2012 – Page 2 – Ecotopia Biketour

One paragraph per day…

taborda July 27, 2012 July 28, 2012

(soon will try to upload some pictures to this post also) sunday 15 july, we said goodbye to our kind hosts of Can Piella in the morning and followed a nice road to San Pol de Mar, Iago arranged us a place to stay, the Poliesportiu municipal, and in the night we met with a orquestra band from the town and some friends of a known poet Perejaume to talk about comunity living and degrowth while we cooked our first dinner on our rocket stoves at the beach. monday 16 july, we continued following the sea, by a beautiful scenic road, and stoped…

Beaches, hitchbiking, wild fruit, pledges and police

sam July 21, 2012 November 11, 2013

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…

Bicicletada en defensa de Collserola

taborda July 17, 2012 July 17, 2012

Video of the first cycling day of the biketour, critical mass in defense of Collserola mountain, a nice ride from Can Masdeu to Kan Pasqual.

one week on the road…

taborda July 15, 2012 July 21, 2012

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…

An introduction to Kan Pasqual

mandolinquent July 13, 2012 July 13, 2012

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…

An introduction to Can Masdeu

mandolinquent July 12, 2012 July 12, 2012

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…

Celebrate the start of the biketour, 8th July at Can Masdeu 10.30h-19.00h

alice June 26, 2012 July 4, 2012

Come and meet Ecotopia Biketour, find out about Degrowth and help us celebrate the start of our 2,000km journey by bike from Barcelona to Venice, which leaves the next day! Ecotopia Biketour is an eco-mobile do-it-yourself activist community which cycles through Europe each summer. This year our journey takes us through Catalonia, the South of France and Northern Italy and our theme is degrowth, challenging the damaging mentality of growth which overlooks real social and environmental values. We will visit projects, collectives and people who are experimenting with alternatives to growth, learn from each other and live sustainably! And we…

One month to go…

taborda June 5, 2012 June 5, 2012

The biketour is just around the corner, starting one month from now! Phew how time has flown away, but loads of things have happened during our preparations… We have made many many contacts, via internet, friends and travel, our route has almost finished taking shape (although there will still be major changes!) and the word is being spread (any help is welcome). Now it’s the time to confirm all the places we will visit, and work on detailed maps of the route. Along our route in Catalonia we will visit some really inspiring self-managed agro-living projects, in France we will…