Marissa Weitzman

Marissa is fascinated by regenerative agriculture, natural building, ecology and anthropology.  Her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science led her to study her inner and outer landscapes in Guatemala where she pursued a PDC from the Institute of Mesoamerican Permaculture (IMAP) and a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training.  For the last 3 years, Marissa was a Garden and Sustainability Educator at Alta Vista School in San Francisco. There, she facilitated hands-on projects with her students including a living roof, earth benches, seed library, and a natural built playground structure.  It brings her a lot of joy to participate and inspire others to be involved in the seed-to-table process because it cultivates a strong relationship with the earth’s cycles. 

Not only does Marissa enjoy growing plants, but she also is a creative flavor wizard in the kitchen and loves to cook, bake, ferment and make chocolate for her community! She discovered her interest in building when she used power tools for the first time at AVS and felt empowered to build with available resources, rather than buy conventional products.   

Additionally, Marissa has visited many eco-villages and sustainable demonstration centers around the world, which has inspired her to live a regenerative lifestyle at Rancho Mastal.  During her apprenticeship, she intends to soak up knowledge and develop skills in farming for small scale production, natural building, permaculture design, seed saving, and managing a sustainability education center because she want to offer these skills to regenerative land-based projects.