Consultation Services

We are proud to offer a full suite of consultation services, giving our clients flexible options for both in-person and remote assistance.  You'll find the basic framework of our services below. We are happy to discuss your project with you to find a good fit for our services.  Fill out this form to get started!

  1. Walk & Talk Consultation

  2. Starter Permaculture Design

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Our most popular option + Our preferred starting point for any client

A Walk and Talk consists of a certified designer from SPI visiting your site and providing an in-person Permaculture Design consultation over 3+ hours. This is strictly a consultation and does not involve SPI providing actual design work.

1. Walk and Talk

  • In-Person Walk and Talk - $500 flat fee within a 2-hour drive of Charlottesville, VA. Includes 3 hours on site with a designer. Locations beyond 2 hours have an additional travel fee, quoted per project.

    Virtual Walk and Talk - $300 flat fee for a 3-hour session by video.

  • ​​We prefer to meet with clients in-person, because we can gain a deeper understanding of the site in-person.

    Our standard format is a 3 hour session, broken down into 3 parts:

    • 1 hr. Discussion of Goals and Needs:  ​We want to get an in-depth feel for your site and your goals as a landowner or stakeholder.  We talk about personal history and context, site history and context, and get a strong idea of the foundation and setting of the site.  We help to clarify your goals, which will act as a springboard for your actions moving forward.

    • 1 hr. Site Walk: ​We take time to walk the land with you, make observations, ask questions, and see the site itself.  We identify problems and opportunities, and get an objective picture of what's going on on the land.  In a virtual setting (see Virtual Walk and Talk, above), this might look like a combination of Google Earth screensharing, county GIS imagery exploration, and a virtual walkabout led by you.

    • ​1 hr. Ideation & Brainstorming: This is when we discuss potential design solutions and ideas including zones of use, placement of plant/animal systems, infrastructure, access and circulation, etc. This is the part where we brainstorm and ideate; giving specific advice on element location, species selection, materials, systems, scale, etc.  We can sketch out rough design ideas and offer suggestions for placement of elements, energy flows on the site, opportunities for plant and animal systems, etc. as-needed. This is the time to ask all of your questions and get specific or detailed information. 

Two women are in a meeting room with large windows in the background. One woman is holding and pointing at a large detailed plan or diagram on a poster, while the other looks at the poster. There is a whiteboard with a handwritten schedule or agenda, and a small table with some items on the floor.

Our Starter Permaculture Design gives you an overview design of your property: a clear plan for where key elements belong, including zones of use, water, access, food systems, and structures, so you can start implementing with confidence. Every Starter Design begins with an in-person Walk and Talk, and the $500 is credited toward the $1,500 design.

For an estimate on full, comprehensive designs, please contact us.

2. Starter Permaculture Design

    • Starter Design - $1,500. An overview design of your property to get you started on the right track and make sure elements are positioned in the right locations. Includes basic resources such as our Mid-Atlantic Food Forest Cheat Sheet and Scale of Permanence Checklist. Starts with an In-Person Walk and Talk, and the $500 is credited toward the $1,500.

    • Travel for sites beyond a 2-hour drive of Charlottesville, VA is quoted per project. Travel exceeding 4 hours from your designer’s home base requires overnight accommodations for your designer and is priced depending on availability in your area.

    • Your Starter Design begins with an in-person Walk and Talk on your property, and the $500 Walk and Talk fee is credited toward the $1,500 design. We then prepare your overview design and resources.

Important Information About Our Services

SPI provides permaculture consulting and conceptual design. Our consultations, recommendations, sketches, and designs are educational guidance and conceptual planning only. They are not engineering, surveying, architectural, or legal advice, and they are not construction documents or engineering specifications.

Let’s work together.

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