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Eco123 Revista da Economia e Ecologia
Saturday, 8th February 2025.
The Esgravatadouro Cooperative, Cooperativa do Ambiente CRL, the publisher of ECO123, runs the Botanical Forest Garden in Caldas de Monchique and is organising another permaculture workshop in the Botanical Forest Garden this spring. Terraces have been laid out in a steep valley that offers sweeping views over the entire Algarve, as far as the south-west cape. In front of us is a fertile piece of land with black soil that a mountain stream is trying to transform into a Garden of Eden, a fertile oasis, the Barranco Esgravatadouro.
The ECO123 seminar will take place over six weekends, starting on Saturday and Sunday 29 and 30 March. Operating on a fortnightly basis – i.e. on 12 and 13 April and the weekend of 25 and 26 April, etc. – until 6 and 7 June, a maximum of ten participants will receive training about natural farming on mountain terraces, given by Lesley Martin in English. Simultaneous translation into Portuguese and German will be included in the workshop’s programme, and the course will last for a total of 72 hours. Lesley also had the chance to meet and get to know Bill Mollison, the Australian founding father of permaculture, personally.
We want to sow and harvest lettuce, carrots, courgettes, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and much more. We start by hardly working the soil at all. Yes, you read that right! We only do a minimum amount of work on the soil. Layers of straw are used as mulch in order to reduce evaporation and cut down on the need for watering. This protects the soil surface from the weather and creates an optimal environment for earthworms and other beneficial organisms.
Composting the mulch material releases additional nutrients for your plants, and the heat that is generated stimulates root growth, accelerating the growth of the entire plant. With organic materials, the more the better…
And we will also plant apple, apricot and fig trees. Having a garden close to nature is different from having a groomed garden where every plant grows in a controlled manner. It is wild, romantic and dreamlike, a magical place where all sorts of wonders can be observed. It reflects a lifestyle that is natural and healthy but may be considered somewhat rough and untidy by our neighbourly critics. We don’t spray any weedkillers or other poisons. Believe me, as soon as you discover the variety of creatures living in your garden, all the criticism about weeds and overgrown grasses will be forgotten. You realise that you’re doing it right. On the one hand, you save time, work, seeds, water and fertiliser and, in return, you get a harvest that increases every year. And all for the benefit of nature, because permaculture is orientated towards the natural processes of ecosystems.
Dates and times:
29/30 March start 10 a.m.
12/13 April start 10 a.m.
25/26 April start 10 a.m.
10/11 May start 10 a.m.
23/24 May Start 10 a.m.
6/7 June Start 10 a.m.
Enrolments and questions: Telephone 918 818 108
email: theobald.tiger8550@gmail.com
