The gang
Mota Redonda is a budding project in a small hamlet in Portugal. Pronk the goat above.
lessons in the shade under the fig trees .
We teamed up and a built a Pizza oven construction with earth.
We experimented with hugle culture.
We excavated a deep trench and filled it with logs and branches, then burried it. The process acts like a slow release subtaranian compost pile, whilst storing moisture.
We danced a lot in the veg garden
We used bunyips and aframes to map contours for water harvesting with swales
We learnt free ways to get plants and trees with propagation teachniques
We studied the local ecology, landforms, local agriculture, wild food and medicine.
We built fast growing windbreaks with willow.
We enjoyed the natural beauty
We practiced illustration techniques for the designs.
We analysed
We designed
Throughout the course we practiced practical techniques, building compost, building compost heated showers and preserving food with fermentation.
We created beautful designs for our hosts
We ate pizza
They graduated
And then we partied.
Andrew aka Shaggy
Asia and Gog the Pronk (goat)Shaf & Shakirah bought their house here in 2009, and Asia and I have lived here in their house since 2010, in which time they have since joined us here. Asia and I bought a ruin and land just a few metres down the road and are currently renovating it to live in. Our friend Liam arrived here in 2013 and rents a house at the bottom of the hill, and our friend Rob is in the process of buying another house with land that borders our larger plot.
Here a picture of my house and I, back then when it was just a shell.We are a diverse bunch, with ages ranging from 30s to 50s and we come from a wide range of backgrounds, lifestyles and skillsets held together by some irrational force known as friendship.
When we arrived, neither Asia nor myself had any growing experience beyond the odd house plant but we threw ourselves in headfirst, getting a productive vegetable garden operating and learning from the older people we had as neighbours. We have spent the last couple of years establishing ourselves in the area, building our house, learning the language and getting to grips with the goats among many of the animals we have come to know and love.
The long term goal is to develop a community space here that can facilitate eco-camping, workshops, courses and community events while providing for as many of the needs of those here as possible. We already produce our own olive oil, some vegetables and fruit and we have two goats. But this is just scratching the surface of what can be done here.