Antonia Dorth

After school i was looking for something to do, something that suited my interests and gave me a new space away from home. 

It was super exciting to come into this new environment and to meet Connie and Bren as well as Alex and Maja, who are volunteering with me. It was the first time living with foreign people. Making the housing and Finca our home and learning more and more about each other was and is very special to me.

I especially appreciate the many opportunities that were given to us, to learn about the different styles and aspects about Permaculture from different passionate people.

Here, we are living very close to nature, much more than I was used to back home and it gave me a feeling of being included in the ways of nature. We were included in the beauty but also in the effects of climate change. For example in heavy rains in winter that affected especially the coastal areas of Spain or the heatwaves, which are contributing to the water shortage and many people struggle to keep their plants alive but also to stay healthy in the heat of the summer. 

For our work we were taught to pay attention to the details and to the small changes. It also showed me to look at nature from different perspectives and to continuously find beauty in my surroundings. After work I had a lot of free time to discover the island with the train or bike, to read books and find new ways to express my creativity. My highlights were hiking in the Tramuntana the GR221 trail including a sleepover in the Refugio, cowboy camping on a lonely beach and snorkelling in a beautiful cala, and seeing an octopus. Between the adventures we had, we spent time together with Maja and Alex ( Also Elena and Eliza for a shorter period of time) chatting , playing games or watching silly movies, which made every day life so precious. Planting trees, weeding and watering were our every day tasks. Besides that we made excursions and saw and learned about other Permaculture Fincas or build for example a greenhouse from old glass windows. We also planted vegetables in our own garden and harvested broccolis, paprikas and onions. 

My Personal Project is doing glass and mosaic art on a bathroom wall. It is really cool to do art with different material and learn how to handle it. 

Summing up, this is and was such an important time for me because i feel now a greater sene of empowerment to design my own life and to have a passion with Permaculture, which I want to implement into my life back home.