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Off-Grid Permaculture Internship … in a monastic rhythm

Posted on by emma

Mount of Oaks (MoO) is opening for applications for those who feel called to be part of our “Permaculture Off-Grid Apprenticeship” in 2025. Here is the form to fill and below is the full information. Please take some time to read all before getting in contact with questions. Thank you!

STORY SO FAR….

This idea has developed out of our own experience since 2006, hosting hundreds of guests, friends, volunteers and family.

We live in times when many people are seeking connection, and ironically, with so many developed technologies, social media and internet, people in “western world” seem to be the most disconnected… from each other, from God, from Nature and ultimately from themselves.

In these times there is mistrust in many areas, Governments, education, in leaders, in health, in religions, and even within families. What we have been realising more and more is that those who passby Mount of Oaks have been impacted to make a difference wherever they go next!

Some got confident to move out of the city they were not happy in and started new lives in more quiet rural areas;Some were already on a transition, but lacked some essential skills to have a good start, so they learned a lot here; Some found here their passion for plants, for trees, for regenerating and building healthy soils, for producing food and build more sustainable houses with local materials; Some got inspired, others encouraged by the hope this place brings, showing a way of living where is possible to find more balance with Nature, as well as more connection to Spirit ; Some were reminded to rest and stop, and simply enjoy each moment, taking that reminder into their everyday lives; Some found Home and Family, and they keep coming back;……For some was not easy, but it surely made them and us stronger, wiser and even more forgiving than before.

It is not easy to live in community so close to each other on a daily basis… we usually face the “not so good” parts of ourselves… and it is part of the experience as well – to love ourselves, forgive ourselves and accept how we are at any given moment.

MoO is at the moment a home for….

…. two women, Barbara and Emma, the guardians who have been living here since 2006 and 2011 respectively. We have experienced community living (here and before coming here) in many different ways and the way we choose to do things today, is the way we found it works best for us.

We have learned the hard way to put clear boundaries to protect ourselves and our relationship and we will try to be and encourage one another to be as clear as possible about each ones boundaries. An essencial skill that we continuously learn in life in community with others. We are in transition still, in the process of building our own private spaces, and having more privacy.

We lived in a bus for the last 11 years. , with some privacy, but not quite retreated, no personal toilet, or shower or kitchen, so we use the common spaces we share with all we host… which means sometimes it is a stretch when we host people in the land. We would appreciate everyone´s mindfulness of this reality :-)… for that we are already thankful 🙂

More ABOUT US…

Barbara loves doing as much as she can with her own hands and she loves finding solutions… she loves teaching and passing on the many skills she has aquired in her 50 years of life… she is a Permaculture design teacher as well as a Natural building teacher, passionate for trees, wild life, regenerating land and encouraging others to live more sustainably. She is very introvert at times and loves being on her own, but her calling is also to create and encourage community spaces and encounters 🙂

Emma is 46, she loves people and often finds the best they have inside… She loves healing plants and makes the most amazing wild salads… or transforming plants into oils, tinctures and teas… She´s a fermentalist freak and loves transforming our produce into delicious food, and her kombucha scobies into delicious and healthy drinks.

Living at Mount of Oaks

You will naturally see and experience our many DIY, off-grid and sustainable solutions in a permaculture designed farm already with many systems implemented. There is much more that can be done and designed in our 5 hectare piece of land, but we already have a lot :

– different designs of dry compost toilets; many different natural building techniques (wattle and daub, strawbale, earthbags, cordwood, thatch roof with broom, earth and lime plasters, tadelakt, post and beam structures, adobe bricks, cob, simple carpentry, and efficient use of cement too) ; Rain water collection, diy sand filter for water, irrigation by gravity with efficient use of a simple locally built petrol pump; a 24v photovoltaic energy system and instalation (quite professionally installed by a local friend); sewage systems; worm farm; chickens; Hot water from solar or fire, and even sauna; Many productive raised beds, food forests on the go and different working guilds and companion planting.

I (Barbara) have been focusing a lot on all the buildings we need for storage or to host guests and events, and now I want to upscale our food production, propagating even more the plants we already have, planting more trees, introducing more animals in the system, and even design sustainable pastures to set an example to the many sheep farms around us. Our soil is so much fertile after years of “letting be”, “chopping and dropping” and introducing species and animals to help. It´s definitely way much easier now to plant trees than it was 16 years ago.

INTERNSHIP DETAILS

We are inviting those who feel called to come for 3 or 6 months to live with us and this land, bringing their creativity, love, service and working hands.

We´ve realised that people are more motivated and end up growing more as humans when they are given responsibilities (in the possible areas identified by us), more than just doing what they are told to do ( Obviously as interns, and for those with less experience, this might be a good start, and it´s also very welcomed )

With this in mind, as there is always something to do and we don´t have time for everything we would still like to, we would like to give opportunities on 3 areas of responsibility for those who could easily take on. These are :

Kitchen and food transformation:

  • Maintain the main Kitchen clean and organized;
  • Plan meals, go shopping in local market;
  • Transform and preserve food ( fermenting, drying, pickles, jams, sauces, Kombucha,etc);
  • Pick and dry flowers, herbs and fruits;
  • Make infused oils and tinctures for medicine;
  • Collect wild food; etc…
  • Cooking with fire/grill and using the bread oven 🙂 (we do have a normal gas cooker);

Annual Garden and Perenial Food Forests:

  • Food production (plan and practice);
  • Plant propagation (seedlings and cuttings);
  • Design and research for medicinal gardens and food forests;
  • Prepare raised beds (kitchen garden, food forests and guilds);
  • Collect and store seeds;
  • Worm farm (maintain and improve system);
  • Irrigation (Maintain and improve);
  • Prepare and use liquid feeds for garden;
  • Plan and sow green manure in new plots;
  • Collect animals manure from neighbors when needed ;
  • Use of chainsaw and strimmer

General Maintenance and Natural Building :

  • Build and improve fences;
  • General maintenance of buildings (lime wash, fix plasters, treat wood);
  • General maintenance of electric plugs and switches;
  • Maintenance and improvement of irrigations (pipes, connections and taps);
  • Water pump, keeping filled and general maintenance (check oil and spark plug);
  • Use of chainsaw and strimmer (and maintenance of machines and tools);
  • Install and maintain guttering for each roof;
  • Repair and improve diy solar water heater;
  • Build and research on solar ovens;
  • Road and Stream maintenance
  • Natural Building (helping Bárbara)
  • Chop and store firewood

Being responsible doesn´t mean doing it all, but means planning, delegating and even finding help outside as we have quite a large community around and not so far with many helping hands looking for opportunities to be involved :-).

All these might be things you already know, others you will learn. Me and Emma are here to teach and guide when needed. Every area is connected to another, so we need to work together, plan together, communicate the best we can and suppport one another.

There are other areas that Interns are welcome to help only if that is not affecting their main responsibility as they are not as much of a priority. These are : Organic markets (we can sell our produce weekly); Web site and social Media (could need some attention but is not a priority);

We will have community meetings fortnightly to check in the progress of each one and what can be done differently. The first week or two is mainly for each Apprentice to “arrive”, get settled and get used to our rhythm, receive instructions and some teachings on Permaculture Design and Natural Building, and plan the goals of their Internship time for evaluation… If it fits our needs and priorities, we have a match 🙂 !

We envision (the ideal world…) a group of 3 or 4 Internship who could organize themselves for daily tasks (cooking, cleaning, washing), and could plan and work together as a team to accomplish our common goals.

Me and Emma are prepared to teach each one what we have learned so far, and we would also like to invite some of our friends who live nearby to teach their skills in “open classes” (it´s an idea, lets see how it flows).

As mentioned, all this will require some skills on planning and organizing, as well as clear communication of plans and goals with the rest of the team and us. I’m aware this is not for everyone, but if communication is clear, another way can be possible. It is a short time, specially if it´s only 3 months, but much could be achieved with a good motivation.

I have learned on the way that if I just do what I´m told (which is really nice sometimes), I don´t really exercise myself to think of solutions and make a plan to achieve goals. Having clear goals gives us many opportunities to celebrate our accomplishments, as little as they may be 🙂… or we will realise we were trying to achieve more than we could 🙂 … The goal could be also to learn specific things, and follow our guidance.

I am sure we will celebrate many achievements :-), and we want to include that as part of this time, maybe every 2 weeks or so, inviting friends over, preparing special meals, having fun together, etc…

WHAT WE REQUEST FROM AN INTERN

  • We request each one to bring their own accomodation (tent, tipi, yurt, car, van) and if possible their own transport (we are 40 minutes walking from the nearest train station);
  • We request each one to respect the others´ space (this is a time for self reflection too and we will encourage that);
  • We request each one to respect our differences of opinions, ways of doing things, spiritual practices or beliefs, sexual orientation, cultural approaches, etc;
  • We request acceptance of the rhythm and routine that has already been working for this place; (we can make a plan together on our first week, but this is what we usually expect : working 4 hours a day for 5 days a week… resting 2 days, in or out of the land… participating in our praying / singing circles and any check-in circle, participating in our fortnight celebration, participating or at least respecting our weekly praying/singing circle with local community and any event we will host at MoO);

  • We will encourage each one to develop their individual spiritual practices (they may be different from others) as we consider this to be fundamental to help each individual process
  • We obviously request some skills on working in a team ( I do love to work alone sometimes and that is ok too as long as it is communicated… working alone can also be working in team and for the team);
  • We also want to invite those who are willing to work through the hard “issues” that might emmerge. This is almost garanteed in community life, as there is little space to “hide”… Misunderstandings are very common even when we are doing our best to communicate clearly. Transparency is a must and we will encourage each one, including ourselves, to communicate what we feel and think, to confront and accept confrontation… It has been one of my major areas of growth and I still feel I have so much to learn. It requires everyone to help.

We all desire to live in Peace and Love, and one way to reach that is with honesty and transparency, and willingness to resolve and repair where is needed; Not leaving any little annoyance becoming too big we cannot handle it; Not taking things too personally, but acknowlege that we all may trigger each other for us to work on it and grow… If we don´t deal with it, we miss an amazing opportunity to be free and set others free.

This includes me and Emma, who are not free at all from faults and mistakes or hurting others. We may be older than some and more experienced in some areas, but we will fail and trigger some of you, and we will welcome your honesty as we are here to grow too.

  • We require some leadership skills, as well as willingness to trust and be guided by others;
  • We want to call entrepreneurial spirits, those who take initiatives and responsibility for the results of their actions and the effect that has on others, on themselves and the environment around them.
  • We will encourage improvements when we decide is a priority and there is willing to do them … I don´t necessarily like when people just want to point at “problems” without bringing viable solutions (or not accepting it is not our priority at the moment is suggested)… The reason is that I will want to find a solution, sometimes when that is not our priority at the moment 🙂 .
  • We request that each Intern already have some experience of community living and sharing spaces;
  • Preferably we would like to invite those who already have the 72h Permaculture Design Course, or at least an introduction course, as these are ethics and principles we follow and practice on a day to day basis. Knowledge and experience on organic farming, regenerative and syntropic farming are also very welcome as most principles are similar. We know and trust “Vale da Lama Permaculture centre” in Algarve where Lesley Martin, my teacher lives :-), as well as “Aldeia do Vale” where Silvia Floresta lives and “Eco-aldeia do Soajo” where Yassine and Joana live… and I’m sure there are many other good places where you can take your PDC. We are hosting a bilingual PDC with Silvia from 11-23rd March – during the first Intership of 2025 – welcome get in touch to enroll. Details are here

If you are still reading, there is a very good possibility that this is your time and this is a calling for you.

As I said earlier, you could come for a 3 month block (February to April , or June to August), or embrace 6 months.

Even though we will have to read your application and maybe have an online meeting, the first 2 weeks will still be a trial, for us to know you and for you to know us and the land… if it is not working for you, you will be free to go. If it is not working for us, or if we have reasonable reasons to believe someone is not fit for this experience at this time, we could ask any apprentice to leave at any time.

  • We will request that, in the month of May we have a break and take a rest, go travel, go visit other places or local projects which you will surely know about once you are here. These lands have been booming with many new people with very interesting visions and projects. Communities of parents, Permaculture farms, Organic Markets, Educational projects, Eco-tourist projects, City projects with migrants and refugees, etc… We will encourage you to get involved in the local community as you wish.

This is roughly it… I can´t give an exact program and plan because we will make it together depending on who will join us, each one´s skills and desires, and of course the land´s needs.

Each season has it´s specific priorities, so the first block will be different than the second… The early one is all about preparing beds, seedlings, managing forests, planting trees, fixing things, organising and cleaning, designing and researching, chopping wood and keep us warm, etc… the summer block has more natural building, events, retreats, hosting guests, spending siesta at local rivers and lakes, long evenings, watering , watering, and did I mentioned watering 🙂 It´s a beautiful and dynamic dance, and I assure you, you will learn and grow a lot if you come open for it.

Here´s our experience with Emi a previous Intern:

“My journey at Mount of Oaks started in April 2022 and it was truly a life changing experience for me. I was welcomed so warmly and with so much love, not only by the residents of Mount of Oaks, but by the entire community in the area. I had an instant feeling of belonging. 

I came with the intention to be in charge of the garden. But it was so much more than just volunteering as a gardener. 

It was the life in a community, the consciousness of sustainability and the treatment of nature, animals and human beings that profoundly shaped my time at MoO. 

As a landscape gardener I was familiar with most of the work and after my PDC (Permaculture Design Course) I knew about the Permaculture Principles. But at Mount of Oaks I have seen these principles put into practice and I saw my work and duty as a gardener in a different way. 

At the beginning it was a challenge for me to work mostly on my own, but with time I knew the garden, I knew the land and gained more trust in me and my work. 

In a community it is very important to see the work yourself and come up with solutions and ideas which then can be shared with the others. This has contributed a lot to me becoming more independent and also more creative. Besides that, I had the space to make mistakes, which really helped me to learn even more. 

This inspired me to make this call for next year and I am quite grateful for Emi and her kind and gentle spirit, as well as her hardworking enthusiasm. She was alone as an apprentice which has it´s benefits, but I thought a small group will be even better. Like I said, 3 or 4 will bring a more balanced dynamic.

Get in touch (use the contact form or e.mail mount.of.oaks@gmail.com) and raise your questions if you need to know more.

We can´t forget this is a 5 hectare farm land, and regenerating and developing this farm in a sustainable way is part of our calling too. We usually need to find a balance between “managing people” and “managing land”… We cannot seat all day speaking about our chalenges, or our passions, or our dreams, or how we are going to change the world… There will be time for that too 🙂 But this land needs our help too as we are part of this eco-system… We help the land and it´s beings and I assure you that She will help us individually and collectively, because that is what our Mother Earth does.

SO HERE IS THE CALL ONCE AGAIN…

  • We would love to welcome those who are passionate to restore and regenerate lands and soils, those who are willing to bring healthy and sustainable solutions and are able to see the bright side when “problems” arise.
  • We would like to welcome those who are willing to work through the difficult and challenging times and will not be afraid to ask for help when needed.
  • We receive help, in order to help others… This is not a therapy program, but surely healing happens, when it needs to happen or when it comes to the surface. We would love to welcome those who are more willing to serve than to be served. We all have a lot to give and hospitality has been an important part of this place, so it is a request that each apprentice has already this desire. We will possibly host different retreats, events, healing ceremonies, workshops, etc. and several building workshops in Summer … just so you have an idea of our possible activities… We encourage each one of the Interns to use our spaces too, for workshops, events, massages and other healing therapies, or what each wants to offer or generate income from. (as long as that doesn´t affect their main responsibility at MoO and aligns with our goals and principles)

Our faith and trust in a “much bigger than us” Being is very important for me as you might have noticed by now. This land, in a way, and in my heart, belongs to this Being we feel privileged to serve… The One who is in us and all around us, in whom we live and move and have our being. We are not affiliated with any kind of Institution or religion even though Jesus, as our guide, healer and teacher has been part of both mine and Emma´s path for most of our spiritual awakening and healing journey.

We are part of an Association, White Stone, that you can already be part of ( here ). White Stone is the legal owner and guardian of this land we live in and look after as a service to Mother Earth and this Higher Being who guides us all.

Thank you for staying with me until the end, and looking forward to hear any feed-back… Please submit your FORM here

Blessings your way .

Calling future Guardians

Posted on by emma

We, Barbara and Emma, a married couple, are the guardians at living at the Mount of Oaks, an Off grid Permaculture Project since 2006 in Central Portugal. We are sharing a call for new full time guardians as the ecosystem grows and requires more human beings as part of it.

As it has already a specific call to be a monastic community, we are looking for humans who not only have experience on off-grid living in permaculture systems, but mainly that have a divine call to pray and be at service (to God, Nature and local community).

We are looking for humans who aspire to be producers more than consumers and who desire to live simple lives with very little financial needs.

This project as it is already well developed has many ways to finance itself and the costs to run it are quite reasonable even for a southern european country. In order to have transparency in this area, with an average of 10-12,000E a year (less than a portuguese minimum wage) we provide a living for 2 humans with one car and a working farm van, 2 mobile phones, gas for the kitchen, petrol machines like a water pump, solar system, 2 dogs, 4 cats, chickens, ducks and geese, a donkey and a mare and food for all…

We are a non-profit Association so we also count with some fees from our international faithful associates who believe in what we are about…This covers bills such as our accountant that we have to employ as a public institution. Then we have hospitality (our guest room, caravan and camping for people on retreats or holidays), Events and Courses (Permaculture and natural building courses, retreats, medicine ceremonies, mushroom identification walks, etc), Produce (eggs, chicken meat, vegetables, herbs, teas, tinctures, oils, fermented food and other medicines) and also occasional donations that we are always very grateful for… With a bit here and there we manage to cover our total expenses and have just enough for our own personal needs (approx 1000-2000E a year coming from our own personal projects).

We will expect any new guardian to contribute financially on the initial stage of their staying as we did for many years to develop this place… Eventually, for those who become a “match”, there are many possibilities to develop your own income generation from the land, as long as it fits our ethics and principles…

At this moment, as it is, there is abundance enough to welcome more humans and we believe that more humans will also generate more abundance as the system has much potential to grow and develop if we would have more hands and minds to share all the work and responsibility. The potential is alive to regenerate and produce more, and provide a healthy and good quality living for 2 – 4 more capable human beings…

As I mentioned before, the main motivation is not only to live off-grid, or out of the capitalist system, but the reason why we want to produce most of what we need to consume using the least capital as possible, and not overworking, is so we have more time to dedicate to pray, meditate, study and serve our local community as we have been these years…

At this moment, besides hospitality and education we also hold singing/praying circles every 2 weeks, purification sweat lodges every new moon, occasional healing ceremonies for our local community and a type of enviromental therapy. We are both followers of Christ for many years, came out of institutional christianity a long time ago too, and we were guided by the Spirit who brought us to this land to serve this way and work alongside those who have a clear call from The Great Spirit of Love and Light to serve this land/earth and the community God builds around it…

If all this calls you or is already part of your life, get in touch and we can start a conversation.

On the 17th of February 2025 we will start our open season with our off-grid permaculture internship and this would be an ideal time for us to get to know a potential new guardian.

In March we will host a Permaculture Design Course (11-23rd), and if you don’t have one already, we recommend enrolling on this course too, as it´s very important for us that we all share the ethics and principles of Permaculture and regenerative land practices.

Check our website and specially our internship post, as it might give you a more clear idea of what we are about and how we see this place…

Permaculture Internship (Spring or Autumn)…in a monastic rhythm

PDC bilingue com Sílvia Floresta 2025 (english below)

Posted on by emma

Formulário de inscrição

É com prazer e entusiasmo que anunciamos que iremos receber de novo um Curso de Design em Permacultura com a Sílvia Floresta! Em março, fará 11 anos desde o último Curso certificado em Permacultura aqui no Monte dos Carvalho, que foi na altura da única Convergencia de Permacultura que ajudamos a organizar aqui no Fundão. Já estávamos com este desejo há uns anos e então decidimos convidar a Sílvia de volta! Ela possui uma vasta experiência de ensino e prática no seu próprio projeto, a Aldeia do Vale, em Sintra, e também no Algarve e nos Açores.

As datas para o curso no MoO são de 11 a 23 de março de 2025, e este curso certificado será ministrado simultaneamente em português e inglês, tornando-o acessível tanto para os nossos vizinhos como para aqueles que vêm de fora. Sílvia oferece pelo menos 100 horas de ensino, com pelo menos 40% de prática. A Aldeia do Vale tem muito em comum com as éticas do Monte dos Carvalho, como ativistas, professores, guardiões de sementes e praticantes de Permacultura em todos os seus aspectos – sociais e espirituais.

Valor da troca: 680E, 4 vagas antecipadas por 600E antes do final de janeiro.

(630E para associados do Monte dos Carvalho/Associação White Stone para 2025). Como valorizamos as interações durante a experiência de ensino, o curso é limitado a 10 participantes.

Formulário de inscrição

Incluído: Certificado de PDC – uma vez que o curso seja concluído; lugar para acampar (traga sua própria tenda, saco-cama, etc.); refeições vegetarianas sazonais, incluindo queijos locais e vegetais/ovos da horta; caminhadas na montanha da Gardunha e aldeia histórica de Castelo Novo; conversas e música à volta da fogueira; e oportunidade de passar tempo com nosso burro, égua, várias aves, cães e gatos :-)!

O que esperar de um PDC?

O Curso de Design em Permacultura – PDC é uma imersão intensiva no mundo da Permacultura.

Este curso é projetado para apoiar os alunos no desenvolvimento de uma linguagem ecológica, uma compreensão dos princípios básicos do design ecológico e regenerativo, e a aplicação desse conhecimento para redesenhar comunidades e povoamentos humanos de acordo com as regras da natureza.

O principal objetivo deste curso de design é o desenvolvimento de habilidades de design eficazes através da aplicação prática de conhecimentos e ferramentas.

Esta é uma oportunidade de aprender por meio da participação num verdadeiro processo de design comunitário.

O curso terá lugar no Monte dos Carvalhos, um projecto de permacultura desde 2006, no concelho do Fundão entre Castelo Novo, Póvoa de Atalaia e Alpedrinha. O curso segue o formato tradicional criado por Bill Mollison de 2 semanas intensivas (mais de 100 horas) com 1 dia livre, combinando aulas práticas (40%) e teóricas, visitas de campo, jogos interativos, atividades dinâmicas, partilha de experiências , convivência comunitária e muito mais. Este formato permite a imersão nos princípios do design da Permacultura, que serão aplicados e apresentados pelos alunos nos trabalhos finais de design. Para terem direito ao certificado, os participantes terão de frequentar 80% do curso.

Este curso baseia-se nos 14 capítulos do livro Permaculture: A Designers Manual de Bill Mollison. Alguns dos temas a abordar neste curso:

*Princípios e ética da Permacultura;
*Leitura da paisagem. Observação dos padrões e ciclos da natureza;
*Princípios dos ecossistemas, do clima e da biogeografia aplicados em Permacultura;
*Princípios de Design: Processo de análise, zonas, plano energético eficiente, etc.;
*Identificação de recursos. Água no ambiente, captação e conservação de água, energia solar, etc.;
*Construir um solo saudável: base da estrutura do solo, textura, etc.
para a melhoria do solo utilizando adubos verdes, composto, cobertura morta, controlo da erosão;
*Estabelecer uma horta de Permacultura, florestas alimentares – como selecionar e manter estes sistemas. “Como produzir mais alimentos em menos espaço” (método biointensivo);
*Recolha e preservação de sementes;
*Projeto de barreiras contra o vento/fogo;
*Vida/habitação saudável: selecionar um local para a casa. Materiais não tóxicos. Técnicas de construção naturais;
*Tecnologias adequadas: Sanitários secos, desidratadores solares, fornos e fogões de barro, energias alternativas, reciclagem de materiais;
* Práticas de fermentação;
*Introdução ao desenho de comunidades e ecoaldeias sustentáveis. Sistemas de organização de grupos. Economia alternativa, estratégias para uma nação global.

Alojamento – oferecemos locais de campismo para aqueles que desejam ficar na comunidade off-grid do Monte dos Carvahos/ Mount of Oaks. Temos uma caravana que pode ser alugada por 150E extra. Contacte-nos por e-mail para obter uma lista dos nossos Alojamentos Locais (Air BnB’s), pois existem alguns lugares bonitos nas proximidades – precisará de um carro para a maioria, embora 2 estejam a uma curta distância.

Outras bolsas: Existe a possibilidade de colocar à venda os seus produtos desde que respeitem princípios; ecológico, feito à mão, natural, integral, orgânico, etc., sendo que 10% vai para a Associação White Stone.

Perguntas: por favor contacte a Emma 00351 939438018 na what’s app ou telegram ou mount.of.oaks@gmail.com Formulário de inscrição

ENGLISH

Registration Form PDC March 2025

We are excited to share that we will once again host a Permaculture Design Course with Sílvia Floresta! In March it will be 11 years since we last hosted a PDC training at Mount of Oaks, at the time of the only Permaculture Convergence we helped to organise in our local town of Fundão. So we decided to invite Silvia BACK! She has a wealth of teaching and practical experience at their own project, Aldeia do Vale in Sintra, and also in the Algarve and the Azores.

Dates for the course at MoO are 11-23rd March 2025 and this certified course will be taught simultaneously in Portuguese and English making it available for our neighbours and those coming from outside. Silvia offers at least 100 hours teaching, at least 40 percent will be practical. Aldeia do Vale has much in common with the ethos of Mount of Oaks, as activists, teachers, seed savers and pracitioners of pratical Permaculture in all its aspects – social and spiritual.

Value of exchange: 680E, 4 early bird places for 600E before end of January.

(630E for associates of Mount of Oaks/White Stone Assocation for 2025). Since we value the interactions during the teaching experience, course is limitied to 10 participants.

Included: PDC Certificate – once course is completed; place to camp (bring your own tent etc); seasonal vegetarian meals including local cheeses and veggies/eggs from the farm; walks in Gardunha mountain via historic Castelo Novo; fireside chats and music; and opportunity to spend time with our donkey, horse and various birds!

What to expect from a PCD?

The Permaculture Design Course – PDC is an intensive immersion in the world of Permaculture.

This course is designed to support students in developing an ecological language, an understanding of the basic principles of ecological and regenerative design, and the application of this knowledge to redesign communities and human settlements according to the rules of nature.

The main objective of this design course is the development of effective design skills through the practical application of knowledge and tools.

This is an opportunity to learn through participation in a real community design process.

The course will take place at the Mount of Oaks a permaculture project since 2006, in the concelho of Fundão between Castelo Novo, Povoa de Atalaia and Alpedrinha. The course follows the traditional 2-week (intensive) format with 1 free day (over 100 hours) created by Bill Mollison, combining practical (40%) and theoretical classes, field trips, interactive games, dynamic activities, sharing experiences, community living, and much more. This format allows immersion in the principles of Permaculture design, which will be applied and presented by the students in the final design works. To be entitled to the certificate, participants must attend 80% of the course.

This course is based on the 14 chapters of the book Permaculture: A Designers Manual by Bill Mollison. Some of the topics to be covered in this course:

  • Principles and ethics of Permaculture;
  • Reading the landscape. Observation of the patterns and cycles of nature;
  • Principles of ecosystems, climate, and biogeography applied in Permaculture;
  • Design Principles: Analysis process, zones, efficient energy plan, etc.;
  • Identification of resources. Water in the environment, water collection and conservation, solar energy, etc.;
  • Building healthy soil: soil structure base, texture, etc. Strategies
  • for soil improvement using green manures, compost, mulch, erosion control;
  • Establishing a Permaculture garden, food forests – how to select and maintain these systems. “How to produce more food in less space” (bio-intensive method);
  • Seed collection and preservation;
  • Design of wind/fire barriers;
  • Healthy living/housing: selecting a place for the house. Non-toxic materials. Natural building systems;
  • Appropriate technologies: Dry toilets, solar dehydrators, Clay (Cob) ovens and stoves, alternative energies, recycling of materials;
  • Practical fermenting skills;
  • Introduction to the design of sustainable communities and eco-villages. Group organization systems. Alternative economy, strategies for a global nation.

Accomodation – we offer camping places for those who wish to experience the off-grid community of Mount of Oaks. We have a caravan which can be rented for an extra 150E. Get in contact via email for a list of our most local AL (Air BnB’s) as there are some beauiful places nearby – you will need a car for most, though 2 are within walking distance.

Other exchanges: There is the possibility of bringing your products for sale as long as they respect principles; ecological, handmade, natural, whole, organic, etc with a 10 percent going towards White Stone Assocation.

Any questions and those seeking to make a deposit to secure your place, please contact Emma 00351 939438018 on what’s app or telegram or mount.of.oaks@gmail.com

Registration Form PDC March 2025

Welcome to Mount of Oaks

Mini Review of 2024

Posted on by emma

Here is a bit of a review of 2024 that gives a general of a sense of the year we have had up until mid Nov. If you go to Barbara’s personal facebook (https://www.facebook.com/monte.doscarvalhos) or her instagram account, you will find many photos and videos that bring this report to life via images. There is also a fb page for Mount of Oaks with some snaps too https://www.facebook.com/mount.of.oaks. What I have done below is to attempt draw a few highlights together….

Winter

In the Winter of 2023 we had Tomas come from 10th Dec – 11th January 2024 to farm-sit while Barbara and Emma visited Angola. Tomas completed the apprenticeship earlier in 2023 and then came back to land and animal sit. We were incredibly grateful for his care of the land and the animals – both dogs and the 3 cats all slept in the common space with the warmth of the fire and cuddles from Tomas!!

As it turned out none of those who applied for the internship were able to commit in 2024. We received Soraia for a couple of weeks in April to volunteer, and the rest of the year we (Emma and Barbara) managed the hosting, courses, land and animals ourselves. This was not ideal, yet it was a year for recognising and feeling the different areas and the needs of the land and new animals, plus dreaming into being some new projects – such as Primative Camp and Crescent Moon Crew – more about those later… We were super grateful to enjoy the fruits of 2023 in the garden – Tomas did an incredible job at planting brassicas. We were eating huge cauliflower and brocoli end of Winter into the beginning of Spring – well done worms, soil and the soulful work of this precious brother!


Spring

Our open season began on 25th February with the first of the Singing Circles. These we have been hosting with our local circle for the last 4 years – at a time they were weekly, and this last year they have been bi-weekly gatherings. In February we were meeting at 5-7pm in the Common Space, lighting our candles, listening to our intentions and prayers and making music together. As the year went on we have met another 22 times, and moved time and locaton to the N’jango when the weather warmed up. As we consider this more of a closed circle, it was beautiful to witness how generously the group opened this sacred time to guests who requested to take part.

So our first residential activity was a Lime and Tadelakt Workshop in March just before Easter. This included a mixture of local friends/associates and two ladies who had travelled up from Alentejo for the course. More pictures from the final result of our TADELAKT Introductory course @mountofoaks …You can also see more professional photos from our friend Keri who also did the course…she is an amazing photographer among many other things (Pass:crackiscrack). Kirsty also made us part of one of her videos from her Youtube Channel “Portugal from Scratch” and you can also check here...it’s the middle part..

March continued with the work in the forest and sowing seeds in the polytunnel and preparing for arrival of guests on retreat – Rik from Netherlands and Julie from Lancaster – both came overland via train and bus. At Easter we had the visit of Kathy and Colin and the kids from Edinburgh. Together we planted 2 new fruit trees – a pomegranet and a pecan, complete with names (oops I forget them!!)

In April we organised a Herbal Yoga Journey with Daisy May, input from Olli and the star of the mini retreat was Nettle! There were 12 beings who took part and it was a beautiful mixture of sensorial herbalism, movement, nourishment and laughter.

As the days warmed and lengthened, the Bell Tents went up and we welcomed the return of Eva, Isik and their Yoruk Residency. 10 beings, mostly from Scotland, England and Germany delved into the transformational work for 5 days together. The title of this gathering was ‘Voyage to the New Dawn’ and included another magical trip to the Gardunha. (https://www.fourthland.com/voyagetothenewdawn)

Summer

Barbara taught another 2 natural building workshops in June and July which were 8 day courses – introductions to Earth Building. In June the course supposedly for women ended up including Phillipe, who was clearly not a woman!! Here are some links from Ba’s “>here or “>facebook page… and “>here

In Summer we hosted more families, Dane, Jilly and their boys; Juran, Ulli and their kids; our mums, cousins and Edna and our twin nephews! It was busy to juggle time with friends, family and the normal daily routines of the garden, animals and usual daily activities of cooking, cleaning and harvesting and transforming the garden produce!

In August we also hosted Dearbhla, Jule and Rachel as part of a Creative Residency based around our overlapping loves of Food Jusice, Herbalism, Health and Healing and practices of land Commons. These were really special long lush days and while we chatted Barbara continued to work on the area outside the bus and new chicks were born!

Arrival of Gerry and Tilha

At the end of August we welcomed a a male donkey, Gerry and a mare, Tilha – both about 4 years old. They needed rehoming and so it seemed that the ecosystem here and around us was ready to have these two ‘Brownies’ as part of the pack. Our aim is that we can develop a collective of walking distance farms where they can pasture, manure and be with other humans and animals… For now it is Barbara and I  looking after them alone. We have the support of an amazing horse whiperer trainer called Nina coming now weekly to help us connect and ‘join-up’ with them safely. They came from Amandine and Mark, and they still come and visit with the kids, which is great. We all envisage a time when we can walk with Gerry and Tilha in the mountain or use the cart for hauling wood around the land! It’s really hard to explain how our lives have changed since their arrival – its not just about the time dedicated to moving them almost daily, creating fencing or the training, or the new expenses we hadn’t budgeted for…..it’s like we adopted two new beings, and I (emma) am still getting used to this all, probably like Gerry and Tilha are getting used to us!!  Definately a different energy to the arrival of the ducks, geese or chickens!! Step by step we will create more efficient systems

As September came to a close we welcomed Helen and then, Jayne and Charotte on a retreats and only a few days later 14 ducklings were born! The ladies and the ducklings brought us lots of joy at the end of the summer season.

Autumn

October began with the a visit from Catherine from Malta and the decline in Tali’s health. It was a really difficult decision, but we let Tali return to Source on 17th October and you can see a post just about that here

Normally this time of year we are super busy harvesting the olives and preparing to close for the year – we did a few things differently. We harvested for eating (currently the olives are in water and salt and herbs will be added when they are ready).

Samhaim/Halloween/All Soul’s and All Saints at the end of Oct/beginning of Nov is also Barbara’s birthday. It being her 50th, we celebrated with our usual Singing Circle and a special Sweatlodge and inaugaration of a dedicated area to honour our ancestors.

Mushrooms

We organised 2 wild mushroom identification walks with Tristan Coverdale and it was a delight to be able to see how many edible and delicious varieties we have growing in the woods at the back of the land – on the last walk 16 different edibles were identified. We also enjoyed tasting these under the watchful eye of our local expert! Tristan also became an assocate this year, so we look forward to more offerings together with him in 2025 – there is chat of some work with miso for example!! You can see more pictures in this post.

A few weeks later we welcomed, sister Ulli Butterfly for a week. Our similar interests in peacebuilding and reconciliation had us up on the cold nights talking and praying for the world. She stayed with us to be at the AGM – and it was so special to have a friend who has visited Mount of Oaks annually since the very early days to be present for the more formal aspect of the AGM.

Soon there will be a post specifically about the AGM!

For today we want to share some exciting news …..

We will host a Permaculture Design Course taught by Sílvia Floresta from Aldeia do Vale from 11-23 March 2025!! For more details follow this link – http://mountofoaks.org/bi-lingual-pdc-with-silvia-floresta-march-2025/

Giving THANKS for the Life of Tali

Posted on by emma

How can we put into words the gratitude that we have for the life of Tali?

This precious dog was often the first to welcome anyone who arrived at the Mount of Oaks over the last 12 years. She would run to meet a car, bike or walker – sometimes jump up (naughty Tali!!) and offer her famous kiss – sometimes with the surprise tongue heading for an open mouth!!! Yes, she was a profound welcomer.

Tali and her brother Goofy came to Mount of Oaks in 2012. They were born at the home of Amandine and Mark in a litter of 7. As pups they were often heading on adventures around the land and beyond in search of companions and fun. They could equally be found together resting blissfully in the sun.

For those who visited, Tali in particular, could be relied upon to accompany a walk. She would often seem like she was leading the walk, but quickly check on any person’s whereabouts. Adventures were her speciality.

When we went to the lake, which was very often since they were tiny pups, (one of Goofy and Tali’s favourite spots) she would try and follow a canoe, boat or paddlebaord into the water, such were her protective and shepherding instincts!!

Dearest Tali, as most of you will know, developed a horrible disease in 2020, Leishmaniasis which severly affected her kidneys. Several times over the last years she pulled through moments when we thought we would loose her. She bounced back, literally with the help of a change of diet and some medication. However, over the last couple of months she began to loose weight, her kidneys had stopped processing the protiens and her great tiredness began to be more evident.

Sooooo many people were praying for Tali in the finals weeks and in the end she passed peacefully with the aid of Dr. Judith on October 17th. In the morning before the vet arrived she had neighbours visit, and in the days before several friends came to give her love, and surround her with light for her passing. She was ready to be relieved of her tired body.

We buried her body as a rain cloud appeared from no where and showered us with blessings from above – a rainbow appeared, and we cried.

Barbara preformed a sacred act as I (emma) was digging her grave. She carefully removed her pelt, so while her body was buried, her skin has remained with us.

For all who knew Tali, she lives on in our memories. It is with gratitude we give thanks for her precious life and the JOY and amusement she brought!

Mushroom Season

Posted on by emma

Big thank you to Tristan Coverdale who joined us last week for a super duper wild mushroom idenfication walk. We were mostly members of the association and a few other neighbours, and in totaly we were 17 keen mushroom enthusiasts.

Because of the recent rains and sun, the conditions were perfect for the range of varieties that we can across. One of the first big finds of the day was a rare variety Boletus/ Cep/Porcini which was one of the first big mushrooms we found…

With delight we found a massive piece of chicken in the woods on a eucalyptus

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The joy was electric as we continued to discover different Ceps, knowing that what we found, we would taste at the end! Several of the mushrooms we discovered were not edible, but oh sooo beautiful!

The mushrooms for this season that are the edible kings and queens are the Boletus and so we were able to find many of these – several varieties in the leaf mulch beneath or around the Oaks of Mount of Oaks!!

Here is Mark, delighted with his treasure!

The proof is in the pudding they say, well, the proof for us of the wisdom and laughs shared, the delight at soil, trees and mushroom culminated in the taste testing at the kitchen. Yummy!

We will organise a further workshop with Tristan later in November when other varieties of mushrooms are fruiting. For now we are enjoying the last of the parasols and the Boletus, pretty much daily. What a gift this wild and delicious food is, straight from the forest to the plate.

If you would like to be informed of up coming events, drop us an email with your number and we can add you to the mailing list, or the Telegram channel. Mount.of.oaks@gmail.com

Plus, dont forget to add 24th Nov to the diary – the AGM of the association!

AGM White Stone Association 2024!

Posted on by emma

Announcing the date and the invitation for the Annual General Meeting and family gathering of the White Stone Association to happen on Sunday 24th November at 3pm. The offical meeting will be from 3.30pm – 4.30pm in the Common Space, and a zoom link can be sent for those who would like to take part from a distance. If you are local and would like to spend some time together afterwards, bring some food to share and also any instruments! There will be a report of sorts post-meeting to share the main points. As always we will bring the accounts from the previous year, give an update of main activities and developments, plus leave some space to hear ideas from associates for the cycle of 2025.

If you would like a link to join via zoom, the last opportunity to ask for the link is 20th November. Please RSVP if you will being coming to our annual gathering by 17th November. Looking forward to celebrating together and hearing what some of the personal highlights have been for folks who particpated this year in some shape or form in the community life of this place.

Here is the link for the 2025 inscription to be a member. It is confusing as we are not actually in 2025 yet – but we run the year Celtic style – from Nov – Nov!

Review 2023 through the lense of Barbara…

Posted on by Barbara

Land life…

The land is more and more fruitful and abundant…

Last year I started to design and “intervene” in the area of the citrus grove, where the chickens´ park was… Ive made new raised beds connecting the different citrus´ trees and introduced other trees and bushes gooseberries, goji berries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, mulberry bush, chestnuts, almonds, comfrey and many other medicinal herbs and vegetables that can still have enough sunlight to thrive… so far most things are enjoying eachothers´ company…

After one year without any chickens, I thought it would be a good occasion to improve the system. This year one of the priorities became the creation or extension of 4 different parks around the chicken house, nicely fenced from predators – the  fox, mongoose and genet whom we believe was responsible for the loss  of our 10 birds last year…

I don´t mind every now and then losing a bird to these predators or a little chick for an eagle to feed herself or her young, but we are raising them not only to improve the ecosystem we live in, but also to feed ourselves with meat and delicious healthy eggs.

Different wildlife is also more abundant around us – many more birds, squirrel, frogs and toads, lizards, snakes and spiders, bugs and all sorts of pollinators… nevermind the food chain in the unseen untilled soil which is more and more fertile each year…All this life is feeding and helping many other diverse creatures to settle in the valley…

There is enough food for all of us, and we all play our part to improve the system even more… composting food, pooping and peeing, digging and aerating, scratching and grazing.

Now that our designed system is in place, we finally introduced our new birds… Geese, ducks, hens and broilers… So far we have 32 birds, and we are just waiting for more geese to join the first crew… They will be our grazers, scratchers and pest control team :-)… They are just getting used to their safe home and the systems I created with electric fencing to move them around the land… I´m only at a practice stage, after doing my research, and slowly getting to know new animals… It didn’t take much to absolutely adore the gentle ducks and geese :-)… 

I´ve already identified things to be improved, like having our broilers separated from our hens, in their own chicken tractor that will go along as the electric fence moves… The idea is that we can provide some good meat to some of our local Associates, in exchange for donations that aim to cover all the extra expenses we are having with this new improvement of our Ecosystem…

I have learned many things so far over these years and now I will dive deep into animal care, in the most natural way that I will find possible for our already domesticated species of animals…Who knows the next step ahead might be hunting, but that might take a while still …

Animals are a very good and relatively easy source of food, and in my opinion essentially vital for the regeneration of any ecosystem (contrary to some things I hear around these days)… being well managed and imitating their ecological and natural function in our systems they can be a great help…

Anyway, this is also part of my life at this moment… a new area of learning..

We´ve been increasing our food production too, extending our irrigated raised bed area for annual veggies and expanding our food forest systems to other terraces. The system gets more and more diverse, abundant and resilient.

For these results we give thanks to our friend Emi who came back for 4 more months, and our 3 Apprentices on the summer block. Max always ready to help in any way, Raymundo using his organizacional skills in our kitchen and jar shelves and Tomás who took over Emi in our vegetable garden. Having already some experience in previous farms, he increased significantly our vegetable production especially the brassicas!

Education… I love teaching as I love learning …

At the beginning of each Apprenticeship block I taught the most significant themes from the PDC (Permaculture Design Course) for an off-grid 5 hectare farm context : Introduction to Permaculture, Design Process, Soils, Water, Plants and Tree´s systems, Food Production in regenerative ways and Natural Building.

I invited all our “walking distance neighbours” to join the open classes, 8 mornings in 2 weeks. It was really stimulating to learn from each other´s experiences and strengthen our connections locally. It made me realise that this is a really good kick-start for those who come to enroll on a 3 month experience-living, working and developing a permaculture designed off-grid/greed farm…

At the same time it was really good to be an apprentice myself … It came my way, in a very perfect timing, a course on Agro-forestry and Regenerative farming taught by a portuguese regenerative farmer, Claudio Esberard, who collaborated with the IEFP (portuguese employment center) to offer an introductory year long course on his family Agro-forest not far from here… I´m very grateful for all the beautiful relationships that emerged through the course. I was also able to go deeper in my studies on Agro-forestry and also encouraged to keep developing our Forests of food that already shape the landscape at MoO. We are adding more species to the existing patterns and develop more guilds around each established tree in each cycle.

Singing / Praying Circles at MoO…

Another exciting part is our singing / praying circles that are now getting to a stage when a significant group of us are able to hold space for all to be lifted and carried by the Spirit where the Spirit wants us to go …

It´s a simple structure that always creates different outcomes depending on the ones who are part of the circle… different combinations of people, different days, different seasons… we have been journeying together many of us for over 3 years now. Different people have been called or brought into the initial circle… we now have a list between 20 to 30 people, and each circle is usually between 10 and 15 people, as not everybody is available all the time.

I believe it meets the longing many of us feel these days, in places like this where we come from different cultures, different backgrounds and faith traditions and we feel a desire to connect in the spirit… It´s a way to appreciate the many different spiritual cosmologies and also go deeper in our particular one. An open dialogue where our different voices literally become one… in prayer, worship and thanksgiving… 

These circles have been sustaining our spiritual journey and our connection with those who come… we also feel it is an act of service to the local community where we feel so privileged to give and receive.

Visitors…

This past year we´ve had many lovely and familiar visits… Earlier on there was Hannah and Claire from the UK and later Anne, Jonathan and their kids Elias and Emma, Katrin and Jo from Germany, Mike and Sarah from Ireland, Lyna from France, Ulli Flaeming from Berlin and Jules from UK.

These visits reminded me that we also need more prayer support, as we recognise the importance it has in all the work we do here.  We give a lot in many different ways and it´s not always easy… This year in particular was quite hard, and we were so blessed for all those who were praying for us and offering their support in different ways.

We do miss those with whom we can use the same language and those who have been journeying with us even before I came to commit to this land…

We feel blessed with the diversity around us, but sometimes it´s just so nice to use a common language 

Personal Relationship…

Speaking of languages and differences and hard times… me and Emma have overcome some big differences and managed to remain in our marriage…These last two years have been a roller coaster… if we were in a refinery, I guess this was the highest temperatures we´ve reached so far… 6 months ago I thought it was all over and I couldn’t see a way forward… I´ve lost my trust and hope …  

I give thanks for all those who were aware of the process and prayed for us, and for all those who prayed unaware of it…

It was a massive adjustment for us when Emma accepted a job offered by the city council of Fundao 3 years ago.  Emma did an amazing work, as she does so well simply by being the amazing person she is, but the way she gives herself so fully to her work and all those in need of her meant that she got less, if  any time for herself, or me and our relationship, our home or our animals, our trees, plants and the land … 

Thank God, our friends´ support and a lot of work on our part we are now in a very good place… Reset and ready for the next season in our lives…

Community…

The concept of community also expanded from our original ideas… To be honest, the community around Mount of Oaks that exists today surpasses all that I imagined… 

We obviously have a closer group of friends, but our wider network of relations is actually too much for my capacity as I find myself more and more introverted as years go by, and I feel I don´t have the real time to offer to so many people we know…

When I came here in 2006, I only met one other Dutch couple who were foreigners to this land, then after 2 years there were a few more people coming and now, just in Fundao area there are thousands of what we are calling “new locals”, from all sorts of nations and languages.

We are definitely responsible for some of those who came and also bought land to live and work, but many others have been “mysteriously” attracted to this area.

Fundão Council is very open to all sorts of migrants and refugees, so now the town has been nicely populated with much diversity, from most other European countries to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Israel, Sudan, Angola, Mozambique, Guine Bissau, Brazil, North America, Canada, China, and probably more… Last year the work in Fundão that has already been done in the area of inclusion of migrants received recognition as one of the “European capitals of Inclusion and diversity”…

We keep gathering people at the land with different purposes…

  • Because of our practice of Permaculture and sustainable off-gr(ee)d living for the past 17 years we can now host 2 blocks of 3 month apprenticeship each year with Permaculture teachings, lots of practice and intentional community living, trying our best to balance work, rest, prayer, study, contemplation and social life.
  • Because of our singing/praying circle we have been hosting the past 3 years, we gather people with all sorts of spiritual backgrounds and practices every 2 weeks.
  • Because of my Natural Building skills (teaching and building) I host several courses over the year and at the same time I get to continue building the facilities that are needed to run the farm or to improve hospitality.
  • Because of Emma´s continuous learning about herbs, healing plants, fermenting and transformational methods, she is willing to offer more workshops, or use those skills to also connect with different migrant groups along with her crew of collaborators …
  • Because of Emma´s endless ways of supporting this community we now have a much deeper relationship with the local council and we (along with many other likeminded people) are even able to influence the direction this region is choosing for its future…Emma was part of the city council team as a mediator within the European community that she represents. Her main work has been to build bridges between diverse communities.
  • Because it´s not only about us, we are welcoming our Associates to develop their ideas using our spaces and Daisy May has done that beautifully hosting “Herbal Yoga” Retreats every first sunday of each month (with few exceptions)… It was such a success that she is planning to continue together with Emma in a slightly different format. 
  • And of course, because of the natural peace and beauty that this place holds, we are also able to provide many of our visitors with the space, rest and nourishment needed for each one who comes and enjoys it 

We came to a close of this intense year with the usual Olive harvest and on the 12th of November we had our common space full for our yearly White Stone Association AGM.

For those who would like to be part of all these here is the link to the FORM if you would like to become an ASSOCIATE or renew your commitment with only 25e a year.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeu510sxamfTGvJR3RnRyzF4Xb1Z4WUTz7YK2M6mBW4fWVUJQ/viewform

Interfaith dialogue in Fundão…

On the 2nd of December there was an interfaith gathering in Fundão with representatives of different christian denominations, muslims, sikhs, jewish and spiritism… It went really well for a first approach of the kind in this region. Emma, Njiza and Ricardo (all board members of White Stone Association) were involved in the facilitation. 

As different cultures and faith traditions are coming to the region (as it happens today in most cities), there is some base work to be done to keep the respect and peace between all followers of different traditions and cosmologies… An important work to do too.

Pray for wisdom and for all those who will take part in this initial dialogue that hopefully will form strong and solid roots with acceptance and inclusion.

Closing with a deserved rest…

This year my mum really wanted us to go to her house in Angola, so from the 13th of December to the 13th of January we were away on a “Reset holiday”. 

We feel we are coming back to yet another cycle at the Mount of Oaks.

This was only possible because Tomás, a new brother and long term apprentice who was with us since June, stayed looking after the land and animals (and my mum paid for our flights and we stayed at her house… Thanks Mum !!! ) . 

Tomás also took the responsibility for our annual vegetable production since June and it went well… we are still harvesting the amazing fruits of it : different kinds of Kale, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets, parsely, corriander, brussel sproutsswiss chard, etc… 

Wrapping up … 

Emma finishes her commitment with the city council in March with an “Art of Hosting” event in Castelo Novo – Fundão (Again working with Njiza and Ricardo), and then she will be more committed with the work in the land, with plants and the medicinal garden, hospitality and different events. I´m sure she will have a step or two in the city, specially with migrant and inter-faith work, but that will not be her main occupation as it was the previous years.

For now, until the end of April will be us here… time to settle, dream and plan together, pray and listen to what lies ahead for us, this land, and this region…

Nothing is by chance, and the 2 participants who were coming next week for the Apprentice block got in touch to postpone it to the Summer and Autumn, which we were actually glad with…That means we will have our time to plan and prepare for the year, as we missed our Winter when we generally do that.

I guess that´s all for now…thanks for hanging in there, and thanks for all those who have supporting me, Emma and the work at Mount of Oaks for the last 17 years.

Be blessed…Be a blessing

May you give what you have, and may you receive what you need…

Happy 2024

Posted on by Barbara

This is a quick note to share that our new season is about to start and we are super excited about it…

We haven´t got much time to seat in front of a screen to write and share anything about our past cycle, or share some ideas for this new cycle, but we will get into it on next posts coming soon.

I just wanted to share briefly a review from one of our previous interns on the 3 month Apprenticeship from June to September 2023, and if you or someone you know is still interested to enroll on our next block starting on the 12th February, find the link to all details here: https://mountofoaks.org/volunteering/

And this is the link to the registration form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZF2JqWYAAzwuNQWe3p2Q_P_FehWwj0pR3HMWYAqT3zk/edit

Here´s Max´s review of his own experience with us 🙂

” Before coming to Moo, I was looking for a place where I would be able to learn more about permaculture. I was traveling around and had the real will to go deeper being able to practicing the different skills required by the permaculture approach.

At the same time, I wanted to be surrounded by people with a good understanding of spirituality and some everyday discipline.

Mount of Oaks was a perfect match. Step by step, day after day, during the three months of my stay, we learned and practiced together with humility and determination.

I have been able to grow spiritually, taking advantage of the extraordinary vibrations of the place. First, we learned how to make a propre permaculture design. Then, we worked on different projects which were necessary to keep the system in function : irrigation system, new beds of different types to experiment.

Getting in touch with the people in the villages nearby was also extremely pleasant. Walking around and discovering nature and historical places was a great way to connect with the local and Portuguese culture.

Overall, it was the best experience I had so far as a volunteer. It did go much further than expected. I’m grateful to be part of Mount of Oaks and can’t wait to come back to enjoy again and share the good vibration of the singing circle.”

A lot of gratitude to Max, Raymundo and Tomás who were with us during this intense 3 months… What a great team ! Special thanks to Tomás who stayed on and allowed me and Emma to go in December to visit our family in Angola and get some rest for the year ahead. This was very precious as we haven´t got this kind of time out for many years.

May 2024 brings us more clarity about our role, our function, our passions and our callings in this life in this time in history.

AGM White Stone Association

Posted on by emma

We are announcing the AGM of the White Stone Assocation which is the legal framework for the Mount of Oaks for those who are assocates at 10.30am 12th November. The location is the Common Space at Mount of Oaks. We will share a zoom link for those associates who would like to take part from a distance. From 10.30-12noon we will cover all the offical things, then break for a shared lunch.

Those who would like to stay for the afternoon the place will be open with fire and chestnuts (and who knows maybe some dancing!!)

All those wanting to be an associte for 2024 are asked to fill in the online form and make the tranfer of fees. Here is the link.