Permaculture for the Herbalist’s Path

Permaculture + Plant Medicine + Regenerative Living

October 2-23, 2024

Join us, transform your world view.

This unique course melds two broad interdisciplinary studies, exploring the impact the health of our environment directly has on our personal well-being, specifically working with and alongside medicinal plants.

This 200 hour course will cover regenerative lifestyle & design, integrated wellness and herbalism, community and social awareness by working with living plants and living people to cultivate resilience.

150 hours of the course are held in person and another 50 are available online. The online component are the philosophical and strategic permaculture teachings.

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Topics Covered:

Plant Care & Propagation Techniques
Plants and Mushrooms for Reproductive Health
Resources & Scale of Permanence
Urban Permaculture
Wild Crafting Ethics
Zones & Sectors of your Community

Adaptogenic Plants and Mushrooms for Personal Resilience
Anatomy & Physiology
Botany
Clinical Work
Community Organizing
Decolonization & Cultural Appreciation
Deep Ecology

Diet and Conscious 
Home and Community Herbalist
Intro & History of Permaculture
Intro to Herbalism
Intro to Social Permaculture
Lunar & Bio Rhythms
Materia Medica
Medicine Making
Mycology
Patterns in Nature

Hands-On Practicals
& Field Trips:

Cultured Foods & Fermentation
Garden Projects
Medicine Making
Seed Planting

Indigenous Projects:
Midwife Cooperatives
Bee Keepers
Natural Dyes
Qixaya Permaculture Community
Mushroom Cultivation

Meditations, Movement,
Rituals and Other Activities:

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New and Full Moon Rituals
Plant Spirit Medicine Meditations
Mayan Ceremonies
Sharing Circles
Plant Walks
Temezcal
Dances
Soul to Soil Meditation
Tarot Tale

Meet Your Lead Facilitators

Laura ‘Lala’ Palmieri

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Lala walks with the shoes of the biologist, botanical explorer, herbalist, gardener, permaculturist, teacher & biotechnologist, with a life-long work with plants and mushrooms.She created Weaving Remedies, integrating herbs with medicinal mushrooms to strengthen the immune system, nourish the nervous system’s response to stress and balance our constitutional problems. This approach to health integrates the knowledge of many ancient teachers and traditions, as well as spirituality with Nature, science and alchemy through the transformation of the elements.

Her passion about community life led her to be part of Punta Mona and Fungi Academy for several years. Teaching and facilitating herbal clinics and programs in permaculture, herbalism, botany, fermentation, as well as medicinal mushrooms and cultivation, with a regenerative approach to the Earth and techniques that are accessible to most. She’s played a big role in the creation of the Envision and Cosmic Converge Herbal First Aid Clinics, relief Clinics in Guatemala for the volcano eruption and is constantly crafting remedies offered in Guatemala and Costa Rica, supporting many beings in their paths.

Sarah Wu

Sarah Wu is a clinical herbalist of 23 years, studying and practicing planetary eclectic herbalism with a foundation in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Wise Woman Reclaiming philosophy, focusing on food-based healing and local ethnobotanical traditions. Sarah leads trainings and workshops in herbal medicine, Permaculture Design Courses, Therapeutic Deep Ecology, Social Permaculture, field-to-the-plate holistic nutrition and herbal first aid.

In 2018, Sarah wrote the course curriculum for Permaculture for the Herbalist’s Path and has since developed the program further with Lala Palmieri.

She is a passionate mentor and educator, who believes in the teacher’s role in unlocking the innate wisdom of the student. Sarah is the co-founder of the Village Witches project, and is a Co-Founder and Co-producer of Envision Festival.

Field Trips

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Corazon del Lago women’s weaving and dying cooperative. Here students will learn about the medicinal plants that are worked with in the traditional textiles and get to dye their own items and even take a spin on the spindle.

We visit with the midwives of the Q’Omaneel association and learn about their favorite plants for health and healing while taking a nice cup of tea and checking out their demonstration garden.

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Guest Faculty

Julia Bentley

Julia is the founder of Casa Curativa, is a passionate medicine maker and alchemist, a doula and birth worker. Julia teaches units on alchemy and medicine making.
Santiago Moringa

‘Santi’ is a Costa Rican activist and permaculturist who focuses on social impact and urban gardens. Santi hosts workshops in social permaculture and community design.
Mariale Rivers

Mariale is a Guatemalan medical doctor who specializes in Ayurveda and sound healing. She will be teaching classes on Ayurvedic Energetics and offering a sound journey.
Thomasa Simaj

Thomasa is local to Tzununá, a single mother, weaver and mushroom grower. We will go to her home to see her production of Oyster mushrooms.
Maria Mejiá & Dominga Martin

These 2 incredible women are midwives from San Marcos who carry the healing art of the Mayan Abdominal Massage. They offer a ceremony and teach a workshop on the technique as well as offer womb care to participants.
Thomas Mendoza Cholotio

Thomas carries the medicine of the Mayan Calendar and reads the Nawales. He offers our opening ceremony to welcome us to the land as well as offers readings to students.

The Venue: Casa Kula & Casa Curativa

Platform at Casa Kula

The Casa Kula is nested in the hills of Tzununa on a quiet street off the beaten path. With an epic view of the lake and surrounding volcanoes, the space is designed with intimate and deeply nourishing gatherings in mind. There are numerous garden nooks, inspiring learning spaces, a gorgeous temezcal and fire area and is just steps away from the Casa Curativa. Students have the option for Private or Shared Housing.
Gardens of Casa Curativa

The Casa Curativa is a place for herbalists, nature lovers, and creatives to connect with the earth and allow nature to guide them on their path. A beautiful land project and hospitality service based on regenerative permaculture principles and herbal medicine.
Sauna at Casa Kula

This sauna holds up to 30 people! We will have some amazing afternoons spent using this amazing feature.
Dining Area Casa Kula

Casa Kula has a magnificent chef named anola who will be cooing us incredibe orgnaic meals throughout the course.
Shared Accommodation Casa Kula

Casa Kula has many comfortable options for shared accommodations that still have a semblance of privacy inside.
Sauna & Cold Plunge Pools at Casa a Curativa

Enjoy the Sauna and ice cold plunge pools at Casa Curativa with a group of friends on a day off.
Garden Clawfoot Tubs at Casa Curativa

You can book yourslf an herbal plant bath in the gardens of Casa Curativa during the coure to unwind and relax.
Winding Stone paths of Casa Curativa

The gardens at Casa Curaiva are designed with herbalism students in mind. Get lost in wonder.
Riverside Cabin at Casa Curativa

Private Rooms are available at Casa Curativa. The Riveride Cabin boasts a king sized bed, front porch, and outdoor kitchen with wifi, and shared bathroom & hot shower.
Shala at Casa Curativa

Come enjoy your mornig practice while the hummngbirds fight over flowers or enjoy being languid in the hammocks.
Honeycomb Cabin at Casa Curativa

Another private accommodation option at Casa Curativa, this 12 sided cabin boats a round design, queen sized bed, kitchenette, and shared bathroom with hot shower.

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Student Testimonials

I love the way Sarah’s thorough wisdom animates the world and lifts the veil to perceive the subtle poetry all around us. Her lectures and creative exercises inspire a contemplative mood that opens the way for the vulnerable reflections needed for an insight to settle deep within us. Whether it’s about plants or the stars, she knows how to ground esoteric knowledge with the precision and discipline I want to fully trust their truth in my path. I really enjoy the way she weaves play and humor into her style, too! Sarah carries a lively, nurturing, thought-provoking presence.

Yadira Capaz
Taking part in Permaculture for the Herbalists path was one of the best gifts I have ever given myself. All of the the teachers facilitators are incredibly knowledgeable and share their experience with so much passion, making every lesson fun and informative. The course content is vast and goes deep into the world of plants, people and permaculture. Weaving them together beautifully through the concept of Human Ecology. I came in with a deep desire to learn and left feeling confident in my ability to continue growing on the path of herbalism and permaculture with integrity. Through plant walks, medicine making workshops, ceremony, classes, open discussions and hands on experience we learned to better understand the language of plants as well as how to work with them and the earth in more harmonious ways. Bambu where the course was held is located in one of the most magical places on earth, amongst the lake and volcanoes and hosted us lovingly with delicious locally grown meals, comfy rooms and a sweet caring staff.

Shir Rilov
By understanding patterns in the environment with a permaculture lens, I was able to see the unharmonious patterns within myself and through repetition of practice and observation, I gained confidence in working with, cultivating and studying plants.

Karen Man
This course (permaculture for the herbalist’s path) exceeded my expectations. Everyday I felt deep gratitude for all the knowledge and wisdom I was gaining. Sarah and Lala are genuine and knowledgeable teachers. I loved learning from them and the entire community. I feel so deeply in my heart that this course will change my life and the way I show up for the earth and my community.

Rebecca Espinoza
I am so grateful I took this transformational program! Not only did I get to much education and information, but the experience with the people in the program and the beauty of Lake Atitlan was incredible

Jenny Griffith
This was such a special course for me. All the content was great and so well organized, balanced with activities and class time. I loved how not only I learned about the material but about myself and who I am in community, where I am in my journey and where I am going. Thank you for holding this space of healing for us. I will always treasure this experience. I could feel how intentional everything was and that means the world. Please keep offering and sharing your gifts because it moves mountains.

Alexandra Berger

Tuition & Housing

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Register before June 1, 2024
and save $500 with Early Bird Tuition

Tuition for Permaculture for the Herbalist’s Path is:

$4,095USD for shared accommodations in doubles, triples and a quad
$5,240USD for private accommodations

*Early Bird Shared: $3,595
* Early Bird Private: $4,740

Payment Schedule:

To reserve your space, we require a $1000 non-refundable, non-transferrable deposit.
Payment Installment 2: $1000 paid no later than July 1, 2024
Final Payment: Paid by August 1, 2024

Any registrations after August 1, tuition must be paid in full.

On August 1, students will receive all online content.

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Tuition for the 200 hr
Permaculture for the Herbalist’s Path includes:

A certificate upon completion
150 hour Herbal Studies in person course
All field trips, course materials, lecture, forum, and activities
250 page Student manual
50 hours of recorded online Permaculture content, yours to view forever!
Weekly saunas
Cacao party and Plant Prom!
Three meals daily

Where does your tuition go?

In order to nurture financial transparency we would like to share with you how your tuition is being spent.

The majority of the tuition (35%) goes to the center, to cover the employment of local staff, the maintenance of the space, permitting, etc.. as well as toward your meal package, which strives to offer organic and locally sourced vegetarian food.

A small part of your tuition supports the main faculty, Lala and Sarah. On average they earn about 10% of the tuition. Each of them has over 20 years studying, making medicine, teaching and working as community herbalists.

We distribute about 40% of the tuition to the guest teachers, the Mayan projects we visit, materials and transportaion. Bringing a livelihood to other herbalists, permaculturists, midwives, medicine keepers and mushroom growers.

The final 15% goes toward bank fees, marketing, admin and other potential expenses.

please write edu@villagewitch.org for more info

register now

Permaculture for the Herbalist’s Path

Join us, transform your world view.

This unique course melds two broad interdisciplinary studies, exploring the impact the health of our environment directly has on our personal well-being, specifically working with and alongside medicinal plants.

Topics Covered:

Hands-On Practicals& Field Trips:

Meditations, Movement,Rituals and Other Activities:

Meet Your Lead Facilitators

Laura ‘Lala’ Palmieri

Sarah Wu

Field Trips

Julia Bentley

Santiago Moringa

Mariale Rivers

Thomasa Simaj

Maria Mejiá & Dominga Martin

Thomas Mendoza Cholotio

Platform at Casa Kula

Gardens of Casa Curativa

Sauna at Casa Kula

Dining Area Casa Kula

Shared Accommodation Casa Kula

Sauna & Cold Plunge Pools at Casa a Curativa

Garden Clawfoot Tubs at Casa Curativa

Winding Stone paths of Casa Curativa

Riverside Cabin at Casa Curativa

Shala at Casa Curativa

Honeycomb Cabin at Casa Curativa

By understanding patterns in the environment with a permaculture lens, I was able to see the unharmonious patterns within myself and through repetition of practice and observation, I gained confidence in working with, cultivating and studying plants.

I am so grateful I took this transformational program! Not only did I get to much education and information, but the experience with the people in the program and the beauty of Lake Atitlan was incredible

Tuition & Housing

Hands-On Practicals
& Field Trips:

Meditations, Movement,
Rituals and Other Activities: