Zaytuna Farm: Back to Earth 2025

Cultivating the Land, Cultivating the Self:
Re-rooting Ourselves in God’s bountiful earth and his abundant signs in nature.

Retreat: 25-29 Sept, 2025
Online intensive: 1-30 Oct, 2025

Our Rihla

Our Zaytuna Farm retreat with 1-month online intensive is designed to teach us to be God’s stewards on earth (khalifa fil ardh) by:

Learning to live off the land through regenerative farming,
Embracing a life of halal & tayyib sustainable livelihoods,
Attuning to the primordial fitraic rhythm of life that God ﷻ intended for us,
Connecting to God’s signs in nature through contemplation (tafakkur), and,
Rejuvenating the soul through circles of dhikr, tafakkur, and congregational prayers in nature.

Zaytuna Farm is located in the Byron Bay Hinterland, the Bundjalung nation of Widjabul Wia-bal people, a stunningly beautiful part of Australia with lush sub-tropical forests, abundant greenery, flowing creeks, diverse vegetation, and quaint, laid-back villages.

Assorted organic fruits, vegetable crops in rows planted in organic soil, and an apple on a tree branch.

A group of people working in a garden with arched trellises, surrounded by greenery and a small shed, with a foggy background and a chicken walking on the ground.

Why Zaytuna Farm?

Zaytuna Farm, home to Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, is a fully-operating permaculture farm run by world-renowned expert, sidi Geoff Lawton. Geoff is an award-winning permaculture consultant, designer, and teacher, having received his PDC in 1983 under Bill Mollison, widely considered the ‘father of permaculture.’ Since 1985, Geoff has worked in 50+ countries, teaching 15,000+ students.

Zaytuna Farm is at the forefront of Permaculture Design, displaying many permaculture principles, and producing food of various yields from within its living environment. It is family-friendly and situated on a 66 acre (27 hectares) property that fronts 800m of Terania Creek opposite The Channon village, Northern NSW.

The landscape is diverse, covering high frost-free hilltops, ridges, and valleys containing both cleared paddocks and forested areas. The farm is under continuous development and change with on-ground research in practice.

Several families live on the property, forming a lively community of like-minded people. There are also farm animals, a creek with an excellent swimming spot, wild trees, and veggie beds on premises. It is one of Australia’s best models to regenerative living.

For more information, please visit:
https://www.zaytunafarm.com/about-us/

Waterfall cascading over rocks in a lush, green forest at Nightcap National Park, near Zaytuna Farm.

Our Program

The 1-month online intensive will go through a number of topics that will continue in our 5-day Retreat. The retreat includes farm-to-table organic meals daily, with lessons covering:

Contemplating Nature (tafakkur) by Dr Samir Mahmoud
Farming & Sustainability in Islam by Mufti Saeed Warsama
Islam & Permaculture with Sidi Rhamis Kent (from USA)
Cultivating Right Livelihood by Br Muhammad Naushad

The program also includes congregational prayers and adhkar, morning invocations, Friday jum’a, optional activities in returning ourselves to nature such as farming, hiking, star gazing, and swimming, and post-retreat online class.

The entire 5-week program including the retreat is $1590 per person ($320/week) including lessons, readings, bus transport, farm accommodation, and farm-to-table halalun tayyib meals.

Payment plans are also available.

Please see the program booklet for more information.

Program Booklet

An assortment of fresh vegetables and dried herbs arranged on a dark timber farm table, including onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, walnuts, dried poppy pods, and sprigs of lavender.

Accomodation

Multiple tents set up on metal platforms on a grassy hillside, with trees and blue sky in the background at a campground on Zaytuna Farm.

Zaytuna Farm accommodation is included in the price, and will be on a camping site, ours to use exclusively. You may choose between:
- 10 elevated platforms for pitching tents (5 each for brothers & sisters with 2 people per tent), or,
- Open camping ground without restrictions.
- Tents will be provided, and you are also welcome to bring your own.
- Shuttle bus service is available between the farm and the two airports at fixed times, pending on your flight information.
- Please Note: Farm accommodation is offered on a first come, first serve basis with limited access to tents on platforms.
- We will in sha Allah try our best to accommodate all guests with comfort.
Participants may also opt to stay at a self-booked hotel, motel, or service apartment. We hope to provide a shuttle bus service to & from the farm daily in sha Allah.
We recommend you book as early as possible in the Channon area, such as Lismore (25 min to Zaytuna farm) providing ample alternative accommodation options.

We recommend contacting premises directly to receive the best rates, while discourage the use of sites complicit in occupation and apartheid against international law (TripAdvisor, Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia group companies).

Book now

Note on Zaytuna Farm

Zaytuna Farm is a model of sustainable living.

While its farm homes have modern-day conveniences and comforts, the guest facilities are very basic, especially showers and compost toilets, which may require some adjusting to. In the spirit of learning about permaculture, we urge fellow travellers to come with expectations of basic toilet and showering facilities.

This will affect participants staying on the farm. However, those staying off-site (hotels/motels) will still use these facilities during the day.
Embrace the rustic experience for a few days and gain life-long lessons on sustainable living!

Map showing the location of Zaytuna Farm in the Gold Coast area of Queensland, Australia, near the South Pacific Ocean, with nearby towns and national parks labeled.

Getting There

Address:
Zaytuna Farm, 1158 Pinchin Rd, The Channon NSW 2480

Best way to get to The Channon (Zaytuna Farm is located) is by flight. There are two nearby airports:

Ballina (50 min from the farm)
Coolangatta - Gold Coast Airport (80 min from the farm)

From Sydney, it is easier to fly into Ballina. From all other capital cities and international flights, it is easier to fly into Coolangatta (Gold Coast).

A more adventurous approach would be to drive to The Channon. While it is a long drive (2 ½ hours from Brisbane), it would make for an amazing Aussie road trip. We recommend you give yourself an additional two days before or after the retreat to explore the Byron Hinterland and the coast. It is a stunningly beautiful part of Australia!