September went by very quickly. I spent most of it in the Ecovillage of Piracanga in Bahia. I wrote a text about my experience there for the last newsletter of Sustainable Couch and I would like to share it here.
To read the full newsletter: http://www.sustainablecouch.org/newsletter/290
Enjoy!
Massi on the road
___________
“A dear friend of mine from Brasil attended a permaculture course Piracanga earlier this year and she said it is a place I should absolutely get to know. Since my first two trips in 2011 and 2012 I desperately missed Brazil, so I decided to come back to this wonderful country to try out the “ecovillage experience”. I would like to begin by shortly presenting the place where I spent the month of September.
To read the full newsletter: http://www.sustainablecouch.org/newsletter/290
Enjoy!
Massi on the road
___________
“A dear friend of mine from Brasil attended a permaculture course Piracanga earlier this year and she said it is a place I should absolutely get to know. Since my first two trips in 2011 and 2012 I desperately missed Brazil, so I decided to come back to this wonderful country to try out the “ecovillage experience”. I would like to begin by shortly presenting the place where I spent the month of September.
A quick look at Piracanga's story
Piracanga was born around 10 years ago starting from the private initiative of a European couple. In the last decade, an abandoned coconut farm turned into a tropical paradise where around 35 people live in an intentional community. Around 50 more people belong to the area of the ecovillage and respect its rules and values, even if they have private houses and jobs outside. A holistic centre was set up 5 years ago, offering a wide variety of courses such as meditation, reiki, aura reading, fasting, etc. More recently, a “university” and a “school of service” were created, offering young people the opportunity to spend a few months in the ecovillage, working, learning and sharing community life. More information can be found here.
Piracanga was born around 10 years ago starting from the private initiative of a European couple. In the last decade, an abandoned coconut farm turned into a tropical paradise where around 35 people live in an intentional community. Around 50 more people belong to the area of the ecovillage and respect its rules and values, even if they have private houses and jobs outside. A holistic centre was set up 5 years ago, offering a wide variety of courses such as meditation, reiki, aura reading, fasting, etc. More recently, a “university” and a “school of service” were created, offering young people the opportunity to spend a few months in the ecovillage, working, learning and sharing community life. More information can be found here.
My arrival in Pircanga
I arrived by bus from Salvador at the beginning of September. I was immediately fascinated by the beauty of Piracanga, set in a wonderful spot on the coast: a small river flowing into the Atlantic Ocean; a long beach covered in soft sand; coconut trees and plants everywhere; small houses and constructions hidden in the flourishing vegetation. Nice people from many countries (but with a big majority of Brazilian, Argentinians and Uruguayans) who escaped the “system”, for a few months or years, to live and practice an “alternative” lifestyle based on sustainability and spirituality, two of the pillars of Piracanga. On the first day I was introduced, together with the rest of the group, to the school of service; in total we were 15 people. This school is a 2-month programme for guided self-discovery and personal development. The first week helps people to “land” in this new world, the seven following weeks are dedicated each on the seven chakras. There is also work available in different projects (permaculture, kitchen, school of arts and handicrafts) and lessons on different subjects (chakras, meditation, relationships etc.)
I arrived by bus from Salvador at the beginning of September. I was immediately fascinated by the beauty of Piracanga, set in a wonderful spot on the coast: a small river flowing into the Atlantic Ocean; a long beach covered in soft sand; coconut trees and plants everywhere; small houses and constructions hidden in the flourishing vegetation. Nice people from many countries (but with a big majority of Brazilian, Argentinians and Uruguayans) who escaped the “system”, for a few months or years, to live and practice an “alternative” lifestyle based on sustainability and spirituality, two of the pillars of Piracanga. On the first day I was introduced, together with the rest of the group, to the school of service; in total we were 15 people. This school is a 2-month programme for guided self-discovery and personal development. The first week helps people to “land” in this new world, the seven following weeks are dedicated each on the seven chakras. There is also work available in different projects (permaculture, kitchen, school of arts and handicrafts) and lessons on different subjects (chakras, meditation, relationships etc.)
My work in the permaculture project
From the beginning it was clear to me: I want to work in the permaculture project to know more about the practical aspects of it and to “get my hands dirty”. I was immediately able to fulfil my wish, as I started to work on one of the main ecological sectors of Piracanga: the compost system. All the organic “trash” from the kitchen and from the “dry toilets” is the starting and at the same time final point of an important process. The organic material is stored, mixed with straw and different types of microorganisms to accelerate the decomposition process, which lasts on average 5 weeks for the food and a few months for the toilet materials.
From the beginning it was clear to me: I want to work in the permaculture project to know more about the practical aspects of it and to “get my hands dirty”. I was immediately able to fulfil my wish, as I started to work on one of the main ecological sectors of Piracanga: the compost system. All the organic “trash” from the kitchen and from the “dry toilets” is the starting and at the same time final point of an important process. The organic material is stored, mixed with straw and different types of microorganisms to accelerate the decomposition process, which lasts on average 5 weeks for the food and a few months for the toilet materials.
Every day I shovelled different piles of food compost from one
“garage” to the other, in order to oxygenate it and avoid it rotting.
Week after week I was able to observe the decomposition process. At the
end, the compost is used to fertilise the gardens of Piracanga,
completing this wonderful “zero-waste” cycle.
Apart from this, I had the chance to participate to
different “mutiroes”, a Portuguese word which roughly means “community
work actions”: a group of people get together to work for a few hours
with a common aim, i.e. planting a vegetable garden, cleaning an area,
etc. The physical work was hard and tiring, and very interesting. The
chakra-related learning process was instead far more difficult for me,
as the spiritual part of the process was similar to my own in both
content and form.
Still, I really enjoyed my time in Piracanga, as I was
able to learn many new things about myself and being committed to a
better, more sustainable world."
