Rico Zook

Rico brings over four and a half decades of experience in nature to his work. As well as creating and working with a wide variety of land-based systems in all types of climatic environments, for the past 25 years he has been a Permaculture designer, consultant and educator working with farmers, villagers, private individuals, and local organizations in India, SE Asia, Spain, USA, the mid-east and other parts of the world. This work focuses on assisting all levels of our global community to create culturally and environmentally appropriate life systems that are resilient and regenerative. With a degree in Environmental Studies focused on Land Restoration, minors in biology and philosophy, with years of homesteading in northern California and working in Yosemite Nat’l Park, Rico came to permaculture with almost all the elements, but no organizing structure or system. From 1996 to 2005 he was first co-director and crew foreman for the land restoration crew, then land manager at a wilderness community decimated by wildfire in the mountain wilderness of northern New Mexico. Guided and mentored by Ben Haggard (https://regenesisgroup.com/team), for ten years Rico did hands-on permaculture design and installation rebuilding a community and village from the ground up. Over the years he has worked from the village level to the international. For the 2017 International Permaculture Convergence in India he organized, managed and taught the pre convergence PDC, with Robyn Francis and an Int’l instructor crew, as well as the Teacher Training, with Jude Hobbs (https://cascadiapermaculture.com/). Currently much of his work is assisting and mentoring his advanced students who are now working in permaculture and evolving as instructors. When not working internationally he is developing a 2-acre regenerative farm, and learning centre (Kapehu Farm) on a remote small Hawaiian island.