Communication and Education

For the second year in a row Sunseed happily welcomed a group of 10 schoolchildren from Bulgaria to our community, along with two of their chaperones, for a shared weekend of learning about sustainability in our beautiful off-grid village. This also marked another collaboration with our neighbours at Miraposa, with the children staying in the eco-guest house next door to Sunseed’s main house. A great arrangement considering we have 18 members of the Sunseed community at the moment and we are very full!

During the four day stay, the students had workshops on various topics connected to our life here in this desert oasis.

Since the group arrived in the afternoon of October 31st, they started with a workshop from Elisa and the sustainable living team centred around pumpkin carving and discussing all the uses of this seasonal vegetable that we have in abundance in this region! They talked about all the uses for the plant, including baking seeds and eating the delicious insides. After an afternoon of discussion and carving, the students (and the Sunseed community) enjoyed a delicious dinner of pumpkin soup. 

 The following morning they were given the full Sunseed tour by Ashley, our Education Coordinator, followed by a morning of planting new trees in the domo area with Juanma and the Organic Gardens Team. In the afternoon they ventured into the drylands with Ecostystem Restoration Interns Luna and Emilia to identify and categorise plants, finally making a nature mandala from found plant life in the area. 

 Saturday was another busy day for the students, with a trip to Sorbas to visit the geological phenomenon that is the Cuevas de Sorbas, followed by a traditional paella lunch and then a trip to the visitors centre in Sorbas, finally attending a workshop centred on carving using the miraculous pita plant at the Pita Escuela (formerly located in Los Molinos del Rio Aguas with us, but now headquartered in Sorbas).

For their last full day with us (which was incredibly rainy thanks to heavy storms that flooded the area), the students learned about how to process the leaves of the pita plant to access the fibers, then learned how to braid them and make them into cordage, eventually turning them into their own bracelets, all courtesy of a workshop from Marco, another artisan neighbour in the village. Finally the children were taken through a gentle yoga and meditation practice in the afternoon with Luis, our Ecosystem Restoration Coordinator. 

 Hosting groups is a wonderful part of our life at Sunseed as a non-formal education project, and this return visit from our Bulgarian friends was no different. We hope to see a new group of them next year! There is something extra magical about being able to introduce our low-impact way of life to young people. 

If you are also interested in bringing a group of students of any age to Sunseed please get in touch with us at education@sunseed.org.uk.