Sorbas, Spain
Living in Harmony With Nature
Sunseed aims to realise, educate, demonstrate and communicate appropriate and low technology solutions that support a low impact lifestyle. It is an excellent example of a non-formal educational project, a living and breathing centre for change and experimentation. They teach about activism, food sovereignty, alternative economies and sustainable community living.
Sunseeds vision is to discover how to live a healthy and ecologically responsible life, working in harmony with nature and other beings alike.
They hold a wild seed bank to conserve and reproduce wild seeds and are planting, having re-greened large areas with trees and are using native plants to tackle soil erosion.
Desert Technology
The community focus on exploring environmental, economic, social and political topics related to sustainability. Many abandoned houses in this valley have been re-occupied after many years as the water is flowing again. DIY technology, largely solar driven, has enabled enough water for drinking, growing and keeping chickens. The water also benefits wildlife and native plants. Simple pumps and clever cooking, drying and planting processes have been developed over the years.
Every year Sunseed hosts a Fiesta de Agua (water conservation festival) to share expertise with visitors.
Social Permaculture
Situated in the Tabernus desert in Southern Spain this community practices Social Permaculture. Permaculture originated as an ecological method for designing sustainable settlements and more recently it has intertwined with more social contexts. Social Permaculture aims to design social systems that favour beneficial patterns of human behaviour. It looks at ways to organise, communicate and cooperate more effectively to create fair relationships.