Summer has come and as it was expected lack of rain and increase of average temperature. Still this is a privileged area and if you get to know it well you will get the best from it. 

Just yesterday I adventured myself to discover the birth of the Ardila river, and I did find it. It was surrounded by humid vegetation, there was chestnuts trees, and other river bank trees, there was also the typical vegetable garden. There is a big amount of water just coming out a rock, it is fantastic. The rough walk was really worth it. The area is full of cortijos (ranchs), nowadays every rancher wants to get there by car, and tracks are all over. 

Still with great knowledge of the area, hidden places will only be apt to walkers and hikers. When you come and visit us on our tentudia walking and trekking holidays be open minded,  and besides doing great exercise (as much and tough as you like) you will discover a mediterranean forest and dehesa that  besides their lack of good care are still wild places. 

 

 In the Tentudia region in the gardens in order to water the plants it was very common to find waterwells pushed with a donkey or a mule, turning around a well.

Usually there was a young boy in charge of the animal to make sure that it didn´t stop turning. The mule had its eyes covered to avoid distraction and dizziness. Today there is a few active waterwells. From Biensevive we intend to recover this tradition and we are undertaking and studying the possibility of bringing back the traditional use of mules to get water in our land. 

When you come around for our walking and trekking holidays to Sierra the Tentudia we will make you part of this adventure. Remember that what we are doing in Biensevive is to go back to basics, and to do it is very difficult task for nowadays way of life, we believe that there are a lot of things yet to learn from our ancestors, and if we don´t do it now it will be gone forever.

Water is the origin of life. Sierra de Arancena (north of Huelva, Andalucía) and Sierra de Tentudía  (south of Badajoz, Extremadura) are very humid, with more average raining season than in the rest of surrounding sierras.

For this reason, we can enjoy off beaten track springs, of small quantity, but extremely important for gardens as well as animals during the dry season, giving way to oasis, and an specific river ecosystem with particular flora and fauna.

Fortunately these areas are still quite virgin and you will enjoy them with our walking tours,  as well as staying at Farmouse Biensevive. 

Water comes from aquifers, subterranean water that naturally overflows to the surface through rocks. These springs,  “manantiales”, have  historically been  venerated, doing pilgrimage or constructing a fountains right where they are. Springs are small and most of the times in hidden forested areas. There are different kinds:, permanent or temporary, running out, or diminishing the flow during dry season.

 

This article is simply about why the logo “Biensevive Spain”. 

We have come around this logo to explain the origins, core idea and philosophy of the project. The word Biensevive is a combination of words: bien-se-vive, meaning a place where living is wonderful. 

We have chosen this name as well because our family background: 

Our family owns a vineyard and before it was planted it used to be an oak forest, and coalmen came to make coal. They lived with us for a while and had a very pleasant stay, so before leaving, they named such place “Biensevive”. When we arrived at our land we knew we were in front of something very special and as such it had to be understood. 

We have added the word Spain, for two reasons: 

First in english to transmit “Biensevive Spain” with an international dimension and openness, geographically and culturally speaking. 

Second, the word Spain speaks for itself –great diversity within a relatively small territory, and so it happens in “Biensevive Spain” land. 

It comes from latin: trans, meaning “from the other side” and humus, meaning “soil”, “land”. 

The restoring of the Cortijo de Montaña – Mountain Ranch- is going surprinsingly well. The arquitect and the builders are, besides very nice, experts in traditional arquitecture. 

We are pretty sure that Biensevive will become a one week paradaise for a walking and relaxing andalucia holidays. Our only objective is having you as a  guest and having you in the best atmosphere.

By  the way the horses are enjoying high grass, and in the huerta- vetetable garden- potatoes are growing fast and tomatoes and the rest of plants will be planted next week.

Sandra and Javier

It is May in south of Spain, it is time for Romerías and this weekend whole town of Cabeza la Vaca is ready for its own particular one. For those who don´t know what Romería I hope you will learn it from this article.

Romería of Cabeza la Vaca is the annual religious pilgrimage to the chapel (Ermita) in the holy site of “los Lomitos”, in Sierra de las Buitreras. Actually one of our walking tours Tentudia traverse it.

This religious walk, and devotion is associated with particular saints or miracles from the Virgin. Los romeros ( the pilgrims) make their way on foot, covering a long distance (10 km.), and making offerings before gathering for a picnic: good local food, wine, and a lot of singing.

We strongly recommend you to stop by and live with us this special way of walking holidays.

Finca Biensevive has recently submitted a collaboration with the prestigious Permaculture Research Institute  of Australia. The following is the Questionnaire and its answers:

Questionnaire for PRI project development.

This document is a response to inquiries regarding PRI involvement in the establishment or development of permaculture projects, demonstration sites, and education centers. The answers help PRI get to know the project and decide the best course of interaction. 
·       What is your current knowledge and understanding of Permaculture?
·       What sort of service or relationship are you looking for from PRI?
·       Do you have land?

Where is it? 
Give exact latitude and longitude if possible, or give its location in Google Earth. 

Climate details.
Mediterranean. Soft winters, hot summer
-Temperature highs/lows.
-Growing season, etc.
-How large?

What is it like? 
-landscape profile, soil, water, access roads, structures, facilities.

What was the lands previous uses and development?

Can you send any maps of the property?
-Aerial photo
-Contour map
-Geological
-Survey

Can you send photos of the property?

Do you have a structure that can function as a teaching facility, or other structures on site?

Do you have a development fund, if so what is your budget, or proposed method of funding?

What organizational or legal structures do you control, if any, that are relevant to this project?  
-Businesses
-NGOs
-Other

How many people are involved?
-What are their skills/experience level regarding permaculture?
-What other relevant skill sets does your group have?
-Accounting, business, legal, teaching, administration, education/teaching, farming, animals, forestry, computers... etc.
-How much time do they have to work on this project?

Please visit the Project Establishment Timeline for an overview and guidelines of creating a permaculture project. 

Answers for PRI project development.

1.- Our knowledge of permaculture is through extensive reading and thanks to our site and the sourrounded country side. My skills though are yet quite limited. The area is very rural, although it is disappearing because young generation do not care about it

2.- We do not exactly know what sort of service we look for.

Our webpage (near full completion) www.walk-tentudia.com can show you our project basis.

I guess that our land is perfect to develop a full permaculture project because it is what has unconsciously been done by last land owner (old traditional country man), We have become close friends and a lot of feedback from him is available (although he is a native and very local old mind).

I guess what I can expect from you is real help to implement and/or execute things in the landscape because the eco tourism that we can do).

But to get the best from the land I need local help, and permaculture skills, I have someone that can be there (salary 1.200 euros a month this is our mayor obstacle to reach that amount to have someone to help us doing the work),… I already have my site in the wwoofing movement and people are getting in touch with us. We already had a german family a month and a half. But it is crucial to have local people as well doing the work,…

3.- Yes we have our own land. 17 acres
 
4.-Location N 38°-02.338´, W006-22.934´. You can take a look at www.walk-tentudia.com, maps and location for visual approach.

5.-  Thanks to its forested land, strategic location (south west, close to Atlantic sea, altitude between 700 m and 1.000 m, and in spite of being mediterranean climate (summer high temperatures and lack of rain, soft winter) it benefits of an extraordinary microclimate that allows an spectacular biodiversity in a relatively small geographic area.

- Average annual temperature is 15 C degrees
- Coldest month January with average temperature 7 C degrees
- Hottest month is july with average temperature 25 C degrees
- Period free of frost is 225 days from 4 April to 15 November
- Rainfall occurs mainly in winter (38%) and then spring and autumn (29% and 28% respectively).

6.- Growing season, all year round depending on what trees or vegetables or plants,…

7.- I believe that through our webpage you can have response to many of the questions on landscape profile, soil, water, access roads, structures, facilities,…

8.- Land previous uses where traditional dehesa uses (cork trees, goats, sheep, cow, olive trees, cultivation of wheat, vegetable garden, fruit trees, all with hand work and donkeys and mules, no trucks, tractor,… Soil has been arable.

9.- With the restoration of old building yes we will have a very nice, confort, stone made country house. It is currently under construction

10.- There is no development fund

11.- We plan to run it as a business (organizing walking holidays and renting rural house for weekends,…)

12.-We are a married couple with three kids (Javier and Sandra 36 year old, Sandra jr 5, Erika 4 and Javier jr 3 months). Our mayor skills are business, management (law degree, MBA, working experience as project manager,…),…

13.- Photos in the website www.walk-tentudia.com, maps attached. We have full time because we need it as a new incomes source

We are by 921 summit (on mapas pablo dos 005), on the right hand side, before Ayo. ( means stream) Valle del Moral. Ten minutes walking to the summit

Bye thank you very much

Javier, Sandra, Sandra jr, Erika, Javier jr

The fertilizer used is logically manure and it is spread in March or April, when the second soil working is done (bina), so it does not go too deep into the soil and the plant profits from it. Manure is generally mixed, it is a combination of either chicken, sheep´s, pig´s (very strong) manure with mule´s or cow´s (softer).

It also depends on the vegetable we are cultivating, for example for potatoes the best is donkey or cow manure because thanks to the straw in it the soil will be looser and the tuber will grow in better conditions. Manure is spread in the huerta in April but it is done throughout the year. We get it from “ zahurdas” (stable for animals), we turn over manure once in a while so it is fermented and properly mixed.

Once the land is prepared and manure is spread, Soon after we have to build the irrigation system for the vegetables. To be continued,…

As you can see this is a traditional agriculture system that fits perfectly in what today we define as permaculture: “ecologic principles derived from observation of natural sysyems”.

With walk tentudia holidays we look forward to share with you some little secrets about these mediterranean habitats of Dehesa, Sierra agroecosystems.

Nice thing about living in a place with so much biodiversity is that there is always something to collect from the woods. This past Sunday it was the turn for mushrooms, and in particular Gurumelos.

There it goes some brushstroke to familiarize with this delicacy.

Amanita ponderosa (Gurumelo) is an edible mushroom. It is believed that comes from the portuguese word for mushroom –Cogumelo-. Creamy white colour skin, white inside,  rapidly becoming red when being cut and it has a very characteriscic smell to damp soil.

Its habitat is mainly southwest of Iberian peninsula, mainly Huelva (Andalucia) and Badajoz (Extremadura). It is a spring mushroom. Traditionally we can find it in helm oaks, cork oaks areas.

It is an edible mushroom catalogued as excellent, especially charcoal-grilled with salt, or as an extra ingredient to any recipe