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

Festival del Agua 2023

By on

May 24, 2023

- Category : Courses and Events

- Tags : 30th Anniversary, advocacy, african fridge, Agrosyntropic

Festival del Agua 2023 Los Molinos del Rio Aguas Sunseed
Ha pasado una semana desde el Festival del Agua, un intenso fin de semana lleno de sol, charlas, talleres, juegos y música. El espacio se ha abierto con una charla sobre “Culturas del Agua” en la región de Almería, dando cabida a voces activistas y que nos han hablado del valor del agua para la vida, la historia y la cultura de un territorio.

Festival del Agua germinart performance sunseed los molinos del rio aguas
Por la tarde, rutas y talleres de diversa tipología fluyeron por las calles de Los Molinos, con visitas a nuestro proyecto Semilla del Sol y el de nuestros vecinos de la Pita Escuela; la ruta al Nacimiento impartida por el historiador de la zona Andrés Pérez Pérez; y el paseo por las Tierras Áridas con Ágata, Mattia y Rali, nuestro grupo Sunseed que trabaja entre Tierras Áridas y Tecnologías Apropiadas.

festival del agua 2023 sunseed los molinos del rio aguas
Además, talleres de malabares, actividades para niños, música y conciertos en directo por la noche animaron durante los dos días el espacio del mercado, donde los artesanos de la región se reunieron para vender sus productos y celebrar el Río de Aguas.

sunseed festival del agua 2023 mercado
El domingo, tuvimos otro espacio de reflexión y “Diálogos sobre Justicia Ambiental”, donde se recogieron y pusieron en común las reflexiones de activistas de la zona, especialmente de la zona de Lucainena de las Torres, afectada por los megaproyectos de las placas solares, y de El Ejido, una de las grandes zonas de explotación de los invernaderos.

comida festival del agua los molinos sunseed 2023
Para finalizar, durante los dos días Sunseed ofreció la performance resultante de la residencia artística Germinar-t creada en colaboración con Alt Shift en la que, a través de un itinerario por el río Aguas, se presentó una pieza sobre las luchas en torno a la legitimidad.

En conclusión, durante estos dos días, sin olvidar nuestras posicionalidades, pero intentando actuar desde sentimientos regenerativos y colaborativos, hemos hecho nuestro pequeño esfuerzo por sembrar y alimentar saberes territoriales y fomentar diálogos intergeneracionales en torno a la tierra, la memoria y las prácticas locales de resistencia para la salvaguarda del agua.
El festival ha sido un espacio de reflexión y acción, que nos ha ayudado a comprender mejor las historias pasadas del río que habitamos, así como a imaginar su futuro.


Gracias a EUTeens4Green por cofinanciar este festival.
0
Courses and Events

Germinar-t 2.0: Degrowth Arts Residency Returns to Sunseed

By on

May 16, 2023

- Category : Courses and Events

- Tags : 30th Anniversary, advocacy, african fridge, Agrosyntropic

 

In early April, Germinar-t 2 was hosted at Sunseed, exploring “Las Memorias del Río Aguas”.

The degrowth based art-residency returned to the Sunseed Desert Technology community in Los Molinos del Rio Aguas, Almería, after the inaugural Germinar-t took place here in December of 2022. This time the performance group in residency was the Lab of Rooted Imagination from Barcelona, which formed in October 2022 and made their debut with #estudio1 on activist struggles in January 2023.

sunseed 2023 germinart degrowth arts residency

Germinar-t 2.0 took the form of a 10-day process of creating a performance around water cultures, ending in the Festival del Agua, which Sunseed co-hosts each spring with the local community. The process was informed by art-based-research practices: the community collaboratively researched their own relation to water cultures before the performers arrived. These findings were fermented into stories, poems, little plays which were presented to the performers in residency as a process of ‘soaking’ into the place and the territory. During the week, the performers played and created based on the collection of stories they received. At the festival, the performers in residency had the opportunity to present what they worked on during the residency and open up the investigation to the territory.

germinart degrowth art residency 2023 sunseed

The final created performance invited a hike through Los Molinos, engaged the audience on a journey to look for a drop of water flowing up. Defying gravity. Doing the impossible. Rebelling. Defending itself. Getting sucked up. Pumping itself up through its own force like the water in Los Molinos from Río Aguas to the houses of its residents pushes itself through the ram pump.

On their journey they find a group of self-proclaimed activists who are there to defend the river, in search for a direct action, in search for purpose and there to do something against the ecocide. This group quickly loses themselves in the experience of drought, a journey inwards begins in which the activists get existential about experiencing the effects of privatised, accumulated and power-directed water flows of which most people are exempted. It is hard to stay at the margins, in which these effects are sensible first. Next to Spain and France exhausting themselves in games of green growth and police violence supervised by the EU, there are strange bird creatures eating the guts of a coloniser dude from the UK who came to Sunseed to plant prosopis and thereby save the region from desertification. The birds chant cryptic ancestral territorial knowledges and predict the future to be red through capital driven human interventions. When the birds turn slowly on the audience to read some more guts, the poet leads them to the maze in which they re-encounter the activist group which has still not lost their zest for action. The group enters the maze and transforms into a stream of consciousness, moving back and forth, battling for reason, legitimacy and purpose. Wondering what kinds of actions, if any, make sense. No common conclusion is reached. The activists shed tears, laying them carefully into the middle of the maze. The poet ends on: The only thing we can do is share our water even though our only water might be the tears that we shed for the bodies of water we lost in the fight.

Thanks to EUTeens4Green for co-funding this festival.

1
Courses and Events

CDP en Sunseed

By on

February 13, 2020

- Category : Courses and Events

- Tags : 30th Anniversary, advocacy, african fridge, Agrosyntropic

Fechas

19 Abril a 3 de mayo 2020

Qué es la Permacultura

La Permacultura es un sistema holístico de diseño que integra la sabiduría tradicional, ciencia y tecnología moderna para crear sistemas de producción y espacios habitables en armonía con los ecosistemas de los que forman parte.

Campaña de difusión

En este curso de diseño en permacultura trabajaremos de formas teóricas y prácticas todos los conceptos y saberes esenciales a tener en cuenta para regenerar paisajes degradados, comunidades y producir alimentos además de otros recursos naturales de formas saludables para las personas y el planeta.
Ven a este curso si quieres aprender de agricultura regenerativa, bioconstrucción, tecnologías apropiadas, vida en comunidad y autogestión.

Descripción del taller

Teoría y práctica esencial para la regeneración y gestión de los espacios vivos. Con atención especial a climas áridos.

Pensamiento y acción holística para crear modelos de vida autosuficientes, sostenibles y rentables  a largo plazo. Con teoría, dinámicas y ejemplos prácticos para vivir la experiencia.

Durante este taller tocaremos una diversidad de temáticas para abarcar las ideas y prácticas más relevantes.

  • Conectaremos con las Éticas y principios, las bases de la permacultura.
  • Profundizaremos en las estrategias y herramientas de diseño holístico que nos facilita la permacultura.
  • Aprenderemos a cultivar el huerto con técnicas de agricultura regenerativa y natural.
  • Comprenderemos los conceptos esenciales para la creación y el manejo de bosques de alimentos y otros sistemas agroforestales.
  • Construiremos muros con materiales naturales como barro y paja 
  • Cocinaremos y saborearemos alimentos de nutrición Simbiótica que nos llenan de salud
  • Hurgaremos en la diversidad de tecnologías apropiadas de nuestro interés
  • Exploraremos la vida en comunidad, la autogestión y sus entresijos.

Sunseed

Sunseed Tecnología del desierto es un centro comunitario de educación no formal y práctica para la transición hacia la sostenibilidad en Andalucía.

El proyecto está ubicado en Los Molinos del Río Aguas, una aldea desconectada de la red situada en un hermoso valle en Almería. En nuestra comunidad internacional viven, trabajan y aprenden juntxs voluntarixs con el fin de desarrollar, demostrar, investigar y comunicar formas accesibles de reducir nuestro impacto medioambiental.

Facilitadores

Alessandro Ardovini

Nómada de actitud, he sido un permacultor toda mi vida. Ecléctico, feminista, filólogo, escritor, bloguero, cinéfilo.

Soy creador y gestor de redes, me dedico a la formación, hago consultorías y diseños para el ayuntamiento de Barcelona y para privados. También me dedico al desarrollo de herramientas de diseño y he enseñado formación de formadoras, Cursos de Diseño en Permacultura (CDP), introducciones a la permacultura, cursos prácticos. Me dedico también a la regeneración de ecosistemas y bosques comestibles.

En Mayo 2017 conseguí mi Diploma en Diseño aplicado de Permacultura en las áreas de Educación, Diseño y Desarrollo de un lugar, Establecimiento e implementación de sistemas, Investigación, Desarrollo de la comunidad, Administración, Medios de comunicación.

Soy miembro fundador de Permacultura Barcelona, Permacultura Íbera, Academia de Permacultura Íbera, BiorNE (Red Biorregional del Nordeste de Permacultura Íbera), Rebrots, Jóvenes en Permacultura (Youth in Permaculture – YiP), participo en la Red europea de Permacultura (EuPN), y creé la Red mediterránea de Permacultura (MedipermaneT) con el objetivo de escribir un libro de estrategias y técnicas eficientes de Permacultura en el Mediterráneo. Estoy desarrollando, lentamente, mi proyecto personal ReDes – Regenerative Design.

Escribí cuatro artículos para la revista EcoHabitar, tengo un blog personal y estoy escribiendo una novela.

Al mismo tiempo soy profesor de idiomas, intérprete y traductor: italiano, inglés, catalán, gallego, castellano. Hablo también portugués y un poco de francés y tengo bases de esperanto y eslovaco.

Candela Vargas

Candela ha querido comprender los mecanismos de la vida desde una edad temprana. Por lo tanto, estudió Biología en la Universidad de Granada. Se convirtió en una activista apasionada y luchó por la justicia climática en Cop 15 cuando se mudó a Dinamarca, donde ha vivido 8 años. En este país estudió un máster en Gestión de la Naturaleza y realizó un proyecto sobre Diseño e Implementación de Bosques Comestibles. Es cofundadora de FFIRN (Food Forest International Research Network), ha sido miembro de la junta directiva de Permacultura Dinamarca durante 5 años, asesora de LAND, coordinadora de voluntarios en un huerto urbano pionero en Copenhague, Byhaven 2200 e involucrada en muchos otros proyectos. como Seed Pop Up, círculo de regalos y muchos colectivos ambientales / culturales. Candela ha enseñado permacultura en Dinamarca, Suecia, Islandia, Italia y España.  Ahora está de vuelta en el Sureste, reconectando con sus raíces y con las redes que se están tejiendo en la zona, en especial con la REPESEI y Permacultura Íbera.

Le encanta recolectar alimentos silvestres, hacer acroyoga y cantar sus canciones de Permacultura.

Precio

€530 por las 2 semanas de curso.

Reserva aquí

Política de cancelaciones

  • Para reservar una plaza en un curso es necesario realizar una transferencia de un depósito del 200€ de la cuota del curso.
  • Será posible cancelar la participación hasta 1 mes antes del curso y recibir la devolución completa del depósito, con la exclusión de 10€ para cubrir los gastos administrativos.
  • Por cancelaciones entre 1 mes y 2 semanas antes del curso se devolverá el50% del depósito, es decir 100€.
  • Por cancelaciones con menos de dos semanas de antelación, se retendrá el 100% del depósito.
  • En caso de cancelación del curso por parte de la organización las cuotas depositadas serán devueltas integralmente.

REPESEI : Red de Permacultura del Sureste Ibérico

En la Red de Permacultura del Sureste Ibérico nos constituimos actualmente como un tejido humano y vivo de personas, proyectos, encuentros y acciones en búsqueda de una forma de vida más natural, holística y perdurable en las biorregiones del sureste ibérico. 

En la actualidad somos más de 60 socios y colaboradores y estamos poniendo en práctica y  desarrollando muchos de los pétalos de red como la autogestión, ecosinuestra, salud integral, bioconstrucción, crianza y cuidado de la vida, tecnologías apropiadas, agricultura natural o agricultura regenerativa.

Cuidar la tierra, cuidar a las personas y redistribuir los excedentes viene siendo nuestro lema desde hace ya más de 20 años.

0
Courses and Events

Permaculture Design Course

By on

January 16, 2020

- Category : Courses and Events

- Tags : 30th Anniversary, advocacy, african fridge, Agrosyntropic

Dates

May 17-31, 2020

Course Program

The 72 hour Permaculture Design Certificate course at Sunseed follows the curriculum as laid out in Bill Mollison’s Permaculture – A Designer’s Manual. It covers subjects ranging from ethics and principles of permaculture, natural systems, aquaculture, sustainable design methods, patterns in nature, land restoration, water harvesting, grey water recycling, natural building, food forests and guilds, energy conservation, appropriate technology, renewable energy, urban permaculture and invisible structures.
The course teaches how to develop sustainable human settlements, and how to extend and preserve natural systems. The content will be covered between theoretical lectures and practical applications.

You can view a sample schedule of the course here. The schedule gives a general idea of what to expect but will vary slightly, course to course

The Site

​Sunseed, a great site first conceived in 1982 during a talk at a green festival by Harry Hart, cofounder of the charity Green Deserts. Featuring numerous examples of eco-construction, renewable energy sources, and organic gardens. A fabulous opportunity for students of permaculture to see a living, breathing center for change and experimentation. The site is situated in the countryside in an ecovillage called Los Molinos del Río Aguas, a beautiful and sunny valley in southern Spain.

​Located in a local steppe climate. with little rainfall throughout the year. This location is classified as BSk by Köppen and Geiger. The average temperature is 16.6 °C. In a year, the average rainfall is 291 mm, unevenly distributed.

Teachers

George Christofis – Lead Facilitator

Born and raised in SE Asia, George’s appreciation for nature was honed over years of long and thoughtful observation of the subtropical country parks of Hong Kong, where he was involved with the environmental movement from a young age. He has been studying permaculture for the last 10 years, having found in it a brilliant framework for environmental action. In 2014 he started the teaching group Circle Permaculture which partners with farms and ecological education sites to run well-organised Permaculture Design Certificate courses. He is on the Certifying Teachers Register of the Permaculture Association UK. Aside from teaching, he is a long term practitioner of yoga and meditation, a poet and songwriter, slackliner and avid hiker.

Liselotte Wuite – Teacher

Since a young age Liselotte has been exposed to many different cultures and landscapes. This opened up fascination and deep respect for the living and breathing world around her. While finishing her studies of Anthropology and Ecology at the University College Utrecht in 2013, she set off to Costa Rica to conduct research for her thesis. This is where she fell in love with a simple way of living, in balance with nature, combining more recent expertise with ancestral knowledge. In 2016 she sat the PDC course in Sunseed where she subsequently ended up coordinating for a year. Seeing the transformation in people, their habits, and their way of living, inspired her to keep sharing knowledge and the importance of raising consciousness, using Permaculture as a tool to move forward.

Travels through South America in 2014 to 2016 and experiences in the Netherlands and Spain, all led to a desire to share this vision of a more sustainable way of life. The various homesteads and educational projects gave her experience in diverse elements of community living, eco construction, gardening, baking, seminars, preservation, natural cosmetics and medicinal plants. Currently she is enrolled in the International Permaculture Diploma with Gaia University, with the intention to expand global networks and create diverse holistic eco-social alternatives to living.

Apart from the wonders and expansive world of Permaculture, she is an animal lover, passionate baker, practices yoga and meditation and loves the art of dance!

Candela Vargas Poveda – Teacher

Candela studied biology at the University of Granada, and holds a Masters in Nature Management from Copenhagen University, which she received for her thesis on Forest Gardens Design and Implementation.. She is a cofounder of FFIRN (Food Forest International Research Network), and has been a member of the board of Permaculture Denmark for 5 years, and is the president of REPESEI, As well as having been a volunteer coordinator at a pioneer urban garden in Copenhagen, Byhaven 2200, Candela has been involved with many other projects such as Seed Pop Up, Gift circle, and other Environmental / Cultural collectives. She is a L.A.N.D advisor and has taught permaculture in Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Italy and Spain. She has recently returned to the Iberian peninsula where she is working on the permaculture networks PI and REPESEI. She loves gathering wild foods, doing acroyoga, and singing her Permaculture songs.

Accommodations

The site offers WC/shower and access to electricity.

What to Bring

– comfortable clothes and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
– note taking (blank pages recommended) and drawing materials
– ecological body care products
– flashlight/torch
– sturdy shoes
– a swimming suit for the natural pool
– bedding and sleeping bag

Join Us May 17-31, 2020

Minimum Donation:
€600,  three meals (vegetarian),
shared dorm accommodation and classes included. 
Optional extra:
Room in Pita Escuela
(extra 294€/ person payable to Pita Escuela),
next door to Sunseed

To sign-up for this course

Register here
0
Communication and Education

5 Permaculture Principles that can be applied to our lives.

By on

January 10, 2020

- Category : Communication and Education

- Tags : 30th Anniversary, advocacy, african fridge, Agrosyntropic

Last October we hosted Circle Permaculture’s, permaculture design course(PDC). I was lucky enough to be a participant in the course. The course was two weeks long and gave a thorough introduction to permaculture. Throughout the two weeks we learnt the twelve Holmgren principles of permaculture. These are twelve guiding principles to creating a strong permaculture design.

As we were learning these principles, I couldn’t help think about how I could apply them to situations outside of permaculture. So, I have picked my top 5 of the Holmgren principles and will explain how they can be applied to life in general.

1. Observe & Interact

In permaculture it is important to first observe the area you will be working on. This step can last from a few days to a few years. We observe an area to understand the natural patterns and flow. It is imperative we take this time before making any big changes to ensure we are working in the most effective way. We must also interact to learn how an area/environment reacts.

The majority of us live such fast paced lives that we barely have time for this observation and interaction phase. A lot of us will jump straight into action without taking the time to step back and observe how a system works. We are bombarded with information and stimulus so we are compelled to act quickly without taking time to understand our actions.

Let’s slow down and observe and appreciate our surroundings. Let’s slow down and interact with others, in real life, not through technology.

2. Obtain a yield

To obtain a yield in permaculture this means designing a system that produces something that can be used. This is most commonly thought of as food but can also be many other things such as shade, protection, balance etc. Effective permaculture will produce the most yeild from an area using resources in the most efficient way. It is up to us the designers to understand the needs of an environment. We can then use this knowledge to optimise the rewards.

In life, we can work to obtain these rewards. The rewards can be either intrinsic or extrinsic, these rewards need not be strictly financial. Perhaps the reward is making a customers day a bit better or making your coworker’s day a little bit easier.

Whatever the reward, we should strive to obtain a yield from as many situations as possible. Rewards are not solely positive, sometimes we get the greatest yield from a negative outcome.

3. Self regulate & accept feedback

In any situation it is important to accept feedback and especially in permaculture. We must adapt to this feedback by self regulation. This may be as simple as not planting a bush because we have seen the affect it has on other areas, or it might be complex like removing a tree that further down the line will become invasive and take over the area.

Self-regulation or self-control allows us to be accountable and it empowers us. It is a life long skill to practice and is aplicable to almost all areas of life. Feedback should be seen as a gift, it helps us see things we may not have seen before. This new vision helps us improve our ability to perform.

We need to practice the skill of self regulation and accepting feedback. This will help us become life long learners and improve exponentially over time.

4. Integrate rather than segregate

Modern agriculture is built on segregation. Just take a drive in the countryside and you will see monocrop fields as far as the eye can see. We have isolated certain crops and need to artificially add what nature provides in an integrated environment.

By integrating and creating diverse environments we can become more sustainable and resilient , as well as more productive and efficient.

This principle translates perfectly in how we should all live in harmony with each other by integrating everyone into our communities and valuing diversity.

5. Use small and slow solutions

It is very easy to speed through decisions, sometimes we need to slow down and think about what we have to do. It is also very tempting to jump right into a big challenge, sometimes it is best to start off small and build to that big challenge.

Permaculture uses small and slow solutions because they are easier to manage than bigger solutions and they allow for the use of local resources leading to more sustainable outcomes. While this may not always be feasible, sometimes we need big and fast solutions to solve some of society’s greatest problems.

I hope you enjoyed my top 5 principles. I also hope you have learnt something about permaculture and how you can apply Holmgrens principles to your own life.

0
Sunseed Stories, Volunteer Stories

Arriving at Sunseed

By on

October 30, 2019

- Category : Sunseed Stories, Volunteer Stories

- Tags : 30th Anniversary, advocacy, african fridge, Agrosyntropic

Sign welcoming new arrivals.

Arriving at Sunseed is an amazing experience filled with excitement at the opportunities that the project offers. The landscape is breath taking in its dryness but the valley of Rio Aguas is a green oasis. People are friendly and welcoming and there is so much going on and so much to see and learn.
Arrival can also be a little overwhelming. The other people seem to know exactly how everything works, and often they are already close friends, with a history of their time at Sunseed together. There is a lot to take in, most of it is incredibly positive and exciting, but it’s also normal to feel unsure or uncomfortable for a little while. There are things that will take more time to get used to, maybe it’s the compost loo, or sharing space with many other people, or the work hours and intensity.

Due to the nature of the project there is a continuous stream of people arriving, this means that there are hundreds of people who share this experience. We’ve all been in the same position of arriving at Sunseed, we all know how great it is and we have all had to adjust to the Sunseed way of life, we all know how intense Sunseed can be, especially in the beginning.

The street through Los Molinos Del Rio Aguas to Sunseed Desert Technology

First weeks at Sunseed will vary and each experience is unique. For instance, Peter, our Communications Coordinator, helped to collect drinking water before he had even arrived at Sunseed. After the bus ride from Almeria to Sorbas, he was picked up on the way to collect water. An extra drive and then filling the huge bottles with fresh water at the beautiful spring in a nearby village, and eventually carrying them from the carpark down Los Molinos main street to Sunseed, is a pretty unique way to arrive. Peter says that he got to know the people who had picked him up, he’d had a chance to ask them all of his questions about Sunseed while they filled the bottles and he felt that spending one on one time with them helped him feel like he was a part of the community. As did the Wednesday general tour of the property, which gave him an overview of the layout and departments.

Leon, Sustainable Living and Tech Team Assistant, came for a week in 2018. It was an incredibly busy week, he was working in all of the departments and got involved in workshops and skill exchanges, as well as helping out on some bigger projects, like installing a new water system and working up in the Drylands. He left with a knowledge of the many different ways that one can get a blister, including burning bare feet on hot desert roads. However, he came back this year, committed to be here for a longer time. He says that taking part in a sharing circle a few days into his stay helped him feel more comfortable and he really connected with the people in the circle with him.

For others the change of pace can be really confusing. Working at Sunseed is not like working in a city job. While the work can be really physical and exciting, the pace might seem much slower than a different job. As Sylvia, Education and Gardens Assistant, says that it can take a bit of getting used to. She also found all of the information that is available at Sunseed was sometimes hard to process, but exploring the land and swimming in the poza helped her feel at home in the project.  She now splits her time comfortably between the gardens and the office.

There are things that all of the arrivals will experience during their first week at Sunseed. Things like the welcome tour, where you will be shown the main parts of Sunseed. There are practical things, like getting to know the daily schedule, and putting yourself into the rota (preferably with someone who knows what they are doing and can help you). But there are also those illusive elements that make you feel at home, like meeting people that you connect with, or having something to contribute in the morning circle, or getting to know the land and the poza. Sunseed is an amazing place to arrive and though it might be overwhelming at first there are so many things that make the experience work for everyone.

The beautiful Poza.

Every experience of arrival at Sunseed is different with people finding some parts challenging, and others easier. However, there is a common thread that connects all arrivals and all people living at Sunseed; the community we are building, one person at a time. It is the connections made to the people who are already here when we arrive and those that arrive after us. It is working together for a common goal, it is in the land and learning to live closer to it. The threads that connect all experiences of Sunseed also spread out while we are here when we meet with local people and once we leave the project, to all the people we connect with.

0
Drylands Management, Organic Gardening, Sunseed News, Volunteer Stories

After The Storm

By on

September 18, 2019

- Category : Drylands Management, Organic Gardening, Sunseed News, Volunteer Stories

- Tags : 30th Anniversary, advocacy, african fridge, Agrosyntropic

The first rains of the season have been and gone… and they have left their mark on the land here. Our beautiful poza looks different from last week, because the water swept through the valley, knocking caña aside and carrying with it the dust and soil from the surrounding hills. The hills themselves look so much cleaner, the plants have definable and separate colours, rather than all being coated in the fine dust, early mornings are sweet with soft dew, and even the air feels fresher.

Before and After the Storm

***

We knew the rains were coming days before they arrived, though the amount of precipitation was often in question: We were told to expect 40mm to fall on Thursday, three hours later that had gone up to 100mm and 200mm on Friday but over the next day the prediction dropped to 40mm over 4 days, only to shoot back up to 100mm in 3 hours. The weather warnings for the area were Violet. So, understandably, we doubted the truth of the forecast once or twice. How could so much rain be coming when we were enjoying such glorious sunshine? Still, precautions were taken and we spent a morning preparing Sunseed for the likelihood of a heavy rain. Gabriel, our organic gardens coordinator led a team in sand bag collecting. They lugged the heavy bags from the gardens to the main street of the village where they built banks to protect the road from the floods of water. Tanks were positioned to collect the rain, so that we could make the most of the precious water, and where necessary buckets were placed to catch the leaks in the roofs.

The next day we watched as the rain clouds gathered at the edges of the valley, laden with their blessing of much needed water they drew nearer and nearer. Most people had found inside jobs to do during the day to avoid getting wet, and we sat around the house, trying to use as little electricity as possible. The clouds meant that the solar system wasn’t working at full capacity and once it dropped down to 90% we could not charge any devices, despite this the atmosphere around the main house was one of excitement.

Waiting for the storm

And then the rains came. They hammered, heavy and hard into the dry earth, the first few drops sending little flurries of dust into the air, until everything was soaked. It was only minutes before the main street of the village had become a river, flowing over our bare feet where we stood soaking in the water, just like the plants.

Soaking up the rain

In the evening the storm picked up. Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating towering cloud formations and thunder rolled through our valley. We stood huddled in the doorway of one of the buildings, watching the water run down the main street. We laughted as we tried to avoid the rain, splashing through the streams and puddles and even pausing to dance under the torrent. That night, warm and dry once more, the rain beat a comforting rhythm against the roofs and, after a summer of heat, blankets were pulled from cupboards and onto beds.

On Friday in the pouring rain Gabriel, Tom, and our neighbour Dave Dene fixed the floodgates of the acequia with yeso, which sets underwater. So now all that we needed to do was clear the new mud from the acequia. Luckily, Saturday was the communal acequia maintenance day and we were joined by our neighbours to clear the acequia. We were up to our knees in the water channels scooping mud into buckets with our hands. Squeezing between caña and under hanging brambles we cleared the areas of the acequia that were worst affected by the rain and the silt that it had carried with it.

Cleaning the acequia

Once finished we trouped, muddy and tired, back to Sunseed’s main building. But, because the acequia wasn’t running yet, the village ram pump wasn’t working, and we had very limited water for washing. Using water collected from the rains we washed the mud from hands and faces and then settled in to enjoy our Saturday.

Later on, when the river was once again crossable, our drylands team went to find out what the rains had done to all of the hard work that has been poured into the area. We all wanted to know whether the walls had held or if the force of the water had knocked them away. To our delight, when the team came back, they had photos of the walls not only standing strong and proud, but having worked fantastically to slow and even stop the water. Areas of the drylands were all puddles and mud from the soil and water which had been stopped before it could flow away. It was cause for celebration and the main house was filled with our smiles of joy and relief.

  • Well made walls
  • Holding the water
  • Dryland love

***

The heavy rains have gone now, but the season is turning from summer gently into autumn. Since the storm we have had small showers of rain, the ground is still damp enough that we haven’t had to water the gardens for the last few days, giving us an unexpected luxury of time. But it’s not only the weather that is different, the landscape has changed. The poza is now far more open and elongated, as most of the caña were swept away or flattened, it gives us a view further down the river that is more open. Sweetcorn that we have been nurturing and growing through summer was knocked down by the power of the storm. The ram pump is not yet up and running, but our wonderful maintenance team are working hard to get it operating. By now the turtles have returned to Rio Aguas and the silt is settling out of the river. The trees, plants and people are all refreshed and rejuvenated by the downpour.

The land love the rain
0
Older posts
Newer posts