Workshops
Our programmes teach a blend of personal development and technical permaculture training with low-cost resilience techniques that improve personal resilience and wellbeing.
Students will strengthen their self-knowledge and soft skills, learn new hard skills, and gain valuable experience. Our programmes are designed to create a foundation that makes students more employable, entrepreneurial and economically resilient.
You will learn through a variety of classroom-based lessons & discussions, outdoor exercises, practical activities, and projects. Taking a course with SEED is an excellent opportunity to learn about yourself, gain new knowledge, learn new skills & make new friends!
Learn more about each workshop and book training below.
Organic Gardening
Length: 4 days
Cost: R1500
2026 dates: 3 – 6 February, 3 – 6 March, 30 March – 2 April
Breakfast & lunch included
Our Organic Gardening Course was designed with home-gardeners in mind. We focus on small-scale and low-input gardening techniques and teach students how to grow their own food affordably and sustainably.
This course is also perfect for those working in school or community gardens or for people who are unable to partake in the two-week Applied Permaculture Training.
Course themes:
- Urban agriculture
- Creating a planting calendar
- Planning your garden
- Companion planting and crop rotation
- Soil life and structure
- Trench beds and container gardening
- Composting
- Mulching
- Making your own organic fertilizers
- Managing a home nursery
- Seedling care and seed-savings
- Water-wise gardening
- Harvesting
- Pest management
- Homemade insect sprays
Facilitation
Length: 4 days
Cost: R1500
2026 dates: 17 – 20 February, 17 – 20 March
Breakfast & lunch included
The Facilitation Training at SEED is aimed at building the confidence, presentation skills and leadership qualities of our students. Our approach to facilitation promotes inclusive learning and horizontal power dynamics in the classroom space. This course has been particularly popular amongst community leaders and activists, teachers interested in experiential learning methodologies and anyone looking to boost their confidence and public-speaking skills.
Learning program for Facilitation Training:
Day 1 : Building the Foundation
- Introduction to facilitation vs teaching, roles + responsibilities
- Understanding group dynamics: children/youth/ adults
Day 2: Enhancing Communication Techniques
- Content vs. form
- Active listening, non-verbal communication skills and
- questioning techniques
- Conflict resolution and mediation
- Creative facilitation methods + icebreakers/energisers
Day 3: Planning and preparing for a lesson or workshop
- Manage your time
- Prepping your session + knowing your audience
- Design your day using technology in facilitation delivery
Day 4: Presentation and Graduation
Applied Permaculture
Length: 2 weeks
Cost: R2500
2026 dates: 13 – 24 April
Breakfast & lunch included
Our APT is focused on equipping students with the skills and knowledge to start their own sustainable enterprise or farming business. Our learners are guided through the process of designing sustainable systems for people and the planet, growing food and medicine in resilient and regenerative ways, and exploring household and community-scale solutions to social and environmental justice issues.
Course themes:
- Permaculture Ethics and principles
- Permaculture Design process
- Water cycles and management
- Contours, swales and A-frame
- Companion planting and crop rotation
- Wind- and Firebreaks
- Soil Life
- Green manures
- Worm Farms
- Food Forests
- Seed-saving and propagation
- Natural building techniques
- Harnessing natural energy
- Organic pest management
- Guilds
- Rainwater harvesting
- Grey and black water
- Non-toxic and environmentally friendly personal and household cleaning products
Resilience Training
Length: 3 weeks
Cost: R3000
2026 dates: 11 – 29 May
Breakfast & lunch included
Our Resilience Training serves as the cornerstone of SEED’s work. With pressing issues of climate change and youth unemployment in mind, the Resilience Training is designed to inspire individuals to live out the permaculture values of People Care, Earth Care and Fair Share by cultivating their own resilience and forging pathways to employment in the local green economy.
Additionally, the Resilience Training offers students job placements opportunities with local green businesses. Through our continuous efforts to map to Cape Flats Green Economy, SEED has identified 150 Green Economy partners, with more added to our database yearly.
Learning program for Resilience Training:
WEEK 1: Personal Resilience
- Dealing with trauma and gender-based violence
- Understanding the importance of mental health
- Breathing, yoga and meditation techniques
- Unlocking personal calling and hidden talents
Week 2: Household Resilience
- Natural building techniques
- Energy-efficient cooking
- Designing a household kitchen garden
- Vegetarian lifestyle
- Plant medicine
- Reducing our carbon footprint
Week 3: Financial Resilience
- Understanding and managing money
- Resume-writing and interview skills
- Creating a business plan + business model
- Professionalism and networking
Keep an eye out for upcoming 1-day workshops, too! All upcoming workshops, trainings, and events can be found on the calendar below.