Charcoal for Beginners, Apricots for Experts

Never a dull moment here on the farm, and when visitor Zimbo Rick (await your nickname all who enter here!!) offered to make us a charcoal kiln, we did not know how successful it would be.


The partly tamped wood releases its producer gas (the white smoke). Air traffic had to be diverted for three hours, man do these babies smoke!



As the smoke turns blue, we tamp all the air ducts and put rocks and soil on the lid, and wait twelve hours or so until it is 100% cool


Et voila, charcoal... our half an oil drum of wood yielded three full carrier bags of charcoal



Not just for BBQs, you can cook anything on it!


Using the rocket stove for another of Ricks impressive squid stews



Rocket stove at night, Stuart's delight


Given the amount of wood cooking systems, thought it was better to install five fire extinguisher points!!



Owl given a rare second off from playing with apricots to barmaid



One drawback with apricots is they tend to ripen all at the same time then have a very short shelf life



Dehydrating apricots for winter. They will freeze well for stewing and crumbles as well

NB Please note pictures of the opening party are on a previous blog, please click on the first entry for May in the right hand column

www.ecohostalalgarve.com

Opening party

P A R T Y !!!!!!!!

Thanks to all 55 guests and friends who attended the summer opening of Quinta Stuart on May 7th. Thanks especially to Wilson Waitering Services for the two high speed staff and massive thanks to Howard of Strings and Things for the fantastic live music, Gloria, Michaela, Michelle, Mike and all those who brought some tapas along.



Musical chairs... grown up version


Emma and Jack, thanks guys xx


Master tapa chef Michelle and Sarah


Stu and Owl and The Swanleys

So the hard work is finished for this year at Quinta Stu. Next winters project will be to add an eco swimming pond and a big tree house as an office for me. We have just fitted five big fire extinguishers around the property and with the help of Zimbo Rick now produce our own charcoal and have the new rocket stove up and running.

So we now have 1 tipi, 2 Goan style co co huts, The Owl House and the Cosy Cabin,1 movie theatre, 1 sofa lounge, 7 hammocks, 1 chill out zone and most importantly 1 honesty bar. If you need to escape from reality, we do week end specials starting at 75 euros for couples for three nights. Got the builders in... come and stay here.... Not so welcome friends, not enough space - send them here. Want to make some charcoal or bake some bread - come and stay!! Want to host a party, run a course or hide,come to our movie nights, want a pizza party and sleepover for your kids,speak to us or visit our web site at www.ecohostalalgarve.com

• Quinta Stuart - Eco Hostel Algarve

Three Concerts, Two Hangovers and one Stuart's Summer

I don't know if anybody has coined a phrase for the couple of weeks of great weather we get late March / early April before it sinks back to wet and rain again. Well if no one has, then it is know officially "Stuart's Summer", so there.
We took good advantage during this years Stuart's Summer to see three music events. A fantastic evening of contemporary danceby Faro drama students was held in Sao Bras cinema - a very professional display for the grand sum of 4 euros entry fee!
The following week end, we took off to the back of Silves for a late night of music at O Gradys 12 Bar Blues - sitting outside until 3 in the morning. Free


Great performance from JigglyWiggly - think Rocky Horror meets Burlesque

Last week end we took the van up to Portalegre to go to Freekuency, a three day free music festival organised by a few Brits. I am too old to understand that having so many facial piercings that you could be plucked up by an industrial magnet is attractive or that to enjoy the deep bass music you need to be off your head on something far stronger than annadin.


Despite his best attempts, this joker still couldn't light his cigarette

Stunnning totty though...when I eventually figured out which walking sowing boxes were girls and not boys wearing skirts. With no facilities other than two open cess pits, a nights camping in Tripoli during the bombing would have been quieter. Free, but at a cost...



10am Day 2 and only the living dead remain dancing

We left and stayed a night at Mertola, my first trip there for 20 years and well worth a visit, all tastefully renovated, the river is so beautiful there. Good job we didn,t camp there on December 6th 1875, were a flash flood raised the river level by over 40 metres, killing over half the local population!


Well worth a day out, Mertola

We got back in time for the Passion Sunday service but guess I was still in party mood as I swear there was a donkey in church sitting in front of me...


Pedro listening to Father Bob

Zeberdee time!!

The suns out and there is a whiff of spring in the air

Working hard at Quinta Stuart, we have finished Casa Kiki, the eight berth dormitory which we are only going to furnish with four beds this season. The tipi has a marble floor, Cosy Cabin has new beds (and no woodburner which gives more space), Villa Ganeesha has weathered the winter well and we have fixed all the shade net over the Owl House. Lots still to do and now only five weeks until we open for the season.



A touch of Bali perhaps? Look forward to another shady terrace for the summer



Thanks to Ben for the super cool airstream roof. We will be building models of these for Outreach and The Project.


Inside Casa Kiki, set up for a honeymoon, but also can be used as an 8 bed dorm. or a classroom or yoga studio.

Time now to tidy the whole site and rebuild irrigation. As a lot of the fruit trees are now three years old, we are going to remove the individual points and just leave irrigation to the younger trees and raised beds and even then as little as possible.
We have to water save and mulching the trees, adding shade and removing poor trees seems the way - whilst most trees have rocketed, a few miserable ones deserve to be removed or replanted.



Martins Zub zub - our Polish volunteer removed the washing board and filled it with our own compost. The seedlings are a mix of wild flowers and Basil.



This years Apricot crop is going to be good!

So with plenty of volunteers, lots of enthusiasm, lots of friends, her's to a great summer! Keep watching, Stu and Owl x

Enter the Polish Trojan

Thought it might be tough to beat Ben the roofer and Sam the - magic - chef, but might have just pipped them with Martin "The Machine" Krolsky!!
Not a man who believes in coincidences, three people this week have described Quinta Stuart as a bit of a hippy retreat... great, it is our hazy lazy laid back low carbon shady snoozy woozy cheap clean economic eco hostal. With prices from 10 euros per person per night, come see at

www.ecohostalalgarve.com



Martin The Machine, constructing a thermal batch heater. After two days chain sawing, moving tonnes of compost and making drylene, this was his day off job!!



Not having the cash for a deck, we decided to raid the recycle bin for some marble. The sand came from a friends over order... still a few sacks of high energy cement though... Change from 100 euros and so cool!!



Starting to clad the insulation layer on Casa Kiki, getting a bit distracted with abstract bottle windows (photos to follow!)




It never rains around here, it just keeps pouring... 355 mms so far at Quinta Stuart this year. This was the day after The Poland Trojan left.. spent all day cooking with Jamesons...

So now back on our own, but awaiting an Irish couple in a vintage VW van. Great to see Paul, Robin, Ole, Ben and Sam at Pura Vida near Odeixe, west coast. We are going to catch up them at the free festival , central Portugal 15th April... check out www.freekuencyfestival.com for directions and line up.
Oh yes... need to promote my website and bookings for all our shelters - any ideas readers?

Life on the farm

Full steam ahead!!

Now the volunteer season has started, we have notched up a gear and hope to finish the eight person dorm within the next month.



Sam and Ben, modern day superheroes posing as volunteers. Ben is a specialist roofer who just happened to arrive as Casa kiki needed a beautiful roof. Sam is responsible for the most fantastic vegetarian food on the planet. Sadly moving on to Robins at Aljezur tomorrow!! Thanks a million guys xxx


Sam and Stuart's sourdough loaves... wow!!!!



Casa Kiki, stepfour. Main trusses on, looking good


Casa Kiki, step five, roof on - think Airstream but sexier!!




Step six, supports for the cladding and the electrics, getting there now!!

So it is progressing really well, might take a break after this project is complete. Until volunteer number three arrived..... Martin, the Polish Machine!! See next blog..

The New Human Race

Speed Capitalist

If there is time to reflect, speed becomes imperative. Internet connections or six speed gearboxes, we have to get there quickly. If I'm caught in traffic or stuck in a supermarket queue, I'm snapply, tense, gnarled. I whistle through gritted teeth. I'm addicted to a way of life. Like all addictions, the longer it goes on, the worse it gets. The joys are intermittent, the sorrow always increasing. I'm spending too much money and worker harder and longer hours to keep up so we can travel further and faster and beat the neighbours.
Wrong. And it's not me, but it was. The new WWW... world wide wrecession is giving me a bit more thinking time - think Portuguese, slower, more thinking time, more time for foraging. Whilst an unemployed pal of mine asked me to organise a ton of firewood, I have been pruning my absent landlords non blossoming Almonds and ended up with four tonnes of wood for next winter.
We need three things to survive. Box wine, water and heat. Not necessarily in that order.




Best Almond blossom for years - Owl's new tattoo!!

We have been working hard at Quinta Stuart, now firmly heading for our opening on May 1st. Singing Jacks is now finished, two compost toilets, two bathrooms and the HqO (Headquarters Owl) are now finished and we have started on Casa Paco, the eight berth Goan style dorm.


Singing Jacks, the eco toilet and shower block


Step two on Casa Paco, main supports for the floor


Step three, 1220 screws used to fix the floor boards



We used a mop and all the old tins of Cuprinol mixed in a big bucket to stain the floor in under half an hour!!

I have been out this morning and sourced enough second hand poles for the roof, and we have Sam and Ben arriving this week end to help us finish this and possibly start a small swimming pond. Bring it on!