Dharma U envisions an educational institution dedicated to fostering an ecocentric, egalitarian paradigm as a way to address global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and unsustainable economic systems. Its mission centers on cultivating ecoliteracy, social responsibility, and sustainable living practices through a hands-on, community-based model that integrates education with real-world application. The school emphasizes mindfulness, cooperation, and interconnectedness, seeking to replace competitive frameworks with collaborative, regenerative approaches to learning, work, and community life.

Author Joshua Smith has been designing and installing permaculture and agroecological projects that mimic nature for forty years. He has also taught permaculature throughout the west, including having taught with Bill Mollison. Joshua helped start Seeds of Change, one of the first all organic seed companies in the United States. He worked as a permaculture designer for the Sol y Sombra Foundation in Santa Fe, New Mexico and for the Malachite Farm School in Gardner, Colorado. He was the director of permaculture and ecoforestry at Earth Star Farm in Boulder, Colorado and was a permaculture designinstructor at Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado. Joshua is also the author of Botanical Treasures: Multi-use Plants for Renewable Resources and a Nature-based Economy.