Consultation Services

We are proud to offer a full suite of consultation services, giving our clients flexible options for both in-person and remote assistance.  You'll find the basic framework of our services below. We are happy to discuss your project with you to find a good fit for our services.  Fill out this form to get started!

  1. Walk & Talk Consultation

  2. Permaculture Design

  3. Skill Sessions

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Our most popular option + Our preferred starting point for any client

A Walk and Talk consists of a certified designer from SPI visiting your site and providing an in-person Permaculture Design consultation over 3+ hours. This is strictly a consultation and does not involve SPI providing actual design work.

1. Walk and Talk

  • In-Person Walk and Talk Consultation - Flat fee of $500 within a 2 hour drive of Charlottesville, VA. Includes 3 hours on site in person with designer. Locations further out may have additional travel fee.

    Remote Consultation - Hourly rate of $100 per hour

  • ​​We prefer to meet with clients in-person, because we can gain a deeper understanding of the site in-person. We also offer a virtual option for a 3 hour “walk and talk” session for $300.

    Our standard format is a 3 hour session, broken down into 3 parts:

    • 1 hr. Discussion of Goals and Needs:  ​We want to get an in-depth feel for your site and your goals as a landowner or stakeholder.  We talk about personal history and context, site history and context, and get a strong idea of the foundation and setting of the site.  We help to clarify your goals, which will act as a springboard for your actions moving forward.

    • 1 hr. Site Walk: ​We take time to walk the land with you, make observations, ask questions, and see the site itself.  We identify problems and opportunities, and get an objective picture of what's going on on the land.  In a virtual setting (see our remote services, below), this might look like a combination of Google Earth screensharing, county GIS imagery exploration, and a virtual walkabout led by you.

    • ​1 hr. Ideation & Brainstorming: This is when we discuss potential design solutions and ideas including zones of use, placement of plant/animal systems, infrastructure, access and circulation, etc. This is the part where we brainstorm and ideate; giving specific advice on element location, species selection, materials, systems, scale, etc.  We can sketch out rough design ideas and offer suggestions for placement of elements, energy flows on the site, opportunities for plant and animal systems, etc. as-needed. This is the time to ask all of your questions and get specific or detailed information.  It is easy for this portion of the consult to take a bit longer than an hour, particularly on a large site, and it may be wise to schedule a 3.5-4 hour consult for certain sites, or if you have a lot of very specific questions.

    • For sites of 20+ acres, we strongly recommend, and may require, that you have 2 designers present for your consultation.  This increases the fee to $150/hr.

    • You may request 2 designers if you simply prefer to have more eyes on the site, which also increases the fee to $150/hr.

Two women are in a meeting room with large windows in the background. One woman is holding and pointing at a large detailed plan or diagram on a poster, while the other looks at the poster. There is a whiteboard with a handwritten schedule or agenda, and a small table with some items on the floor.

We offer customized permaculture design services for properties of any size, tailored to meet your specific needs and goals. Whether you're looking for a simple conceptual sketch outlining key areas of use with foundational guidance, or a comprehensive digital design featuring detailed elements, resource planning, and a phased implementation timeline, we provide solutions that save you time and money. Our designs streamline the planning process, helping you move forward efficiently and wisely.

2. Permaculture Design

    • Permaculture Design Jumpstart Package - $2,000 included an overview design of property designed to get you started on the right track to make sure you are positioning everything appropriately in the correct location. Also includes basic resources such as Mid Atlantic Food Forest Cheat Sheet, Scale of Permanance Checklist, etc. Must start with In-Person W&T and the $500 is credited towards the cost

    • Contact us

    • For site visits, there is an additional travel fee of $0.70/mile from the home base of your designer (all designers are located in Virginia). Travel exceeding 4 hours from your designer’s home base requires overnight accommodations for your designer and is priced depending on availability in your area.

    • Design projects typically start with a 1-2 hour video call to review the clients goals and contest

    • ​​For most design projects, we prefer to meet with clients in-person at some point, because we can gain a deeper understanding of the property and the client in-person. The number of site visits will depend on the scope of the project and will be outlined in our scope of work prior to starting the project.

Group of people attending a presentation or workshop in a rustic barn with wooden walls and string lights. A man is standing in front, speaking near a whiteboard.

We would love to come speak or give a presentation about Permaculture to your organization, group, or business!

3. Speaking

  • Fees vary on speaker and event. Contact us to learn more!

  • As skilled educators and facilitators, we can tailor the presentation to the needs and interests of your group.

    • Permaculture Design 101

    • Permaculture Orchard Planning

    • Growing Medicinal Herbs

    • Vegetable Fermentation

    • Rewilding Your Life

    • Perennial Propagation Systems

Let’s work together.

Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly!