Participant Feedback & Testimonials

These reflections are shared by people who have attended Roots n Permaculture courses, workshops and learning experiences over the years. They represent a wide range of backgrounds, locations and starting points, offering an honest insight into what participants have found valuable through forest gardening, foraging, community building and regenerative living.

Forest Gardening Course Experiences

Warning! Deep Learning Imminent! I loved being encouraged to think like a plant, singing, sharing food and learning together.

Rachael — Forest Gardening, Leeds (April 2022)

Rakesh is a truly inspirational man. His calm demeanour and heartfelt passion for the subject translates to inspire the learner. Rakesh has a style of teaching that I feel is unique. He manages to bring a practical, memorable aspect to his teaching that makes his courses accessible to everyone. Not only do you learn amazing things and have a great time, you get to meet local people who are as passionate as you, and there are no limits to what you can create together.

Adele — Forest Gardening, Manchester (September 2021)

My understanding of the natural world has been transformed in the course of a weekend. Rakesh has a unique, clear and magical way of sharing his incredible knowledge.

Nell — Forest Gardening, London (August 2022)

The Forest Garden Design course was a completely transformative, paradigm shifting experience. Rakesh delivers a fantastic learning experience. He brilliantly guided us through a holistic approach to forest gardening by enabling the permeation of a huge amount of information, making connections through questioning, discussion and direct observation of the environments around us.

Rich — Forest Gardening, London (August 2022)

Thank you Rakesh. I have loved your questioning style, rich content, and laid-back delivery on your forest garden course. It really has been an enlightening learning experience for me. Eight weeks later, I feel equipped with all the resources I need to design my own food forest, and look forward to keeping in touch with you and the whole Roots n Permaculture community.

Kirsty — Forest Gardening, Online (October 2021)

Rakesh's approach is as much about how to live in harmony with each other as with the earth: a wonderful course which combined practical gardening knowledge with really transformational thinking.

Anita — Forest Gardening, Online (May 2021)

Anyone who has been on a course with Rakesh will tell you how much they have learnt and how much fun they have had! A unique teacher who combines deep experiential knowledge with humility and fun. Highly recommended.

Pete — Forest Gardening, Leeds (April 2022)

I knew nothing about gardening before this. It was so accessible, interesting and informative that I now feel able to begin removing the paved slabs in my private garden and begin a small project there. Rakesh is a great teacher and an inspiring chap.

Glen — Forest Gardening, Leeds (April 2022)

IN-SPIRIT-ATIONAL! The day workshop I attended about Forest Gardening was so in-depth and delivered in a very creative engaging way. I feel confident in exploring this further with a solid foundation of understanding. Feel blessed to be part of a wider like-minded community too.

Obie — Forest Gardening, Burgess Park, London (October 2021)

Rakesh has a very inspiring and natural approach to teaching the theory and practice of forest gardening. His deep knowledge and care for nature and human interaction with ecosystems shines through in his teaching style, and the content is so fascinating that it is easy to stay transfixed for an entire day.

Ben — Forest Gardening, Ilford, Essex (October 2021)

His relaxed and intuitive style really opened up the world of forest gardening to me. We learned a great deal in simple terms of how integrated the system can become once laid out with thought and knowledge. I feel now that I could confidently design a forest garden.

Matt — Forest Gardening, Oxford (April 2022)

Rakesh has a great way of communicating and passing on his wealth of knowledge. The days were well paced with just enough breaks. His stories enhanced the learning experience and kept us interested. A lovely teaching style, no lectures. We are now keen to put what we have learned into practice.

Rosie — Forest Gardening, Llanrwst (February 2023)

This was an amazing and enjoyable two day workshop! I am a total beginner but found the discussions accessible, collaborative and so engaging. Rakesh has a wonderful approach that puts people at ease and helps them to work with each other straight away.

Michelle — Forest Gardening, Todmorden (October 2022)

If you want to be part of this necessary change we all need to see in the world — just study forest gardening. You will feel reconnected to the Earth, to plants, and to other people.

Dorota — Forest Gardening, Online (November 2020)

When I first heard of the idea of a Forest Garden I was excited by the concept and Rakesh's inspirational teaching enhanced my enthusiasm. I now see it as an exciting way to help bring people together and combat the earth-destroying practices that have come to dominate our lives.

Anthony — Forest Gardening, Online (November 2020)

I LOVE Rakesh's courses. Not only are they packed full of information but also very inspirational, motivating and a base for a growing network of friends and like-minded people.

Kai — Forest Gardening, Online (May 2021)

Community Building Experiences

I feel more confident for our community to live our dream with fun and caring. Really nice and useful tools. Well explained by Rakesh. Had a super good time.

Gopal — Community Building Experience, Online (February 2022)

In the beginning I was not sure about joining because of tiredness. It was very difficult to start, but the energy, enthusiasm and flexibility gave me the motivation to continue. I really liked the format of the seminar — we just missed having you with us in person.

Participant — Community Building Experience, Online (April 2022)

Foraging Workshops

A very informative and enjoyable session. An overview of plants, their groupings and tips on recognition at the beginning made it much easier to remember and understand what we found later. Much better than I expected. I will be back for more workshops!

Felicity — Foraging Workshop, Kingston (April 2023)

Great teacher. I especially loved the plant biology before foraging. So important to understand.

Participant — Foraging Workshop, Kingston (April 2023)

Biochar and Cook Stove Workshops

I loved the relaxed pace of the course and Rakesh's enlightened learning strategies. I feel as if I really understand the principles of the rocket and biochar stoves, as we built both brick and metal models during our day. Rakesh is a lovely teacher. He explains everything simply and carefully and above all — he is never boring!

Sally — Biochar & Cook Stoves, Todmorden (October 2022)

Rakesh is an amazing teacher with a real passion for what he does, and what I love most on the course is the focus on caring for Mother Nature.

Mauricio — Biochar & Cook Stoves, London (September 2024)

Fermentation Courses

Great and fun course! I learned a lot and have now started to fill jars in my household.

Daniel — Fermentation, Kingston (April 2023)

These reflections were collected from course feedback forms and follow-up messages. Minor spelling corrections have been made, but the words remain those of the participants.