
Education, Land Design, OSU PDC StudentI’m an agriculture consultant with a passion for sustainable and organic farming, I’ve had the privilege of learning from various platforms and experts. However, taking the Permaculture Pro course at Oregon State University under the guidance of Javan Bernakevitch was nothing short of a transformative experience.
Javan’s teaching style is both comprehensive and engaging, bridging theory and practice seamlessly. He doesn’t just teach permaculture; he lives it, and that authenticity shines through every lesson. His depth of understanding is unparalleled, and he has an innate ability to make even complex topics accessible. Whether it was soil health, water systems, or designing a regenerative landscape, Javan offered practical insights I could immediately implement in my consultancy work and toward my goal of making Nepal an organic nation.
The course material is meticulously curated, keeping in mind not just the ecological but also the economic aspects of farming—something that resonates well with real-world applications. I came into the course with a solid background and high expectations, and I can confidently say that this course exceeded them all. The lessons I’ve learned and the skills I’ve acquired are directly contributing to my efforts to develop a model farm and are indispensable in my consultancy.
If you’re serious about permaculture, sustainable agriculture, or even if you’re a beginner eager to learn, this course is worth every minute and every penny.
Thank you, Javan and Oregon State University, for an unparalleled learning journey. I am excited to apply these permaculture principles in my pursuit of a more sustainable future for all.

Ariel Laurel Strong
Software EngineerEcological Landscape Mastery Coaching, Land Design, Life Design, Life Design for Permaculture, Limiting Beliefs, Mentorship, One-on-One CoachingThat decision making format we worked on in the first call allowed me to apply value based prioritization in my life more concretely. The decision framework made it really easy to plug in questions. And the sizing approach, small experiments to get feedback and have a way of thinking “if I find myself dithering over something, there’s a quick fix, take a small step”. It’s been a really good process.I was ready to hear your method. It made a lot of sense as it’s a good mix of logic and body wisdom.I appreciate your approach I’ve found it really helpful to get specific and take action.

Seth Peterson
USA, California - Chef and Land DesignerHolistic Life Context, Land Design, Life Design, Life Design for Permaculture, One-on-One CoachingImplementing a holistic framework with my wife (newly wed) over the last years has been both instrumental and revolutionary, but also difficult, slow going, and iterative in our attempts – in so many ways. From the basic ability to communicate a vision and how to achieve it, to the more intricate reality of the day to day process of managing who are we? where are we? and where are we going? and how are we getting there?
For me, I like to be explicit about all of this and examine my life, and so Holistic Management and Javan Kerby Bernakevitch have given me invaluable tools to create my life’s journey, I really only regret not having learned this in kindergarten.

Bart Geeraerts
BelgiumHolistic Life Context, Land Design, Life DesignWe knew Holistic Management would be an important improvement for managing our lives and family and started using what we learned from books but we didn’t have the positive effects from it until we committed to working with an objective outside professional. We could not have the same results by ourselves. We learned to get to the cause of problems more effectively. We learned to communicate better as a family and will continue on this path.
We have been able to use the principles of Holistic Management much more effectively through working with Javan and his refined system of using the Holistic Context and decision making.
The addition of spot checks was really helpful in using and working with our Context more proactively instead of just using it when a decision needs to be made. This alone fast tracks the process so much.
The decision forms, especially the longform, are helpful in fleshing out and fine tuning the proposed actions.
I loved seeing the already holistic process made even more holistic.
Thanks you.

Starhawk
Educator/Activist/Author/Change MakerEducation, Land Design, Life Design, Life Design for Permaculture, PDC Student, SpeakingJavan Bernakovitch has presented several times in our Earth Activist Trainings, and I’m always so happy to have him! His work combines personal empowerment with a hard-headed business sense and a deep understanding of the permaculture principles and their practical applications. Our students find his work helps them determine their own niche in the permaculture world, and is especially useful when they have some basic knowledge and are looking at what direction to take next. He has my highest recommendation!

Verity and Joey King
Cryptocurrency and SommelierBusiness, Client, Land Design, Pre-Purchase Land AssessmentMy wife and I knew we wanted to build a more rural context. However, we felt overwhelmed by the seemingly infinite possibilities — and we never got anywhere. For starters, we didn’t know anything about land, agriculture, natural resource management — not to mention other things we didn’t even realize we should have been thinking about.
Javan knew it all. Like anything else: if you want to learn quickly (and minimize costly mistakes), the best way is to work with someone who already has the experience and the expertise. A few phone calls with Javan saved us time and money — and finally got us into measurable progress. If you’re not sure where to start, this is the right place!

Sasha Faminoff
Farmer - SwedenBusiness, Client, Holistic Life Context, Land Design, Life DesignI first heard Javan speak on The Ruminant podcast, in an episode on farmer mental health. Javan’s way of communicating really resonated, and I’ve listened to that episode a few times now to revisit what he explained.I sensed really genuine compassion, humour, and knowledge born of experience, and thought ‘this guy is legit, and I would really like to talk to him myself’. I learned some powerful ideas while working through Javan’s Single Decision session, and I would recommend it to someone who is having trouble with decision-making.The questions he posed before the session were thought-provoking and compelled me to look at myself honestly and with kindness. Javan’s approach in the whole process was open-hearted, generous, warm and quite firm in asking for me to show up with authenticity. I appreciated all of it.Thanks a million!

Dave Andrews
Professor of Horticulture and Sustainable Agriculture at Cosumnes River College, CaliforniaLand Design, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentThank you so very much for this wonderful course! One of the best online experiences that I have had. This course has allowed me to grow as a professional and as an educator. Thank you for the tremendous amount of time you all have put in to this program, and for all of your teaching, mentoring, and support!
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If you’d like to look further into this course please visit:
https://allpointsdesign.ca/workshops/oregon-state-university-online-pdc/

Amy Rougler
Manager - FranceEducation, General, Land Design, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentThank you for your support and instruction for the Permaculture Design course. The course was incredibly challenging, and each week I would wonder how I was going to do the homework. Then I somehow did thanks to many hours of research, redos, and support.I found the videos you and Neil made to be essential! So essential that I’m not sure how students in other groups get the homework done!It really helped to see examples and clarify expectations. I think if I didn’t have the videos, I might have found the course to be frustrating. For an online course it was rigorous and I am glad I had the time to dedicate to it and I am really proud of myself for completing it.I appreciated you encouraging us not to focus on grades but on learning, since I was definitely that student in school that cared way too much about grades. Since it was such a challenging course for me, it was validating to see that I was understanding the essentials and able to apply it to a real place.I really enjoyed the format of the course – each week using a different lens to go through the design process. I feel as though my observation and analytical skills have been sharpened and I see the world in a much more interconnected and complex way. I am excited to build on what I have learned now that I know all the things I need to learn more about!Thank you again for your support, teaching, and time.

Sophie Strobele
Gardner - GermanyEducation, General, Land Design, OSU PDC Student, PDC StudentI’m so grateful for your detailed response, feedback and the great input! Really motivating to get the design started.
I noted all the points you mentioned and would love to keep in touch over the design process. Your and Neils idea of the support group is really wonderful!
All the best to you and good luck for upcoming projects, looking forward to staying in touch.
PS – And as a little extra to my euphoria of finsihing the PCD course, i gave birth to my daughter last week, just on the finishing day of the course. She waited for me to finish the master plan 🙂 Very excited to bring up this child in the permaculture environment and mindset. Thank you so much for teaching and guiding us so patiently and professionally.