One-Week Course:
Food Forests in Mediterranean Climates
— Adapting to Climate Change for Sustainable Harvests and Soil Health
Next dates: October 4th — 8th 2025 (Sat. to Wed.)
Amongst the Avocado, Pomegranate and Mango trees, during a Food Tree Propagation Workshop, July 2024
Guided tour of the Orchard with the founder, Miguel COTTON
Workshop participants planting a young coffee plant
Dror AVITAL demonstrating air layering propagation
Workshop participants following the class with the help of the provided manuals
Miguel COTTON leading a guided tour of the Orchard during a Workshop
Miguel COTTON addressing the class in the Food Tree Academy tent
The founder explaining a few concepts, during a tour of the Orchard
Group photo with one of our classes
Miguel COTTON assembling irrigation system
The Food Tree Academy tent, under one of our old Carob trees
A small show of the plants propagated at the Orchard
Milan NEPALI working on the implementation of a Cocoon Food Forest
A small gift to our Workshop participants, Cajanus cajan seeds (pigeon pea)
Shared lunch is served! Always a great time for relaxing and getting to know similar-minded folks
Observing leaves of different food trees in the Orchard, identifying pests and diseases
Different organic products for treating against different food tree ailments
📅 Dates:
º October 4th — 8th 2025
(Saturday to Wednesday)
📝 Apply for this course
Join us for a 5-day comprehensive course that offers hands-on experience and detailed manuals, covering all key aspects of cultivating edible perennial plants in Mediterranean climates:
Food Forest Design
Propagation of fruit trees
Irrigation, water saving and harvesting
Pruning and fertilizing
Pests and diseases
Why waste your time, money, and water on fruit trees that barely survive, don’t suit your climate, and produce mostly sick, inedible fruit?
Our step-by-step, fact-based approach is designed to transform your garden into a successful Food Forest, providing you with abundant fruits, nuts, and edible leaves. Our course is results-oriented, focusing on actionable skills that will make your food trees flourish.
This is the most hands-on, practical workshop on perennial edible plants in Europe. Unlike typical Food Forest or Permaculture Design courses that offer good intentions but little practical know-how, our workshop equips you with the skills to efficiently build or improve your garden. No fluff, no wasted time—just practical knowledge you can apply immediately, coming straight from research done in our Food Forest Lab.
Facilitators:
º Miguel COTTON, founder of the Orchard of Flavours Botanical Garden
º Dror AVITAL, plant biologist & scientific advisor at the Orchard of Flavours
º Milan NEPALI, garden steward at the Orchard of Flavours
º Manuel LEITÃO, biological control expert at Koppert’s Biological Control Laboratory
Location:
º Orchard of Flavours Botanical Garden, in Tavira, south coast of Portugal
º Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/4Qeg8gR1EeUr4pvL8
Time:
9:30 AM —> 4:30 PM, during the 5 days (35 hours total)
Number of participants:
º For quality reasons, limited openings: maximum 18 people
Language:
º English (and possible translation to French)
Price:
º 500 EUR contribution per person for the workshop preparation and facilitation
º Any extra donation will be used in the development of the Botanical Garden
º If you’re not satisfied, you’ll receive a full refund
Payment conditions:
º 50% when booking (non-refundable)
º 50% at the Orchard
If you are an Orchard of Flavours member, please use this code to access the discounted price for the course: FRUITLOVER20
If you aren't a member yet, learn all about our Membership Program, and join us!
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By the end of this course, you will have the knowledge and confidence to design, plant, and maintain a resilient food forest tailored to Mediterranean climates. Real-world examples will accelerate your learning, ensuring that you can apply every concept immediately.
Our comprehensive manual will be your go-to resource, helping you refine techniques, choose the right tools, save water, and select the best products. This will not only enhance your skills but also save you significant time and money.
In just one year, over 250 students from around the world have leveraged our workshops to improve their orchards and gardens, seeing tangible results. We are so confident in the value of this course that we offer a full money-back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied.
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Day 1 — The Cocoon Food Forest Approach — Foundation Course — PDF
Day 2 — Irrigation & Water Saving / Harvesting in Mediterranean Climates — PDF
Day 3 — Food Tree Care: Pruning and Fertilizing in Mediterranean Climates — PDF
Day 4 — Food Tree Propagation in Mediterranean Climates — PDF
Day 5 — Food Tree Pests & Diseases in Mediterranean Climates — PDF
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free access to our honesty bar (water, tea, coffee, fruit, snacks)
a printed copy of our comprehensive manual in a binder
selection of seeds and cuttings from the Orchard's plant collection
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Bring:
a notebook and a pen
sunblock and a hat
comfortable clothes for working in the garden
water bottle
some food for a picnic / potluck lunch
In case of rain:
we will go ahead with everything as planned
we have a backup plan to do the workshop in a very nice sheltered area.
The orchard has got ample parking spaces and two dry toilets.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain practical, impactful skills for creating and perfecting Food Forests tailored to Mediterranean climates.
If you have any questions, please feel free to write us an email! miguel@orchardofflavours.com
📝 Limited openings
Miguel COTTON, Orchard of Flavours founder and course instructor
Milan NEPALI, garden steward and course instructor
Dror AVITAL, Orchard of Flavours’ scientific advisor and course instructor
Some of the highlights of our “Food Forest & Island of Fertility” workshop, at Orchard of Flavours Botanical Garden, in Tavira.
📝 Apply for this course
A few comments from previous workshop participants:
“The workshop was really good. All relevant topics were covered, very interesting and lively presentation, very good interplay of Miguel and Luís with input from their past experiences. The hand-outs are well structured, not “over-scientific” but practice-oriented and full of useful tips.“ — Beat, Switzerland
“The one week crash course was extremely interesting. And it is always encouraging to listen to people that not only got the knowledge and competence, but also the engagement and positive vibes that surround both of you. A big thank you!!!“ — Mikael
“I want to thank the whole team, and mention that it is rare to find a place like this, where scientific knowledge is offered for a symbolic value, and where the interest behind it is not monetary but environmental education. Wonderful!” — Eliseu, Portugal (Terra da Alma)
“It was a lovely relaxed environment, really informative and we will definitely be putting what we learned into practice!” — Sophie, Bram and Charlie, UK
“Thank you very much for a wonderful week full of great knowledge and inspiration. I can't think of anything you could do better. The information you share based on several years of practical experience combined with great scientific information, the orchard itself and the amazing team is a really powerful combination to motivate anyone to immediately and successfully grow beautiful fruit trees. For me it really provided a great motivational boost, needed for the next 60+ trees I'm planning to grow next season. Your dedication is truly inspiring and I can't thank you enough for sharing it with others. For sure I will recommend your educational program to anyone interested in the subject.” — Florian, Germany
“I really enjoyed the workshop. I feel like I learned a lot and that I now have a structured way to approach the planting of my fruit trees. I have a better understanding of how to care for them and what issues to look out for. I'm also happy to have met a number of other people that are all interested in fruit gardens, it is nice to feel part of a community.“ — Emily, Australia
Curious about our other Food Tree Workshops?
Discover what else we are teaching at the “Orchard of Flavours Academy”
The Cocoon Food Forest is a powerful solution to help your food trees thrive! Transform your garden with our proven technique!
Delve into the art and science of plant care on this hands-on learning journey, where we'll dive into Pruning and Fertilizing.
Come learn everything you need to know about water in your Orchard or garden, from the basics of plant physiology to advanced irrigation techniques.
If you have any questions, please feel free to write us an email! miguel@orchardofflavours.com