Permaculturing in Portugal

About us

We're what might be called (strictly tongue-in-cheek) a 'variable quantity family unit' from the UK, where we lived in a rural community in the Scottish Borders for 10 years or so before moving to Portugal. When we first purchased Quinta do Vale, we were Wendy, Ema, Aonghas and Oonagh, plus Ema's man Chris. Aonghas and Oonagh spent 50% of their time with their father. Aonghas sadly left us in November 2009, but we're leaving his autobiographical notes below since he's still very much with us in spirit.

Wendy

I grew up on the fringes of what was then a small market town in southern England. Post-war rationing still gripped the national psyche even if it had let the purse strings go: we grew almost all our own fruit and vegetables, kept chickens, and did all our own maintenance. Nothing was wasted, Central heating was unheard of. It was sometime around then (and probably while sitting in a tree) that this urge towards simple self-sufficiency — treading lightly on the Earth and living in tune with the natural environment and its rhythms and cycles — took hold, even though life, and the rest of the country with it (nothwithstanding The Good Life), seemed to be heading in the opposite direction. Still, when I left home one of my prized possessions was my toolbox.

I studied ecology as part of a biology degree at university in the 1970s, but didn't finish. Something essential was missing. I had no sense of what it was at the time, only that being directed into ever more narrow academic specialisation felt instintively wrong, and the subject had lost the 'juice' which had initially captivated me. With hindsight specs on, I think the academic approach had become too abstracted, intellectualised, systematised, fragmented and, it has to be said, up its own backside, to either walk its talk or adequately describe what it pretended to. How could something so lifeless successfully model life? It wasn't until I discovered homeopathy and the work of people like Viktor Schauberger, Bill Mollison, David Holmgren, Masanobu Fukuoka and CAT that my enthusiasm reignited.

I've worked in a number of different areas in the UK, Europe and the United States, becoming a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, while all the time being a compulsive philosophical jigsaw-puzzler, ending up with an eclectic set of perspectives on anything that seems in the least bit relevant to an understanding of life. Along the way I added computers to my toolbox and taught myself web design and programming.

I discovered homeopathy two decades ago and my experiments with that led me into a 4-year course of study and then practice. I also began to work directly with subtle energies in what amount to 3 month-long meditations on their nature and role in the web of life – a kind of ecology of the inner as well as outer dimensions. Working this way led on to all kinds of research and attempts to reframe conventional understanding from a more comprehensive and holistic perspective. The imperative to live in a substantially more sustainable way also started to become increasingly insistent.

Permaculturing in Portugal will involve putting much of what I've learned and discovered into practice and taking it to the next level, including experimenting with the use of homeopathy in horticulture. When I'm not doing that or web work, I'll probably be delving into the toolbox for the stone chisels and knocking lumps out of bits of rock, which has been an artistic pursuit for around 8 years now.

Putting 3 children through school in Britain forced me to reassess the whole subject of education. It was painful and frustrating watching their enthusiasm and curiosity fading under the pressure to cram the next tranche of dull and uninspiring 'facts' (much of which is only opinion) into their heads for the next test, while their health deteriorated and their social relationships became superficial and competitive, defined by what they owned and consumed rather than by who they are. I started exploring the option of home education with Ema, moving increasingly towards the radical unschooling model the more I observed, learned and thought about it. All 3 of them made their own decision to leave the system, the last in summer 2008.

I thought our move to Portugal would come a bit late to redeem Ms Malibu (below), shopaholic and fashionista, but she's put away the makeup bag and is taking to it far more readily than Oonagh who is now seriously into being A Teenager.

Ema

Well since I last wrote this part for mum many things have changed! Myself & Chris went travelling round Europe in a Transit van we made homely (with the help of DIY mad mum) and loved every minute of it! Our favorite places were Amsterdam & Montreux, Switzerland.

Now we are staying in Benfeita - the village I'd said was too isolated! - opposite mum's bit of land. When mum upped and left Scotland we decided to follow suit and give her a hand. There was no way we could carry on working crazy hours for pennies and save as well as pay rent, oil, leccy, etc, so this is where we are now! Its alright, a lot more chilled out & cheaper than Scotland which is nice. I think I left my stress head behind too, much to Chris's delight!

I'm doing hairdressing and beauty treatments here and Chris mechanics. For more info on what I'm doing, click here.

We don't want to be here forever. We would like to live the city life in the dam for a while, maybe start up our own bar... who knows but at the moment that's just a dream as we are slightly skint but hey ho life's good just now!

Aonghas

Hi. I'm 314 (in human terms that's about 14). I've been home-educated for over 2 years now. I love drawing, cooking, archery, swimming, playing guitar and violin, Parkour, making supremely frothy hot chocolates and watching movies. Portugal is cool. I like it. I'm excited about making dens and hobbit holes, eating and cooking with all the fruit we have growing on the quinta, and meeting all the wildlife there.

I would love to work in the café in Benfeita making foods and snacks and home baking ... and supremely frothy hot chocolates.

Oonagh

Hay, i'm Ooni and I'm 13. If you read my previous piece about myself.. IGNORE IT!! I have a love for mini shorts and sunglasses. The major upside to Portugal is the sun ♥.

The move was definitely a big thing for me, even though I hadn't had much contact with my friends -- as I am home educated -- it was getting to the point where I was starting to want to see them again.

I mega ♥ my laptop, facebook, my friends, posing, dancing, trampolining and most physical sports.. (apart from weeding and lugging wood about). I have a hatred for puffy jackets, horror movies and most things pink..

Overall the move has been okay, it'd be nice to go back to see my friends and family every once in a while for holidays and stuff and I'm sure we will at some point.

Peace Out :-) xx

Traduzir esta página

Espero para fornecer uma versão Português deste site, quando ele é mais completo, e quando eu puder escrever melhor Português. Por agora, o link acima irá dar-lhe uma traduçâo do Google.