SolarGarden

Land “reset” by the epic fires of 2017 that charred central Portugal. Venerable cork-oaks thrive again, protected by their unstripped bark; olives respond rewardingly to recent intensive care. An oasis of diversity surrounded by a monoculture desert of commercial eucalyptus forestry. Very steep & rugged, with a ruin, old schist terrace walls, a spring & ravines, & now fruit & vegetable plots using experimental techniques. Can fluctuate seasonally between brutal sun & relentless cloud & rain. Not for the fragile of mind or body!
Two of us live here: me 67, as fit as in my 20s, working full-time on the land, & the owner Allen, 72, young at heart & able to ebike up the mountain. We both sing, play & compose music, one on guitar, the other on piano, with long experience of Entheogens. Allen’s daughter will be here in spring.
My base is a “moored” motor-home I purpose-built in the UK, with super-insulation, underfloor heating, solar thermal & heat-reclaim. Living in it heats it. During the 40 deg C summers, a tiny solar heatpump keeps it under 30 deg. Never intended as a runabout or tourer. Longer term prospects include earth-sheltered, heat & fire-resistant dwellings. Tents are only really liveable-in between the cold rainy autumns & the oven-like summers. Allen has also built temporary solarpunk accommodation, a steep climb up the land.
Potential “members” are technical, scientific, creative, analytically minded with a core love & knowledge of nature – horticulture, wanting an emotional support network working to transcend the habits “too heavy for my planet” which wealth-harvesters pressurise or seduce us to cling to. Visitors need to be self-supporting while here. Portuguese study encouraged. Self awareness, ability to express oneself & give reciprocal quality attention is expected.
A half-hour Camino do Xisto walk or steep mountain-bike ride from Benfeita – accessible by bus. Events, maybe you, may yet affect where it continues to grow; maybe even at other bases.