I am a tropical Permaculturist running a farm and educational center in Southwest Costa Rica. I first worked on organic farms in North Carolina and Georgia. I received my Masters of Science in Horticulture from the University of Georgia in 2009. Organic blueberries were my research topic. I write about my experiences in a blog called Pura Vida Dreamin. (www.puravidadreamin.blogspot.com)

I first heard the word Permaculture in 1998 while volunteering at an organic farm near Chapel Hill North Carolina called Sustenance Farm. I was finishing up my BA in Anthroplogy and was tired of book learning and needed to get my hands dirty. Later, during a stint living in New Mexico I had the good fortune to take a Permaculture Design Course with Scott Pittman. Here I found home, philosophically and spiritually, design based on principles of Nature, now that made sense to me.

The tropics hooked me right me from the beginning. I think it was the first time I sunk my teeth into a fesh soursop or gunabana fruit (Anonna muricata) that really grabbed me. The world of tropical fruits and crops opened up to me like a wonderful novel. Now I run the Uvita Tropical Studies Institute at Finca Carolina in the town of Uvita in Southwest Costa Rica. I also design and construct Permaculture system for clients in the region

Blog update on Living Fences

How to get more functions out of your fence in the tropics

Practical Permacuculture Course in Costa Rica. Ferrocement and Adobe

UTSI is proud to host a 9 Day Practical Permaculture Course at Finca Carolina on August 5 to 14, 2011