Adam Dusen

Planting rice in a rice paddy
My Projects

My websites

Availability

I am usually quite busy with design and consulting work, so I don't usually travel to teach courses anywhere. But I enjoy collaborating with people and traveling for permaculture-related work. I'm always open to offers and love to pop in to guest teach in other courses whenever possible and to forge new connections along the way.

Notes about contacting me

I'm open to people contacting me, but I'm often quite busy so it may take me a few days to a week to get back to emails during my busy season.



Phone number
+1-610-324-5085

Taking new apprentices?
No

About me

I am a permaculture designer, educator, and farmer based in Pennsylvania in the United States. I got into permaculture by way of organic farming, and I've lived and worked on organic farms and at a permaculture education center in Southeast Asia. I have lived in multiple countries - Sweden, Thailand, China, Australia, The Bahamas - practicing permaculture in different climates and cultures and learning so much along the way.

My wife and I returned to the US in 2015 and now run Hundred Fruit Farm together - our 10 acre permaculture farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. We have an orchard-silvopasture system in which we have a flock of laying hens and Babydoll Southdown sheep that graze throughout our orchard and across the whole farm. We specialize in growing unusual fruits and berries, all of which we grow without any sprays whatsoever. We grow currants, blueberries, gooseberries, elderberries, honeyberries, Asian persimmons, hybrid persimmons, jujubes, cornelian cherries, pears, apples, and - probably our largest and most well-known crop - pawpaws! We also have a small on-site nursery in which we propagate and sell many of the plants that we grow here. We are also in the process of designing a strawbale house that we will be building here on the farm within the next few years.

In addition to helping run our farm, I also work full-time as permaculture designer and consultant. I have completed dozens of permaculture designs for clients in the upper Mid-Atlantic region in which I specialize - Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. I enjoy working with people helping them realize the potential of the spaces they inhabit and opening their eyes to the many possibilities for the various fruits, nuts, herbs, native plants, animal systems, and other elements they can cultivate and integrate as a part of a diverse agro-ecosystem.

I have been teaching permaculture for many years now and have been the lead teacher and organizer on our annual permaculture design courses, which we be hosting here for the 10th time this coming January. I am committed to growing our local permaculture community and connecting with people practicing permaculture in our area. 

 

Educator experience

I am an experienced permaculture educator and have been co-teaching permaculture design courses since 2011, and serving as the lead instructor and facilitator on permaculture design courses since 2017, with over 150 students who have completed their design certificate. I have also facilitated and co-taught an advanced permaculture design course as well. I have also led numerous hands-on workshops on topics like introduction to permaculture, composting, mushroom log inoculation, sheep husbandry, grafting, pruning, and other topics. 

Before starting my farm, I also worked as an ESL teacher in China, where I had my first experiences on the teaching side of a classroom. I later worked at The Island School in The Bahamas, where I helped teach high school students and visiting schools with students of all ages about permaculture in a very hands-on outdoor setting.

I have also been featured as a speaker on multiple occasions at the PASA sustainable agriculture conference in Lancaster, PA and regularly give talks and presentations to various gardening clubs and similar organizations.

Educator skills

My favorite way to teach a permaculture course is collaboratively with a team of other qualified permaculture educators so that students get a wide background of different views and each teacher can focus on their various specializations. 

Educator qualifications
  • BA in Philosophy from Pennsylvania State University, 2007
  • MSc in Environmental Science from Linköping University in 2011
  • Permaculture Design: 
    • Permaculture Design Certificate, The Panya Project, Thailand, Christian Shearer, 2008
    • Certified Educator with the Permaculture Association