Its got a very beautiful view so one can gaze at the surrounding green while one is giving their donation. And while passersby along the trail on the other side of the valley can be viewed from inside while sitting, with testing we have ascertained that they cannot see sitters below shoulder height!

Danny and resident volunteer Pavlik put the finishing touches with a nice paint job inside.

And now we even have a toilet roll holder, luxury or what?

We are very grateful to Danny for all the care, time and energy he put into creating such a solid structure with cutting edge design. Danny is planning to settle in the area soon and would be interested to offer his services as a gifted eco-builder to any who would be interested. You can reach him at danny@greenheart.info

What has stayed with me the most about this weekend was the experience of being with these Portuguese people. A group of about 20 people of various ages and from various walks of life in Coimbra, they were all so warm, open and cheerful, it was simply a delight to be in their company! The retreat was a loosely organized affair in a rented house which nonetheless flowed seamlessly. We did meditation with a Portuguese Zen monk, Manuel, and yoga with a sweet fellow called Luis who, although I couldn’t understand what he was saying, had a wonderfully hypnotic voice as he led us through the movements. There was plenty of time for hanging out over meals and going for walks amongst the surrounding farms. It struck me that there is sweetness about the Portuguese because they are not egoically driven to “stand out” and make an impression. As a result there is an experience of simple harmony and cooperation which is probably second nature to them but struck me as quite unusual.

On Saturday night I invited everyone to take a journey into the two deepest questions in life: Who am I and why are we here? The “Humanity Ascending” film by Barbara Marx Hubbard is a powerfully visual voyage into the story of our evolutionary origins and destiny.
Charting our story from the mystery that initiated the Big Bang of cosmic creation all the way to our current unprecedented global crisis, Barbara shows how we are now getting the signal from the Life process: Evolve or Die. She presents compelling evidence that we are now on the cusp of a quantum leap in our evolution into a universal humanity IF we wake up and become conscious participants in this process.

On Sunday I was happy to hear that many had been impacted by the film. I had many conversations throughout the day that stretched my Portuguese into new directions as we explored what this leap into a deeper and higher consciousness as human beings might mean. If there is one quality I appreciate about the young Portuguese it is their innocence. I don’t mean naiveté; I mean that there is an openness and interest in new ideas that is refreshingly free from the jaded cynicism and narcissism that one tends to find in America and Northern Europe.

In the afternoon we travelled in car convoy to a nearby celtic standing stone, the oldest in Portugal dating back 6000 years. We sat in a circle around the stone and I led a meditation (amazingly in Portuguese, I dont quite know how I managed that!) which was a powerful experience of conscious communion. At the end we spontaneously joined hands and sang a long OOOMMMMM to the mystery of the universe. Then we sat back down and slices of honey bread were passed around the circle in a sacrament of smiles! Then I headed home with a smile on my face!

During the day a number of people expressed interest in showing the film and starting a regular meditation and conscious evolution group in Coimbra which is very exciting and so it will be interested to see what happens. Also I had a very strong feeling that the Project we are developing here was also for these people and others from Coimbra, and that I would love make our place available for people to do similar retreats here sometime.

So thank you Isabel and thank you Manuel, Antonio, Rita, Candida, Luis and all the other new Portuguese friends that I so enjoyed spending time with in the beautiful valley of Rodam. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Love Pete

Bill Mollison, Founder of Permaculture

This is my first year of planting on the quinta so I wanted to detail some of what I have been up to as I meander along my permaculture action learning pathway here…

First thing was to cordon off some areas to protect them from compaction damage by our dear donkeys. In some of these areas I have planted green manure crops of lupins and oats that I will let grow and then cut to provide nutrition and hummus for more beds next year. I currently have a fairly large area on the valley floor directly below the house which I have been cultivating and will be the main garden area. I made some raised beds with a little help from my friends and mixed in plenty of compost, donkey manure (thanks fellas!) and wood ash. I have also been spraying with EMs (Effective Micro organisms, more about them in another post…) to balance the PH of the soils and regenerate the microbial population. The soil, after years of being covered by brambles and probable chemical fertilizer usage, has a dearth of earthworms and I am hoping this may help encourage them back. I also plan to dig a pond in the garden area when I get around to it, which I hope will add to the biodiversity.

This year I am experimenting with beds mulched with cardboard and straw to keep the weeds out and the water in, and also bare soil beds in which I am sowing a variety of seeds all mixed together. While this means more time spent weeding I am curious to see which food plants flourish and support each other naturally in this environment. I have planted a multitude of veggies and edible flowers so far, mostly grown from seed: carrots, beets, onions, garlic, cabbages, radishes, melons, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkin, squash, peppers, tomatoes, aubergine, beans, hot peppers, spinach, lettuce, cilantro, parsley, brussel sprouts, chard, daikon, tat choi, chicory, lambs quarters, purslane, watercress, nasturtiums, chrysanthemums, calendula, amaranth, kale, broccoli, radicchio, golden berries, goji berries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, chokeberries, bilberries and herbs of all kinds…

Volunteer, and now good friend and fellow transition traveller, Mike, was inspired to plant some corn, beans and squash in old Indian style. What I thought would end up being a few mounds turned out to be 18 rows as Mike pursued his permaculture passion under the Portugal sunshine!

We also completed repairs to the old levada (irrigation) channel in time for summer (thanks again Mike!), which will bring water from upstream to the terraces of the quinta.

How does my garden grow? Watch this space!

Here are some photos of the quinta (and stubborn yet adorable donkeys) in all its springtime glory. Enjoy!

Pete

2. Carefully gather materials and fail to properly mix them in the right proportions.

3. Perch oneself on the falling edge of a levada, and make sure to line the wheelbarrow chock-full- the more precarious, the better.

4. Wear heavy iron-shod boot one size too big (try mine, they are an American 15!)

5. Lose your balance and plunge a good 6 feet towards the bottom. This works best when the wheelbarrow and all its contents falls on top of you in the process.

6. Make sure there are plenty of sharp brambles and rocks to break your fall…

7. Lay there stunned for about 10 seconds, and let Pete know you’ve survived intact. He might need to to find another woofer.

8. Gather up everything that spilled (including yourself) and re-collect at the top of the levada you wanted to repair.

9. Give Thanks to the Most High for another day of health and life.

By strictly following this scientific procedure, the enitre wheelbarrow of material will be thoroughly mixed and so will you. I was, for sure…

Mike

Masanobu Fukuoka

Masanobu Fukuoka is one of my biggest inspirations in this journey of developing a new conscious awareness of our co-creative existence in the world of nature. His idea of making seedballs is so simple, and yet this idea has the potential to regreen the earth and enable us to grow an enormous variety of food crops in all kinds of conditions.

It was Flower day on the biodynamic calendar so we had a lot of fun making and scattering seedballs of beans and sunflower all over the quinta from the valley floor to the mountainside. The idea being that the beans will climb up the sunflowers as both simultaneously reach to kiss the sun. Together with volunteer Mike, I mixed up a muddy stew of clayey earth, composted humus, wood ash and seeds. It took me back to making mud pies as a kid!

Once it had a nice sticky consistency that could be moulded into balls all three of us filled our buckets and headed off to scatter them.

Hey check out this seedball!

As we enjoyed a well earned lunch of fresh quinta salad and local vinho a light rain started to fall, moistening our seedballs for the journey of growth ahead. Perfect!

More from Fukoka on the reunification of God, Nature and Man:

Man cannot be successful in his attempts to return to nature unless he knows what True Nature and God are…

The soul of Nature is also the will of God who dwells in Nature…

The fragmented development of knowledge which expands outward without aim or direction has brought human thought to the extremes of confusion, recklessly splitting apart God, Nature and Man, which were originally One Indivisible Whole…

As the mind voids and one thinks of nothing one is able to contact Nature. When you are thinking you hear nothing. Your eyes may be open but you see nothing. Looking is not seeing and listening is not hearing…

Unless one becomes a fool and renounces ones attachments one cannot dance in the world of birds…

By renouncing everything and breaking away from the world of ideas one can discover—how very simple it is—that the world of Nothing has Everything and enables one to lead the richest Life possible.

Aren’t there people who spend 10-20 years in meditation and yet are unable to quiet the mind for more than a minute or two? Might it not be easier to achieve detachment by becoming a perfect fool and swinging hoe in hand?

The form of God finds expression in the form of Mother Nature. Thus the Breath of God becomes Nature and the Heart of Nature makes Man human. Nature, God and Man share One Heart and One Life.

Nature is both the creator of Man and his greatest teacher.

Man has turned his back on God and clearly created an image of himself as the only organism on earth estranged from Nature.

So be IT!

Pete

You see, at Mizarela there is bank. A special sort of bank, that accepts deposits for the long term only. A bit of sawdust usually follows to seal the transaction, and the paperwork is left with the local office as well. Our British friends call it a “compost loo”.

(Go figure, why a toilet should be a “loo”. If I spend enough time in Central Portugal I might end up speaking English!)

With this special sort of ATM, oats will likely grow in the near future- one of the essential foods of the raw diet are these wonderful seeds, the merely-soaked whole groat of the plant. I noticed a few of them had undergone the “rite of passage” intact. What with all that good soil…

I shall have to start charging interest on these deposits- I’ve made a major contribution which ought to be recognized. It’s only fair

I had to fast finally, skipped a day or so altogether just to get back on track. We have a long way to go, to get back to the Garden.

Gives new meaning to the term, “Human Resources”

Mike

A intenção deste grupo é proporcionar um espaço e lugar regulares nas nossas vidas, onde possamos abandonar a nossa história pessoal e embarcar juntos numa jornada evolutiva. Juntamo-nos para abraçar a energia primordial da Vida, tanto ao nível da pacificação, como da criatividade.

Este despertar é um processo natural, mas tem como intenção um desdobrar entre nós e dentro de nós. Os únicos requisitos são uma abertura e interesse sinceros em explorar juntos novos «países» ainda por descobrir. Comprometemo-nos, assim, a viver, deixando para trás a nossa história pessoal e as nossas opiniões para que haja espaço para uma forma profunda e livre de reestruturação da consciência.

Durante a primeira parte, o grupo reúne-se em círculo, durante 45 minutos, em meditação silenciosa, experimentando-se um relaxamento profundo e a liberdade da Energia e do Ser puros, sem qualquer pré-definição. Na segunda parte, após um pequeno intervalo, em silêncio, juntamo-nos, uma vez mais, e abrimo-nos para a expressão criativa do Mistério vivo no campo criado por nós.

No espaço desconhecido, o mais importante é ouvir. Quando alguém fala, ouvimos para encontrarmos a ligação profunda com aquilo que o outro está a transmitir. Se nos sentimos motivados, respondemos à expressão que nos cativa com a maior presença e poder espiritual. Quando algo do que é partilhado por alguém nos toca profundamente, podemos exprimir esse sentimento a essa mesma pessoa ou partilhá-lo com o grupo. Ao construir um campo de audição e inquirição profundos, criamos um poderoso campo de apoio, onde cada um de nós pode entrar se assim for a sua vontade.

O nosso pensamento relaxa ao ouvir e responder desta forma e abrimos os portões de dimensões cada vez mais profundas de intuição, conhecimento e percepção despertos. Confiando no solo natural e palpável da união viva no circulo, o nosso ser enche-se com a inteligência do amor, do não saber e da inocência. Descobrimos que a nossa face original não é a identidade pessoal mas sim a própria Vida. Nessa descoberta, começamos a intuir o que significaria experimentar uma vida simples sem limites e a viver juntos para além das fronteiras das nossas identidades pessoais.

A natureza do grupo pode atingir largas variantes, desde o silêncio profundo a voos apaixonados de inspiração, da profunda seriedade e admiração à gargalhada e alegria selvagens… Em tudo isto podemos descobrir o jogo mágico da individualidade no campo da comunidade desperta. Oferecemo-nos à transformação pelo processo de cura da Vida, vitalizando energias, e experimentamos o que significa amar e ser amado pela Vida e tornarmo-nos unos com a fonte contínua da alegria, saúde e poder criativo.

A minha esperança ao iniciar este grupo é que este seja um fórum no qual os participantes podem transformar para sempre o seu sentido de separação, alienação e desmotivação num outro de ligação, comunhão e propósito cósmico.

A consciência está a chamar. Há um sentimento imperativo profundo que puxa todos os que a ele estão abertos para a psique colectiva. Acredito que se trata da chamada para o nosso destino evolutivo colectivo. Aqueles que se abrem a este chamamento são os pioneiros da evolução, os que criam e dão forma ao paradigma energético disponível para todos os que o querem seguir. Enquanto um pequeno encontro pode parecer um beacon isolado, se alimentarmos uma paixão sincera para a transformação agora, estamos a semear o futuro.

Se te identificas com estes pensamentos, junta-te a nós.

Para mais informação, por favor contacta-nos através do número 966333187.

The intention behind this group is to provide a regular space and place in our lives where we can drop our “personal story” and embark on an evolutionary journey together. We come together to embrace the primordial energy of Life as both stillness and creativity.

This Awakening is a natural process but it must be engaged with intention to unfold within and between us. Thus the only requirements are a sincere openness and interest in exploring new and undiscovered country together. We commit to leaving our personal history and opinions behind so that there is space for a deep free-form restructuring of awareness.

For first half of the group we gather in a circle for 45mins of silent meditation, in which we experience deep relaxation and the formless freedom of pure energy and pure being. In the second half, after a short break in silence, we gather once more, and open ourselves up for the creative expression of the Mystery that is alive in the field between us.

In that unknown space, most importantly, we listen. When someone speaks, we listen for the deepest resonance in what they are saying. If we feel moved we respond to the expression that rings with the greatest spiritual presence and power. When something profound touches us in what someone else has shared, we may reflect it back to them, or to share it with the group. By building a field of deep listening and deepening inquiry, we create a powerful supportive container for each of us to step into when we speak.

As the habitual thinking self relaxes through listening and responding in this way, we open the gates of deeper and deeper dimensions of awakened intuition, knowing and perception. Trusting in the palpable natural ground of unity alive in the circle, our being fills with the intelligence of love, not knowing, and innocence. We discover that our original face is not a personal identity but is Life itself. In that discovery we begin to intuit what it would mean to experience ordinary life without limits and to live together beyond the boundaries of our personal identities.

The tone of the group may vary widely from deep silence to passionate flights of inspiration, from profound awe and seriousness to wild laughter and joy… in all this we can discover the magical play of individuality in the field of awakened community. We allow ourselves to be transformed by Life’s healing, vitalizing energies, we experience what it means to love and be loved by Life, and become one with the flowing source of joy, health and creative power.

My hope in initiating this group is that it will be a forum in which participants can transform forever their sense of separation, alienation and helplessness, into one of connection, communion and cosmic purpose.

Consciousness is calling. There is a deeply felt imperative pushing into the collective psyche for those of us who make room for it. I believe it is the call of our collective evolutionary destiny. Those who open themselves to this call are the evolutionary pioneers that create and shape the energetic paradigm that is available for all who follow. While a small gathering may feel like an isolated beacon, if we are sincere in our passion for transformation now, we are seeding the future.

If this resonates with you then please come and join us.

If you have any questions please call 966333187

Pete

Digging vegetable beds, eating fresh salad, chatting by the fire, chatting with the donkeys, walking on the land, just breathing deeply. It was so heartening to be greeted by every single person I passed in the street, and run along tracks in the hills surrounded by breathtaking scenery. It beats the Northern line at 6:30PM. But a word of advice – if your going to visit in February – take a few pairs of woolly undies – because Ibiza this is not! And beware of the 3.5 euro a gallon vinho tinto hooch those guys are drinking; it’s not for the faint-hearted! Thanks guys for a really wonderful time.

Peter Simmons

It has been steadily pumping water up about 150ft ever since. I was amazed to find that our 10,000 litre tank was full after only one night. I rigged up an overflow pipe that is now providing us with water for all the plants and I am already hatching plans to use this water to create ponds down the terraces…

It is such a simple thing but this ram pump really is amazing. A 350 year old piece of cast iron technology utilizing a fall of water, a couple of valves and an air chamber that is literally guaranteed forever! You can check it out at greenandcarter.com

When we bought the quinta I was determined that we would be as fossil fuel free as possible and, with no water above the buildings, getting water up from the valley was a big infrastructural challenge.

It was our dear friend Glyn who told me about ram pumps and the company that had been making them since 1774 I was immediately intrigued. Then last year, on a trip to the UK, we visited the Green & Carter headquarters in an old manor house tucked away down windy country lanes in deepest Somerset. There a tall English gent called Charles, whose family had bought the company that invented the ram many moons ago, proudly showed us letters dating back to the 1700´s (including a request for a ram pump to be sent to America written by Thomas Jefferson) and rams on his property that had been running for over 200 years, with only the periodic changing of rubber valves.

I was hooked and arrived back in Portugal ready to figure out which model of ram we would need to do the job. Luckily, after receiving my calculations, Charles informed me that the smallest ram should do the job and all 40 kilos of it finally arrived in December. Once the rain stopped I recruited the expertise of our friend Dick to build a concrete foundation and catch pit for which we had to lug blocks, sand and cement down and around the valley…a labour of love indeed and in the end definitely worth it!

I am so happy to have this pump on the quinta, everyday I have to go and take a walk around the valley to see and hear it still in action. There is something about the fact that it is the water pumping itself that is magical to me. So I heartily recommend this inspiring piece of pre-industrial technology that if widely known and used could contribute considerably to weaning us of fossil fuel dependence. I already have some of the local villagers intrigued and I am sure they will be coming over to check it out soon…

So thank you everyone who contributed to the success of the Mizarela Waterworks including Rich & Iain (who helped clear and dig out the ancient irrigation channel), master builder Dick, and Charles for all his patient and helpful email correspondence.

Pete

Hello Everyone, this is Cynthia writing. I’m sneaking about and adding something to Pete’s post while he is in the other room! This ram pump story would not be complete without letting you all know how hard Pete worked to get this pump up and running. He had no experience in any of this and over the last months was the constant that kept the whole process moving. From endless emails back and forth with Charles, to going to the hardware store for the gazillionth time, to the many trips he made down the levada to where the pump is to either check on it, measure something, or just sit with it and try to figure out how in the heck he was going to get this thing running.

So CONGRATS Pete and THANK YOU! As I take my longish hot showers, wash dishes without trying to spare every bit of water I totally appreciate your efforts and admire your perseverence.

For all of you reading this that have no experience in these kinds of things and think that getting your own quinta would be too much…Well IT IS TOO MUCH and it’s COMPLETELY DOABLE! The constant thump, thump, thump of our ram pump is living, breathing, pumping testament to this!