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Mushroom Immersion
May 9, 2020 @ 11:00 am - May 16, 2020 @ 11:00 am
MUSHROOM IMMERSION
A weeklong deep dive into Mycology, Mushroom Cultivation, Medicinal Mushrooms and more.

Ecology Academy brings this exquisite experience in which you will immerse yourself into the life at Punta Mona to explore the Deep Ecology of the Fungi Kingdom. We will go deep into the jungle foraging for wild medicinal mushrooms and learn how to transform them into powerful tinctures. We dive into practical mushroom cultivation, setting up jungle labs and learning how to grow mushrooms in the most accessible, low budget and easy to apply way.
Disconnect to Reconnect and experience off grid living, where the Caribbean meets thick jungle, and be part of the intentional Punta Mona community.
Hosted by the Ecology Academy, facilitators Silvan Fey and Lala Palmieri will take you on an epic journey of diverse lectures and practical hands-on experiences.
We taught hundreds of satisfied students in the past years. All of our students gain a deeper understanding in a fun and easy way, learning about the whole mushroom cultivation process and making meaningful connections with other fungi enthusiasts. Some of our students have started their own projects: cultivating a diversity of mushrooms, making medicinal extracts and teaching what they have learned with more people around the world.
We are proud to provide a hands-on heavy course because we believe that you learn the best by doing it yourself!

Topics covered
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Indoor and outdoor cultivation of entheogenic, gourmet and medicinal mushrooms
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Building a low-tech, low-budget mushroom laboratory and learning detailed hands on techniques to work inside
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Wildcrafting and foraging wild mushrooms in the Costa Rican Jungle
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Making powerful tinctures and extracts from medicinal mushrooms
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Learning about the medicinal powers of mushrooms
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Mastering the process of indoor cultivation and turning agricultural waste into food and medicine
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Getting your hands dirty in the wonderful world of outdoor cultivation and growing mushrooms from logs
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Intro to mushroom permaculture: Integrating fungi into your garden designs to work with closed loop systems
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Experimenting with a variety of recipes and learn to cultivate on manure, straw and sawdust
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Enjoy lectures about the mushroom life cycle, their symbiotic lifestyle and their crucial role for our ecosystem and the whole planet

Program includes
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40+ hours of exploring the fungi kingdom through lectures and hands on learning
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Eight Days, Seven nights of all inclusive accommodation at Punta Mona
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Three delicious vegetarian meals per day
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Private or shared accomodation
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Ecology Academy Handout and Certificate
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Cacao Celebration
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Being part of the Punta Mona intentional community
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Boat Ride to and from Punta Mona, from Manzanillo
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Pre-breakfast or after-dinner optional activities
Program does not include
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Flight to Costa Rica
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Transport from the airport to Manzanillo

What our students are saying:
Joshua, USA. “Great solid curriculum. Would I recommend it to someone else? Absolutely!”
Lana, UK. “The last week has been incredible. I want to be successful and I want to look after the planet too.”


Daily Flow
Breakfast 8:00 – 9:00 am
Morning Class 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Lunch Break 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Afternoon Class 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Dinner 6 pm – 7 pm
We have pre-breakfast or after-dinner activities most days



Silvan Fey
Silvan Fey is a mushroom educator, public speaker and design strategist. He co-founded Fungi Academy in Guatemala, is an Ecology Academy co-founder and founder of the holistic branding and design agency MYCOcreatives.
He learned professional cultivation of gourmet, medicinal and entheogenic mushrooms in the village of the famous curandera Maria Sabina in the Oaxacan mountains of Mexico. His connection to mushroom cultivation started in 2013 and it has been a fulfilling journey ever since.
He has several years of teaching experience in the field of mycology and helped hundreds of students from all over the world.

Lala Palmieri
Laura Palmieri is a biologist, botanist, herbalist, gardener and permaculturist, with a lifetime working with plants, Lala was raised in a greenhouse in Guatemala City, cultivating orchids, building living walls and aquaponic systems. She’s lived at Punta Mona for the last five years as an educational facilitator and mentor to apprentices and volunteers, also lived at Fungi Academy.
She co-founded Ecology Academy and is the founder of the medicinal Weaving Remedies brand. Her specialty lies in month-long permaculture and herbalism courses, and herbal clinics and Envision Festival and Cosmic Convergence Festival. In deep admiration of Nature.
Mark Haberstroh
Mark Haberstroh decided to devote his life to mushrooms in 2016. He co-founded the Fungi Farm in Alabama in 2016, to learn what it takes to begin commercial production in the US.
After a year with the farm he shifted his focus to pursue legal therapeutic work with entheogenic mushrooms because he wanted to have a bigger positive impact on peoples lives. Mark has co-facilitated therapeutic mushroom experiences at retreat centers around the world for the last two years.
He is joining the teaching faculty to share the knowledge he has gained from starting a mushroom farm from scratch, as well as the insights he gained from the retreats he helped co-facilitate in Mexico, Jamaica, and Amsterdam.
Tuition
Early bird price for first 5 sign ups $950 US
Regular price $1150 US (shared accommodation)
We believe in supporting all locals from Central America as best as we can.
Local price 650$ – limited availability! (Only people from AND currently living in Central America qualify for this discount)
To save your spot, please pay a deposit of $300 US to [email protected] with PayPal. Deposits are non-refundable.
About The Venue
Our mission at Punta Mona is to expose all people who come to the farm to the ideals of Permaculture, and educate about sustainability, conservation of energy and reduction of waste that permeates our everyday lives.
Our houses are built from local, fallen trees repurposed for eco-building and other construction around the property. We collect rainwater, use solar panels for electricity, we have solar powered satellite internet, and composting toilets that connect us to the cycle of life. Roaming about the farm are nearly a dozen chickens which provide eggs.
To support our diet and local communities, we grow over 200 varieties of tropical fruits, vegetables, herbs, and medicinal plants.


Facilities, Housing & Meals
Students will be housed in shared co-ed accommodations for the entire program. We have availability for couples to come and have a private room, we also have a few private cabins, which are available for an additional cost. Private cabins can house two people and are good for a couple or a small family. Please inquire about availability.
Facilities are shared by all living at Punta Mona. We have 3 showers with solar hot water and dry-composting toilets in four locations.
Most classes are hosted in our outdoor classroom, in the living room of our main lodge or in the Yoga Shala.
We recommend you bring your own yoga mat and blanket as it cools down on rainy nights.
Meals are communal and prepared fresh daily from fruits and vegetables grown organically on site or purchased from other farms in Costa Rica. At Punta Mona we are dedicated to wholesome, organic meals prepared with love. We consider the cuisine to be “jungle gourmet” and have a trained and seasoned staff to make sure all meals are mind blowing. We serve vegetarian meals and can accommodate vegan, gluten free diets and other dietary restrictions.
We will serve fresh eggs daily and occasional local cheeses and free-range chicken from a neighbor’s farm. Fresh line caught fish is also available when we go fish.



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