Permaculture in SW France

Hi Permaculture People,
My partner and I, as well as our amazing permaculture expert friend are moving to near Carcassonne in September 2012 to explore the different regions and help on permaculture projects before buying land. We are looking to buy 10 acres minimum for 2 homes, orchard, land for cultivation and permaculture design and in the future look to build a green school/Steiner based school and "slow" retreat centre encouraging people to slow down - yoga, meditation, harvesting their own veggies from the garden to cook communally, no internet or phone during their stay. We currently run www.evolvewellnesscentre.com in London which has a strong focus on sustainability education. We planted a roof garden on our studio using permaculture principles last April and have had an allotment for several years.

We are looking to help support like minded people with their land/work on their house in exchange for lodging and board. We have practical knowledge of planting/harvesting and some DIY experience. Please get in touch if you know of any such opportunities or are looking to network with good people from a similar perspective. We would love to hear from you.

Thanks!
Adrian, Corinne and Kevin

Hello Adrian, you sound a perfect match for what we have in mind & will soon outline our our project on the forum. We are a group of individuals who have been struck down with Electrosensitivity and so are looking to purchase land in France, Spain and/or Canary Islands away from pulsed microwave technologies. Some of us from London, others from Europe. We want to renovate old ruins or build strawbale or cob eco-dwellings so looking for people to join us or be neighbours to us without using WIFI/mobiles. It would be great to be linked to others who have some knowledge of permaculture so that we can learn skills but also occasional company and mutual support & friendship. The kind of retreat you outline would fit perfectly with ours - although we envisage using cabled internet which will envisage to be in a shielded booth of sorts to allow some communication & research, but the idea is that
we live close to nature without harm and seeking a relaxed way of life in creativity, liberty and freedom. I get the picture that you want to stay on lands so that you can experience different areas but perhaps worth just keeping us on the backburner if you find land that is out of your range and we can step in to contribute in exchange for finding the place and exchange of knowledge. I'll leave it there for now - see what you think.