Homesteading in Spain.

I see a lot of people asking questions about this topic so wanted to make a post. As everyone asks questions I will be sure to include resources and links. Now I'm trying to go through old posts in different forums to see what is already in the community so if there is repetition, pardon.

I'm originally american. I moved to spain almost 12 years ago when I married a Spaniard in the Castellon province. I grew up with gardening, learning permaculture, companion planting, things of that nature. My grandparents had a cow farm and so visiting them I learned about farming and living in rural areas. Over the years I just keep wanting to know more and more about natural building, water conservation, building microclimates, natural pest control, foraging and such.

I've been practicing restorative gardening in a shit garden for the past 8 years or so. It's been an excellent testing ground of ideas and its been wonderful to see the soil come back to life.

I'm starting to build a child playhouse with found, local materials with natural building techniques. Drainage and lime plaster are everything! Then moving on to restoring our 100-150 year old building to sell so that I can in turn continue to purchase, restore and sell old houses. I also plan to expand upon this as a business to both locals and foreigners. Helping restore properties using as many natural materials as possible, restoring antiques to use as decor or found tiles to create mosaics. I can also build out gardens.

While I'm doing this I'm looking in Northern Spain for a ruin, farmhouse or group of masias I can restore. I would like to relocate my family there and continue restorative practices.

I have done a lot of research but also I have lived here and explored Spain for quite some time. There are a lot of initiatives to get people to move to rural regions and not just in Spain. Regulations that are unfamiliar to you are not as daunting as one would think. A genuine interest in learning the local language and integrating in the community go a long way.

So please, ask me anything. The dream of having your bit of land to nurture is an important one and I hope we can all achieve that very dream.

Why northern Spain?

I can offer a general idea, having traveled a bit there: the history and culture, very distinct from the southern more touristy region. Out of this world culture of football excellence, for example, the coaches of Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa all grew up and started  playing there.  Coastline and mountains always nearby.  If you want to experience French vineyards, those are not far

It is attractive to many i have talked with, who don't embrace the imperialism and militarism of the USA