2018 EVS Volunteering Project

2018 “Living and teaching Permaculture”

4th October 2018

Review from Jessica (her first ever blog post – when she was here as an EVS volunteer in 2018!)

I’m back in Boodaville. It’s great to be back and follow the rhythm of nature to guide our days. I miss that in our everyday society. It’s very interesting to see how my fellow Boodavillians have changed in the 2 months I’ve been away. They are so free. So confident. In touch with themselves and taking life day by day. It makes me realise how I have changed the last 2 months too. I adapted to life in our modern society again. Guided by the clock and appointments and my mobile phone. It is amazing how I bounced back into society life. Now I need time to bounce back in nature’s rhythm. The rhythm I prefer.

I’ve been doing various projects since I’m back. Redoing the insulation on the veggie fridge, making a functioning hay box (we need to find a new name for it… Aggelos suggested sheep box as it is insulated with wool now, not with hay). We lit the rocket stove we made this summer for the first time. It didn’t go very well, there was smoke coming out everywhere. Jordi, who is in charge of this project, calmly started to repair and showed me how I can make the best fire. He announced me the fire master. I’m also trying to bring a leather chair back to life by using the tools we’ve got. I love being creative. I keep surprising myself with the skills I never thought I had. I’m even learning Spanish. It’s hard to believe that I arrived only last week. So many things I have learned already.

Often we swim in the river and it’s not as pleasant as it used to be this summer. These days its more… refreshing I’ve got to say. And therefore  getting in the water is turning into a challenge. I keep telling myself that it will make me strong and resilient. That works well so far. I wonder how long it will last.

23rd December 2018

This beautiful reflection is written by Aggelos one of two long-term volunteers this season:

Hello hello, probably for the last time, at least for this year. My EVS project has almost come to an end and it is in these moments when you think you would look back, remembering and reflecting upon experiences. But you don’t do it the usual way, just looking at photos, or wishing you relive some special moments because those moments are gone, they are in the past. That doesn’t mean you forgot about them but that they are a part of you now. You will never forget because you are who you are.

I cannot relate any more to the person I was when I first arrived in Boodaville. Frightened and scared that I had left everything behind, my friends, my family and the security of no change. The very first moments of complete sadness and without any sense of purpose. Looking around I could only see the emptiness and meaningless in everything. It was only when I talked to the people that were with me there about how I felt that I started to grow, to grow inside. No more wondering if I chose the right place, if I made the best decision.

“this was the first step to natural farming and reconnection with the true nature of all things. Because when you realise that the soil in your hand is not just a combination of water, minerals, organic matter and microorganisms but life itself, the essence of meaning, it is then you become whole not as a human but as part of everything.”

Living in Boodaville, in a way that most people would call primitive, can be frustrating and limiting at first. It is the mindset of the modern human, the prison in which he was born in not able to see the bars that would bring about his lust for escape. Letting go is the key for accepting the unfamiliar, the different.

After I got used to the facilities I learned to love them. Pooing and peeing in the ground to return the nutrients back to the earth, washing dishes with minimal water and soap, being aware that everything will end up in the soil, the element keeping as humans and a lot of other creatures alive. Even washing ourselves was done with the minimal impact on the surrounding environment usually in the close by river. As for our house, it was made out of stone walls and a green roof. The addition of a rocket stove, a very weird looking construction in which the wood burns more efficiently producing more heat which is distributed along a bench, made all the difference during the cold months of October and November. It was the result of team work from scouts, volunteers and the teacher.

In addition to the main house there was an old stone wall house next to it. My first very exciting task was to help rebuild the roof of that house with a bunch of other people also excited to work with natural materials. Bio-construction became something really important and fun for me.

Self-sufficiency is the desirable outcome of permaculture but it takes time to reach that point of a well established ecosystem that supports itself. The task was even harder considering the compacted lifeless bleached and withered soil in Boodaville. Years of ploughing destroyed the top soil and deprived the earth of organic matter and microorganisms. During my time in Boodaville one of my site tasks was to attend the future food forest, to water the trees growing there. But a lot of them died. We suspected that the soil’s compaction was to blame and when the time came just when the rain started we begun the regeneration process. Heavy mulching and planting winter plants such as cabbage, cauliflower, kale, broccoli, dill, artichoke and onions were performed. Sowing rye seeds and legumes as green cover completed the process of helping natural regeneration of the soil. When it was finished I could feel more free as I was thinking that this was the first step to natural farming and re-connection with the true nature of all things. Because when you realize that the soil in your hand is not just a combination of water, minerals, organic matter and microorganisms but life itself, the essence of meaning, it is then you become whole not as a human but as part of everything and nothing.

Our everyday life was as simple as taking care of ourselves but not in the egoistic and self-centered way we are taught to do. We were a community of people looking out for each other, cooking for everyone, working and learning together and supporting everyone when needed. The strongest feeling was that of the solidarity and the well being of the community. Everything was happening because of our determination and interest in building the future we think is necessary for a fair life in which the earth and the people are protected.

This core of people from different backgrounds interacting in an environment of pure cooperation was the result of similar goals and understanding of life. Consequently, the relationships build from our everyday communication and community life imagining the perfect future were like family relationships. The learning process was also quite different. Non formal education was possible because of the interests, diversity of people and their knowledge which allowed us to exchange information about almost everything and realise that you don’t need professors, universities and experts to learn things that are most useful for a life in harmony with the nature around us.

That is the most beautiful part of the story and in the same time the hardest one. When the time came to say goodbye after so many wonderful experiences like sleeping under the stars, playing music, singing, cooking together, sharing stories, laughing and just living the way we did we couldn’t believe that it was over.

I am so happy that I met all these people and so grateful for the time being together. I hope to keep meeting people like them that inspire me to keep fighting for the future I believe in. I will certainly continue searching for them and explore the path of permaculture wherever it takes me.