixing water lines.