Compost & Fertility
Welcome!
We are so glad you are here.
- Compost and Fertility will take you through the step by step process of creating home compost systems including, deep bedding/litter systems, vermicomposting, three compartment, etc.
- This course will explain what soil is and give you the tools to troubleshoot and understand your unique soil composition.
- We offer a deep dive on worms and all things vermicomposting to help equip you with the skills to diagnose problems and create the best environment for your squirmy friends.
- As a bonus, this course gives an overview on the niches of hugelkultur and Korean natural farming to build out your understanding of the vast plethora of ways to build your soil.
Questions this course will answer:
What are the main components of soil and why is soil health important?
How do you create healthier and more fertile soil without using chemicals?
How do you build and troubleshoot a simple vermicompost system?
What is a deep bedding composting system?
Learning Outline
Each course is broken down into digestible lessons and each lesson contains different components.
Lectures are broken down into bite sized mini lectures* with key takeaways for your viewing and comprehension ease. Please view all content for the best learning experience.
Engage with your peers and community in forums and discussions related to this lesson and course. Deepen your understanding by digging into the community knowledge available
Additional resources are available for your additional learning at the bottom of the lesson. Take advantage of the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of the lesson at hand.
Take notes using the embedded, super nifty notetaker tool (the black box labelled Take Notes) in the lessons. As you progress lesson to lesson, course to course, your notes will cumulative into one handy-dandy document.
*Note: Since the original filming of these lectures, we have made some improvements, tweaks, and updates such as breaking the lectures into bite-sized chunks, reorganizing topics, and expanding the additional resources available. We made these little tweaks to bring this course from amazing to legendary and to provide the best learner experience possible. So occasionally you may hear one of the teachers refer to a resource (ie: Notepack) or mention a former lesson that you can’t find in this specific course–don’t fret!
Meet your teachers

Neal Hegarty
Neal is from an Irish family with a background in dairy farming. He has worked in agricultural projects all over the world, including Australia and Colombia. He came to Guatemala five years ago to study write a thesis on the relationship between permaculture and traditional agricultural practices of the mayan people. He has been here since, working on many different Permaculture projects, before starting his own Permaculture farm, Granja Tzikin, with his two partners. He now manages his farm and farm to table restaurant, teaches in the Atitlan Organics permaculture teachers guild and work as a designer and consultant with Regenera.

Shad Quidsi
Shad Qudsi has 20 years experience in organic and commercial gardening and farming. He is certified in Permaculture Design and has over 12 years experience in holistic site development and homesteading. Shad originally set out to study mathematics and work in big business, but long ago had a change of heart. Shad is the Co-Founder of Atitlan Organics Permaculture Farm and Education Center, and more recently serves the role of President in the non profit organization, Wellkind Guatemala. Aside from all of this, Shad is an enthusiastic teacher who truly believes that humans are good for the planet. Human resilience cannot be erased from the landscape and now, it is coming back with a gentle loving caress.