I, Sven, arrived here about a month later than the others. I was immediately struck by how beautifully located the farm is, overlooking Vic.
The differences between Sweden and here were quite noticeable – like the heat, but also the number of activities and social events happening around here, especially in Vic. That’s something I haven’t seen much of back home in Sweden.
Over the past month, we have been working on building a chicken house. It has taken some time, but I think it has been very educational – not only through the construction itself, but above all through the design process and the various factors that influence it. We are also at the beginning stages of building a greenhouse. We will do this using recycled windows, which makes it a bit more challenging, but also interesting.
It’s fun because we also go around visiting and talking to other organizations doing similar projects. For example, we visited UVIC, the University of Vic, where they showed us how they research different ways to build sustainable soils.
Before I came here, I didn’t know much about theater at all, but during this month we got to try making our own theater masks.
I think it’s very cool to see how Marian and Simon work to bring nature back here on the farm. It’s really inspiring. Together with their daughter Julia, who has studied permaculture, we’ve been learning about forest gardens that care for themselves – for example, which plants go well together.
We also had a very interesting visit from a woman from Terra Fertil, an organization working with permaculture. She explained how permaculture is used and what methods are available. Among other things, she talked about the four elements and how to observe them in the landscape and benefit from them. It was truly fascinating.
This month has been exciting in many ways. For me, it was amazing to see the Festa Major in Vic – I’ve never seen anything like it! It was a real experience, with all the activities like parades, color fights, and fireworks. It might sound cliché, but these are definitely memories for a lifetime!
In the beginning, it was a bit challenging with the Spanish language, because I didn’t know much when I arrived. And it’s not just one unfamiliar language, but two – Catalan and Spanish. But people here are very patient, so that’s been really helpful.
Now I’m looking forward to getting chickens here – it’s going to be so much fun. We’re also starting to harvest from the plantations, which is really satisfying. And I’m excited about the theater project coming up in September – it will be a kind of presentation with parts of a play and other small performances.
– Sven
