Beaches, hitchbiking, wild fruit, pledges and police

Beaches As I write this, I’m on a warm sandy beach in Sant Pol de Mar on the Mediterranean coast in the evening. Our group is watching the fireworks dancing above the town. Somebody asked whether they were ‘eco-fireworks’. We thought about it, then gave a small ‘woop’ for the next green one. A firework after our own hearts. As the locals serenaded us with guitars, an oboe, tuba and stunning voices , and gave us beer, I thought, “I could get used to this degrowth lifestyle”. I am also enjoying all of the Spanish accents pronouncing ‘beach’, it makes…

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From Can Prim to Can Torres

We woke up in bright sunlight floating the Pyrenees in the background in bright colours. Over night some of our communal items (and some personal shoes) had been attacked and partly eaten by animals – a learning experience… After a breakfast with lots of warm leftover food from the night before, we had a short ride on a flat road leading us to Figueres. Our group was a focus of attention on the market square; several people came up to us, children looking skeptically and bicycle fans telling us about their own trips and admiring the tall bike among us.…

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one week on the road…

On tuesday morning, the group woke up early and left Kan Pascual. Happily rolling down the Collserola mountain to visit a nice ecological farm, Cal Rosset, that produces for consumer cooperatives in Barcelona. We then followed the Llobregat river by a dirt road, got some fruits from some locals on Martorrell and followed the national road the rest of the day, arriving in Ca La Fou on time for helping cooking diner. On our first day in Ca La Fou, wednesday (11), we had a tour of this huge site and project after our morning circle, in the afternoon some people…

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An introduction to Ca La Fou

Ca La Fou is an ambitious ‘eco-industrial postcapitalist colony’, a day’s cycle outside barcelona. The group first visited this site in october 2010, and only moved here in july 2011. The enormous space was bought as a housing cooperative by the group with a loan from an ecological bank and support from a wider network. It was originally a ‘colonia,’ a factory workhouse dating back to the 13th century. The river running through provided energy for various mills, including a paper mill and a textile mill. this was replaced by a powerful hydroelectric plant after the site was abandoned for a…

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An introduction to Kan Pasqual

Kan Pascual was originally occupied by a group of students and young people who were occupying various places in the late 90’s. They were interested in primitivism and the zapatista movement, and they began living basic with wood fires. They use solar energy complimented by wind energy – a combination which serves them well. They have experimented with biogas from the manure of their neighbour’s horses. They could produce 2 hours of gas per day. however, they had trouble controlling the gas and have stopped for the moment. They use water from the well and rainwater from the roof of…

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An introduction to Can Masdeu

Can Masdeu is an abandoned leprosy hospital in a nature reserve on the outskirts of barcelona. Building and surrounding land was occupied in 2001 by a group of 7 people and slowly transformed into a social centre, allotments and a home. The building itself is owned by ‘hospital de la pau’ – a combination of public and private bodies including the council, the hospital and the church. They planned to make money from the building by turning it into luxury flats for the rich – not a popular plan amongst local people! In catalunya it is both a civil and…

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