Medieval Spanish ghost town becomes self-sufficient ecovillage

[Ineffable Hitchhiker]

It's a utopian fantasy- discover a ghost town and rebuild it in line with your ideals-, but in Spain where there are nearly 3000 abandoned villages (most dating back to the Middle Ages), some big dreamers have spent the past 3 decades doing just that.

There are now a few dozen "ecoaldeas" - ecovillages - in Spain, most build from the ashes of former Medieval towns. One of the first towns to be rediscovered was a tiny hamlet in the mountains of northern Navarra.

Lakabe was rediscovered in 1980 by a group of people living nearby who had lost their goats and "when they found their goats, they found Lakabe", explains Mauge Cañada, one of the early pioneers in the repopulation of the town.

The new inhabitants were all urbanites with no knowledge of country life so no one expected them to stay long. When they first began to rebuild, there was no road up to the town so horses were used to carry construction materials up the mountain. There was no electricity either so they lived with candles and oil lamps.

In the early years, they generated income by selling some of their harvest and working odd jobs like using their newfound construction experience to rebuild roofs outside town. Later they rebuilt the village bakery and sold bread to the outside world.

Their organic sourdough breads now sell so well that today they can get by without looking for work outside town, but it helps that they keep their costs at a minimum as a way of life. "There's an austerity that's part of the desire of people who come here," explains Mauge. "There's not a desire for consumption to consume. We try to live with what there is."

Today, the town generates all its own energy with the windmill, solar panels and a water turbine. It also has a wait list of people who'd like to move in, but Mauge says the answer is not for people to join what they have created, but to try to emulate them somewhere else.

"If you set your mind to it and there's a group of people who want to do it, physically they can do it, economically they can do it. What right now is more difficult is being willing to suffer hardship or difficulties or... these days people have a lot of trouble living in situations of shortage or what is seen as shortage but it isn't."

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91pBFyLWIx4

[Cidersomerset]

For the last hundred years people have been encourged to leave the rural lands of their forefathers and head for the cities with promises of a better standard of
living schooling facilities etc and for some this may have been true , but most end up in a dead end job as a economic statistic.
With improved communications it is time to encourage people to stay in rural areas, by giving priority to local projects for local people ie cheaper social housing
which would prevent wealthier towns folk buying rural properties unless they plan to join the community. There can still be free movement if so desired.
But a emphasive on more sustainable local communities should be encourged imho...

[John Parslow]

Hello Innefable Hitchhiker

I absolutely loved this video - it fills me with hope that we can all survive with the right mindset and being left alone to create something beautiful!

Once again my grateful thanks. JP

[modwiz]

Posted by John Parslow (here)
Hello Innefable Hitchhiker

I absolutely loved this video - it fills me with hope that we can all survive with the right mindset and being left alone to create something beautiful!

Once again my grateful thanks. JP

It is the being left alone part that is the biggest part of the challenge. Our organizational abilities and communication would allow us to transform this Earth in a very short time. It is the controllers who are our problem to overcome.

Use em for fertilizer, maybe?

[Ineffable Hitchhiker]

Posted by modwiz (here)
It is the being left alone part that is the biggest part of the challenge. Our organizational abilities and communication would allow us to transform this Earth in a very short time. It is the controllers who are our problem to overcome.
Use em for fertilizer, maybe?

Thank you for the comments.

I agree that there are many hurdles but after watching this I am truly inspired!
This video is fascinating because these people chose an old, abandoned village, instead of staring a new one.
To see that there are families brave enough to risk this enourmous move, stepping out of their comfort zones, should be a huge encouragement to anyone thinking of going off the grid.
I do wonder what would happen if this really catches on.
May places like this be our future and may they evolve and continue! It would really be a sad day when this kind of concept gets regulated out of existence.

[Siberia9]

Nice. So many people want to do this, but say they dont have the money, myself included. These people just went and did it anyway, a lesson there for sure.

[modwiz]

In the beginning of village building, nobody had money, just time and skills. In a real world, that is all that is required. Time and skills. Obtaining resources is a skill.

Oh yes, very important, a good work ethic.

[Calz]

Posted by modwiz (here)

Posted by John Parslow (here)
Hello Innefable Hitchhiker

I absolutely loved this video - it fills me with hope that we can all survive with the right mindset and being left alone to create something beautiful!

Once again my grateful thanks. JP

It is the being left alone part that is the biggest part of the challenge. Our organizational abilities and communication would allow us to transform this Earth in a very short time. It is the controllers who are our problem to overcome.

Use em for fertilizer, maybe?

At least in the USA.

I believe someone ran a thread about this (or similar) story ... but swat teams showing up on family farms is becoming discustingly common.

______________


Health department tyrants raid local 'farm to fork' picnic dinner, orders all food to be destroyed with bleach

Friday, November 11, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) It is the latest case of extreme government food tyranny, and one that is sure to have you reeling in anger and disgust. Health department officials recently conducted a raid of Quail Hollow Farm, an organic community supported agriculture (CSA) farm in southern Nevada, during its special "farm to fork" picnic dinner put on for guests -- and the agent who arrived on the scene ordered that all the fresh, local produce and pasture-based meat that was intended for the meal be destroyed with bleach.

For about five years now, Quail Hollow Farm has been growing organic produce and raising healthy, pasture-based animals which it provides to members as part of a CSA program. And it recently held its first annual "Farm to Fork Dinner Event," which offered guests an opportunity to tour the farm, meet those responsible for growing and raising the food, and of course partake in sharing a meal composed of the delicious bounty with others.

But when the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) got word of the event and decided to get involved, this simple gathering of friends and neighbors around a giant, family-style picnic table quickly became a convenient target for the heavy hand of an out-of-control government agency. And Monte and Laura Bledsoe, the owners and operators of Quail Hollow Farm, were unprepared for what would happen next.

SNHD official Mary Oaks raids picnic without cause or warrant, orders destruction of dinner food

Laura Bledsoe explains in a letter to her guests written after the fact that two days prior to the event, SNHD contacted the farm to say that, because the picnic was technically a "public" event, the couple would have to obtain a "special use permit," or else face a very steep fine. Not wanting to risk having the event disrupted, the Bledsoes agreed to jump through all the demanded legal hoops even though their gathering was really just a backyard picnic.

But the day of the event, an inspector from SNHD, Mary Oaks, showed up and declared that all the food the Bledsoes would be serving was "unfit for consumption," and that it would have to be destroyed. Though there was no logical or lawful reasoning behind this declaration, and the Bledsoes had complied with all the requirements, Oaks insisted that the food be discarded and destroyed using a bleach solution.

One of the so-called reasons for this action included the fact that some of the food packaging did not contain labels, even though labels are not necessary if the food is eaten within 72 hours. Oaks also cited the fact that some of the meat was not US Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified, that the vegetables had already been cut and were thus a "bio-hazard," and that there were no receipts for the food (which was all grown on the farm, not purchased from a grocery store).

You can view pictures of the event, as well as video footage of Inspector Oaks raiding the party, at the following link:


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034125_fo...#ixzz1eKVCz0mN

[modwiz]

[/COLOR]

Posted by Calz_Avaretard (here)

Posted by modwiz (here)

Posted by John Parslow (here)
Hello Innefable Hitchhiker

I absolutely loved this video - it fills me with hope that we can all survive with the right mindset and being left alone to create something beautiful!

Once again my grateful thanks. JP

It is the being left alone part that is the biggest part of the challenge. Our organizational abilities and communication would allow us to transform this Earth in a very short time. It is the controllers who are our problem to overcome.

Use em for fertilizer, maybe?

At least in the USA.

I believe someone ran a thread about this (or similar) story ... but swat teams showing up on family farms is becoming discustingly common.

______________


Health department tyrants raid local 'farm to fork' picnic dinner, orders all food to be destroyed with bleach

Friday, November 11, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) It is the latest case of extreme government food tyranny, and one that is sure to have you reeling in anger and disgust. Health department officials recently conducted a raid of Quail Hollow Farm, an organic community supported agriculture (CSA) farm in southern Nevada, during its special "farm to fork" picnic dinner put on for guests -- and the agent who arrived on the scene ordered that all the fresh, local produce and pasture-based meat that was intended for the meal be destroyed with bleach.

For about five years now, Quail Hollow Farm has been growing organic produce and raising healthy, pasture-based animals which it provides to members as part of a CSA program. And it recently held its first annual "Farm to Fork Dinner Event," which offered guests an opportunity to tour the farm, meet those responsible for growing and raising the food, and of course partake in sharing a meal composed of the delicious bounty with others.

But when the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) got word of the event and decided to get involved, this simple gathering of friends and neighbors around a giant, family-style picnic table quickly became a convenient target for the heavy hand of an out-of-control government agency. And Monte and Laura Bledsoe, the owners and operators of Quail Hollow Farm, were unprepared for what would happen next.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034125_fo...#ixzz1eKM1WKjs

Yep, grind em up and feed em to the chickens.

[Calz]

Posted by modwiz (here)
Yep, grind em up and feed em to the chickens.

Wouldn't that constitute cruelty to animals

[Lord Sidious]

Posted by modwiz (here)
Obtaining resources is a skill.

Terry the tea leaf never had any trouble.

[dAkapacity]

Thank you Ineffable Hitchhiker for this great post!

Here's the community of Lammas... ... (oops... different spelling ) in Wales, another truly inspiring ongoing series about sustainable eco villages off the grid.

They had to fight for 4 years before receiving the permit to start their project.

For me personally there's a little too much 'carbon footprint dogma' in it, but these people are actually getting things done and are radiating energy and beauty... and that's what matters.

Enjoy !

http://www.livinginthefuture.org/index.php/1

[Ineffable Hitchhiker]

Cave home in Loire is charming bioclimatic troglodyte house

In the Saumur region of France there are over a thousand miles of underground tunnels and thousands of caves, known as "troglodytes", homes, hotels, restaurants, museums, wineries, farms (silkworms, mushrooms, snails) and even a disco and a zoo (for nocturnal animals like bats).

What makes this land so perfect for underground dwellings is its very malleable rock. 100 million years ago, this part of France was covered by sea. When the water receded, it left a layer of tufa, or tuffeau, a type of limestone that turned out to be ideal for building castles, churches and homes in the surrounding area during the Middle Ages.

All of this quarrying created lots of tunnels and caves that turned out to be ideal homes, especially for quarrymen. Up until the early 20th century, troglodyte living was still common in the area. Even entire villages, like that of Louresse-Rochemenier, were housed underground.

In 2000, when Henri Grevellec retired from teaching, he bought an old quarry and moved into one of the old caves. On his property in Grezille, France, there are 6 caves that had once housed quarry workers centuries ago.

The site was abandoned when Grevellec purchased it, but he cleared away the growth and renovated the caves himself. He put in a modern kitchen and bathroom and in his bedroom (at the far back of the cave) he added a skylight to improved air circulation and add a bit of light.

Of the 6 original caves, one became a guest room (which he connected by tunnel to his main home), another is now his workshop (for his stone-working tools), another he left as it once had been (complete with wood-burning oven) and he uses part of one as a wine cellar.

Grevellec says the temperature in his cave home is naturally temperate. He doesn't need air conditioning and leads much less heat than a normal home because the earth walls act to naturally regulate the indoor temperature (see more on earth sheltering for details on earth walls as thermal mass).

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSbQ3t-j41Y

[firstlook]

places like this in America are referred to by many as cults. Separatists are really feared over here.

Great vid, thanks for posting.....I mean gracias.

[Flash]

Posted by firstlook (here)
places like this in America are referred to by many as cults. Separatists are really feared over here.

Great vid, thanks for posting.....I mean gracias.

I have a gracias and a merci for both videos in Spain and France.

I truly enjoyed it too. would love to live so simply in a stone dwelling like this.