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Summer Gathering

Posted on by emma

We had a most fun Summer Gathering! If only the pictures could convey the amazing smells of the delicious grilled veggies, or the laughs as we danced and later played music – or making of new friendships and renewing older ones….

Our programme was pretty simple – eat together, play music together and dance together, thanks to our dear friend Ana Teresa teaching us some traditional Portuguese dances!

we were over 45 adults and 15 kids – and representing approximately 9 different nationalities. Truly a beautiful mix of ages and backgrounds living in the area!

Special thanks go to Helen, a volunteer who was with us for 6 weeks this summer – she was such a help in every way. Her bubbly personality and over flowing youthful joy made her a joy to work with and to be around.

Many thanks too to Keri Millard who took the action shots that follow – it is one of her passions and professions. She caught many of us in blissful moments…

Thank you for all of you who came along and supported the project by your presence and your generosity of heart. Recently we read a quote – ‘some of the best memories are made in flip flops’. It made me think of this night and several of us making fools of ourselves and having a right old laugh while dancing in flip flops!

Until the next time…..

Hosting Silence

Posted on by emma

The countdown has begun. Only 3 more weeks until we will host a mini weekend silent retreat at the Mount of Oaks. The land and the volunteers are preparing themselves for welcoming those who are opening for the beautiful, possibly new experience.

On our diverse spiritual journeys through life, there are times when it is important to create space for the soul to speak – and one of the ways we can get in touch with this connection is by taking time to retreat into nature, back to basics, slow down and listen to ourselves, through silent reflection. We all, no matter of religious or spiritual tradition, can appreciate the advantages of inviting more silent pauses into our busy lives.

Inviting silence is inviting a space within yourself to dialogue with thoughts and feelings as they arise and fall. Finding your own tools for self reflection and for spiritual growth is a life long process, but some find that writing, drawing or walking can help to distill and clarify. Whatever your personal practices are, they are welcome, as are you with whatever is going on at this stage of your life.

Folk who come along will be treated to lovingly prepared, light and nourishing meals to help with easy digestion. This is important so that the work of processing the internal dialogue can be supported gently.

It is amazing how the senses become heightened when we choose to quieten our external words….our taste buds can be more fully alive, we hear more intensely and often breath more fully. Since the farm where the Mount of Oaks is situated in the midst of other agricultural lands, the noises to be heard other than the birds, could be a little tractor, and the gingle/gangle of the local sheep and goats as they pasture head by.

Early morning walks on the Saturday and Sunday morning will be guided. This allows the participants to have a bearing on their surroundings if they wish to adventure out of the Mount of Oaks at other times in the weekend.

We have lovely spaces on the land where you can relax in a hammock, choose a rock to meditate on, find a tree to sit under to write or read…. All these choices are up to you. Our schedule is simple and includes the walking, morning and evening ritual, meals eaten together and all this surrounded and supported by the practice of silence.

Sleeping is in tents, unless you are planning on bringing you own little camper van. We encourage camping as for the duration of the weekend we can adapt our rythum to being as close to nature as possible. When we experience cloudless skies there is an amazing view of the Milky Way and an array of shooting stars in this season.

If you prefer not to sleep in a tent, we have the option of staying in our cute straw bale guest room with its comfortable double bed.

The beauty of stepping out of your ‘normal’ routine of daily life to choose to intentionally take time out to listen to your inner world can bring untold surprises. For those who have not encountered this before will be pleasantly surprised…. People who know me (Emma) will be aware that I am very fond of TALKING, and some find it difficult to imagine ME not only practicing silence, but hosting silent spaces! On a personal level I find it a great relief to allow my tongue to rest.  For me, a gentle practice of silence helps me to come deeper into connection with my body, my surroundings can be incredibly centering and balancing for all the other external work I want to do.

Practical details…

Welcome to arrive on the Thursday in order to settle in – however the beginning of the retreat will be 5pm Friday 31st, with an opening circle. We will end with a closing circle and sharing at 3pm – Sunday, followed by tea and healthy cakes!

The daily schedule will include various options – such as guided walks and yoga. Meals are eaten communally, and morning and evening nature based liturgies are encouraged, but still optional.

The suggested donation include all meals, optional yoga, guided walks and meditations:

Bring your own tent: 120€
Renting one of our tents – 160€ with (air mattress and bedding can be hired for 30€)
If you stay in our charming double bed room in strawbale house – 220€

Register by 24th August. To secure your place, transfer 50€ by 25th August.

Here is the booking form

The cut off for booking to join us is Friday 24th August – so if you are still planning on coming and haven’t registered, please do so by then. Feel free to get in contact, mount.of.oaks@gmail.com if you have questions pertaining to the mini retreat.

In gratitude, emma

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New Moon-‘Seed Cycling’ Workshop

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We were utterly blessed to have the wonderous Dearbhla Reynolds leading a super workshop on the powers of syncing the woman’s moon cycle with benefical gut cleansing foods and seeds.

The preparation of a kombucha based tonic drink, a recipe of Dearbhla’s called ‘Madam Tonic’ took place in the Mount of Oaks kitchen the previous day – to give time for the herbs and fruits to infuse and do their magic.

And then as the workshop began, all the ladies present got a shot of the good stuff!!

In total we were 21 ladies of different ages and stages of life. The information that Dearbhla shared applied to us all because whether we are pre or post menopausal all women have a cycle that can link with the moon.

When it came to attending to our gut health, eating foods, especially seeds, in seasons to help the balancing of hormones seemed to make so much sense.

Within the circle of women there were folks with all sorts of knowledge of health and healing, those with issues that Dearbhla addressed, and many of us keen to have more harmonious cycles.

Half way through we paused for a delicious dinner, inspired by the theme of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter – foods to eat at different times in our monthly cycle. Before heading for food, we tried one of Dearbhla’s ‘Digestive Bitters’ – a squirt into the mouth to get the gut going even before food enters!!

And afterwards, we heard from each person something of their experiences. Thank you so all who attended and for our special Irish guest. For me personally, the evening ended with a sense of great empowerment. Knowing that there are simple changes that can be made to diet and weekly practices that means I can flow with my inner rhythm for the benefit of me and others around me!

For details of the work that Dearbhla does, check out ‘The Cultured Club’ where you can find recipes, and a link to her book ‘Funky Ferments’.

In Autumn we will host more fermentation workshops, keep an eye out for dates!

Teaching Natural Building

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Barbara has returned from teaching another 8 day natural building course – the second of the year.

This most recent course was at Keela Yoga Farm, the home of Laurence and Kimberly. The experience left the participants buzzing on the final day with all they had learned.

Barbara designed for Keela a new building from straw bales that they will use as a volunteer kitchen and living area, with a future yoga shala. It is a big project, ambitious and beautiful.

Here is a link to a video an impressive summery of all they learned….

Massive well done to the team – participants, and the hosts – the food was delicious, the hospitality amazing and the project – well – it’s a crazy building that will be SOO beautiful when complete.

For details on the coming workshop 4-11th August – contact Laurence as soon as possible- there are still 2 places left! For registration and all details check Keela´s website

Shepherd’s Walk and Cheese Festival

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Bright and early on Sunday 20th May, a group of us from Mount of Oaks headed off to join a 3 hour walk around the village of Soalheira, as part of the annual cheese festival.

Participants ranged from 10 years to 70 years old!

We walked through the village and then out to the fields and farms. We enjoyed delicious water from Roman fountains and the small cobbled streets….

The main produce of this area is sheep and goats cheese – it is internationally recognised for its quality. We got the chance to walk through several sheep farms…

We visited traditional and modern farms where sheep and goats are milked. The young people in the group were pretty disgusted with the smells !!

In the fields we walked next to horses, sheep and chatted with fellow walkers for most of the way…

It was beautiful to pass by a shepherdess and her herd of sheep…..

….the views were stunning, of the Gardunha mountains on one side and the Marateca lake on the other….

We were treated to a brunch half way, where we were served 8 different types of local cheese, bread, pasteries and even wine!

Our circular trip took us back to the village some 3 hours later, some sore feet, but a feeling of accomplishment and gratitude.

Back at the cheese festival we arrived in time to see our friend Donna Manuela teach children to make cheese with goats milk…

Donna Manuela’s cheese is delicious and her goats feed only on organic food stuffs – she was the first in the region to have her goats milk certified organic!

In the afternoon the festival hosted the local traditional dance and music groups – this was really fun to watch, especially for the guests who had stayed with us the night before.

Natascha and Thomas were travelling Portugal in a camper van and happened upon Mount of Oaks – it was so fun to be able to introduce them to the local culture.

One final wonderful aspect of the day was to find out more about a schools project, where local kids are learning how to make cheese at school – in order for the traditions not to die out. And their cheese tastes good too!

Kombucha with Rose

Posted on by emma

Last week we had Rose Chandler come and host a morning dedicated to Kombucha and her sister Honey Jun, both healthy probiotic drinks that are good for your microbiomea.

     

We were a small but enthusiastic group, all keen to know more about the gut benefits of these drinks and how to flavour them with fruits and teas.

We began with the basics of learning about scobies and we even touched and tasted one! Looks pretty disgusting, but it was surprisingly not soooo weird afterall!

Rose explained how scobies also benefit the skin, so we took the chance to wipe our faces!! FUN!

Fun and bubbles all over the place as we taste tested brews from at different stages of fermentation (F1, F2, F3)….. Like the fizz in this bottle – Rose was really enthusiastic about the brews – that was passed to us!

Rose instructed us about Batch versus Continous Brew Techniniques and we tried A LOT of different drinks. On a personal level, it was enlightening to learn about making herbal kombucha bases – using our own herbal tea mixes!

Well done Rose ! Thank you for your passion for the delicious drinks you make.

One of my main take aways from the morning was Rose’s description of kombucha (which I really love to drink daily!), she said, ‘kombucha is like a liquid hug for the gut’ That sounds great!

To contact Rose to buy some of her Honey Jun or Kombucha, she is part of the BioEco association and comes to the local markets in Alpedrinha and Covilha.

 

Spring Gathering

Posted on by emma

The theme for the Spring Gathering was  Nourishing Connections.

A veritable feast of food, conversation and family time and cross pollination.

The morning began with a circle and getting to know one another and the place. Barbara took folks who came for the first time on a tour of the buildings…

and we also spoke about our way of life and the reasons for living as/where we do..

The kids had their own space, and Laura hosted that brilliantly! They had a swing, did face painting, kids yoga and playing about in the garden – harvesting oranges to eat and flowers to decorate Marcia’s birthday cake.

In the afternoon volunteers from an amazing group who work with environmental education came and lead a story telling activity and a bug hotel workshop with the kids!

The food, thanks to the wonderful team of helpers the previous day was delicious! A feast for the eyes and the tummy. Local, seasonal, fermented, raw and cooked! Vegan and Veggie, gluten and gluten-free – all bases covered!

Since it was also Marcia’s birthday she received a bunch of edible goodness in the form Beautiful bouquet!

 and Rose did a taste testing and explaination of her Komucha …

Rose, Kevin and Kirsty did a grand job in the bar, serving probiotic and other drinks…

As the day went on, more and more people arrived to take part in the afternoon activities – bringing the ‘hot topics’ we wanted to speak with the wider community. We heard from everyone in the circle – who was present, and what they might like to speak about……

This was dynamic and fun – despite the fact it was translated into either Portuguese or English so we could all understand each other’s stories!

……then we formed smaller groups based on those themes. There was a group talking about local economy, another about health, another about education and still another about community and organising….

The groups had 30 mins to share ideas and then were asked to feedback into the wider circle and identify action points…

 

There were some really significant connections made between people and projects, between parents and the local council, between creatives and funding options, between Portuguese and ‘new locals’.

The final circle we heard snap shots of what people had gotten from the day – and then we DANCED and ate birthday cake! Many thanks to all who made it come together – those who helped to cook, serve, wash dishes, collect plates, serve drinks, play music, tidy up – or lent us chairs or tables. Thanks to Povoa de Alataia for the use of the kitchen and the pots and pans!!!

We were really grateful that members of the local council had come along to lend their support, and to meet members of the foreign community living here. It was an honour to have the ex-mayor of the village Sr Rodrigues with us, plus Esmeralda, Paula and the Vereadora of Education, Alcina Cerdeira from Fundao council – they are wonderful partners.

Our next gathering will be 22nd July – the theme is MUSIC that connects us…bring along instruments. Here is the link to the event.

Markets and Cooperation!

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The last local market organised by BioEco association was again a huge success – with more people, especially people from the village coming along.

We had our stall there, selling our soaps, natural cosmetics, herbal teas and salts – and our sour krauts and fermented sauces…it was a great opportunity to let folks taste our produce and also get the news out about the up coming workshops.

What was exciting for the members of the association was that we got the official membership card. The work over the last years to develop this association have put in by an amazing group of visionary and practical people – big thanks to Francisco, Catarina and Ricardo in particular!

The markets are as much about the social space as it is about an economic space. Chance for catching up with friends – or making new contacts is a huge factor. Philosophy, education, the weather or the price of bread are some of the topics!!

This last market several of those who had attended the Democratic Economy conference at UBI chose the market as a place to gather to share feedback and to plan ‘what next’?! Out of these conversations came some really concrete suggestions – the open airing of a documentary in the local town in Portuguese about inspiring co-ops AND inviting along an association that supports the forming of new co-ops to find out more of the legal/social framework!

Not bad for a 30 min discussion facilitated in two languages!

What is also super about these markets is that there are a few people organising an activity for kids – this time it was Sandra and she was painting stones! Very creative and fun.

To be able to go along and buy delicious non-sprayed fruit and veg from your neighbours is a luxury – and one we hope will again become the norm. The movement for local, small scale farming in this small area of Portugal has the potential for being quite resiliant, dynamic and a model of cooperation – we are glad to be part of it!

The next market is 2nd June in Covilha (every first Saturday of the month), next market in Alpedrinha is 10th June (every second Sunday of the month).

To find out more about the BioEco association follow this link  The most exciting event coming up is a course in growing organic vegetables – 21-23rd June.

 

 

 

Chopping and Chatting

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An amazing bunch of women gathered at the village hall kitchen in Povoa de Atalaia to prepare scrummy food for the Spring Gathering. Many thanks go to the creativity and care that these women gave to the preparation of the food.

But first – where did the veggies come from? LOCAL producers!

This is Vasco. He grows organic vegetables in our neighbourhood. It was a pleasure to visit him with Kevin and to harvest cabbages and select the salads we wanted.

Now, back to the ladies and our chatting and chopping…..this is about the 5th time we have cooked for large gatherings at the local village hall. Every time we seem to have more fun, create more elaborate dishes and make deeper friendships!

Nicky took charge of the Indian Spiced cauliflower rice…..yum yum!

Kimbo became the humus queen for the day – transforming chickpeas and fresh fava beans into pastes that tasted even better than they looked!! (and they looked scrummy)

Tyra, Tina and Kirsty were busy with preparing the roasted veg – chopping and chatting all the way!!

And then there was the limed onions…..

Anne had a recipe for mini veggie burgers. With the help of Kate and Suzy, together they prepared about 120!

The industrial kitchen is perfect for huge quantities….

Having a laugh and breaks were all part of it…

homemade oat cakes….

endless washing up….

Over lunch break we spoke about how social and fun it is to come together to cook together and swap recipes and tricks. Following this one of the ladies started a group to propose doing this more often – not just for large events, but more of a monthly thing.

Many many thanks to this team of incredible ladies who have made this region their home. Kate, Rena, Linda, Kimberly, Anne, Tyra, Tina, Suzy and Nicky – and our amazing volunteers Kirsty (who we are encouraging to come live here too!)

THE MENU

Seasonal local roasted vegetables

Mini burgers/fritata

Beetroot/fava/lemon hummus

Oat cakes

Fresh celery pesto

Spicey black bean stew

whole grain and white rice

Indian Cauliflower rice

Green and mustard salads

Linda’s tortilha wraps

 

Fermenting Fun

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The other weekend we had the most fantastic group workshop, learning and making delicious fermented food and drinks. We were a jolly bunch of Portuguese and ‘new locals’ having a laugh!

The fresh ingredients were sourced early morning at the local market from organic producers. This is Emma and her delicious harvest!

We started with a super introduction to the science of fermenting from Nicky Arnold, nutritionist and follow fermentor.

And then we began to chop…..

first the cabbage….then adding salt…

and then leaving to soften…

 We used a recipe for a classic Kimchi from Dearbhla Reynold’s superb book, ‘Funky Ferments’. We have been inspired by this lady and her approach to nutrition and life!

Then more preparation for the Kimchi…

Chatting all the while….Nicky guiding the workshop with instructions and laughter…..

Rinsing the excess salt from the kimchi….

Sharing stories and learning from precious experiences of either tasting Korean Kimchi. We were blessed to have Christine with us who had lived in South Korea explaining about traditional fermenting practices there.

Then to make the hot paste…..

And then the fun part of mixing all the ingredients together…

When it came to making the sour kraut, we decided to teach to make a classic recipe, again from Dearbhla’s book…..

After a scrummy break where we tried various delicious snacks, we continued with the making of a ginger bug – the necessary base for many of our fizzy drinks….

The ginger ale and the orange-ade went down a treat – a great way to end a super afternoon!

Many thanks to those who participated and brought enthusiasm, knowledge, feedback and warmth. Kirsty our amazing volunteer who took most of the pictures in this blog piece is also to be congratulated. Nicky guided us beautifully and we look forward to playing together again soon. Well done TEAM!!

It was a special day for me personally to have my mum present and is now an official convert to gut-healthy foods!

The next workshop will be 9th June – learning how to make 3 different recipes…here are the details….