Verge Permaculture Founders
Even starting out as engineers in Calgary’s oil fields, Rob Avis and his wife and business partner Michelle Avis knew their careers lay in creating solutions that would heal the land….and since leaving the oil fields in 2008 they reinvented themselves in a way many professionals only dream of doing.
Rob and Michelle launched Verge Permaculture, an internationally-recognized and award-winning regenerative design, consulting, and education center. Verge has led the next wave of permaculture education, teaching homesteaders how to live abundantly in harmony with nature, and training career-changing professionals how to build successful businesses combining technology with earth science and eco-entrepreneurism.
With a background in engineering, they offer a depth of practical expertise in building science and appropriate technology (solar, wind, combined heat & power), as well as rainwater harvesting, agro-ecology, ecosystem engineering, soil regeneration and onsite wastewater treatment / septic design.
Rob and Michelle have studied regenerative design internationally, interning at the pioneering Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in Denmark; researching sustainable farms, eco villages, and renewable energy installations from Calgary to Latin America; and completing three permaculture certifications in the US, Australia and Canada. Rob later spent three months volunteering at the Australian Permaculture Research Institute and became one of its first certified teachers. Since then, he and Michelle have visited many of the world’s leading permaculture sites, and brought many internationally-known teachers to present at Verge.
With ongoing training and practice in dozens of sustainable technologies ranging from natural building materials to greywater systems, wind turbines to soil and wetland restoration, they’ve converted their urban Calgary home into a living permaculture project complete with a front-yard food forest, water-harvesting features, passive solar greenhouse, and energy retrofits on the house.
Since launching Verge, they’ve helped more than 15000 students and a growing number of clients design and/or create integrated systems for shelter, energy, water, waste and food, all while supporting local economy and regenerating the land.
They have earned testimonials from permaculture’s bestselling author Toby Hemenway, dryland-restoration guru Craig Sponholtz, and “beyond-organic farming” superstar Joel Salatin among others. Leading permaculture designer/trainer Geoff Lawton calls Verge “one of North America’s premier permaculture design and education companies!”.
In 2019, Rob and Michelle moved to a 65-hectare [160-acre] wooded property in central Alberta, Canada, and they now spend most of their free time putting the into practice what they teach while building their own permaculture property. In 2023 Verge merged with 5thWorld, an organization co-founded by Rob, that is forging the future of regenerative living by exploring how permaculture and Web3 combine to create a harmonious relationship between humanity, technology, and nature.
Rob finds balance in his life by spending free time outdoors with his wife and two children, and by devoting time to his meditation practice. In his odd extra moments, he can be found tinkering in his shop, cooking up a new recipe in the kitchen, picking out chords on his new guitar….or jotting down notes on his latest entrepreneurial idea.
Michelle is focusing her time and energy primarily on the couple’s two young children, while growing microgreens, sprouts, herbs & veggies in the Verge greenhouse and gardens.
The Verge Team
Our Teaching Team
When you join a Verge course you’ll be mentored by some of the leading voices in permaculture. Our instructors have included Joel Salatin, Toby Hemenway, Stefan Sobkowiak, Dan Chiras and more. Through our events and workshops we’ve welcomed guest instructors from across the word including Geoff Lawton, Starhawk, Morag Gamble, Dr. Elaine Ingham, Rhamis Kent, Mark Shepard, Richard Perkins, John D. Liu, Graham Bell and many more. Our Permaculture Design teaching team includes: