Barbara Scheltus - van den Berg
Passionate permaculture gardener & designer (of land and life), living self sufficient in harmony with nature.
My vision is to live a simple, healthy, happy life in nature, with like minded people to share and celebrate.
I live with my family on a 12 hectare homestead in the heart of Croatia. Yes 12 hectares is a lot, so we're growing a village. During the Covid19 period we saw an increase of people who wanted a lifestyle like us, so now we are in contact with a few of them to come and share our abundance.
Here at Bogata Šuma in the heart of Croatia we are growing a beautiful, sustainable, caring village. Fun and supportive, self sufficient and independent.
Permaculture and Cultural Emergence facilitator
I really enjoy facilitating courses for people who want to take steps in care of their land and their life, designing for it, and growing towards self sufficiency/self reliance/independence in their lives.
My Cultural Emergence journey is the undercurrent of my permaculture stream; I see Cultural Emergence as a "what" to the "how" of permaculture. This world needs a caring, connective way of thinking. If the values earth, people and future care and fair share would be mainstream, most world problems would not exist!
As a facilitator I like to make things practical for people. How can you do things, how can you design (parts of) your life so that you take good care of the earth, of yourself and other people, and care for the future. Even when you live in an appartment in the city.
At Bogata Šuma you can enjoy colorful organic FOOD from our land, learn how permaculture works on our COURSES, or you can enjoy a holiday in Croatia's nature on our small, eco CAMP site.
With Bogata Šuma's COUNTRY LIFE ACADEMY you can be coached to a harmonious, successful life in nature. We organise weekends and courses for people who want to learn all about a good life on the land.
We are GROWING A VILLAGE with likeminded young and elderly in rural Croatia. People who love a life in harmony with nature, care for the earth, each other and themselves, love a good meal and a good conversation and give respect to diversity.
With our NGO "Udruga Anno 3033" you can volunteer for a month or longer to learn about permaculture and a fulfilling self sufficient life.
As one of our (future) income streams we're setting up a permaculture nut orchard (with walnuts, hazelnuts, sweet chestnuts and other plants) as protein source to save animals and the planet.
From city life to rural Croatia
I used to live in the city (Amsterdam and Leiden, in The Netherlands) where I had edible balconies and organized guerilla gardening days to spice up the city.
I was always intrigued by growing and foraging my own food. Our patio was crammed with fruit shrubs and vegetables and I had a weblog called "Wildplukker", about food foraging in the city. One day a film crew followed me and my son on a city foraging tour, for a Dutch TV show.
I lived in urban environments (Amsterdam, Leiden) until 2009, when Peter Scheltus suggested to move to the countryside in Croatia. That thought became an exciting opportunity to bring my theorethical permaculture knowledge into action!
In Croatia we live on 12 hectares of land that we designed as an edible, sustainable landscape. On our terrain (called "Bogata Suma", Croatian for Rich Forest) you can find:
- a beautiful kitchen garden ("vegetable park") that produces our vegetables all year round,
- an edible fence or branches wall
- a plum orchard with net and pan system
- a
forest garden
- a "food savannah" (that eventually will grow into a 2nd forest garden)
- a well designed greenhouse with a stone wall to trap warmth and a rainwater drip irrigation system
- we're setting up a polyculture nut orchard on the field
- we did some preparations for a natural greywater cleaning swim pond
On our wishlist: to finish the grey water cleaning swim pond, a compost heated glasshouse with aquaponics and a safe system to let animals cut the grass for us.
Also an active project on the wish list: a lovely self sufficient village with young and old people who care for the earth, for people and for the future.
My permaculture pathway plays a big role in our ecosystem. Since we live in Croatia, creating self sufficiency and sustainable ecosystems became an important part of my life. Permaculture and Nature around us inspire me to develop synergetic growth systems based on diversity, resilience, productivity, and sustainability. I have been designing and implementing productive ecosystems to be fully integrated with the landscape that surrounds us. Reading the landscape grew on me and taking care of it in small steps, creating a healthier and more sustainable environment, thus reducing our impact on the Earth
Relevant courses:
Sustainable living, permaculture & self sufficiency
2-7 May / 6-11 June / 12-17 September
A 6 days course about living a different lifestyle, with real life examples at Bogata Šuma.
Facilitators: Barbara and Peter Scheltus
Cultural Emergence and design for your life
15-24 April 2022, Bogata Šuma, Croatia
Start designing your way to abundance on our hands-on Cultural Emergence design course!
Facilitators: Barbara and Peter Scheltus
Introduction to permaculture (3 March 2022)
Teacher: Barbara Scheltus
Institutes: Erasmus+ project Generation of sustainability, Bogata šuma, (Croatia)
online course: Cultural Emergence Effective Design (jan-mrt 2022)
Main teachers: Looby Macnamara, Jon Young
Tutors: Barbara Scheltus, Delvin Solkinson and others
Social permaculture for peace (September 2021)
Teacher: Barbara Scheltus
Institute: GAIA Kosovo & permaculture farm Nesto vise, Bosnia & Hercegovina
Cultural Emergence Effective Design (June-July 2021)
Main teachers: Looby Macnamara, Jon Young
Tutors: Barbara Scheltus, Delvin Solkinson, Geri Sinclair and others
Institute: Applewood Permaculture Centre
Permaculture Design Course (PDC) (23/5-2/6/2021)
Teachers: Karmela Kis, Sabine Engelhardt & Barbara Scheltus
Institute: Gea Viva, Brac (Croatia)
Peace, Empowerment And Cultural Emergence (2021)
Main teachers: Looby Macnamara, Jon Young
online course
Activating Cultural Emergence (2020)
Main teachers: Looby Macnamara, Jon Young
online course
Design your life with permaculture (2019)
Teacher: Barbara Scheltus
Institute: Bogata šuma, (Croatia)
Cultural Emergence Effective Design course (1 week, 2019)
Teachers: Looby Macnamara, Barbara Scheltus & Lucy Walton
Institutes: Thriving Ways (England) & Bogata Suma (Croatia)
Permaculture for kids (4 lessons, 2018)
Teachers: Barbara Scheltus & Jasenka Martinovic
Institutes: Osnovna skola Vojnic & Bogata Suma (Croatia)
People and Permaculture Facilitator Training (1.5 year traject, 2017-2018)
Teachers: Looby Macnamara & Peter Cow
Institute: Thriving Ways (England)
Permaculture in practice (2018)
Teacher: Barbara Scheltus
Institute: Bogata Suma (Croatia)
Permaculture and forest garden design weekend (2017)
Teacher: Barbara Scheltus
Institute: Bogata Suma (Croatia)
Workshop restoration agriculture (1 week, 2016)
Teacher: Mark Shepard
Institute: ZMAG Vukomeric (Croatia)
Permaculture Design Course (2 weeks, 2015)
Teachers: Rosemary Morrow & Tina Lymberis
Institute: Nea Guinea, (Greece)
Creating low maintenance Edible Landscapes The Permaculture way (2 days, 2014)
Teacher: Rakesh Rootsman Rak
Garden design course (6 months, 2012)
Institute: Het Groene Penseel (The Netherlands)
How to create a forest garden (5 days, 2010)
Teachers: Mark & Rakesh Rootsman Rak
Institute: Eco Village Network
Introduction to permaculture (2008)
Teachers: Taco Blom & Ishi Crosby
Institute: Permacultuurcentrum Den Haag (The Netherlands)
Besides land based permaculture designs, I am also making people based designs. With various methods, like the "SADIMET design process" and Looby Macnamara's "Design Web".
Permaculture designs I work on
Permaculture pathway design
My personal Action Learning Pathway design for a Permaculture Diploma, for becoming an experienced designer and a resourceful facilitator.
Permaculture design for Bogata Šuma
Overall design about our life and our land. It links to al other land-based designs:
Growing a village
Design about starting a sustainable, self sufficient village where young and old can live together in harmony with nature.
How can we set a positive, including culture in our community with a diversity of people. This design is a co-production of my family, about living with vision and values, and helpful routines.
Our ultimate home
Design for the ultimate passive family home that uses Nature's elements in a positive way and how to get our household in a flow.
A family co-production.
Design for self sufficiency
This design for resilience is made for 100% self reliance for our family. Not necessarily realistic; we are not (yet) willing to live without coffee, chocolate, bananas and our car.
Nut farm design
About how and why to setup our polyculture nut orchard.
Natural greywater cleaning swim pond design
About how and where we can make a natural pond that filters our greywater and gives us a nice spot to swim.
Forest garden and food savannah
An extensive design about our edible landscape and fruit park. Is still a bit behind the facts.
A garden for the chickens
Nice design, needs new ideas because chickens do much more damage than planned.
ME
Personal permaculture design about how to be the best version of me.
Speak fluent Croatian design
A personal permaculture design about how to learn better Croatian. About learning styles and creative solutions.
My unfashionable minimalistic capsule wardrobe
A permaculture design about how to dress myself better with just a few good pieces
