Resume of the Permaculture Course in March

Finally I'm having the time to write about the Permaculture course...even though I did write a bit on my blog ...

sorry about that, but after all the work and preparations, I needed a little break afterwards and I was not so fond of siting in front of a computer...

Once again the course was brilliant... the people whom I got to meet are amazing and we had really good times together...

either in the teachings,

around the table during meals,

chopping vegetables,watching mind-blowing documentaries and

hanging out around the fireplace at night...lots of talented musicians I have to say ... It was really nice !!!

I missed a bit of the social aspect because I was also running around doing other things, and in the evenings I was just ready for an early sleep...

I also had to take Christian to the hospital...Oops...he was swinging with a rope on one of our tall Cork tree and hit a rock with his knee... he actually moved the rock out of its place...Ouch!!! he was more excited with it than disturbed... he wouldn't stop taking pictures in the hospital...the nurse was nice too...it looked painful though...

I had really good times with everyone... And it was lovely to be with Lesley again... the more I know her , the more I have to say - She's amazing !!! And all of us here in Portugal ought to be grateful for her teaching and training so many of us will be the future teachers and practitioners of Permaculture here.

It was nice to see the ones I already knew, but most of them I didn't know... so different and interesting people... It's encouraging to see how the portuguese are really interested and involved in permaculture projects, or simply awakening to see the world with different eyes...and willing to do something about it...

The weather was not so bad, but we did have some rain and one day the wind was really annoying...
But everyone was fine with it... at least I didn't hear many complaints...anyway, what could we do?! We are all here to learn how to live with the natural elements, right?

I have to say that I was rubbish at taking pictures... I just forgot about it completely...

If those who were at the course would like to leave a comment with your perspective on it, it would be great...
Thank you all ... I really enjoyed it !!!

getting ready to make the design!!!

preparing the mulch bed... even when the rain was threatening ...

another group preparing for the design...

...and another group...

a nice capture while I was filling up the water containers at the spring...

one of many nice evenings around the fire... I missed most of them, but the ones I managed to be present I really enjoyed...

first group presenting their design... Kin, Filipa and Ana...

really cool structures...

second group...Christian, Hilko, Sonia and Nina...

Each one explaining different details...

after each group presented their design we would all give our opinion... one thing we liked, and one thing we would make different (no negative opinions here...I like that )

After lunch the sillyness came...really fun!!! the sun helped the mood !!!


the third group...Silvia, Valter and Susi...

nice ideas... lots of recycling bins 

and the final group... Ulli, Catarina e Irene...

lots of ideas for the garden and all sorts of plants´ combinations.

sunday night, we all went to the village to have dinner... it was really fun...

Kin brought the guitar and played some nice tunes... we even had a dance hall

Anyway, it was a really pleasant week for all of us I believe... more seeds spread... more hope to see what will come out of it ... I'm already looking forward to the next one in August... 

and the Strawbale workshop, very soon, from the 27th of MAY to the 3rd of June...

LAST PREPARATIONS ...

Soon we'll have around 20 people coming for the Permaculture design course and we still have some last preparations to be done... 

So far all is going well... we finally have hot water coming out of the solar water heater, but I'm still making sure every junction is well sealed ... here's the picture of the final look of the solar heater, but you can see the last details ...





the box finally finished and the inlet and outlet pipes in place...

making the edges with lime for the glass to lay on...and putting a wooden structure all around every edge...

checking how the drum would fit inside and making a wooden structure for it...

And finally ... putting the insulation , fitting the drum, making the last pipe connections , and at last laying the glass on top, sealed with silicone... we just tried it out to check if there were any leaks inside before sealing...and for our amazement, the water does get very hot ...

Wow, warm showers from now on... it was a lot of work and I could learn and experience working with different materials and tools...but it was fun and definitely rewarding !!!
Now I just need to plaster it well with lime... and I have to finish the last connections to the shower place ...

speaking about it, here it is... it has been the hard and creative work of Joe who is visiting us from Germany...he's leaving today, and it was another angel coming at the right time... Thanks Joe!!!

here he is , around with the lime and sand ...

digging, digging, digging... in order to bury the pipes from the solar heater and cold water drum into the shower and bath place...

Lyna is working on the creative details which makes the place more pleasant...

all the walls from the bath and shower place are made with recycled pallets... which gives lots of room for creativity in order to make it look a bit nicer... it's becoming really beautiful and cute I have to say...

We still have a long and hard working week ahead before the course as we need a big shelter for it... I got a 10x8 meters tarp, and that would make a pretty big shelter... so, we need to go cut some mimosa trees for the structure...

I believe it will all be fine... I can't wait for next week !!!

And here's Muxima enjoying her restful sunday morning... I couldn't help but take this picture :-)

Ok, now I go for a nice warm bath :-)

Despite the rain... we got some progress in our work...

Bonanza after the rain, right? I'm looking forward to that...

Do you notice in the picture that our pond is overflowing? 

the smaller one below is also overflowing...and there's water coming out from the ground in our kitchen because the soil is super saturated with water...

It's been 3 weeks now with rain... some little brakes, but not enough... I have to be honest that we are getting a bit tired, and longing for some nice sunny days... I know many people at the moment are suffering serious damages and losses because of the weather, so I don't even want to complain... we're thankful, but tired...

Especially when I have in mind that the permaculture course starts in 2 weeks and I still have some things I'd like to finish... Around 20 people will be coming to stay for 9 days, so I'd like to offer the best conditions possible under the circumstances...

we were a bit stuck for a few days because the rain destroyed the only public road that gives access to our land...but thank God for angels... Miguel and Rute passed by for a short visit and they had a jeep that could easily pull our van out of the land (so we could go shopping for food for instance or buy the materials we need for building)... a neighbour came with a tractor and spent the day helping Willi remove his van from the road which literally collapsed...and another time that Willi went out with our van to get some stones to fix the road, he got badly stuck as well... he came to the land so I could go help him, and as we got there, some other angels have already taken the van from the hole... Thank God for Provision!!!

despite the rain, we kept working as we could...

Willi fixing our entry road below... carrying tons of stones (and I mean literally)...he's the kind of guy that refuses to see problems... he knows there are solutions... I'm so thankful for all his help and volunteer heart...

I also kept myself busy...between the solar heater (in not so rainy days) and the shower place (in heavy rainy days)... this friday I was also carrying stones to fill the "canions" on our track... and digging trenches for the water to run to the sides... I got soaked wet, but it was also fun ...

 

here is another angel, Joe, who came from Germany to help us for 2 weeks...

he's doing amazing work at the shower place... an amazing person to get to know as well...
Lyna keeps doing an amazing job in the kitchen, cooking beautiful and tasty food everyday for all of us... it feels like family again... she also helps here and there, but it's hard at the moment with Nolan...he needs attention..and he deserves it !!!

this is my first experience with blocks and cement...I have to say that is not my favorite option, but that's what works best for the job... it's not looking so bad so far...

O.k, and now I'm out, because I'm tired of being in front of this computer 

Have a PEACEFUL week...

Second PERMACULTURE Design Course...

Just to let you all know that the second PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE this year is confirmed...

It will be from the 28th August to the 5th September...

Just a little advice... this one that is about to start got fully booked quite quickly and I keep receiving e.mails of people who would like to take part in it...that's why I decided to make a second one this year... 

this is the only time it's possible both for me and for Lesley who's going to lecture it...

SO, DON'T TAKE SO LONG to confirm your presence, or you might miss it ...

Fixing the road ...

We keep being busy here...Now Willi is fixing our entry road below, cuz it keeps raining a lot... and I'm still busy with plumbing...Next week I'll start the solar water heater and I'll let you know more about it all...
As I'm also writing in my personal blog, so, if you don't mind, just click here for last week's review...
Have a great week yourself :-)
PEACE

Plumbing time...

Last week I started to fix the irrigation system...actually, making it new and more suitable for our needs...(this is just the first stage of the bigger picture)
I went to buy all the material I needed and I got all excited with the junctions and connections I had to play with..eh, eh...it's not an easy job, but definitely fun... It has been raining and even snowing again, so I got to work either in the bus or in the washing station...



actually, I used the weather as a good excuse to finally make the washing station properly... it needs a bit of flexibility to put our first plans aside and do other things when the rain comes... or other things turn into priorities...the cold is no problem for me as I find it a very good way to warm up during the day :-) ...
For those who are interested, this irrigation system is not such a complicated thing... I'm using a pump on our top terrace pond, and gravity to flow the water down... I'm using 55 gallon/200 liter standard metal drums ( those you find in scrap yards or buy it for 5E) to store the water, as we haven't got enough money to build proper tanks yet (I've spent enough just on the plumbing material and some tools I missed)... but these drums have been doing the job pretty well :-) ...
So, I'm putting 2 of these drums on the top level (using the pump), to use in the washing dishes station next to the house...I've put there 2 taps, one for the dishes, and other for the garden hose...
The other 2 will be on the kitchen level, above the bath house (high enough for some pressure), which will be filled by gravity alone...one of these 2 will be higher than the other, and the lower one will be inside a south facing insulated box and used as a solar water heater...
This will be the greatest challenge of the whole system, but I'll let you know how it worked out... probably at the end of next week...I do hope it works :-)...

Anyway, here goes some more pictures with few comments to give you a glimpse of last week...

the two water drums on the top layer so we have more pressure for the washing dishes station and garden...

the fun work on its place :-)

Nolan on the new washing station :-)

Lyna's cooking... It's been so nice to be living with her, and also really nice to have someone who likes cooking with so much LOVE... the beauty of living in community and appreciate each one's role...each one is so precious and unique, enabling us all to live in harmony...and get things done for the benefit of all...

Willi is also back to stay with us for a month or so... so nice to see him again...he's an unique character too...as always, he's in action (he's our Mcgiver, for those who remember the series, eh, eh)...here, fixing my car that was having a problem with the starter...

And he's also fixing our road (not just temporarily, so we hope), cuz it started to rain again, and it was impossible to go up with his van/home...it's been already a week of rain, and at least one more week is to come...it has been even snowing again...the mountains around us are filled with beautiful white spots throughout its landscape...

But still, I don't complain cuz I know how much the land needs this water to stand the hot summer...this is our pond on the top terrace...for those who 've seen it in the summer or even last year, you can tell how much it's raised...cool !!!

Mission almost accomplished...

The second part of the bath roof is almost done... a few more Spanish brooms ("giestas") and it will be done... I'm not sure if tomorrow or tuesday because it's supposed to rain...

Anyway, here are some pictures of last week´s progress... I had fun, and Lyna cut all the Spanish Brum, which made it much easier on the last day to cover it...

the first thing I had to do was go to the woods and cut some straight Mimosas for the roof structure...then take all the bark away so they are clean and smooth...it's also harder for the wood worms to "attack" it ...

After finding the best way to lay the "not quite straight" poles I then laid these ones here to strengthen the whole structure, and divide the weight of the boards which would go on top...

Then the boards, straight enough, and enough inclination to let the water run down to the other roof...

It was looking cute already...but the hardest work was the sawing of each end of the boards... my back got a bit sore...I couldn't find a good position to do it...

Then, two layers of normal black plastic which I nailed with the laths creating a frame all around it...oh, except the bottom, where the water goes down...

I added an extra board at the end side for more protection from the sun (that's what would destroy the plastic)

And finally the laying of the Spanish Broom...I love this work...

Having Lyna picking it all up during the week made the work quite easy...still a bit delicate as I need to go on socks to the roof so I don't make any single hole on the plastic... (by the way, I wouldn't need the plastic if the roof had more inclination, but that would be harder for me... notice I only have a ladder to go up the roof, and it´s not that long)

We couldn't finish it before saturday evening, as we ran out of brooms, and it was getting too dark for me to do it... anyway... we chose to rest today...

shantii, shantii...there is time for everything 

so, today I made a nice bath instead...enjoying and contemplating the work of the week :-)

all the details of the bath house are not done yet, but I'll save it for later cuz there are other priorities ahead... next week I want to start fixing and improving the irrigation system so we have taps with pressure for the dish washing and bath house...

And here's a nice one of Nolan...the one man show, "playing" the guitar and a sort of instrument that sounds like a trumpet... he's imitating his mom Lyna...actually he's in a funny stage of imitating and trying out everything (testing our patience as well)... the other day he picked a hammer and went right to the place I had the nails, then he was putting one in the corner of his mouth ( the way he sees me doing)...of course I was watching... and laughed... that's not really a safe "toy" for kids to play with :-)... he does try to help though :-)...
O.K, have a good week all of you... I'm ready for dinner and bed now... yeh, it's only 7pm as I write this, but that's the rhythm I have here...before 7am I'm already waking up and enjoying the sun rising :-)