Commenced:
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01/07/2010 |
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Submitted:
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04/12/2012 |
Last updated:
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07/10/2015 |
Location:
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ES |
Website:
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www.icway.be |
Climate zone:
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Mediterranean |
We live on a 3-hectare land in the province of Granada (Spain) and have a "big" project : to adapt our life in order to be able to: - satisfy ourselves to a maximum of our needs (mainly those of energy and food); - minimise our impact on the environment; - have time to evolve in a responsible way and help others. We'd love to meet people interested in permaculture and in the idea of living well, while respecting the social and natural environment.
To reach our goal, we have started living simply, dividing our time in:
- agricultural and technical activities (to have healthy food, depend more on our work than on the economic system)
- social activities (good-quality social relations, have time for the others)
- intellectual activities (continuous learning and exchange of knowledge)
WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED SO FAR ?
Finding a place to live. The land is planted with about a hundred olive trees on more than twenty terraces, edged by a small river, with a spring thrown in as well. Located at 900 meters of altitude, our new "home ", although being in quite a remote region, is only 15 minutes from the village, walking on a picturesque mule path. With a vehicle, you can reach the land on a track of around 3 kilometres.
Self-building our house. Its main characteristic is probably the insulation made of straw bales for the floor and the walls. For electricity : we are autonomous (solar energy)For heating : we use of a stove (with an oven allowing us to cook)For running water : we collect water either from the spring or the river and we use a sand-and-charcoal filter.We have a compost toilet (with sawdust).
Sharing experience. Some information, resulting from our experiences and presented under the form of useful notes, is available on our website www.icway.be.The aim is to ease the task for those who want to take the same steps as well as to spread ideas, reflections and options.
WHAT IS IN PROGRESS ?
The arrangement of the land in order to have a garden, diversify the vegetation and raise animals. Our land is currently convalescent after years of monoculture (or rather biculture : almond trees and olive trees) according to the local style: weeded by glyphosate and a tractor, and watered by flooding in drills dug by the plough. In order to obtain a large variety of good-quality food and useful products, we try to restart the life of the soil: watering it, sowing green fertilizers (Lucerne, clover, consoude), mulching (compost, straw, cardboard, etc.), and arranging paths to avoid walking on the seedbed.
Other buildings (with the most local, ecological and easy techniques possible): a bakery-oven, a cistern, a guest-house and a shed for the animals.
Local exchanges. We would like to participate in restoring a local economy and try to encourage local exchanges of knowledge and goods.
ARE YOU INTERESTED in participating in our project ? Please visit our website www.icway.be and contact us by email at [email protected]
Thanks in advance!
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this Summer : Self-eco-building 25 m² and gardening
For the building technique, we chose "easy and local" : with recuperation wood, earth, rocks and canes from the land. - In summer, we usually work in the mornings (from 7 till 14 h) and spend the rest of the day swimming in the natural basin, take a nap,