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!

Triple Dip

It's really a no brainer...

Regardless of government spiel, it is not a douple dip, an economic roller coaster or some Irish guys fault for building 600,000 houses too many (yes that's right, an extra house for every seventh person in Ireland.....). We are on a flat line of zero growth, zero investment, zero interest rates on savings, hidden inflation rates and new uber taxes and secret tax police (remember them from the seventies?).

Time to shine fellow humans! Time to ignore Saddam Bin Borat Obama - whilst he announces cuts to recoup their trillion dollar defeceit, remember the esteemed Americans are well into their third trillion in Iraq and Afganistan. No war no problem eh? Cheap finance, loads a money!!!




Whilst trashing the Americans, here is a good one. General Motors have announced that they will be producing the first commercial hydrogen cell powered car. Whoopee, hurah, take the day off. Take the day off and buy / download "Who killed the electric car". Any guesses? Phone a friend? The same company who ganged up with Firestone and bought up suburban rail lines to ensure you needed to buy a car?
Good old General Motors of course..



Foraging for mushrooms, wood and green compost



Villa Ganeesha, weathering the winter rains



Sooty, in winter shaggy pose



This January's almond blossom was the best for years

So lots of hard work at Quinta Stuart, Singing Jacks, the new shower block is finally finished, our new website (www.ecohostalalgarve.com) launched and a few volunteers about to arrive to get everything ready for our opening on May 1st - come and see!!

The Green Movie Season starts Saturday 4th June 2011 with the licensed screening of "Who killed the electric car" at 8pm. Relax in a Goan hammock or comfy chair in the Theatre of Dreams. Tickets are 5 euros each limited to 20 guests including a free drink. There is an honesty bar and free nibbles. Pre booking only via e mail stuartmerelie@gmail.com Check our website (www.ecohostalalgarve.com) for our full list of The Green Movie Season films and dates.

Swimming in Paradise...

New Year, same rain...

After 102mms of rain in November and 187mms in December, I think we've had enough... this time last year we were headed to Goa, this year we are staying here to get the hostal open!! We took the camper on a quick trip to Seville, Cordoba, Ourique and Silves to celebrate New Year and are now dodging showers to finish off Singin Jacks and the HqO.


Sunrise sunrise over Quinta Stuart


The HqO... Headquarters Owl, our new office at the front of Singin Jacks, our new eco loo and shower area.


Bagged this bugger spilling my drink in Seville


The overflow at Sta Clara dam... about 20cms to go!!


Villa Sheeva, step one. This will be an eight person dormitory. Used greenhouse poles sponsored by www.tipialgarve.com


New swimming pond at Quinta Stuart.... I wish!! This is a fabulous eco pool near Sta Barbara de Nexe - we will be creating something like this later this year.

From Barter to Bath

Not so far in a dictionary...

There's nothing like a wet week and a determination to get a few things done. Nearly 70mms of rain Monday to Thursday was enough to see off most landscapers but not moi. Nao n'este pas. Niete. Never. The James Bond of Landscaping will not be stopped, even by the evil rainman. Business is slow so don't get even - get inventive. I invented the green suited BARTER BOY.

Stuffed into aforesaid tight green suit, a mornings mini digging was swapped for a really big hobby table now set up in the Cheeky Chapati Cafe




Thanks E. Nice big table to hold court!!

Still with time spare in between showers on Monday afternoon, 12 free range eggs were traded for half an hours welding on the air vent of our nearly complete bread oven, bring it on!!



Tricky little job.. thanks Rick. Rick is one of those rare cookies who will weld even the smallest broken hinges or right up to a complete house full of window bars or ornate archways... ring him on 968636421. May cost more than a few eggs though..

Still not satisfied, and with my blood ceasing to circulate in my lime lycra layer (shrinks in the rain, all superheroes have there nemesis) I moved two lorry loads of tree trunks in exchange for a cooker.



Yes it's a cooker...... what did you want? A picture of Barter Boy?

Barter Boy is now retired - until the next rain...maybe
Now that I have three old baths, the second one was planted up with strawberries in my green house and the last one is being used as an experiment in capillary gardening.



A short tube with elbow is glued into the plug hole. The bottom of the bath is then filled with gravel to 5cms above this tube



The water will then stay in the bath and naturally evaporate back up watering the vegetables again. Any excess water will run through the tube attached to the plug hole avoiding stagnation.



A hundred onions later.

Now has anybody an old bath? You might be able to persuade Barter Boy to slide into his emerald zoot suit one more time...

Ice is nice at half the price

England freezes as Portugal swims

Apparently these cold days are due to Artic winds sweeping down through England and across the continent and landing on jolly good Portugal. You realise that in the pre EEC days the winds would have stopped in France, and us Iberians could have still had our three hour lunch hour outside. Thanks France. Due to their 28 hour working week, the streets and roads are all empty allowing this dubious "mistral" to accelerate through cold potato soup land into our neck of the woods...

Almost as annoying was Englands bid to host the world cup. Thanks to Panorama and the feckless thick spoilt twit of the offspring of the jug eared aldulteress twerp, it was bloody odds on we would not host the world cup. Thought it would be pretty obvious a few kilos of beluga, a couple of mink coats and a - natasha - a week - for - life is slightly preferable to tea and cucumber sarnies... To William, Becks and Grabby Lingerer and the entire team of Pornorama, thanks, your fired...


Merci beaucoups.... first frost ever in November

Not that it has stopped us from working. Au contrar mons sweets.Dodging rain showers, I am determined to finish the tribrid cooking station. it has been nearly a year since it was delivered so rain or shine I have been progressing.



After building the sides up, I added an entire bundle of rock wool to the roof to increase insulation


Then I constructed the two apexes and cast a layer of steel covered with a mixture of permalite sand and cement for yet more thermal mass and insulation.


To the side of the main bread oven, I raised the back wall to protect the BBQ and rocket stove section.


Forming the combustion chamber for the rocket stove

The whole unit when finished will do the following:-

Well insulated bread oven. The oven already works but due to some ham fisted bee dropping the oven when it was delivered (ok... it was me..) the cracks reduced the effect of thermal mass, keeping the oven warm for hours down by 75%, increasing the thermal mass using rocks, cement, fibreglass, gravel then perlite will keep ot hot for hours!!
Spanish BBQ next to the bread oven. A very simple system of a deep bed of crushed glass topped with sharp sea sand. Using wood burning on the sand and bamboo skewers, it is an easy way to cook.
At the far right is a rocket stove. Wood is burnt in a lower combustion chamber and the verturi effect (sounds like a jet engine), produces an enormous amount of heat to boil large quantities of water for washing up or boiling potatoes.

What our solar cookers can do during the day, the tribrid will do at night!


Marking out Villa Sheeva, an eight person Goan style hut, our next project


Six weeks after planting the seedlings, courgettes and nabos are ready

STOP PRESS...Please check out our new web site at

www.ecohostalalgarve.com

It isn't over until the fat lady swings!

Winter rains, Newcastle versus Portalagre


Last of the banana vine

We lit our first fire on November 9th, two days later than last year. Sitting an hour later, sweating in my ex war (first wife) M and S dressing gown, life is good. Tough but good. Business is way down, the Algarve is no longer a playground littered by beaches but as the circle of life slowly ticks around, it is a backdrop of political graffitti, threats of strikes, increased taxes, more fines and higher bills.



High tech capillary bed, not just a bath tub..


So why is it so good I can hear you thinking? Olives, firewood, rabbits, water, herbs, weeds for the chickens............. Foraging has never been so good! We have picked so many abandoned Olive trees that the local lagar (Olive press) gave us nearly 50 litres of good quality Olive oil. We have installed second hand water tanks on every small roof and they are used to water the new green house - our courgettes are ready after only four weeks after planting as seedlings. Leaving onions and lettuce amongst other plants to go to seed (mocked by Antonio my lorry man!) means wild salad free of charge. Our local paths were so overgrown we have pruned them back and kept all the wood with a pat on the back from our local postman (I was going to say a pat from postman Pat but knew better..)
Unless you carefully push boundaries, pay bribes (our fresh eggs) and open your heart and patience and have more time (slow business) you never know.





Merelie The Landscapers Native Tree stall at The MGS Fair



All our trees are 1 euro each, we still have a few left!!

And I got to see my lovely Newcastle United play. A quick week end to England to wish my eldest brother his 60th birthday wishes. I think he got left in the bar outside
the ground. A strange coincidence was the ladies were wearing mini skirts and high heels - only minus 1 outside.


Happy 60th Angus!!

A little warmer this week end, I took Holly up to see Rebecca for her 17th birthday up Portalegre. Thanks to Sue who let me use her car, meaning we could actually go there and back in the same week end! Oddly it was as cold as Newcastle but elleven times cheaper, bonny lad.. Oh yes and I watched Stricknine come boring and yuck factor. I think I won, I turned the TV off.

Dodging wet weather we are still progressing slowly at Quinta Stuart, working on the bread oven, planting more trees (Pines in the hedgerow to get more noise absorbtion from the motorway), planting more bulbs, and sowing favas and peas.



I am determined to finish the bread oven project soon!! Yet another use for marble left at my local supermarket (local bins.)



A bale of rock wool and sixteen buckets of gravel are used to insulate the original top of the bread oven. adding insulation and thermal mass will keep the oven hotter for longer (and hide the cracks where Muggins dropped it off his excavator...)