Casalinho

Author: Andrea

  • Go, Willow, Go 2013 Brainwave Auction

    Willow is a very special little girl whose parents are friends of Casalinho. They have set up an auction, running until 10pm on Sunday 24th November, to raise funds for Willow’s Brainwave treatments. So why am I telling you? Well, apart from the auction being full of fabulous items which would make spectacular Christmas gifts, this more »

  • Volunteer / Training Space – Let’s Warm Up

    This will be old news for those who have visited us over the past few months, but it seems rather appropriate to show you some photos of the stove we’ve installed in the Volunteer / Training Room on the first day where it’s felt like winter this year. Although unnecessary when we use the space more »

  • Showered with Good Fortune (part 3)

    We’ve won the 2013 WWOOF Host Grant, which we’re thrilled about. This is the story of the new shower block we’re funding with the grant.    Cue the drums and trumpets, I’ve an announcement to make! It’s now possible to take a warm shower at Casalinho. No more dunking yourself, shivering, in the river (unless more »

  • New Summer Courses

    After the terrific feedback we received following June’s Permaculture Design Course with New School Permaculture, we’re excited to invite Helder Valente back next month for a couple of brand new courses. One of the areas of Casalinho that we need to put more work into is our forest garden. I’m sure we’re not alone in more »

  • A Visitor’s Perspective: Rosie on Travel

    This is part of a series of posts where we ask one of our volunteers or visitors to say a few words. Rosie joined us for a Permaculture Design Course and stayed on as one of the testers for our new Practical Self-Reliance Experience. Here, Rosie describes her journey to Casalinho and provides lots of more »

  • A Visitor’s Perspective: Serge’s Diary (part 6)

    This is part of a series of posts where we ask one of our volunteers or visitors to say a few words. Serge has been volunteering with us for some time, and this is the final part of his diary. This instalment covers Serge’s last days as a volunteer, and his participation in the recent Permaculture Design more »

  • Too Close for Comfort

    Our volunteers wrote a lovely tutorial on hot composting for me to post here, but anything hot doesn’t seem appropriate after yesterday afternoon! We had our first forest fire of the year, the closest to Casalinho we’ve experienced. One of our visitors raised the alarm, and whilst another phoned the emergency services I drove down more »

  • In the Kitchen: Dolmades

    Finally, despite some pretty rotten weather earlier in the year, our vines are looking lush and green. Of course the goats adore them, but I see no reason why they should get all the fun, particularly as they get so many at harvest time. It’s quite possible to harvest a reasonable number of leaves from more »

  • How to: Make Compost in Just 18 Days

    One of the practical sessions during our Permaculture Design Courses is often the building a hot compost heap. Pretty much any organic materials left in a pile will compost eventually, but by carefully shaping a heap with the optimal mix of ingredients we can ensure that it creates heat, speeding up the composting process and killing weed more »

  • A Visitor’s Perspective: The Land of (Goat’s) Milk & Honey

    This is part of a series of posts where we ask one of our volunteers or visitors to say a few words. Max was with us for a marvellous six weeks, and wrote this piece the evening before he continued his travels.   A Visitor’s Perspective: The Land of (Goat’s) Milk & Honey   Six weeks more »