Please find Terms & Conditions as well as our Cancellation Policy here. When signing up for this workshop you automatically agree to them. Please make sure to read them.
When we first moved to our 7ha block we struggled to feed two pet lambs on 2 ha of paddock through the first summer. It was seriously degraded. Now we are feeding between 7 and 14 sheep and 2-3 cattle and have reduced the amount of hay from 100 bales as a winter feed to 25. Through biological amendments and holistic planned grazing, we have turned things around. We have spent a tremendous amount of research and learnt from the leaders in regenerative management and soil health. Dr Elaine Ingham, Dr Christine Jones, Nicole Masters and Allan Savory to name a few.
We are now excited to show you how we have breathed fresh life into the soil and have massively increased productivity.
This workshop is about understanding how a diverse ecology and healthy soils can create a more resilient farm, which can cope with the ever increasing challenges of tomorrow's climate. It will provide the foundation to support you in making decisions about the health of your soil, your plants, your farm animals and your farm as a whole. The techniques learnt can help you to improve soil structure, water holding capacity, biodiversity both below and above ground. It can also help with soil compaction, erosion and animal health.
Below topics get covered in discussion, through hands-on practical work and via presentations. Some are discussed in more details than others.
- Regenerative Agriculture
- Soil health and fertility, the three-legged stool of soil health
- Plant health and fertility
- Nutrient pools in soils and nutrient cycling
- Nutrient density in plants and the importance for stock health and well-being
- Mycorrhizal fungi and other soil microbes and their functions for plant health and nutrition
- Weeds as indicators
- DIY Soil and plant health test
- Introduction to Holistic Management
- Stocking rates, over- and undergrazing, stock density, deferred grazing, holistic planned grazing
- Portable troughs and fencing solutions
- Animal health and mineral supplements
- Diverse plant covers
- Fodder trees and biodiversity plantings
- Applications of bio-stimulants, compost extract, liquid fertilisers and chelated minerals
- Taking actions
This workshop runs from 9:30am - 4:30pm on both days. We will provide a wholesome lunch. Please let us know about any dietary requirements when you sign up.
KoruKai Herb Farm is a bit over 1 hour from Halswell (please see here), carpooling from Chch is usually possible.
There are various accommodation options in Pigeon Bay, surrounding bays and Akaroa (30 minutes by car). More info is at the end of this page.
There are many rental car options from Chch airport to get out to our farm.
Meet your Tutors
Cornelia Holten
MEd (Integrative Learning), Certificate in Organic Horticulture, Apprenticeship in Herbal Medicine, Training with Dr. Elaine's Soil Food Web School and Allan Savory's Holistic Management
Cornelia is a soil health educator and herbalist with a passion for soil health, growing nutritious food, DIY, herbs, and self-sufficiency.
A certificate in Organic Horticulture, intensive training with Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web School, an Apprenticeship in Herbal Medicine at Valmai Becker's Phytofarm, training in Allan Savoury's Holistic Management, Permaculture Design with Geoff Lawton and living on a farm in Pigeon Bay equip her with a lot of knowledge and hands-on experience about soil health, holistic food systems, growing nutritious food and living a healthy life. A Masters Degree in Integrative Learning at Endicott College enables her to weave her vast knowledge together to run easy to understand and fun workshops.
Together with her husband Kai, she is teaching workshops on soil health, whole foods, fermentation, cheese and bread making and regenerative gardening.
A thirst for knowledge and a passion for new scientific studies keep her well informed on those topics.
Kai Holten
Kai has a passion for permaculture and regeneration of landscapes by clever design. He holds a Permaculture Design Certificate with Geoff Lawton and is very practical oriented. Observing nature and letting nature get on with things makes him happy. He is also the tech guy and comes up with designs for portable compost slurry sprayers on their steep Banks Peninsula block inaccessible with ATV’s. Forest gardens and self-regulating systems make his heart sing.
