Your address will show here +12 34 56 78
Courses and Events

Last week we had the amazing opportunity to receive a very interesting and practical training on sociocracy and peacemaking, two great tools for running non-hierarchical organizations as well as for good communication and consent decision-making within communities. Deborah and Root, former managing director and education manager of the Newbold Trust, hosted the workshop and shared their valuable experience of community living with us.

Even though Sunseed had already been benefiting from the implementation of sociocratic principles, learning more about them and receiving some practical training is a way of making our community even more socially sustainable. Since it gives a structural base for ever-changing groups, sociocracy fits particularly well at Sunseed, which frequently sees people coming and going. By introducing new policies on interpersonal communication, decision-making, roles, feedbacks, peace and conflict resolution, we want to ensure an enjoyable as well as effective functioning of the project.

On this 2-day course, we were able to bring up recurrent issues and concerns, to show our appreciation for each other and to start thinking about what we could be doing even better in terms of communication. We can now practice and put into place the ideas and tools we were given, especially regarding trust building, peace designing and role modeling and reviewing.

Taking the course together, practicing gratitude and sharing ideas – as well as ending the weekend on a lighter, partying note – seem to have developed more empathy and social cohesion among us. A beautiful experience in the moment, which will hopefully be perpetuated.

Some impressions from the participants:

“Root and Deborah form an amazing duo, who complete each other’s information. Their openness and the examples given from their own life experience helped break the ice and encourage us to speak up.”

Margrit, Organic Gardens Assistant

“These two days allowed us to sharp our tools, which should result in putting less effort in work and get better results thanks to the use of non-violent communication components.”

Atreyu, Long Term Volunteer

“This course set a stepping stone in our process of growing as a community. Deborah and Root facilitated the sessions in a way that made the decision-making both effective and fun, while the peace-making tools they offered boosted our self-trust as individuals and as a group.”

Dario, Communication Coordinator

“I believe Sociocracy can lead to more peace within communities, especially when many different cultures and nationalities are represented. It can offer us a ‘being a family’ feeling.”

François, Long Term Volunteer

“Thanks to this course and the teachers sharing their own experience, we are able to separate a bit from our work constraints and be with each other in a more personal way. We learnt how to communicate calmly and with respect, as well as improving our personal well-being. I can see how this can also be beneficial for future participants in our project.”

Jenny, Office Assistant

“What an inspiring, empowering, and energizing hands-on course! A true gift to our community, carefully adjusted to our specific needs, and bringing smiles to everyone’s faces. Both a sense of individual empowerment and of common purpose were fostered, generating a joyful
motivation to apply these tools in our community life here.”

Armelle, Facilitation Coordinator

1

Courses and Events

Last week our village has been transformed by a big event that brought together the different projects based here and many other people for the defense of water and our ecosystem. As we have been denouncing in the past years, the fresh water spring of the Río Aguas is getting every year dryer because of a super-intensive plantation of olive trees that takes most of its water from the aquifer.

We organized this day to invite everybody in the surrounding to come and see with their eyes the unicity of this place and the beauty of the hundreds of species that survive in the middle of the desert thanks to this scarce resource.

We would like to thank all the people that shared with us this beautiful time and all that helped in its organisation. We were very happy to meet many local people who took this chance to come to Los Molinos maybe for the first time. Many came from Almeria and some even from Murcia, and we hope to welcome them again in this amazing landscape.

If you want to be updated about the campaign against the ecocide in Los Molinos del Río Aguas, visit the campaign’s facebook page.

0

Courses and Events

As a part of our living and learning together, there are moments in Sunseed when we gather to share ideas and knowledge about one topic that could be of general interest. We call it seminar and yesterday we had the pleasure of listening to Lizzie, our sustainable living coordinator, introducing the basic concepts of food sovereignty.
As a topic it may seem quite abstract, but in fact it is stricly related to what we do everyday growing our own food and building networks with local farmers. Maybe for this reason we were quite a lot sharing our ideas in the terrace behind the main house.

Lizzie told us that as a concept, food sovereignty was first framed
 by
 the international
 peasant movement La Via Campesina at the World Food Summit in 1996, and it is rooted in the ongoing global struggles over control of food, land, water, and livelihoods. Food sovereignty is a movement growing from the bottom up, from the farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples and landless workers most impacted by global hunger and poverty. Food sovereignty goes beyond ensuring that people have enough food to meet their physical needs. It asserts that people 
must reclaim their power in the food system by rebuilding the relationships between people and the land, and between food providers and those
 who
 eat.

“Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations.”

Declaration of Nyéléni, the first global forum on food sovereignty, Mali, 2007

Food sovereignty is based on four principles:

  • To empower the food providers, giving them rights and access to land and combatting indecent labor conditions
  • To localize food systems, bringing providers and consumers close together and respecting the right of food providers to have control over their land, seed and water against privatisation
  • To value traditional knowledge and skills, that have been passed down over generations for sustainable food production free from technologies that undermine health and well-being
  • To work with nature, focusing on production and harvesting methods that maximize the contribution of ecosystems, avoid costly and toxic inputs and improve the resiliency of local food systems in the face of climate change.

Finally, Lizzie invited us to pay attention to all the processes that bring food on our table and to acknowledge them not treating food as a commodity. She also encouraged us to be aware of local plants and herbs and to use the as medicines. It could be easy to find meaning and happiness living simply in harmony with nature.

0

Communication and Education, Courses and Events

Last week a group of 68 geography students from the Liverpool John Moores University spent an afternoon with us at Sunseed. They had the chance to visit the place where we live and to see how our community is living sustainably.

They walked the path that runs along our irrigation line and met the people who are working to restore it after the storm, allowing them to understand how important it is for the existence of our village. They also saw how the ram pump works: this system provides the whole village with running water without using any energy apart from gravity.

The students also shared a nice tea break with us and visited our gardens and the arboretum, a nursery where local plants are grown to repopulate the dry slopes around us. Here is where we investigate the interactions between the local flora and different species of fungus that can help it to face adverse climatic conditions. Other aspects they had the chance to discover were our waste water system and our solar panels.

Most of the visitors were impressed by the fact that such a lively community is able to live off-grid in this impressive and hard landscape. For us this was a grat opportunity to get all the team and volunteers together to welcome them and to share the valuable learnings we have here.

Sunseed, as an educational center, welcomes visits from schools, universities and individuals interested in learning from our experience of more than 30 years living sustainably in a semi-arid region. If you are interested in our activities, please contact us!

0

Courses and Events, Eco Construction

Dates

13th – 26th November 2016

Arrival Sunday 13th 5pm

Departure Saturday 26th 10am

15th – 28th January 2017

Arrival Sunday 15th 5pm

Departure Saturday 28th 10am

About the courses

The “10 days intensive cob building course” is a hands-on practical learning experience with small theoretical sessions. During the course we are going to build a small shed out of cob – from the foundations to the roof.

You will learn how to make a perfect cob mix, how to build with cob, how to build window and door frames, how to build a roof and how to give the walls a nice finishing.

The courses takes place in the Sunseed Education Centre on Sustainable Living within the frame of the Eco-Construction Department. Sunseed has been an education centre since 1986 and is based in Los Molinos del Rio Aguas, a small off-grid village in Andalucia in southern Spain, one hour from Almeria.

During the course you will learn about:

  • the history of cob building;
  • why use cob? Its benefits;
  • testing soil;
  • site and design;
  • the ideal cob mix;
  • building with cob;
  • building foundations;
  • building the roof;
  • inserting doors and windows;
  • natural plastering;
  • making your own tools.

Programme

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
Tour of Sunseed Presentation about Cob Trench and foundation Theory and practice Soil test and suitability Tools Mixing Cob Building walls Building walls Door frame Building walls Inserting glass bottles
Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10
Building Walls Inserting Windows Inserting glass bottles Making the roof Making the roof Inserting niches Rendering Inserting niches Rendering Closing up and feedback

About the instructor

Michael Hart is the Eco Construction coordinator in Sunseed and will be the main instructor for the course.

Location

Sunseed is an education centre for sustainable living and will provide the structure and spaces for the retreats. With a view to educate on low impact lifestyles, Sunseed focuses on Eco-Construction, Organic Gardening, Drylands management, Appropriate Technology and Sustainable Living.

Sunseed is located in a small village, Los Molinos del Rio Aguas, in Southern Andalucia, Spain. Abandoned during the rural exodus of the 1950s and 60s, Los Molinos has experienced a vibrant resurgence since the 1980s and is the hub of numerous ecological and progressive organisations including Sunseed Desert Technology, Cultura de la Tierra and Pita Escuela.

The stunning arid landscape that sourounds Los Molinos and its location in a lush oasis in the middle of the desert provide the opportunity for quiet contemplation and observation of nature.

You could make the most of your trip by combining it with some time off to explore the area and visit the nature reserve Cabo de Gata, the beaches along the Costa del Sol or drive up to the mountain range of Las Alpujarras or the Sierra Nevada.

The closest airports are Almeria (1 hour) and Murcia (1,5 hours) and Granada (2 hours).

Prices

10 day cob building 12 days, 13 nights €495

Prices include all materials and instructions, basic accommodation and three meals per day (delicious, local and vegetarian).

Accomodation

Sleeping facilities will be in dormitories, with access to toilets, showers and electricity.

What to bring

  • ecological body care products
  • flashlight/torch
  • comfortable shoes
  • a swimming suit for the natural pool
  • earplugs
  • raingear

How to get to Sunseed

Click here.

For bookings, questions or more information

Email: michaelhart86@hotmail.com

Tel: +34 9511 90263

0

Courses and Events

Last weekend, Sunseed set up its stand in the NGO corner of Etnosur festival. They were a couple of sunseeders on the event, all ready to give a hand on the stand. From Friday until Sunday, it was then possible to make your own smoothie, blending fresh fruits with Sunseed’s famous “bicy-batidora”.  Eventually, a lot of people approached our stand to ride our bicycle-blender, which is a nice introduction about Sunseed’s vision of sustainable technologies.

DSCN0152

But we also brought our natural homemade products : toothpaste powder, soap , calendula moisturizer cream or shampoo made and used in our project by the volunteers.

During the weekend, some creative activities even took place in Sunseed stand : our resourceful sunseeders managed to make a sign for the stand out of recycled carb boards. Thanks to sunseeders’ contribution, we also started to offer  body-painting and henna drawings to our visitors.

DSCN0104

Our participation to Etnosur 2016 turned out to be a good opportunity to advertize more about Sunseed’s project among the community of people living in Spain as well as exchange with other projects.

0

Courses and Events

Nestled deep in the heart of the Andalusian mountains, in the bustling Los Molinos ecovillage we are gifted with a weekend of calm and tranquillity, of looking deep within and also making a profound connection with others and the natural world that surrounds us. On the third weekend in July, this came in the form of the Sunseed meditation retreat, with the theme of ‘being at ease.’

FullSizeRender-26

We began on a Friday evening, in the candlelit sanctuary of the Casa Rosa, with a round of introductions and a simple breathing exercise to start off. The weekend continued with an engaging mix of talks, meditations and mindful walks in nature, gently guided by Siggy’s wealth of practice and experience on the subject.

I found my own meditation practice challenged by the Hindu and Buddhist approaches that we learned, much more rooted in sitting in complete stillness than I’m used to! It’s a mark of great discipline I think to be fully relaxed and rooted in the earth with nothing to guide you but your breath. All the participants, from many walks of life, benefited in some way from this immersion in deep silence and introspection.

meditation retreat

We learned a range of meditation techniques, including Indian mudras (hand positions) to embody different emotions, such as compassion and loving kindness. We also learned the Feldenkrais, Yoga Nidra and Pranayama techniques, all of which focus on deep breathing and connecting with our bodies in a way we rarely do in everyday life.

We talked about using our voices and bodies to release stress and trauma that can build up, and can be painful but is necessary for achieving our goal of ‘being at ease.’ Siggy made the comparison to the way that animals go through an extraordinary amount of trauma but don’t show traumatic symptoms unless they are held in captivity or attacked by humans. They release this trauma alone through their bodies, shaking violently and feeling it completely for as long as they need to, then going back to their normal lives. We find many ways of burying trauma and pain, via a hundred different distractions in the form of substances or processes, but to truly be at ease, it must be physically felt and then released. We did this through a ‘talking and listening’ exercise, listening to a partner describe who they are without stopping for five minutes, and without reacting in any way. This kind of ‘automatic talking’, paired with simply being with ourselves, brought up issues in many of us things we might have buried, to deal with in a safe and embracing environment.

evening meditation

My favourite gifts of this course though, were the evening sessions on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we went down to the beautiful stone labyrinth and sat in a circle in the candlelit twilight, and created our own ‘symphony’ of sounds, whatever came to us in the moment. The result was a sometimes amusing, sometimes intriguing combination of sounds. Eventually we trailed off into silence, honoured by the flickering candles and bright moonlight lighting our circle.

On Sunday evening we went up to the roof terrace of the Mirador and stargazed, watching as more and more stars appeared in the darkening dusk. It also became an impromptu cloud spotting, as the bright moonlight lit up the passing clouds that rarely appear this time of year in Los Molinos, and satellite and plane spotting too! It was a treasured chance for the mostly city-bound attendees to connect with our unpolluted night sky.

shooting star watching

We finished with a check-in circle and final meditation on the Monday morning, and finally our goodbyes, met with smiles and tears all round. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to examine and expand my own practice, but mostly to have shared this space so intimately with such wonderful people. I look forward to attending another of Siggy’s retreats in the future!

By EVS volunteer Sophie

If this has piqued your interest, check out details of our next retreats here.

candle light meditation
2

Appropriate Technology, Courses and Events

El último fin de semana de 16-17 de abril hemos llevado a cabo un taller de Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales por Fitodepuración, facilitado entre los coordinadores de Sunseed y el colectivo Paissano, amigos de Sunseed apasionados por temas de tratamiento y potabilización de agua. Hemos invitado a participar tanto a lxs voluntarixs de Sunseed como personas de la zona interesadas en aprender cómo construir un sistema ecológico de tratamiento de aguas residuales casero y de bajo costo. Después de cubrir los gastos básicos de comida y alojamiento el aporte económico ha sido voluntario.

Entre unos 10 participantes del curso emprendimos un proyecto práctico de mejorar la última etapa de nuestro sistema de aguas y embellecer el espacio alrededor del camino a la famosa poza de Los Molinos. ¡Construimos un estanque nuevo!

Pond 1

Los estanques están habitualmente instalados como la última etapa de sistemas de tratamiento de agua con humedales artificiales (reed beds). Sirven tanto para almacenar el agua depurada con fin de aprovecharla para riego, como para crear un hábitat natural de fauna y flora, así aumentando la biodiversidad del entorno. Nuestro estanque consiste de una zona de infiltración con grava (sembrada con plantas depuradoras – macrofitas) y zona profunda dónde en futuro queremos plantar macrofitas flotantes como lentejilla de agua o nenúfares. Cuenta con 1200 litros de almacenamiento y un desagüe instalado para regar una huerta/jardín ejemplo en el futuro. El diseño del jardín se realizará durante el Curso de Diseño en Permacultura en Sunseed (1-15 de mayo 2016).

Etapas de construcción

Digging pond
Pond mud

Primero lo primero, tuvimos que limpiar la zona de construcción, anteriormente ocupada por un estanque fantasma, cual con tiempo se había llenado con barro y ha sido apoderad de la omnipresente caña. Los rizomas de caña habían perforado la capa impermeabilizante de plástico, cual dejó de cumplir su función.  

Limpiando la zona del viejo estanque, mucho barro y rizomas de caña…

Después de cavar dimos la forma al estanque nuevo, a través de un proceso de diseño interactivo entre todxs llegamos al consenso de construir una isleta en medio y así naturalmente dar al estanque una pendiente de bajada alrededor de ella. Compactamos el fondo e instalamos el tubo de desagüe.

Installing overflow tube

Instalación del tubo de desagüe.

Impermeabilizamos el estanque con EPDM, un material resistente y flexible. Alrededor colocamos piedras y construimos un pequeño muro seco de ellas para proteger ante la caída del barro en caso de lluvias fuertes. Al seguir rellenamos la parte poco profunda con grava. Ahora solo falta rellenar el estanque con agua y sembrar plantas.

Guy and Blanca with pond

Pensando en los futuros habitantes de nuestro estanque hemos construido una cuevita, la futura casa de una rana muy feliz.

Pond plants 1
Finished pond

Con finalizar la construcción hemos abierto muchas posibilidades de crecimiento de este proyecto. Varias personas voluntarias de Sunseed van a tener la posibilidad de experimentar con la siembra de plantas, elaboración de un jardín autoregante con agua depurada y las modificaciones estéticas del mismo estanque. Como siempre en Sunseed, un proyecto nunca termina, sino va evolucionando…

Para mas información sobre proyectos y cursos parecidos, puedes contactar con nuestro coordenador de Tecnologías Apropriadas, Piotr: piotr.jankowski@hotmail.com.

0

Appropriate Technology, Courses and Events, Sunseed News

Sunseed’s Appropriate Technology co-coordinator Piotr explains how we built a beautiful pond as part of our eco-friendly wastewater treatment system.

Last weekend of 16-17 April at Sunseed we conducted a workshop on Ecological Wastewater Treatment, facilitated by the coordinators of Sunseed and the Paissano collective – friends of Sunseed and big water treatment and purification enthusiasts. We invited both Sunseed volunteers and people from the Almería province interested in learning how to build a low cost ecological wastewater treatment at home. The financial contribution to the course was voluntary, after assuring the basic costs of food and accommodation.
Among some 10 participants of the course we undertook a practical project to improve the last stage of our wastewater system and beautify the space around the path which leads to the famous pool of Los Molinos. We have built a new pond!

Wastewater treatment pond

Ponds are often installed as the last stage of wastewater treatment systems with constructed wetlands (reed beds). They serve a basic function of storing the treated water in order to reuse it for irrigation, as well as to create a natural habitat for fauna and flora, thus increasing the biodiversity of the environment. Our pond consists of an infiltration area with gravel (planted with water treatment plants – macrophytes) and a deep area where in the near future we would like to plant floating macrophytes. It stores 1200 liters of water and is equipped with an overflow system to irrigate an educational self-irrigating garden in the future. We will leave the garden design to the participants of a Permaculture Design Course held by Sunseed between the 1st and 15th of May.

Construction Stages

First things first, we had to clean the construction area previously occupied by a ghost pond, which with time was filled with mud and has been taken over by the ubiquitous cane plants. The rhizomes of cane had pierced the waterproof layer of plastic, which had thus stopped serving its function.

Digging the wastewater pond
Preparing the wastewater pond

Cleaning the old pond area – a lot of mud and cane rhizomes…

After the digging we interactively and collectively designed the form and shape of the new pond. We decided to construct a division wall which allows to have a natural slope around it. Subsequently the ground was compacted and the overflow tube installed.

Installing overflow tube

Installation of the overflow pipe

We waterproofed the pond with EPDM liner, a very strong and flexible material used widely in this type of application. Around the pond we placed stones and built a small dry wall to protect the pond from mud falling inside during heavy rains. Then we filled the shallow area with gravel. Next comes the exciting part of filling it with water and planting the plants.

Guy and Blanca with pond
Petr and pond

Keeping in mind the future habitants of our pond we have created a small cave, a future house of a very happy frog.

Pond plants 1
Finished pond

With the completion of the construction of the pond we have only opened it up for the future improvements and changes. Many Sunseed volunteers will have the opportunity to experiment with the planting of plants, elaboration of a self-watering garden with purified water and the aesthetic modifications of the pond itself. As always in Sunseed, a project never finishes, it evolves…

For more information on similar future projects and courses, contact Sunseed’s Appropriate Technology co-coordinator Piotr on piotr.jankowski@hotmail.com.

1

Courses and Events

Every few weeks on a Sunday there is a small but lively market in our village. We have a stand where we sell our home-made soap, toothpaste, creams, bread and plenty of other things – depending on what projects and skills volunteers and staff are working on at the moment. The next market will take place this Sunday 17th April – come and join us!

12472739_10153603749603553_5685501684510865998_n

It’s also a nice opportunity to meet the neighbors, who either also make amazing products or just want to have a look around and stay for a  chat. The communal atmosphere is one of the things that makes living in Los Molinos so special – and it’s even better when visitors come to visit on market day and see our village for themselves.

12063678_10153603910923553_2605246205218472838_n
12512406_10153603682018553_5297975416625784689_n

There is also a stand about the ecocide, where you can get information about the serious water problem the village suffers from. If you’re interested, you can watch this movie – well worth seeing –  or you can check out this blog post to learn more.

12928195_10153603947048553_8487385802035959190_n

Our village may not be very big, but there is everything a market needs: art, jewellery, food, live music and a lot of positive people! We’d love you to join us on Sunday 17th April in Los Molinos del Rio Aguas.

You’ll also find us at other markets and festivals throughout the summer, including…

  • In amongst the free music, workshops and fun at Etnosur in July.
  • At Boom festival in Portugal, where we’ll be sharing the Sunseed story with talks and demonstrations all week!
  • At Ecoaltea, the “festival of alternatives” in Alicante.

If you are close to any of these events feel free to come and visit us!

0