Hullo all!
Seeing as this is my first post, and also the beginnings of my plan, I shall start at the beginning. I hope I'm posting it in the right section!
I grew up on a mountain in the south of Spain with my family until I was about 8 and have since returned very regularly to visit my Dad and the village we lived in. I'm now 22, and in the fortunate (sort of) position of having inherited some money. Through a bit of optimistic budgeting I reckon its just about
enough money to buy a patch of scrub and lay the foundations for a permaculture/agroforestry wonderland, which I plan on doing in the north of spain rather than my
native UK because it's familiar,
land prices are bottomed right out at the moment and there is more sunshine (but less
water). Also not really thinking of going south because it just gets unbelievably hot in the summer and there is even less rainfall, whereas south of the Pyrenees there is at least some reliable water.
I'm hoping to head out in January and drive around to find a good patch, but havent been able to hold off fantasizing on property websites and have found my first potential candidate, I was hoping I could get some opinions on the type of land, its potential and whether all in all it would be a good place. I'm relatively new to
permaculture, and very enthusiastic, but my own knowledge doesn't run that deep yet and I'd be very grateful for some second, third and fourth opinions!
The land I am looking at can be seen
here on google maps.
I can't figure it out exactly, but Im fairly sure its between Almatret town and the point at which the river turns south, north-west of the town. According to the descriptions on the property website, the 2 plots (which are next to one another and I would join up) are 7km from the town, they total 5 ha/12.5 acres, one has an old drystone casita on it that just needs a roof, and both are 1km from the river, have some olive
trees on them and have permission to build one-story buildings on up to 10% of the surface. Its all valley shaped towards the river, with mostly north/south facing slopes and some flatter parts. The south faces are quite well grown with trees while the northern faces look like they are more sparsely covered in lower brush, although this might change seasonally - I'm guessing that google's photos were taken in summer by the looks of it.
You can see in the images (if you can't I'll try and upload some) that it is completely undeveloped, and it looks pretty wild and bleak at the moment! But! from my understanding it is feasible that with careful water retentive landscaping, some clever design, planting and planning, it could be made into a productive paradise of edible beauty! Would a plot like this be workable, or am I barking up the wrong tree just because its cheap?
Im going to have a lot of support from friends who want to be involved from the start, and I'll do my best to recruit from the internet and have lots going on wherever I end up, which hopefully will also be where I end up with for the rest of my life, so in a sense its not an issue having to put in lots of time and work (but limited money) to get things up to speed. At the same time, I know it's crucial to have the right slice of earth, and I am by no means set exclusively on the example above. It's just my starting point, and I want to make sure I get the best site to begin with.
So! Sorry for boring you with all that, I guess my questions are - does that piece of land look like it could support a small community of people if designed properly? Why and/or why not? Other than the obvious (water) what are the most important things in terms of
permaculture potential I
should look out for when searching for my slice?
I've already started compiling vast lists of pioneer plants and plants and fruit trees and designs and things that are good for the particular climate, which is very similar to California for those of you from there (not quite as beautiful sadly), but one step at a time, first I need to find my slice, and I am itching to get things rolling!
Thanks for reading, I look forward to making the most of this excellent community! and my apologies for waffling on.
Fen
