One of the last activities we had, has been spending time with a community that lives nearby us. Their project started twenty years ago, when the owner decided to buy 15 acres of land to start his goal in life: improve the connection with Nature.
At the beginning the landscape showed expenses of wild herbs and a big hill, in the horizon. Today it’s difficult to distinguish the shape of that hill because there are thousands of trees between you and it.
This means nests, cobwebs, humidity and therefore good quality of the underground soil; there life manifests itself on every level starting from the basement, the first level, the one that in permaculture is called Zone 0, ourselves. That’s why also spirituality is important and apart from educating themselves, they allow people to enter this world organizing spiritual retreats and group activities; but Zone 0 is also the place we live in, the one in which we spend most of our time. The project also focuses on house building using natural materials and reused industrial waste from a factory which is located a short distance away. Everyone can build his own house making his own project to build it, the big space can accommodate seventy homes that now are waiting to be built.
But if you are only interested in getting closer to this world you can participate as a Volunteer, like we did, to live a little part of their daily life. When we got there there was no plan, we just discussed the things that had to be done that day and we started working. We split into two groups, one was helping in planting tomatoes and thousands of basil plants and the other jumped into a tractor and had the experience of being a load. I was in that group and I can assure you that, although we had to shovel tons of compost and leaves, the transport in the tractor made everything more fun. It took me back in time, when as a only a little girl, one of my favorite pranks to do to my uncle was to hide myself in the tractor, among the things he was carrying without letting him see me until we reached the field.
After those activities we ate thanks to the first group, which also prepared lunch for everyone using vegetables and wild herbs we collected previously.
It has been a very simple morning but it allowed us to savor the spirit thanks to which that place lives.
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