Our courses

Immersion courses to learn about sustainable living at the heart of the Peruvian rainforest. Based on the indigenous concept "Sumaq Kawsay" (Life in Harmony) and guided by local and native trainers, it provides skills and knowledge to design and implement regenerative projects in the tropics.

Gain a life-changing perspective of nature and learn strategies for the creation of a thriving environment. The courses are held in Spanish and English at our Permaculture Center, located at Nanay river basin - Iquitos, Perú.

Upcoming Dates:

. October 1 - October 14 (2024)
. February 1 - February 14 (2025)
. June 1 - June 14 (2025)

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A testimonial from Krista, the Netherlands:

More information below...

Traditional Knowledge for Self Sufficiency

🗓️ 12 day immersion course | 🕑 ~8 hours per day | ⌛ 88 hours of field-based learning

Immersion course to understand the tropical ecosystem and learn sustainable development principles and strategies to create regenerative projects.

Experience a field-based learning process in a communitarian living space. This course includes theoretical classes and hands-on practice on our nature reserve, as well as 15 hours of consulting time to design a personal project throughout the 12 days. The course is held in Spanish and English at Chaikuni Institute's Centre, located at Nanay river basin, Iquitos, Loreto - Perú.

Sustainable Development in the Tropics

This experience gives students the opportunity to learn in one of the world's most ecologically diverse environments. Based at Chaikuni Centre, the course follows 12 topics that guide our process to learn Sustainable Development applied to a tropical context:

Ecosystems, Organisms, Humans, Sumak Kawsay, Collecting, Building, Health, Production, Transformation, Technology, Organizations, Communities.

What you will learn in this course?

How ecosystems work and effective ways to improve them
Sustainability principles, strategies and action guides
“Sumak Kawsay” indigenous concept for a life in harmony
Nature inspired design and strategies to create a project
Project implementation and basic tools to manage it

Where can this lead you?

Improve your life, work and community
Design your dream project and implement it
Start a new career as project manager or researcher in the humid tropics
Move to the humid tropics
Humanitarian aid and sustainable development in community and land restoration

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Sumak Kawsay: the core of our work

The course and the dynamic of our Centre is based on the Sumak Kawsay's concept, which translates to “life in harmony with nature” in the Kichwa language and origins in indigenous cultures throughout the Andean region and the Amazon rainforest.

Sumak kawsay promotes the idea that the collective well-being of the community is achieved through harmony within nature. This way of life is integral to our cultures an alternative to “Western” ideas of development that emphasize profit, commodification and infinite growth.

This indigenous worldview sees nature as a living being and humans as a part of an interdependent community that includes all other life forms. This community of life is entirely dependent on what nature offers: fertile soil, healthy bodies of water, abundant flora and fauna, thriving forests. And it is these things along the traditions and knowledge systems—not material wealth or accumulation—what truly constitute Sumak Kawsay.

What is included?

88 Hours of Classes and Field-based Learning
· With local and native trainers
· Lectures and debates
· Materials and tools for field-based learning practices

On Site Accommodation
· Personal bedrooms
· Well implemented library
· Comfortable exercising/meditation maloca
· Coffee shop
· Chill areas with hammocks
· Safe walking routes around the jungle
· Basic services

Final Design Exercise
You will have the tools, materials, time and advisory to design a personal project to be implemented by you after the course.

Project Implementation
All the group and the Chaikuni Staff will implement/build an already designed project into the eco-center along the course. From the harvest of materials needed to the last details of functionability.

Communitarian Learning Spaces
Extra curriculum spaces in the morning or evening to learn different topics from all the participans of the course.

Course Outline

The course has 12 main topics to guide us through the immersion process. We go through each one of them using field-based learning strategies that allow us to incorporate the environment knowledge as well as the classes information.

Along the course, we implement an already designed project at the Chaikuni Institute and we receive introductory design classes to develop a personal project design to be presented at an exhibition at the end of each course.