All expansion is organic, we have a loose plan but it tends to change and we have no final objective other than to enjoy the creation from day to day.

Eco Living

We hope to explore different methods of eco construction such as adobe, strawbale, stone and wood and to use natural materials as far as possible and to not interfere with the land when building. We hope to use materials that we find on our land.

The majority of our energy is generated from renewables such as solar/and or wind energy. We collect dead wood from our land and from the surrounding park land to feed our wood burners in the winter for our heating. We use gas for cooking and hot water.

We have the good fortune to have many natural springs on the land and thus plenty of pure mountain water. At present the majority is lost from run off, we aim to rechannel the water through the land to irrigate fruit orchards and other trees. We also aim to harness that water in small ponds and deposits to increase the lands drainage and to create areas for wildlife.

We generate as little waste as possible and recycle and compost the majority.

We shop mainly from the local fresh market and from the wholefood shop so much of the produce has no or little packaging.

All grey waters at the accommodation will be recycled and used for the garden or watering trees.

The toilets at the accommodation are compost toilets and use no water. The waste is converted into compost and used to fertilise the fruit and olive trees.

Restoration of Land to Organic Olive Production

We have over 1000 olive trees. The modern method of cultivation here is with the abundant use of herbicides and pesticides, this is not only causing dreadful soil erosion

But also having a severe impact on biodiversity and the whole ecosystem. We will cultivate our olives without the use of the chemicals and hope to find other ways to get rid of the weeds and grass just around the trees (strimming) so as to harvest the olives easily and at the same time maintaining the olive grove as a wildflower meadow that is a haven of biodiversity and causes no soil erosion. We will only use compost and manure to fertilise.

The oil from the convent already fetches a higher price than any other in the area, so if it were organic it would be of the purest quality and extremely marketable.
We hope that government subsidies will help us restore our land to organic cultivation. Chemical cultivation is not even an option.

We hope that if we are successful in harvesting an organic crop and finding a good market for it the other Spanish landowners at El Convento might follow suit…

Organic Production of our Fruit and Vegetables

It is our intention as we gather knowledge and have a little more time to grow as much of our fruit and veg as possible organically. Due to the great abundance of water and the old convent vegetable gardens we are confident that we are off to a good start. We hope to combine our knowledge of organics with the local knowledge.

Integration of the Spanish Community

Other parts of El Convento are owned by a large, extended Spanish family the property has been in their possession for 5 generations and we are the first outsiders to buy in. Due to its remote location none of the family live there as they work in the village or in Malaga but they use the property as a weekend retreat.

We have been accepted and welcomed by this community and we feel very grateful to be here. They are very different in their ways, however it was a clear intention of ours not to be separate from the country we live in and its people. They are a good representation of Andaluz people and we have found that we have become quite integrated. We try to tolerate each others differences, and if we can coexist harmoniously that is enough. We don’t need to become like them or them like us.

We have a good relationship with the community in the local village of El Burgo and we believe that it is very important to maintain this. We would like our reputation to carry on being good and that we are respectful and honest people.

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