Study permaculture design and natural building at Mosaic School, a working, permaculture-designed learning environment one hour from Bangkok Airport.
Daruma is the learning project behind Permaculture Asia. Courses are now taught at Mosaic School, where students learn inside a working campus designed with permaculture principles. Course days move between discussion, observation, practical work and collaborative design.
The next Permaculture Design Course
Both prices include the complete nine-day PDC. Choose the simple campus route, or make the stay part of the experience in a traditional Thai house overlooking Bang Phra reservoir.
Stay inside the design
The PDC + Thai house
From฿28,000
Per person sharing · course and ten nights included
Four rooms in a courtyard-inspired Thai house near the reservoir. Share a double or twin room, or ask about single occupancy at ฿34,000.
Come for the learning
The complete PDC
฿18,000
Per person · course and campus stay included
Learn permaculture ethics, principles and practical design in a small group, then bring it together in your own design project. Stay simply in a campus dorm or tent.
Upcoming at Daruma
The next two dates are open for booking, starting with the two-day intro in August. The PDC intakes take a maximum of 12 students, with only four Thai-house rooms.
August intro
Arrive Fri 14 from 2:00pm if staying.
Course Sat 15 and Sun 16.
August intake
Arrive Fri 21 from 2:00pm.
Course begins Sat 22 · leave Mon 31 by noon.
IPC16 · Thailand · November 2026
Daruma is a proud supporter of the 16th International Permaculture Convergence, held in Thailand for the first time. Neil serves on the IPC16 coordinating committee.
Neil taught undergraduate and graduate engineering and ecological design before settling in Thailand. He describes his biggest contribution to permaculture as the educational side: helping people use accessible design tools in meaningful ways.
“I started growing roots literally by regenerating a 20-year abandoned farm into a permaculture research center.”
Design is not decoration
The Permaculture Design Certificate teaches the full 72-hour-standard curriculum over nine days, including your own design project. Students learn to read a site, connect its systems and communicate an integrated design.
Why Daruma?
The farm takes its name from the Japanese daruma doll, a symbol of perseverance. Its design philosophy comes from permaculture as taught by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, with three ethics at the centre of every decision.
A campus designed for learning
Mosaic is a fully operational alternative school designed with permaculture principles in mind. Permaculture courses will take place on its campus, with opportunities for course participants and school students to learn alongside one another.
Full-time, student-centred education since 2012. Meet the school →
Permaculture, ecology, building, physics, food and, inevitably, brewing beer. Browse the story →
Why Daruma · だるま
The farm takes its name from the daruma, a Japanese doll that rights itself whenever knocked over. Paint one eye when you set a goal, and the other when you achieve it. Ours is still waiting for its second eye.
A student’s view
“Neil is an encyclopedia of permaculture wisdom.”
Kyle Holzhueter PhD · Permaculture Center Kamimomi · Nihon University
