The 9-Day Permaculture Design Course, in Thailand.

During courses the cafeteria serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with capacity for around 80 people; exactly what is bundled into each accommodation rate is being finalised, so ask us when you enquire. We have a full time chef, kitchen and domestic staff that prepare and serve dishes that are typical of local, regional and national Thai cuisine, prepared with fresh, local produce, including salad, vegetables and fruits from our own farm at Daruma. We also barbecue occasionally, using some of the bamboo charcoal grown and processed at Daruma.

Omnivorous (non-vegan, non-vegetarian) options are served as standard. Please do notify us when enrolling if you require vegetarian or vegan options, and of any other special requirements, as our chef will have to plan meals accordingly and order produce: he has responsibility for creating dishes for approximately 100 children, all the teachers and staff at Mosaic school, as well as students attending permaculture courses.

With that being said, the kitchen is "off-limits" to all course participants, as the chef is calculating portions and purchasing according to the information he has at the start of the course. So, we ask that you please respect the boundaries with regards to the kitchen, and any dietary requests should go through your course coordinator. This will ensure things run smoothly throughout the course.

All your meals are included for the length of the course. Most are set meals cooked in the Mosaic School kitchen and shared with the school's own students and staff, so you eat what everyone on campus eats that day, made with produce from the farm where we can.

Vegetarian food is always available. Tell us about allergies, or anything you genuinely cannot eat, when you enquire, so the chef can plan and shop for it before the course starts rather than on the day.

Yes, there are two options. Dormitory rooms sleeping up to 4 people, plus tent space, are covered by the ฿18,000 campus rate at Mosaic School, or you can stay in the traditional Thai house near Bang Phra reservoir from ฿28,000 per person. See the accommodation page for details.

Moderate. Most days include hands-on work outdoors in Thai heat, so expect to be on your feet, but the pace is sensible and there is shade, water and time to rest. Anyone in ordinary health manages it comfortably, and you can sit out anything that does not suit you on the day.

Remember it is a design course first. The outdoor work is there to make the ideas concrete, so you are learning to plan a site, not signing up for a labour camp.

Most people book on their own, so you will not be the odd one out. Solo women are common, and the group is usually a real mix of ages and nationalities (more than 800 students from over 36 countries have come through since 2007).

Staff live on campus, meals are eaten together, and with a maximum of 12 students you tend to know everyone within a day or two.

Typically we limit class sizes to a maximum of 12. This affords more time to fully explain anything we need to during class, and to address any questions you may have throughout your course.

A deposit holds your place and you settle the balance when you arrive. The deposit stays refundable until 14 days before check-in.

After that it is no longer refundable, but it transfers to a later intake if your plans change, so a genuine change of circumstances does not mean you simply lose it.

The residential window is ten nights, which sits comfortably inside a normal visa-exempt entry for most nationalities. Visa rules change and depend on your passport, so check the current allowance for your own country before you book flights.

If you want to arrive early or stay on afterwards, tell us and we can help you work out the dates.

The whole course is taught in English. If English is not your first language that is usually fine, since the group is international and we are used to explaining things clearly, and more than once where it helps.

Wi-Fi is available on campus. Exactly what is bundled into each accommodation rate is being finalised, so ask us when you enquire. As an education facility, Daruma has a very high speed connection (approximately 500Mbps download, 100Mbps upload). Wi-Fi works well from the entrance gate, around the main buildings, and down to around the FarmLab area, and there are around 20 internet-connected computer cubicles in Daruma's LRC and library if you travel without a laptop.

Yes. Drop your filled laundry bag at the foot of the main building stairwell in the morning, and it will magically reappear the next day, laundered, dried and folded, in a basket in the reception area. There is a 50 Baht fee for 1 laundry bag, and pressing is also available.

Bicycles are available if you wish to ride to the local night market or explore the local area. We use an honour system, with an honesty box in the cafeteria area: 20 Baht for single use, 50 Baht for a half day, and 100 Baht for a full day.

Yes. For large groups, enquire and let us know what you need. We can accommodate groups of up to 100 visitors for single day tours, or for weeks at a time if studying one of our courses.

The page you are reading is the nine-day residential PDC. Group, off-site and intensive PDC formats do also exist, for people who cannot make the residential dates work.

If one of those would suit you better, ask us through the enquiry form and we can talk it through.

No. At least, not yet. This is a humorous reference to the problems encountered when one of the founders of permaculture had issues with copyright and trademarks. FarmLab T-shirts will be available when we become cool and hip, with a Youtube channel, thousands of subs, and a "merch" store.