Beyond Buckthorns - Permaculture Design Hub in rural Finland
A life beyond sea buckthorns. Permaculture courses, regenerative gardening, agroecology, permaculture design, biogas and food in rural Finland, Pälkäne.

Come visit!
All visits must either be part of the course or help us with some tasks.
Please contact us in advance - at least one week before.
Study permaculture!
Are you interested in a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design? Then Nick could be your tutor!
Be a Wwoofer!
Wwoof = World wide opportunity in organic farming.
You want to help us in our garden or with projects?
Support our efforts
In 2022, we founded Vihreä Pourusmäki RY - an association for rural development.
With hosts that are so warm and knowledgeable, the PDC at Beyond Buckthorns is magical. Discussions of all sorts, friendships begin to flourish.
Sustainability Courses
This course in Finnish only!
Please read the details in the Finnish course description!
Not a course, but an event for everyone: come join us at the talkoot / working together day at Beyond Buckthorns on Tuesday 29.7.2025 starting from 10 onwards.
Come and design with us!
DIY Biogas movie

In 2023 Nick released his documentary "Holy Shit - a journey into DIY biogas". Follow him visiting several key figures in the DIY Biogas movement in the United States. Learn about DIY biogas. Get inspired!
Latest news

Garden vibes in July 2025
June was so cold and so rainy, I was scared summer may never arrive! But it did, and the heavy rains have mostly benefitted the garden. Now with some warmth I am hoping the harvest will be good this year.

The first Retreat of the LINK project
When we drove to the LINK Retreat I at Haltian Pappila I didn’t knew what I have signed up for – actually I did, but I didn’t fully realise it before it became real.
The age of Digital Permaculture

Digital Permaculture extends the current understanding of permaculture into the digital space. Follow Nick on his journey where he explorers how personal digital sustainability can be achieved using permaculture design. On ~352 pages he will guide you through one big permaculture design. Learn about IT and permaculture design at the same time!
About us and our permaculture design hub
Beyond Buckthorns is a permaculture design hub and education centre. In the past years, we have worked on the old log house and its three-hectare plot in accordance with sustainability, esp. the principles of permaculture.