Project EVE : The School of Ecological Life

The project’s shortname is the acronym of the French’s words for School of Ecological Life: École de la Vie Écologique that also works in Spanish.

Healthy living * Healthy body practices * Vivid and plant based food * Permaculture * Bio-construction * Ecology * Renewable energies * Music * Singing * Dancing * Benevolent communication

Watch the video introducing the project.

The School of Ecological Life: Moving towards Global Ecology * Linking inner and outer ecology

I don’t know of any other place like this (although I sincerely hope there will be others). There are many places dedicated to ecology, permaculture and eco-construction… but in which the Inner Ecology part is barely touched or even totally ignored. I can talk about it because I have done many permaculture and eco-construction internships and visited many eco-places and I have often been surprised (to say the least) by the food mode (often not even organic) and by the lack of attention paid to the body and emotions. On the other hand I also did a lot of personal development and body practices training… in reinforced concrete buildings without any attention to what we spent our days in (and not to mention the food). So in Flores de Vida the challenge is to bring together Outer Ecology and Inner Ecology in the same place at the same time.

The inner ecology

  • Physiological food (plant based)
  • Body practices for well-being and martial arts
  • Personal development techniques
  • Benevolent communication (NVC and others)
  • Music and arts

The outer ecology

  • Permaculture
  • Self-construction and green building methods
  • Renewable energies and recycling

The Global Energy

Respect for the Earth, People, Animals and Plants are inseparable. Our health and that of the earth are intimately linked and Global Ecology allows the balance between all forms of life on our planet. Global Ecology is both: * A holistic vision that encompasses the whole of life on earth.
* A implementation that is coherent (too often forgotten).

A place for teaching, meeting, sharing

The internships that will be offered will relate to Well-Being (body practices, personal development, food), to Art (music, dance, painting), to Ecology (permaculture, bio-construction, renewable energies) and everything that can promote awareness and true Well-Being. The internships will be given either by myself (Nat’) or by quality external instructors who wish to take advantage of the exceptional setting of Flores de Vida to transmit their teaching. The goal is to offer trainees (whatever the type of training) a global ecological immersion by experiencing a vegan and raw way of life in a semi-wild environment.

Making the Dream come true: a happy team open to the World

In the long term the project is to be able to accommodate at once:

  • A team of permanent staff (10 or 15 people, maybe more).
  • Trainees coming for permaculture or personal development internships.
  • Volunteers coming to help.
  • Visitors wishing to simply discover the place (and leave with ideas and the desire to create).

The dream is to form a small team that makes the place work and participates in its development.

This group of people on the road to coherence is made up at once:

  • Permanent staff living on the site, on their way to regeneration.
  • Regulars who know the place and the project well: the Hermanitas and Hermanitos who come every year to participate in the adventure for a few weeks or even months.
  • Friends who follow the project from a distance and support it morally, financially and participate in the development of the concept and its dissemination.

It is this team that will bring to life and animate the School of Ecological Life in which these principles of Ecological Life will be freely communicated and transmitted.

The School in Construction

The future reception buildingReception buildings are in the planning stages, which will provide a comfortable reception in all seasons. The idea, in all cases, is the dissemination of ideas and techniques aimed at improving human beings and their relationship to themselves and their environment. The major project now is to build a reception building, for accommodation, and also a large multi-purpose activity room.

The future buildings

The future buildings:

  • In red, L-shaped, the reception building, dormitories and sanitary facilities.
  • The small red rectangle is a cellar that will be completely buried (in addition to the existing one).
  • The small red circle is a dome in the ground (meditation, talking circles, healing, etc.).
  • In yellow the activity room (dance, yoga, various activities, etc.).

The time to make it happen

So far, volunteers and friends have come to help take care of the place, build and plant trees. Today it is time to move on to the next phaseand for this place to become a Space of Regeneration for a greater number of people, through the hosting of long-term stays and the implementation of internships throughout the year. And this is now possible because we will soon be able to build… a reception building as well as an activity room. Thanks to the reception building, we will be able to accommodate more people and in good conditions (for the moment it is still very rudimentary).

Accomodation area

Accomodation areaAdeline made a nice model that already gives an idea of the space. It’s going to be great.

As for the activity room, it will allow us to organize internships all year round without depending on the weather conditions. We will have a magnificent space of 200 m² (with a flat green roof) to dance, do yoga, aikido, concerts and so on. There will also be a space for packaging olives, oil and almonds.

The cost of the EVE project

Obviously this project has its price and already for the administrative part €13,000 has been paid to pay the architect and various taxes. There will still be €3000 to go out for the town hall for the finalization of the permit. And after that there will be the construction of the buildings which will represent €200,000 to €300,000 (yes…). The construction will be carried out largely with participative worksites which will reduce the cost, but it is still nearly 500 m² of buildings that will be built, plus the outdoor spaces to be developed (roads, pipes, basins). And there will still be a lot of materials and equipment to buy: electrical equipment, plumbing, machinery for the foundations and the repair of roads, woodwork, doors and windows, tiles, etc. But wow… what a fantastic School of Ecological Life we’re going to have, a fabulous regeneration centre!

How to support the project?

You can support the project either by a one-time donation, a monthly transfer, a major donation or a small donation. It is according to your possibilities. Any participation is welcome, regardless of the amount… small streams make big rivers. Support Flores de Vida and the EVE project We will organize a big celebration in 2019, the Fiesta Cruda (and then every year), so that all the actors of the project can meet, share and exchange. All the actors will be invited for free. We will have the opportunity to discuss it again. NB: the actors of the project are as much the people who participate financially as those who come to lend a hand on the land and participate in the workcamps (where you are of course welcome).

Flores de Vida is a collective project with respect for everyone, so that everyone can fully develop. We can be 10 to 20 permanent and if you like the experience, welcome to you!