Syntropic Agriculture – Multi-strata Coffee Agroforestry Workshop – Kenya
8 décembre - 12 décembre
🌱 Principles & Fundamentals of Syntropic Agriculture – Multi-strata Coffee Agroforestry
8–12 December 2025 ⎮ Rongo, Kenya
→ 5-day intensive training – classroom + field
👉 WHY THIS TRAINING?
Syntropic agriculture (successional agroforestry) is a regenerative, high-productivity farming system that integrates food crops and trees on the same plot by following natural vegetative succession.
It increases soil fertility, diversifies production, improves resilience, restores ecosystems, and drastically reduces the need for external inputs.
This training provides both core theoretical principles and practical field experience to enable participants to design and implement a syntropic system adapted to East-African climates.
👉 TRAINERS
Lead Trainer — Romain Criquet
Agronomist & regenerative agroforestry specialist
- Trained thousands of farmers across Europe & Africa over the last 17 years
- Former International Board Member of the Permaculture Research Institute of Kenya
- Works with IUCN & the French Development Agency (AFD) on regenerative agroforestry, hydrology & climate resilience
- Expert in applied syntropic agriculture and landscape-scale ecological design
Trainers
- James Thiong’o Gachie – agroecology & nursery systems specialist
Regenerative Agriculture Consultant & Permaculture Designer with 9+ years’ experience. Trained 1,000+ farmers in Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, and Tanzania. Expert in climate-smart, community-led agroforestry systems. - Caleb Omolo – regenerative agriculture practitioner & community trainer
Director, Sustainable Village Resources (SVR).
Syntropic Food Forest Specialist with extensive experience restoring soil health, biodiversity & food security across Africa.
👉 OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:
- Understand plant succession and its applications in agriculture with a focuss on coffee farming
- Design multi-strata agroforestry systems adapted to tropical and sub-tropical climates
- Plan and implement innovative cropping itineraries combining fruits, vegetables and timber
- Produce soil-building biomass through fast-growing species
- Establish and manage a pilot syntropic plot from scratch
No prerequisite required.
Open to farmers, agroforesters, agronomists, horticulturists, project leaders, NGO staff, trainers and students.
Group size: max. 25 participants
👉 WHEN?
From Monday 8 to Friday 12 December 2025
(35 hours of certified training)
👉 WHERE?
Rongo, Migori County – Kenya
Training hosted directly on active syntropic demonstration plots.
👉 TEACHING METHODS
- Alternation of theory (indoors) and practice (field)
- Presentations, interactive discussions & collective synthesis
- Field workshops: soil assessment, design layout, planting, stratification, biomass management
👉 EVALUATION
- Field exercises
- Practical demonstrations
- Attendance certificate
🎯 TRAINING PROGRAM BY DAY
★ DAY 1 — Soil Formation, Soil Life & Preparation Techniques
Objectives
- Understand soil formation processes
- Learn how to prepare soil for syntropic systems
Theory : Soil Production
- From rock to soil: structure, horizons, mineral breakdown
- Role of life in soil formation
- Nutrient cycles & organic matter dynamics
- Disturbances (storms, pruning, clearing) as regenerative tools
Practice :
- Visual soil evaluation
- Micro-zoning & layout of stratified crops
- Soil preparation depending on intended vegetation
★ DAY 2 — Introduction to Syntropic Agriculture & Landscape Reading
Objectives
- Acquire foundational syntropic concepts
- Learn to observe entropic vs syntropic processes
Theory :
- History of pre-colonial agroforestry in the tropics
- Contributions of Ernst Götsch
- Entropy vs syntropy
- How forests self-organise
Practice :
- Field walk: landscape reading & system analysis
- Data collection for design planning
- Pegging & preparation of demonstration plot
- Soil work & micro-zoning
★ DAY 3 — Natural Succession & System Design
Objectives
- Understand colonisation–accumulation–abundance phases
- Design a syntropic cropping layout
Theory :
- Life cycles and functional indicators
- Effects of disturbances on succession
Practice :
- Piqueting and placing stratified crops
- Completing the design plan
- Soil work & micro-zoning
★ DAY 4 — Stratification & Species Association
Objectives
- Understand vertical + successional stratification
- Learn to combine species into coherent systems
Theory :
- Pollination, dispersal, co-evolution
- Ecophysiological functions
- Optimising natural processes
Practice :
- Planting stratified systems
- Combining annuals, fruit trees & timber species
★ DAY 5 — Ecosystem Interactions & Human Role
Objectives
- Understand ecological interactions in syntropic systems
- Explore the reconciliation between agriculture & ecosystem dynamics
Theory :
- Succession (part II)
- Transition from annuals to climax species
Practice :
- Continued implementation of the demonstration system
- Stratification fine-tuning & biomass management
LAST CALL – LIMITED SPACES — Registration REQUIRED
Click Sign Up to secure your spot before the training fills up.
More information: +254 714 943355 (Caleb)