testimonial

The Galiano Conservancy Association contracted Javan as a resource person to help design a permaculture food forest at our Learning Centre site. Javan, in partnership with Richard Walker, facilitated a community design session, developed our site plan and delivered a 2 day workshop on food forest theory followed by a 3 day practicum at our site. Working with Javan is a pleasure, he is professional, passionate, creative and effective in communicating his deep knowledge of permaculture and food forest design. When it came to promoting the workshop and sourcing plants and materials for our site we benefited from Javan’s extensive network of connections in the permaculture community. The workshop received rave reviews from participants, they left energized, inspired and equipped with a solid foundation in food forest theory along with a practical set of skills.

Javan Bernakevitch is an engaging presenter, deeply knowledgeable about the whole field of permaculture and ecological design.  He helped guide our students through the intricacies of mapping and the exciting and oft-neglected arena of translating their newly-developed skills into career opportunities.  He projects great enthusiasm and our students found his participation enriching, inspiring and fun!

Thanks so much,

Starhawk

Javan Bernakevitch began his presentation to a full house promptly at 10:45am. He is a dynamic and energetic speaker. His passion is contagious and he gives a great presentation! His presentation began with a discussion of finding your niche and explaining to us that there is not one true niche. We limit our potential when we try and find just one. “Humans are biodiverse in all ways. Avoid monocropping your life.” It was interesting to hear him talk about perennial polycultures and how that applies to our own personal living systems. Reviewing my notes of each presentation in order to write the article, I can’t help but notice the number of notes and ideas created during Javan’s discussions. He radiates enthusiasm which was conducive to the generation and flow of ideas. It was remarkable.

Javan, I am sure I am not the first soul to say it, but thank you for being such an incredible guide.

Javan offers a unique blend of skilled technical instruction and inspirational experiences presented clearly and with humour. He has accumulated a broad spectrum of holistic systems land design expertise, in both theory and practice, which is openly and humbly shared. Javan goes above and beyond expectations to deliver the highest quality learning opportunity for his audience. He is also gifted with the intuitive ability to tap into a group and deliver the messages needed in that particular context. This includes responding to learners’ various levels of knowledge, but also challenging them to rise above their limitations; for example, the underlying and inherent sense of entitlement that those of us in the minority world are often crippled by.  I highly recommend Javan as an engaging learning facilitator and motivational speaker in the vital movement to foster new thinking and holistic approaches to land and life design.

During the 2013 Teacher’s Training a student, who had particular trouble deciphering their learning style, exclaimed, after Javan’s guest presentation, “Javan is my learning style”.

I was particularly impressed with his teaching a new module he created called Finding your Niche in Permaculture. Using Permaculture design, Javan helps students to match their skills with Permaculture interests to create a personal road map to right livelihood.

He thoroughly knows his material from personal experience and brings a sense of confidence and humor to the classroom setting. I recommend him as an instructor and designer to anyone interested in working with a passionate, capable and innovative individual.

It’s a pleasure and a privilege to meet someone who lives, breathes, and loves what they teach so completely. Javan’s approach to permaculture is rooted in experience – it’s gritty, practical, authentic, profound, and very often hilarious. No matter how much or little we knew about permaculture when we arrived, Javan had a way of meeting us where we were with exactly the right lesson or demo or story to help us take it to the next level. I left every single one of his classes feeling deeply inspired and better equipped to live creatively and skillfully in this world. Much gratitude!

Javan Bernakevitch talks about doing, and then shows you how to make things happen. Not later. NOW. His presentation skills are engaging, entertaining, and above all informative. You’ll walk away feeling heat on your butt from the fire he lit under you! If you are seriously interested in going from a PDC to a permaculture business, look no further.

You clearly want to help people and you’re damn good at it. You create a comfort in those you interact with–a comfort that allows others to relax, be vulnerable, and be themselves. I noticed it in myself as well as observed it in others.

I can be so confused and after 30 minutes of talking with you my path is so clear.