JUST DESERTS

Monika Frank
describes life and
work at Sunseed
Desert Technology
in Spain.

Left: Cooking African food

on a fuel efficient
stove made from
an old metal

Cooking Up Solutions bucket and

a piece of
chimney pipe.
in Almeria Right:
Monika Frank

I
n a beautiful valley in the
arid landscape of Almeria
in Andalucia in Spain, the
British charity, The Sunseed
Trust, established a small re-
search station some 15 years
ago called Sunseed Desert
Technology. Sited in what was
the abandoned village of Los
Molinos, the project lies in a
spectacular depression of the
gypsum rock, typical of the
area. The Rio Aguas (river of
waters) – one of the only two
rivers running all year round in
the whole province of Almeria
– provides water for irrigating
the crop terraces. In the past,
Bottom right: Los Molinos was a rich village
Running with several oil and corn mills
on the sun: and plenty of land to grow food.
these seven Today, locals from the neigh-
solar panels bouring town, and also more
produce enough and more foreign ‘villagers’, are
electricity for bringing the terraces into
a telephone, production again.
computer and Apart from the Sunseed
lights, and can community there are other per-
bridge five manent residents and houses
cloudy days. only used for holidays. The
volunteers and staff members
of the project live in several old
buildings which are repaired
and maintained by the com-
munity itself.
The aim of Sunseed Desert

26 Permaculture Magazine No. 35 www.permaculture.co.uk

Technology is “to find and
spread methods to improve
the lives of people on degraded
areas and to demonstrate sus-
tainable technologies and life-
style”, applicable to desertified
areas mainly in Africa – but this
also applies to Southern Spain!
Almeria is the driest and hot-
test spot in Europe with signs
of severe degradation and soil
erosion; therefore it is an ideal
site for experiments.
TECHNOLOGY, TREES
& WASTE WATER
The running of a tree nursery,
tree planting activities, sowing
and monitoring of dryland
crops occupy the BIO-depart-
ment. Between 1988 and 1994,
Sunseed carried out an intensive
tree planting programme for
the Henry Doubleday Research
Association (HDRA), monitor-
ing the survival rate and develop-
ment of different tree species. At
the moment, research is concen-
trated on shrubs, as they provide
micro-habitats and shade for
other species to germinate.
Also research into wastewater
treatment using a combination
of reedbeds and hydroponic
crop production (see PM19)
is undertaken at Sunseed, to
process the wastewater before
it joins the river again. The
other important area of focus
of Sunseed is the Appropriate
Technology Department (AT);
volunteers and staff members
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Above: The ‘Rio Aguas’ valley in winter.
Centre: One of Sunseed’s garden terraces with a
compost toilet block on the right.
Bottom: The tree nursery grows mainly native species
like carob, pine, wild olive and various shrubs.
No. 35
invent and construct low-cost
solar cookers and water stills
of every thinkable material
and design: adobe, cardboard,
wood, metal, glass or plastic.
The idea is to use the sun’s
power in order to cut down
on firewood consumption. All
designs are as low-tech and
low-cost as possible. “There
are no white coats or complex
laboratories,” says the visitors’
guide – instead you find plastic
bottles and bits of cane used in
the most unusual ways.
The adobe solar cookers
were tested in several villages
in Tanzania between 1995 and
1998 but these trials showed the
difficulties of transferring tech-
nologies developed in one place
to another place with a very
different culture. The adobe
solar cooker was eventually
abandoned because of technical
problems (e.g. termites loved to
chew the straw incorporated in
the adobe mix) and cultural
ones (e.g. women prefer to
cook indoors). However, in
1996 an offshoot of Sunseed,
Sunseed Tanzania Trust (STT),
was formed by a small team
of volunteers. STT now works
with local partner organisations
in the Dodoma region on a
successful Domestic Energy
Project, which is spreading the
use of heat retention cookers
(sometimes known as hay boxes
or hot boxes). Local women
chose this simple technology,
Permaculture Magazine 27
as it suits their style of cooking
and their lifestyle, is cheap to
make and can reduce the amount
of fuel wood needed by half.
The way of testing solar
cookers, of course, is using
them and experimenting with
different ways of cooking and
preparing the food. According
to the number of volunteers
staying at the project, there is an
alternating solar family of four
or five people, cooking all their
food in solar cookers and on one
parabolic dish during one week.
If there are not enough volunteers
to take part, the AT coordinator
prepares one solar meal a week
for the entire community. The
big winners always are solar cakes
and bread; the fact that the cake
or bread cooks at a very steady but
not too high temperature over a
long time (3-4 hours instead of
less than 1 hour in a conventional
oven) seems to be the secret.
They bake best in one of the
oldest and most reliable cookers,
built entirely from car scrap
material. Hay boxes are used in
the kitchen for cooking pulses,
rice and raising bread dough.
The spirit of Sunseed’s phi-
losophy is also adopted in the
community itself and therefore
it is a great experience for all
visitors and volunteers to share
in the daily life at Sunseed. A life
without modern conveniences
such as TV, conventionally
heated hot water and heating
28 Permaculture Magazine
Above: Work (but yes, they have a telephone
in the tree now and even email!) can be real
nursery. Many fun in a well organised commu-
combinations nity. Rainwater is collected, the
of soil mixes compost toilets work well and a
and ways of solar water heating unit provides
hardening off hot water for showers. A big step
are trialled forward in providing enough
here to achieve electricity for lights, computer
a high rate of and telephone was made in 1997
success when by installing more solar panels
planted out. with a rated output of 500W.
Below: The YEAR LONG GROWING
Rio Arguas Apart from the two research
flowing departments there are other
through the voluntary staff members look-
valley provides ing after the functioning and
water all year well-being of the whole project:
round. management, finances, house-
hold, education/publicity/fund-
raising, construction and gardens.
Half a hectare (1.25 acres)
of flood irrigated land is
under the control of the staff
gardener. In this decent climate
vegetable growing is possible
all year round. But despite
all efforts, the garden area is
not big enough to feed all the
mouths all year round. Also the
(wo)man power is often too
scarce, although volunteering
in the gardens always seems to
be the most popular task.
I had the pleasure of gar-
dening for a full year’s cycle at
Sunseed, gaining valuable exp-
eriences in this type of climate.
Flood irrigation with the trad-
No. 35
itional system of irrigation lines
(acequias) is a typical feature of
small-scale horticulture all over
Andalucia. Although some say it
washes nutrients to layers too
deep for plant roots to reach,
this irrigation system has been
used for centuries and the
locals seem to be happy with it,
producing vast quantities of
vegetables. In this hot-dry
climate all ingredients of Med-
iterranean cooking grow well:
tomatoes, peppers, aubergines,
courgettes, pumpkins and basil
in the summer; the autumn is
peak sowing time for broad
beans, peas and transplanting
brassicas; garlic is put in in
January, potatoes after the last
frost in February as well as all
root crops like carrots, radishes
and onions – then it starts all over
again! The head gardener at the
moment, Elena from Sevilla, is
following a crop rotation of root
crops, strong feeding plants and
different beans.
WELL ORGANISED COMMUNITY
Although Sunseed is a registered
British charity whose legal
decisions are taken by a board
of trustees based in England,
the day to day decisions and
the overall direction of the
project is taken by the project
manager in Spain. Since last
summer, Carol Biggs took over
this post with lots of enthusiasm
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and experience in ecological
building. In quarterly meetings,
the manager reports to the
trustees but this is not a top-
to-bottom-hierarchy. In weekly
meetings, staff members and the
project manager discuss details
of safety issues as well as new
research projects, proposals and
communal activities. Support
and feedback comes through
‘Friends of Sunseed’ (mostly
former volunteers and staff
members) who also receive a bi-
annual newsletter. Sunseed is now
also a registered Spanish NGO in
order to play a more important
role in Spanish society.
The whole organisation is
run by volunteers: from trustees,
booking agent, staff and advisors
to placements. Volunteers come
to stay from one week up to one
year although there is no upper
limit. ‘Working visitors’ work
four hours in the mornings,
choosing the department they
want to work in every day.
‘Full-time volunteers’ commit
themselves to at least a five week
stay and to a special project,
therefore working in one
department seven hours a day.
The staff members receive pocket
money and are asked to stay for
at least one year, carrying out the
objectives of their department
and taking volunteers and their
daily tasks on board. Full-time
volunteers and staff are mostly
university placements or people
using this as a first step into an
environmental career. Sunseed
welcomes volunteers of any age,
skills or abilities.
Definitely the most pleasant
side of Sunseed (apart from
the amazing natural setting!)
is the social life and the well
organised community – although
(or because?) it is mostly a
community of transient people.
Everybody, from management
to one week volunteers, is asked
to cook a meal, clean or make
bread in rotation, so everybody
gets a feeling of sharing a basic,
but pleasant lifestyle where
your actions are important
for the functioning of the
whole community. Although
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‘sustainable living’ was never
a primary aim for Sunseed
Desert Technology, it is now
the most valuable experience
visitors gain from their stay at
the project. Consequently, it is
now included in the objectives
of the project!
It is the joy of sitting under
the pergola outside, while some-
one is cracking almonds, the
gardener coming in with a basket
full of freshly picked delicacies,
smells and laughter coming out
of the kitchen, which makes so
many come back – and some
even stay forever
Monika Frank is a writer,
g a rd e n e r, t r a v e l l e r a n d
volunteer. She has recently
been involved with sustainable
development in the Ukraine and
the EU programme, YOUTH.
Having studied landscape
management in Germany, lived
in Switzerland and travelled a
lot in southern Spain she now
plans to settle there for good.
For her, permaculture is a way
of thinking and acting sensibly
on planet Earth.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information and
staff vacancies, please contact:
Email: sunseedspain@arrakis.es.
Web: www.sunseed.org.uk
For bookings and enquiries:
Xandra Gilchrist, 8 Rugby Road,
Milverton, Leamington Spa
CV32 6DH, U.K.
CONTACTS
Contact for Sunseed Tanzania
Trust (STT)
Please include a first class stamp
or international mail coupon
for enquiries: Dilys Beaumont,
8 Marchent Crescent,
Edinburgh EH9 1HN. Email:
dilysbeaumont@hotmail.com
Contact for Author
Monika Frank, Buzon 1, Gochar
E - 04270 Sorbas, Almeria, Spain.
Tel: int code +34 696 104 846
Email: frei@fernetzt.org
Web1:www.workcamp-urlaub.de Above: Growing trees in such hostile conditions
Web 2: www.fernetzt.org requires care and regular checks.
No. 35 Permaculture Magazine 29