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Courses and Events, Drylands Management, Organic Gardening

Greening the desert, regenerating ourselves

With Sunseed Desert Technology

Learn about Permaculture and how to design sustainable communities and regenerative ecosystems  in the desert!

Why

More and more people are starting to realize that living in a more sustainable way is the best next move they can make going forward. Permaculture is a way to obtain practical skills to achieve this goal, as well as teaching us how to communicate in a non-violent way. Some people have found that a Permaculture Design Course represents a pivotal moment in their life, and marks a transition towards a healthier relationship both with ourselves and everyone and everything that surrounds us. 

Where

Los Molinos del Río Aguas, Almería, Southern Spain  – an off-grid village, located in the “last oasis” of Southern Spain.   

When

October 4th – 20th, 2024

Language

English

Price

€580 until July (early bird discount) or €630 from July until end of September (includes 3 meals per day + supper on the arrival day and breakfast on departure day), as well as 90+ hours of permaculture classes (theory and practical). Classes will be given by several passionate permaculturists, 3 main facilitators plus invited experts, who will be sharing their years of experience obtained in different parts of the world. Participants also receive a certificate that they have completed a recognised PDC at the end of the course.

Book now

Register your interest by filling in the inscription form

Important note: Places can only be reserved once a EUR 200 non-refundable deposit has been made.


Course location

Ecovillage “Los Molinos del Río Aguas” Sorbas, Almería

Los Molinos del Río Aguas is an ancient Andalusian village with a rich historical background tied to the abundance of water and the presence of numerous mills for producing flour and olive oil. Nestled in Europe’s “last oasis” and protected by the Natura 2000 network as well as being designated a natural park, the Los Molinos del Río Aguas valley forms part of a Karst landscape reserve, characterized by gypsum rocks. This unique ecosystem is home to various endemic species of flora and fauna.

All the houses in the village are self-sustaining: water is sourced from an ancient irrigation system and pumped into the houses using a hydraulic ram pump, while electricity is generated through solar panels. This setup offers a serene and responsible lifestyle independent of government utilities. Once nearly abandoned by the locals, the village is now home to a cosmopolitan group of approximately 30 residents, with a steady flow of volunteers and visitors enriching its vibrant community throughout the year. 

There are several hiking trails along the river, and natural swimming pools for bathing. The valley lies 30 km from the coastal natural reserve, Cabo de Gata, known for its stunning, pristine beaches. The nearest city, Almeria, is 60 km away.

Sunseed Desert Technology

Sunseed is a non-formal education project, housed in Los Molinos del Río Aguas. The project has over 35 years of experience researching, learning, and experimenting with the regeneration of ecosystems, including research into the symbiotic relationships between mycorrhizal fungi and plant roots – fundamental to soil restoration.

Over the years, Sunseed has gradually evolved into an experiential education centre with visitors and volunteers working to support the ongoing tasks of the project, whilst simultaneously learning how to live in a low-impact way. Sunseed grows much of its food in the community kitchen garden, and they are currently in the process of establishing a food forest.

Course Description 

Permaculture aims to create systems that create harmonious connections between humans and the planet. The Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren coined the term in the 70’s, a combination of the words “permanent” and “agriculture. Permaculture ethics, principles, and design techniques were first used to develop sustainable agricultural systems as an alternative to the growth of agro-industry and the consumer economy. From these beginnings, the concept of Permaculture has expanded and diversified to cover nearly all types of human-based systems.

Permaculture design courses (PDCs) have been developed as an introduction to this way of thinking and teach the tools and techniques needed for participants to design their sustainable systems. These courses are taught through both theory and practice and weave in both ancestral knowledge and recent discoveries.  At Sunseed we showcase many examples of Permaculture in practice.

In this two-week PDC, we use the basic curriculum as set out by the UK Permaculture Association and supported by the Southeastern Spanish Permaculture Network (REPESEI).

The course will take place in a real context, in which the participants have the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of how, at Los Molinos, we harvest water, regenerate soil, plant trees and grow vegetables in a desert environment following Permaculture principles. During the course, we will also address aspects of social Permaculture, where we will focus on self-care, community living, equitable participation, and effective decision-making models. 


Course content

We will follow the course curriculum as set out by the UK Permaculture Association and supported by the Southeastern Spanish Permaculture Network (REPESEI).

In addition to the theory, we will do many practical exercises in order to learn by doing, as well as a group final design. This will be done by participants using a Permaculture design framework, as well as all the theoretical knowledge gained during the course, and the knowledge and experience each person brings.  



Main subjects covered:

  1. A short history of Permaculture, ethics and principles (Mollison y Holmgren)
  2. The design process itself: survey – analysis – design – implementation – maintenance – evaluation – tweaking.
  3. Designing for climate emergency: food independence, communities
  4. Soil structure and the soil ecosystem: fertility, sampling and analysis, management, regeneration (especially in arid environments). 
  5. Water: the water cycle, water availability, capture and storage, retention in the landscape.
  6. Plants/trees:  basic botany, the ecology of a forest, forest management, types of forests.
  7. Sustainable farming systems, including regenerative agriculture, natural farming, and syntropic agriculture
  8. Wellbeing and self-care: symbiotic nutrition, integrative medicine
  9. Natural building 
  10. Appropriate technology
  11. Social Permaculture: social and organizational structures, group facilitation, participatory decision making, transition economics.

Practicals 

  1. Reading the landscape + observation techniques; forest bathing
  2. Basic mapping: aspect, scale, how to mark out contour lines, trilateralization
  3. Contour line measuring
  4. Water retention systems
  5. Soil analysis 
  6. Soil regeneration techniques
  7. Regenerative agriculture systems
  8. Natural building 
  9. Design time


Who we are


Frances Osborn (teacher)

Frances is an ecologist with a degree in Environmental Sciences from Southampton University, UK, and a PhD in Insect Ecology from the Simón Bolívar University, Venezuela. In 2014, after 10 years working as a research scientist at the Eastern University, Venezuela, she returned to Europe where she did her first PDC in Brighton, UK. She has been studying and practicing permaculture ever since, and graduated with a Diploma in Applied Permaculture in March 2021. She has been teaching PDCs since 2019 at different venues, including Proyecto Rucula in Murcia and the Suryalila Yoga Retreat in Cadiz.  Frances has extensive experience in garden and agricultural systems, gained from her many volunteering placements, including two years at the first Ecosystem Restoration Camp in the dry highlands to the northeast of the Murcia region in southern Spain. She is currently helping to restore an old stone cottage near Calasparra, Murcia  using natural building techniques. Frances is currently secretary for Urban Street Forest, an association based in Holland and Spain that seeks to reforest degraded drylands, and is an active member of the Permaculture Network in south-eastern Spain. Frances has made volunteering her main lifestyle choice, a path which has led her to minimize her costs rather than maximize her income, and gives her the freedom to take up opportunities as they appear. Travel plays an important role in her life and the bicycle is her preferred mode of transport, as this enables her to slow down, appreciate the scenery, and enjoy the journey. 

Luis Simada (teacher)

Luis is a permaculture advisor, designer and teacher and also network facilitator. He is trained as a designer, group facilitator, permaculture teacher, fermenter and project coordinator. He also participates and actively contributes in different social, activist and alternative movements like the Iberian Southeast Permaculture Network (REPESEI), La Espiral del Sureste Ibérico, the Iberia Ecovillage Network (RIE), and the Cauac Editorial Nativa or Social Permaculture Movements. He is coordinating the Ecosystem Restoration Department at Sunseed. He has also been teaching different courses about Symbiotic Nutrition, Regenerative and Natural Agriculture or Appropriate Technologies. Luis  really appreciates discovering new ways to create resilience and communities, that’s why he is also Simada, traveling around Iberia supporting and designing alternative projects while continue to learn from each one of them. He loves listening, expressing his emotions, creating new ferments and healthy recipes, doing experiments, designing social solutions, playing, wild nature, ancient trees, ancestral traditions and live music.

Juanma Pinar (teacher)

Juanma is an Andalusian biologist mostly focused on botany and agro-ecology (University of Seville, SP) with a Masters in winemaking & viti-vinicole environment (University of Bordeaux, FR). After a few years of working/traveling around the world in diverse kinds of vineyards and making different styles of wines, he started to worry about the big impact this huge industry has on the environment (such as waste of water, death of soils, harmful pesticides, elitist markets, and so on) so he came back home and deeply started to melt into permaculture philosophy. 

He obtained his PDC in early 2020 in “Centro Extremeño de Permacultura La Caraba” (Cáceres), and a following “introduction to bioconstruction” course in Alcañiz (Erasmus+, Teruel), plus a certificate of “nature activities instructor -educational and social potential-” from Andalucía GDR (Development Rural Group). Then he started to collaborate with a community garden integrated in a natural park in his town (Ecohuerto Los Toruños, Cadiz) and joined climate justice movements such as Extinction Rebellion and “Ecologistas en Acción”. In parallel he was working as environmental educator for different local enterprises (Ecoherencia, Caucenatura) mostly centered on agro-ecology, nature hiking and other active learning services for public schools. 

At the moment he is leading the gardens’ team in Sunseed, which includes work such as: fixing and redesigning the irrigation systems, restoring poor soils with -animal/green manure, compost and mulching- refreshing the old seedbank, replacing losts with new plants adapted to drought, researching on edible and medicinal wild-plants-based preparations, improving associations/rotations of crops, and a long etcetera of learn-by-doing processes.

Marco De Angelis (assistant teacher)

My journey began in Rome, where I was born 33 years ago with a deep love for nature. Growing up, I pursued my passion by studying Forestry Sciences and Nature Conservation, which took me on exchanges to Slovenia, Portugal, and Germany, broadening my understanding of sustainable resource management.

Completing my studies with a doctoral program in wood technologies and composite materials at the University of Hamburg, I discovered the potential of recycled materials for social housing, leading to collaborations with Ethiopia and South Africa.

Feeling a stronger connection to nature, I moved to Spain, settling in Los Molinos de Rio Aguas, an off-grid village. Here, I immersed myself in local projects and started cultivating food in our garden, finding fulfillment in sustainable living.

Now, I’m thrilled to share my journey and passion for permaculture in this course, eager to learn and collaborate for a more sustainable future.


Ricardo Riquelme (invited expert)

Ricardo is a permaculture designer, farmer specialized in successional agroforestry systems, efficient water management, biological pest control and zero tillage. Creator of the permaculture project  “Mano Verde”, based in El Bosque (Pilar de la Horadada, Alicante) where they cultivate and regenerate the environment based on syntrophic agriculture. Apart from offering seasonal products, they recover old seeds, offer consulting and design of farms and also training for farmers and individuals.

Mónica Adán

Mónica Adán is office coordinator at Sunseed Project, managing the administration, education and communication departments. She also collaborates in the Yes to Sustainability network where she is in charge of the administration and management of European youth projects and has gained experience in planning, writing, coordinating and executing grant projects. She has visited numerous ecovillages and ecoprojects all over Europe to learn more about the different living alternatives that can be created. She collaborates with projects that can help young people to discover their passions and empower them by developing their own projects.

Ashley Sheets

Ashley Sheets is a degrowth and environmental labour activist who works as project manager and sustainable living coordinator for Proyecto Sunseed, a non-formal education project. Her work is centred on environmental stewardship and social change, working to make more sustainable forms of living accessible and intersectional in the day to day. Her background is in degrowth, political ecology and environmental justice, and specifically focuses on the intersections where environmental movements and labour activism meet. She also collaborates with the International Degrowth Network, the Feminisms and Degrowth Alliance, and is a founding member of the Working Class Climate Alliance.

Our certifying Association

REPESEI, the Southeastern Spanish Permaculture Network.

Towards the end of the 1980s the seeds of the REPESEI (Red de Permacultura del Sureste Ibérico) were sown by a small group of locals and travelers. 

This small group organized gatherings, workshops and courses, during which ideas of alternative ways of understanding life began to germinate and grow, answering the questions and needs of the individuals and groups that attended them.

In 1996, Rosa Mejuto along with a women’s group, and inspired by Permaculture Movements and Natural Agriculture, founded the REPESEI.  The number of gatherings and Permaculture Projects increased, from which a network started to spread – and is still growing.

Since then there have been a large diversity of workshops and courses given and promoted by the network, among which we can highlight those by Jairo Restrepo (Columbia) and Nacho Simón (Mexico), that have taught us new ways to care for life in the soil under our feet, improving its fertility, and harmonizing the relationships between it and the plants we cultivate. Many of us now make our own bio-preparations. 

Furthermore, there have been many Permaculture gatherings held at many sites from Alicante to Málaga. Currently there are 4 gatherings yearly in Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, as well as a mutual support network (TAM – Tragozando Apoyo Mutuo) that support projects throughout south-eastern Spain. 

Dates

October 4th to 20th, 2024

You should arrive on Friday, October 4th in the afternoon / evening. Classes will start on Saturday, October 5th in the morning.

The course will end with the design presentations on Saturday, October 19th and an evening celebration. Participants should leave on Sunday, October 20th before 1:00 pm.  There will be one free day mid-course. Classes will start daily at 9:00 am after breakfast and end at 8:00 pm before supper. We always start the day with a morning circle to check in with each other, and inform about the day’s programme and any logistics

Pricing 

The cost for the PDC will be EUR 580 until July (early bird discount) or €630 from July until end of September + accommodation costs and includes:

  • Teaching (theory and practice)  by a diverse group of passionate permaculturists all of whom bring their own knowledge and experience in the different permaculture fields (or Permaculture Petals).
  • An officially recognised certificate at the end of the course. 
  • All meals and non-alcoholic beverages
  • We provide warm and cold showers and there is room to do collective laundry.
  • At Los Molinos there is lots of space to be on your own or to walk through the beautiful valley and ravine. 
  • Telephone coverage and Wifi 

Food and Beverages

All food and (non alcoholic) drinks will be provided during the whole course. We serve vegan/vegetarian food at Sunseed, but please talk to us about special wishes for food or allergies.

Coffee, herbal teas, and drinking water will be available throughout the course. You can also bring private snacks and treats for your well-being with you.

Accommodation (separate cost)

There is a choice of a mixed dorm (sleeps 6), triple, or double rooms (limited availability). All rooms with shared bathroom. There are also some spots available for tents. Please contact Juanma (contact details below) for details.

Booking and cancellations: Register your interest by filling in the inscription form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1K_pmH3l6wRhchOWQ2TWxg6-RbAHTyk1LyH3RjdFQ_Eo/edit?ts=66262a1a

Important note: Places can only be reserved once a EUR 200 non-refundable deposit has been made.

What if my plans change: A full refund minus the deposit can be made up to one month (September 4th) before the start of the course. This will be reduced to a 50% refund (minus the deposit) two weeks (September 20th) before the start of the course, and a 25% refund (minus the deposit) two days (October 2nd) before the start of the course. This applies to the cost of the course only.

How to get here

Los Molinos del Río Aguas is a small village located in Sorbas, in the southeast of Spain, 45 minutes by car from Almería, the closest city.

Since Sorbas is a small town, we will organize a pick-up in order to let you all arrive safely at the placement. Therefore, the best connection will be to get to Almería bus station, and from there take the public transport to Sorbas. We will pick you up there and take you to Los Molinos.

If your idea is to fly to Spain, the nearest airport is Almería Airport (LEI). You can usually fly cheaper, though, if you go to Málaga Airport (AGP) or Alicante (ALC)


  • From Málaga Airport to Almería, take a bus to Almería. The journey takes approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes and costs 22 EURO (one way).: Check bus timetables AGP-Almería here!
  • From Almería Estación Autobús. There are several buses per day to Sorbas. The schedule varies depending on the day:
    • – Mondays to Fridays: 8:30, 11:00, and 15:30.
    • – Saturdays: 11:00.
    • – Sundays: 8:30 and 11:00.

  • From Alicante to Almería you can take a bus to Murcia which has daily direct connections, and from there take a transfer to Vera.  Then from Vera, there is the connection to Sorbas by bus. Check here the bus timetables Vera-Sorbas.

Make sure to check the bus timetables and availability in advance, especially for connections from Málaga and Alicante.

Please note that activities will start on Saturday, the 5th of October at 8:30 am, so please organize yourself in order to be able to arrive on Friday evening.  

Activities will end on the evening of Saturday, the 19th of October, so you can plan your trip back to your country starting from Sunday morning (20/10/2024).

Book now

Register your interest by filling in the inscription form 

Contact details

cursos@permaculturasureste.org

Juanma Pinar: +34 605 125 477

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Courses and Events

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.

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.

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Courses and Events

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

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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.’

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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
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