Permaculture Convergence

We were really blessed to have been part of the first Permaculture Convergence in Portugal   from 24-26th October - in Fundao, just on our doorstep.

photo by Camara Municipal do Fundao

We had the privilege of being part of the helper team. For 3 days Fundao was filled with people passionate about Earth Care, People Care and Fair/Just Sharing. More than 300 people participated - and for all involved the weekend was definitely a success. 

click below to keep reading......

PorTUgUeSE PeRMaCULTuRE DeSIGn COurSE

Permaculture from ethics to practice.......

October has been the month for connecting to the wider world of Permaculture here in Portugal. We hosted our first Permaculture Design Course in Portuguese - with Silvia Floresta, Yassine Benderra, partners and kids. As if that was not enough -- we volunteered with the logistics of supporting the 1st national Permaculture Convergence in Portugal - here in our local market town of Fundao! But more about that in a following post.....now we will re-cap on final days of September.......

 

 

click below to keep reading.....

Time flies when you're havin' fun!

Since the last post the summer months have FLOWN by! We had plenty of visits, unexpected help, mud hut building and YES lots of delicious organic FRUIT AND VEGGIES! We have very much missed the company of our co-community dwellers - Marcia and Eric since July - but this has been a special summer nonetheless.....here are a few highlights. 

Click below to read more!

Formadores do PDC 11 a 19 de Outubro

Inscrições até 20 de Setembro!!!!

Faltam apenas 10 dias...

Para conhecerem mais sobre os formadores do nosso PDC, a decorrer de 11 a 19 de Outubro, leiam este artigo e sejam inspirados .

Teremos 4 formadores :
a Sílvia Floresta e Orlando Pereira,
o Yassine Benderra e Joana Costa

click "read more" para mais informações

11-19 Outubro PDC a 4 dias da CONVERGÊNCIA Nacional de PERMACULTURA

well, english speaking people, try "google translation" and have a laugh :-) This post will be in portuguese for the portuguese :-)...

 Então vamos lá... Acho que este é o primeiro "post" (alguém tem tradução para esta palavra, eh, eh) em português neste blog.

A não perder, PDC de 9 dias, 81horas a 350€, mesmo antes da Convergência Nacional.
Inscrições apenas até dia 20 de Setembro !!!

Surgiu esta oportunidade inesperada para receber aqui mais um Curso de Design em Permacultura, certificado internacionalmente, ministrado em Português,  (também pela primeira vez aqui no Monte dos Carvalhos), pela Sílvia Floresta, Orlando Pereira, Yassine Benderra e Joana Costa. 
Esta equipa, especializada em várias áreas irá proporcionar um curso ainda mais enriquecedor.

Tudo surgiu devido à Convergência Nacional a decorrer aqui no Fundão nos dias 24-26 Outubro. Como vamos estar envolvidos de qualquer forma, achamos que seria uma boa oportunidade ter um PDC (ou CDP) mesmo antes.

Assim, para quem quer aproveitar, de 11-19 de Outubro venham fazer parte de um CDP no Monte dos Carvalhos seguido de uma mega celebração na Convergência... muitos dias de imersão intensiva no universo da Permacultura, dias cheios de ensino, prática, comunhão, celebração e muito mais...


Mas, "cliquem" em baixo ("read more") para ver todos os detalhes.

Bem Haja !

Brevemente...PDC

Peço desculpa para quem leu o artigo sobre o PDC e agora não encontra... Mas tivemos que fazer certos acertos, entre nós e a equipa de formadores...

Muito Breve e teremos toda a informação actualizada sobre o curso de Design em Permacultura que se vai realizar aqui de 11 a 19 de Outubro. 5 dias antes do início da Convergência Nacional e apenas a 30 minutos de transporte...

Bem Haja pela compreensão

Barbara

Spring and Early Summer

Spring and early Summer are some of the most active seasons for us at the Mount of Oaks. It is time to harvest winter crops, herbs and flowers, create new beds in the garden, sow and plant, care and water, build, receive guests and friends. Have a look on what we have been doing the last weeks and stick to the end. I guess you will like to see our new presentation video made by Kevin McDonald during his 4 weeks visit.

Silence, Music and Shared Stories....

Welcome back to the Mount of Oaks!

This blog post is WELL overdue. Apologies!

 

Much has been happening and we have been neglecting to keep on top of recording it all.....we have been honored to have been visited by people who have made our last months really special. 

 

We have been busy in the garden, with construction and enjoying the daily life here on the land. Hope you enjoy the pictures and little description of the last months.....

click link below to read more........

Spring Time

Preparing the land

Spring is here with all it´s beauty. Birds are singing their wonderful tunes. Days are getting longer. Plants and trees are growing, flowers of different colours and smells are everywhere.


It´s also the time to get plants in the ground so they will be well established before the intensive summer sun comes. 


Some of the tasks in the last weeks were to prepare the ground, sowing seeds and planting seedlings, building a hügelkultur bed and setting up the irrigation system.


to read more see below

Caring for Trees

One of our goals is to care for the Land, and taking care of Trees is part of this big task. Last week the weather allowed us to prune our fruit and olive trees. Barbara explained us some general rules and we watched her in action but as each tree is different only practice can really train us in the art of pruning. We started by training with Oaks and Ash and then moved on to the Pears, Apricots, Apples, Olives and finally Orange trees.

 

Pruning Trees is good for them and gives us loads of organic material for the garden, huegelkultur beds and poles for the fences.
















 To see more pictures click below

Spring Silent re-Treats

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Invitation to all NATURE LOVERS

Want to come and experience communal silence with us?

 

We are opening the Mount of Oaks for special retreats into silence and simplicity this Spring.

 

 

16-20th April

 

14-18th May

 

18-22nd June

 

 

 For more details about the first of our retreats see below.....

Spring Clean

What is it about this time of year that has us itching to clean? To get all out of the cupboards and sort things out? To weed and clear paths, prepare ground for seeds? Perhaps it's the lengthening of days, the delightful bird song and smell of fruit trees in flower that awakens us I suppose.....

......on the Spring Equinox enjoy this picture packed post on the events of the life at the Mount of Oaks and beyond in the last few weeks. 

Here we are!

Hello dear Mount of Oaks friends, visitors, supporters and curious people! My name is Márcia Luz and I am living here now. I have been involved in the Mount of Oaks project since the beginning, as I am Bárbara's friend. I had visited the land a couple of times before I decided to move here in 2008. I lived here for 9 months before traveling to Mexico. Since then I traveled in Latin America, North America and Europe. I have been involved in social and environmental projects but I had the desire to live again in community and not just with other people. Coming back to Mount of Oaks was in a way easy, as I know the place and the lovely people, but in other ways it feels like a new adventure.

(Click below to read more of this exciting post)

Seasons change...All change!

Since the last post in JULY?! lots of change has made us grow, grieve, laugh, dance and be grateful....

 

 

Some changes we have been really excited about, others were difficult to handle. 

 

This is life, isn't it? Periods of highs, lows and something in between....our mission if you can call it is to remain faithful to the gentle steps of daily life - caring for ourselves, those around us, the animals, plants and trees.

 

We are looking at 2014 with optimism and open arms - especially as we have grown from 2 'two-leggeds' living at the Mount of Oaks to 4! WELCOME Marcia and Eric!

 

Read on for a brief summary of the news and see a few pictures.