The politics of olive harvesting in Palestine
Posted on 26 October 2011 | 8 responses
We are currently staying at Bustan Qaraaqa in Palestine and just happen to be here during olive harvest season… we are also here during an interesting time because of the Shalit Deal, where Israel swaps one Israeli soldier for 1027 imprisoned Palestinians… so, how do we link olives with the Shalit Deal??
Well, ironically, the olive leaf is a symbol of abundance, glory, wisdom, fertility, pureness and peace… but here people are oppressed, getting their olive groves and rain water cisterns destroyed by Israel as the natural water resources are monopolised (on average Israelis have access to 4 times as much water as Palestinians). People’s ability to sustain [...] Continue Reading…
Growing forests in deserts…
Posted on 2 October 2011 | No responses
It has been a long time without posting… we do apologise for such a long silence but the truth is we’ve been extremely busy! We spent most of August hiking in the Swiss Alps and we do hope to be able to share with you our experience with the makers of the über-famous Gruyere cheese… Anyway, after this great holiday, we then went to Jordan to study permaculture. We ended up doing a Permaculture Design Course for two weeks in Amman (it’s now Carly’s second PDC!), followed by a week of conferences/discussions/experience sharing in the Wadi Rum desert, exchanging about agriculture [...] Continue Reading…
Week 9 – Eco-building in the Pyrenees, Hosting a project and community living
Posted on 28 July 2011 | No responses
Over the 5 weeks spent with Pierre I observed how he managed us helpers, his projects, his family life and himself. I imagine the whole process could be quite physically and emotionally rewarding but also draining – dealing with various people from all walks of life, interrupting your routine, sharing your space, managing the build, training, supervising, etc.
As mentioned in a previous post, community living often seems harder than the project or building itself. So, this week’s post is from Pierre’s perspective. We’ve asked him some questions which he has kindly answered for us.
How many helpers have you had?
So far, [...] Continue Reading…
“Faced with inhumanity, we must be more human” – A witness account of the Oslo tragedy
Posted on 25 July 2011 | 2 responses
Erik Abild, a Norwegian friend of mine whom I met while working in Gaza, yesterday shared his thoughts about the horrendous and absurd killings which just occurred in Oslo. We particularly appreciate his call for greater humanity. As he puts it perfectly:
“Today, here in Norway, many politicians and people state that “today we are all AUF” (the name of the youth party). And we are. Just as we all were Japanese when the earthquake struck, or as we all are Somalis when we read about famine. This feeling of community is a part of being human. And this communality, [...] Continue Reading…
Week 8 – Eco-building in the Pyrenees, from earth bag foundations to plastering
Posted on 20 July 2011 | No responses
This post will actually cover the progression of Pierre’s projects in the Pyrenees over a 2 week period as we would like to use the last post, week 9, to share Pierre’s experiences of hosting volunteers for his projects.
During my last 2 weeks at Pierre’s, we completed the ceiling insulation (see our week 5 post for details), continued painting the window frames (inside and out), finished plastering the internal walls, plastered the first coat for an external wall, made some earth bags, finished sanding and painting the floors, added some creative elements and contributed to some gardening in preparation [...] Continue Reading…
Week 7 – Eco-building in the Pyrenees, Inspiration in the Mountains
Posted on 12 July 2011 | No responses
During week 7 of my eco-building adventure, we spent a few days visiting Pierre’s mountain house to get some fresh air, a break from work and see some of the design elements he implemented there. It was inspiring to see his designs and thoughts about space actually implemented (see the week 6 post for more about designing space).
This week I will simply share with you some images from the mountains and Pierre’s house and garden. He purchased an old house a decade ago and improved it substantially – essentially all by himself. As you look through the pictures, think [...] Continue Reading…
Update your playlist thanks to the Worldwide Festival…
Posted on 11 July 2011 | No responses
I have to admit, after five days dancing at the sixth Worldwide Festival, I struggle writing this post… Yet, I’m putting the effort as I do think you should consider attending the next one, either in Singapore or Sète (South of France – see the pic). The Worldwide Festival is organised by the über famous DJ Gilles Peterson and the styles of music are as eclectic as the name of the festival suggests. We’ve seen and heard artists from the UK, France, US, but also from the Congo, Japan, Iceland, Germany, Singapore, Kenya… etc with artists such as LeFtO, [...] Continue Reading…
Week 6 – Eco-building in the Pyrenees, Natural Painting, Plastering and Designing
Posted on 3 July 2011 | 2 responses
This week saw us continuing the ceiling insulation, sanding and painting the timber ceiling and flooring with linseed oil, painting window frames with natural paint and applying cow dung plaster.
Linseed Oiling
The linseed oil is actually a mixture of linseed oil and turpentine mixed 2L:330ml. It is used to protect the timber from the elements andincrease its durability. It also increases its resistance from being destroyed by insects or fungus. From what I’ve read, the function of linseed oil as a preservative is believed to be related to its action as a water repellent and drying agent rather than a direct biocidal activity.
Natural Painting
The natural [...] Continue Reading…
Brie à la Carly and Jean!
Posted on 1 July 2011 | 1 response
Hey, the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company has written a beautiful post about Making Sense of Things – it is nice to have such feedback, check it out 
We take this opportunity to say that we enjoy engaging with you, so don’t hesitate to leave us some comments, or share this blog among your family and friends. Also, if you have an idea of a post you would like covered, we welcome any suggestions, articles, or recommendations.
Week 5 – Cob camp hits the road to learn eco-building in the Pyrenees
Posted on 24 June 2011 | No responses
Cobbing
The beginning of week 5 was all about mixing and building cob since the roof was up and stable. There is so much to learn about cob that you can only truly understand through tactile experience. You need to feel the critical proportion of clay to sand to ensure a plastic, cohesive, workable mix that won’t shrink and crack too much. Depending on the coarseness of the sand and quality of the clay (and other components in the soil) the final mix should be between 5% and 25% clay. By observing the soil composition from a soil test (seeing it [...] Continue Reading…
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