Guide Training Immersion 4-Days
Italy, Emilia Romagna – Fattoria dell’Autosufficienza – June 2025
- June 11, 2025
- to
- June 15, 2025
- Enrollment Open
An opportunity to connect with other guides from other cohorts and learn from the shared experiences.
If you have completed at least module 4 and submitted the corresponding assignments, of the six-month remote Forest Therapy Guide Training you’re eligible to apply. Completion of this immersion and the six-month training fulfills the requirements for full Certification. When space is available, ANFT-trained guides who have completed training in any past cohort can also participate. Please note that priority goes to students who need to take the immersion to get fully certified. Therefore, when you apply, you’ll be put on a waitlist until three weeks before the start of the immersion.
A 4 day in-person gathering, with 1 or 2 trainers, and people from different cohorts where you will have the opportunity to apply what you learned, experience in-person forest therapy walks and simply connect and share experiences and stories with other guides.
In this immersion, you will:
- Get a hands on experience of what you learned
- Get to know trainers personally
- Get to know other guides and connect
- Learn from shared experiences with other guides
- Deepen into the practice
- Get the opportunity to ask specific questions that might come up
Once you complete this four-day immersion, your certification will be moved from provisional to permanent. You have two years after you complete the six month core training course to complete an immersion. It will help to give you a sense of the community of guides that has grown and is active throughout the world.
About the Venue
Fattoria dell'Autosufficienza
The International Center of Excellence AutoSufficienza was founded in 2009 following the purchase of abandoned land and ruins by A. Francesco Rosso and his family.
The production and reception centre is located in the municipality of Bagno di Romagna (FC), on the edge of the Casentinesi Forests National Park (UNESCO heritage). This is a wonderful place immersed in the uncontaminated nature of the Romagna Apennines, with a breathtaking view.
The owned land extends over 110 hectares of mountain land (550 – 1050 m above sea level). It consists of a single body with mainly woodland and pasture cover and approximately 15 hectares of cultivated arable land.
The mission is “To become the change we want to see in the world”, a place of inspiration for a lifestyle based on balance, health, resilience and sustainability.
Our bio-pool, inaugurated in 2022, is a freshwater body of water, built on 3 levels, which uses a delicate natural purification and oxygenation system carried out by bacteria, plants, gravels and vortices of moving water. An original relaxation area, available to guests of the rooms and studios, to read a book, meditate, sunbathe or cool off on hot days .
There are three pools, connected by 3 waterfalls and a small natural stream. The water lily pool near the octagonal temple reflects the light on the structure and hosts wonderful flowers. The second pool mainly hosts oxygenating plants to purify the water. Next comes the stream and then the larch wood bathing pool surrounded by wooden platforms and comfortable loungers where you can relax freely during your stay at the farmhouse.
Lodging
At the heart of the Self-Sufficiency Farm stands the historic Caselle di Paganico building, which was renovated in 2016 and is dedicated to Bio-Agriturismo.
Different lodging options on site ranging from €155 to €239 per person in a single room (all meals included) and €125 to €167 per person in a double room (all meals included)
People are welcome to stay offsite in Hotels in Bagno di Romagna, just a short drive away from the venue.
For people staying offsite, there is the possibility to purchase food onsite. (see meals plan)
Contact: Elena Cebotari +39 320 771 5377 for questions
Meals
Buffet Breakfast 15€
Buffet Lunch 22€
Buffet Dinner 22€
Transportation
Schedule Details
Arrival
Welcome Circle at 6:00 pm
Departure
Departure at noon
General Notes
Wifi Available
Tuition
The tuition for the four-day immersion is 495 (USD). Wait to pay until you are ready to register for a specific immersion. You will have two years from the completion of your core guide training to do the immersion.
Immersion tuition does not include transportation, lodging or camping fees and food. These expenses are separate from the program costs for the four-day immersion and are the responsibility of the trainee.
IMPORTANT: Please wait until you receive enrollment confirmation before booking travel and lodging.
Tuition figures are subject to change.
Training Team
- Amos Clifford
- Amos Clifford is the founder of the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs and author of the best selling Your Guide to Forest Bathing (Conari Press 2018). After studying Buddhist philosophy for over 20 years, in 2004 Amos founded Sky Creek Dharma Center in Chico, California, where he emphasized the importance of meditation practice in wild places. By 2008 he no longer identified as Buddhist, instead preferring the nameless and sometimes unnamable experiences he had in natural settings, and had been having since early childhood. This led to a deepening inquiry regarding relationships between humans and the more-than-human world. Between 2010 and 2012 Amos took his inquiry into wild places, and with the help of School of Lost Borders and Men of Spirit he had a year of intense wilderness practice, which led to the vision for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs. Inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku, Amos founded ANFT in 2012 and over the next two years developed what is now known as the "Standard Sequence" of the ANFT school of Forest Therapy. Amos holds a BS in Organization Development and an MA in Counseling from the University of San Francisco. He teaches about Forest Therapy and leads retreats internationally.
- Manuela Siegfried
- Manuela Siegfried was born and raised in this beautiful, bio diverse country called Costa Rica. Having a biologist as a father, Manuela experienced contact with nature as an intrinsic part of her life. This passion led her to work as a naturalist tourism guide and in the tourism industry for 15 over years. She came across the concept of Shinrin-Yoku and the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy and immediately felt inspired and related to it. Manuela was trained and certified in 2018 and has been guiding very actively since then. As a trainer she has trained and mentored people from all over the world. She enjoys the underwater world, scuba diving, freediving, camping and long hikes in remote wilderness areas. Manuela offers forest therapy walk for an addiction rehabilitation Center and also works in close collaboration with different wellness retreats and hotels. She has also been successfully offering retreats of various duration, that include forest therapy and other modalities as a way to support people in their holistic wellbeing. Currently she is the Training Director for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy.
Certification Pathway
STEP 1
6-Month Remote Training
You will start with a 6-month remote training, covering the content on live calls with the support of your trainers, fellow students, a very user friendly learning platform, many self exploration and nature connection activities that are done outside. After completing this training you get a provisional certification as a Certified Forest Therapy Guide. To view the available trainings scroll down
STEP 2
4-Day In-Person Immersion
After completing module 4 you can apply to attend a 4-day in-person immersion, for hands on forest therapy guiding experience with trainers and fellow students. You have two years time to complete this step.
STEP 3
Get Your Certification
After completing the 6-month remote training and the 4-day in- person immersion, you will receive your permanent certification as an ANFT Certified Forest Therapy Guide and be part of the largest Forest Therapy Guide Community Worldwide.