Whole
New Concepts
Training and Development Services for Today's World
See the Big Picture ~~ Respond to Change
Become Sustainable
Holistic Management
Family Farms & Ranches
Sustainable Agriculture
Ecosystem Services
Triple Bottom Lines
Local Food
Beginning Farmers
Holistic Management Distance Learning
Benefits of our distance learning program.
How our distance learning program works.
How to register and make payment.
Holistic Management course descriptions.
Cindy Dvergsten, Holistic Management Educator.
Benefits of Our Holistic Management Distance Learning Program
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Put time into learning not travel
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Enjoy flexible schedules
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Learn from the convenience of home or office
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Learn at your own pace, in your own way
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Apply what you learn as you learn it for immediate benefit
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A mentor is like a having a guide by your side
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We customize our programs to meet your specific needs!
How Holistic Management Distance Learning Works
All you need is a telephone! ( A computer & internet are optional.)
This program is taught over the telephone to individuals and small groups. Our distance learning program requires you to make a commitment to pre-scheduled telephone calls to your instructor / mentor. These telephone sessions generally last one-hour and are usually scheduled on a regular basis. Some flexibility is possible to accommodate your needs.
Your instructor, Cindy Dvergsten has been providing distance learning training and mentoring via the telephone since 2003. She has twenty years of experience practicing and teaching holistic management in a wide variety of situations. You may request a referral to one of our satisfied customers. Cindy will be happy to discuss how our distance learning program may be a benefit to you.
Cindy's approach is hands on, allowing you to apply what you learn to address your immediate concerns. Her training is based on real life experience, not theory. Lessons are completed in a step by step sequence - providing opportunities to slow down to address specific needs. Your learning plan will help you identify what is important to focus on. This approach allows for adaptive management, creating a highly personalized learning experience.
A moderate amount of self-study including completing exercises in workbook and using worksheets is necessary between telephone sessions. Only a minimal amount of reading time is required. We recommend that you allow two to four hours per week for self-study. The more effort you put into this, the more you will get out of the excellent learning experience we offer.
Unless otherwise arranged, you will be responsible for long distance charges. Each distance learning course includes telephone sessions with your instructor, all necessary learning materials, supporting materials, and follow up mentoring sessions.
On-line registration and request form
Our Courses and Fee Schedule
Please note that we offer significant discounts for multiple course registrations, second family members and groups from the same farm, business or organization. See information below or contact us to set up a custom group training program.
| Individuals | Second Family Member** | |
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1. Holistic Decision Making and Planning Skills |
$450 USD | $50 |
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2.Holistic Management Financial Planning * |
$500 USD | $50 |
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3. Holistic Management
Grazing with Planning |
$375 USD | $50 |
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Receive these discounts
when |
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4. Holistic Decision Making plus Holistic |
$725 USD | $50 |
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5. Holistic
Decision Making Plus |
$850 USD | $50 |
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6. Holistic Decision Making Plus Holistic
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$1125 USD | $50 |
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Mentoring |
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$75 USD Hourly Fee |
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* Please note that completing an course in Holistic Decision Making is a perquisite for any of the courses numbered 2-4. Contact us with questions you may have. ** The second family member must be a spouse, parent, or child who are involved in management and decision making in the same farm, business, enterprise or family situation. You may also include hired managers. Ask us about setting up a special group training for your organization or employees. Also contact us to set up in-person training, field days, workshops and presentations. All fees are stated in United States Dollars. |
Click Here to sign up or request info |
Sign Up Today for Distance Learning
Once you have made your decision and confirmed your registration, we will send you an invoice. Payment can be made by check, money order, or on-line with a credit card through PayPal. All fees are in USD. Upon payment you will receive learning materials sent via the internet. If you cannot receive workbooks and materials via the internet we will send them by Fed Ex or US Postal Service for an additional fee. Note that it takes one to two weeks for delivery of workbook materials in the US and up to three weeks abroad.
On-line registration and request form
Holistic Management Distance Learning Course Descriptions
Holistic Decision Making and Planning
This course covers ALL the basics you need to start practicing holistic management. You will gain skill in the use of the Holistic Management to address your current situation. Your fee includes 8 one-hour individual telephone sessions with your instructor, self-study workbook, other learning materials and one follow up session. Upon completion of this course you will:
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Know how to get everyone on the same page with a goal as you create and maintain a clear focus.
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Have improved your capacity to observe ecosystem processes and evaluate land health, understand the tools of management.
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Know how to identify decision makers, inventory available resources, establish a purpose statement.
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Practiced researching actions and testing decisions so your choices that honor what is important to you, and at the same time are socially, economically and environmentally sound.
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Know how to manage details without loosing site of the big picture, prioritize actions, create plans based on solid objectives, develop monitoring criteria, diagnose the root cause of problems and complete your feedback loop.
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Know how to add value to products and services by creating a triple bottom line for your enterprises.
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Have gained confidence and consistency in they way you make decisions about the human, natural and economic resources you manage.
Holistic Financial Planning and Enterprise Development
This course covers the basics you need to fine tune your holistic approach to management and allocation of money, resources, labor and time to achieve your best possible outcomes. Your fee includes 9 one-hour individual telephone sessions with your instructor, self-study workbook, worksheets, other learning materials and one follow up session. Please note that you must have completed our Holistic Decision Making and Planning course or other suitable an introduction to Holistic Management as a prerequisite. Upon completion of this course you will:
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Have completed the steps necessary to preparing a Holistic Management annual income and expense plan.
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Know how to use gross profit analysis, testing guidelines and other financial tools to determining how well your enterprises are performing.
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Understand how to prioritize allocation of money, time, labor and other resources based on your holistic goal.
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Develop strategies for adding value to products and services, improving efficiency and increasing the productivity of your enterprises.
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Gained skill in budgeting and cash flow management using the Holistic Management ® Framework to guide your decisions.
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Discover how to plan for a profit, not just hope for one.
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Learn how to respond to change and take advantage of opportunities to honor your quality of life and family's needs.
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Build confidence in your decision making as you complete the feedback loop with monitoring.
Note: This course does NOT include instruction or advice relating to financial investments, retirement, estate planning, accounting or taxes.
Holistic Grazing Planning and Biological Monitoring
This course covers the basics you need to fine tune your holistic approach to grazing planning and management. Your fee includes 6 one-hour individual telephone sessions with your instructor, self-study workbook, worksheets, other learning materials and two follow up sessions. Please note that you must have completed our Holistic Decision Making and Planning course or other suitable an introduction to Holistic Management as a prerequisite. In this course you will learn:
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How to plan to be in the right place, at the right time for the right reason with your animals.
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Use your animals as a tool to restore health and productivity to the land. This includes learning how to implement techniques such as mod grazing to achieve desired outcomes.
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Minimize overgrazing and maximize productivity.
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How to consider animal performance, available labor, carrying capacity, water placement, fencing, quality of life and family needs in your plans.
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Manage for wildlife, drought, floods, fire and hard winters.
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Implement a biosocial monitoring program for land health.
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Build confidence in your decision making as you complete the feedback loop with monitoring.
Mentoring for Holistic Managers
Are you looking for professional guidance in applying the Holistic Management Framework in your situation? Take advantage of Cindy's experience an network of resources. Enjoy the structure of a mentoring program developed specifically with you in mind. Sometimes having another person to bounce ideas off of, help with testing decisions, getting people on the same page with a goal, solve problems, and explore possibilities is just the ticket to making progress. Either our Holistic Decision Making and Planning course or a suitable introduction to holistic decision-making is a prerequisite for this service. Contact Cindy for details.
Don't
change your
life to learn. Let your education change
your life!
Enjoy the Flexibility of Distance Learning & Mentoring
If you are the kind of person who likes to achieve immediate results, our distance learning approach could be your answer.
What People Say
We are seeing all these possibilities
for our ranch for the first time with Holistic Financial Planning.
Wow, I am excited now where as before it was looking pretty bleak.
Roger D, Cattleman, NM.
“I have finished the first Module and I want
to congratulate you on being such a great teacher. The way you have
set up the workbook is very helpful to my style of learning,
in-depth and applied. The short information sketches are wonderfully
developed by the personal application questions. Thank you!”
Vicki W., Rancher, Oregon
All aspects of the farm continued to
improve 2009. We were able let go of some of our rented hay land.
Even though prices were down and our milk production was the same,
our profit increased!
Jon k., Organic Dairyman, NY
"Thank you SO MUCH for all you are doing for
these guys. Never has the mentoring been done so well before,
with grace, style, efficiency & quality!"
Kelly White, Education Director, The Savory Center,
ABQ NM
Cindy’s strength is her near constant availability. I feel I can call her at any time and if not available know she will call back first chance she gets. Her comprehension and skill in passing on her knowledge has also been a big plus for me. Because she is so familiar with the material, I know when I have a question she will have the answer for me immediately or know where I need to look for it. She has helped me with both learning the material and how to teach it to others.
Mike E., Field Manager,
Heifer International
YES! We also provide
in-person workshops, training programs, short overviews and
consulting services.
Click here for
more details
Holistic Management Educator
Cindy Dvergsten is a Holistic Management® Certified Educator trained by Allan Savory in the early 1990's and currently certified by Holistic Management International.
She has many years of personal and professional experience in family based agriculture, natural resource management, enterprise development and niche marketing.
A lifelong farmer, she has practical experience using Holstic Management on her own land, in her businesses and personal lifestyle.
Cindy has recently joined the Savory Institute as an accredited Associate Consultant and Educator and the SW Colorado Small Business Development Center as a business advisor and a NxLevel® Entrepreneurship program instructor. Cindy has also completed training in co-active coaching, and process facilitation.
Our Approach
We see sustainability as not an option, but a necessity for family farms to remain a viable part of our economy and society. A holistic approach puts quality of life, healthy land and financial well-being on equal footing.
No gimmicks. We respect you as being the expert in your unique situation. We help you focus on finding common sense ways to achieve your best possible outcomes.
Our services and products are based on real-life experiences, including our own, of what works to plan and manage for wealth and sustainability.
Hands-on, customized learning means you apply what you learn as you learn it. This is the most effective way for busy adults to incorporate the benefits of education into their lives and businesses.
Your success is ours. We offer follow up and other resources to help you continue to put whole farm and ranch planning and management strategies into practice.
Articles About
Holistic Management
Holistic Management Makes a Visual Difference at Arriola Sunshine Farm
Irrigation Water: Handle with Care
When The Thistle Wilts at Fat Sheep Farm
“We no longer face a physical frontier, but
a change in philosophy, a complete reversal of our attitude toward
the earth that might open the door to a golden era far more
resplendent than the old. Never in man’s long evolution have such
ideas arisen, never has he had a more dramatic choice or one that
could change his life more drastically.
.......We are finally beginning to realize
what is at stake.
It is
more than wilderness, beauty, or peace of mind; it is the survival
of man and his culture."
Sigured
F. Olson 1976 Reflections from the
North Country