Spring continues to unfold in its own rhythm. The Oxalis pes-caprae has now died back, giving way to Sulla coronaria and a new wave of flowers. It’s a particularly full time of year here. Alongside the many activities and gatherings on the land, we find ourselves in that classic permaculture moment of observing and interacting—paying close attention to what the season is showing us and finding ways to respond in real time.
After the intensity of the rains, this has meant reshaping the terrain around the Catalina kitchen and workshop, learning from how the water moved, and guiding it so that even in moments of overflow, it can flow on without causing damage. This kind of repair feels like a natural part of the cycle – not so much fixing what went wrong, but rather staying in relationship with what is unfolding. Now, as the season opens further, we are fully in it—celebrating the spring and preparing for Festival Almenara on May 16th.
Festival Almenara – 16th May 2026
This year, at the Almenara Festival, we’re “Caring for the Future.” Want to explore how to care for your body? Think it’s important to nurture your connections? Or to care for the more-than-human world? Our programme offers many opportunities to delve into all of this and more…. And what better time than this bountiful spring to get together with your neighbours and celebrate life? Visit the website to explore the programme, and plan your dance through the day in a process of entering, intertwining, expanding and overflowing.
This is a community event which is co-created with all our friends and neighbours who come together to share their wisdom and skills in the talks and workshops that make up the programme, work with us get the spaces ready to receive participants, and help out on the day in ways visible and less visible. Full information is on the web, and for last minute updates, join our public Telegram group: https://t.me/c/almenarafestival2024/1.
Please remember to park near Almenara Memorial a la Vida, Carretera de los Soldados, and walk down through the flowers, enjoying the view as you go. Entrance is by donation, food and drink are on sale and bring something to sit on if you like your comforts. There are activities for all the family, but please leave your dogs at home. See you there!
OASIS — Social Permaculture Course (May 25–30)
At the end of May, Almenara is hosting OASIS—a residential course in social permaculture exploring how we design relationships, groups, and projects that can truly sustain life.
Again and again, it’s the social dimension that makes or breaks our initiatives. OASIS steps right into that space—working with communication, conflict, care, and shared responsibility, not as theory but as lived experience.
Co-facilitated by Candela Vargas (Objetivo de Luz) and Pablo Bozas (Permaneser), the course invites us to practice new ways of being together—more aware, more resilient, more real. There are still a few places open—If you are interested in participating in the course, please write to info@objetivodeluz.com.
JARA – Syntropic Tropical Lines
For at least three years, we’ve been holding a vision of planting an edible landscape of mangoes, avocados, papayas, custard apples, pecans, and more. This spring, that vision finally began to take shape.
Knowing how delicate and particular these species can be in this climate, we took advantage of having the digger on site to prepare deep ditches which would become syntropic lines—carefully separating the rich topsoil from the deeper layers. What followed was a kind of inverted hugelkultur: trunks, branches, soil, and manure layered back into the earth to create a more protected, fertile, and water-retentive environment—doing our best to give these trees and perennials a strong start.
It’s an experiment, and a hopeful one. We’re excited to see whether, in time, these lines might offer not only shade and structure, but also the gift of tropical fruit in this landscape.
There will be three more JARA sessions before we take a summer break – upcoming sessions include community work in Santa Lucía and preparations for the Almenara Festival in May. Join our Telegram group for up-to-date information on future dates and activities (https://t.me/c/almenarafestival2024/1) or visit our JARA page.
EMCCINNO news: Projects with IES La Janda
After years of laying the groundwork with Thomas, this spring we’ve begun to actively collaborate with the local high school, IES La Janda, with support from EMCCINNO, our EU Horizon project.
Aula Verde (Green Classroom)
We are working with students from the vocational training program in agro-gardening to improve the Aula Verde—a large outdoor green space on the school grounds, just beside the main patio. Together, we’ve been redesigning and beginning to implement a series of improvements to a space that was first initiated a few years ago through a small school grant.
Pequeñas Resistencias (Small Acts of Resistance)
In parallel, we are collaborating with a class focused on environmental studies of the local area. Through a series of sessions, we’ve been developing games and activities that explore the commons, active citizenship, and shared responsibility for collective spaces.
This process recently extended beyond the classroom: more than 20 students, accompanied by two teachers, walked to Almenara—where the edges between public, private, and commons are particularly visible—and spent the day in observation, exploration, and tree planting in Catalina.
We hope this is just the beginning of our collaboration and we aim to welcome many more groups from the high school in the coming seasons.
Listening For What Is Already Speaking – a “Field Dialogue” interview by Renilde Becque of The Repatterning Collective
The prototype that Be.Time and Almenara are working on for the EMCCINNO project involves exploring ways we can give More-Than-Human life a greater voice and agency in our lives, decisions and governance. This work has been supported by our participation in the Co-Creation with the More Than Human sandbox sessions organised by The Repatterning Collective and Kincentric Leadership, as well as using the Kincentric Benchmarking tools to mark a starting point and map a strategy for development.
Renilde interviewed Joanna and Andrew about their work at Almenara, asking what happens when you stop trying to “include nature” as an idea—and begin relating to it as a participant… “This first Field Dialogue explores what it actually means to work with the more-than-human—not as a concept, but as something that shapes how we design, decide, and relate. This is not a polished methodology. It’s a glimpse into work that is still unfolding—alive, searching, and at times unresolved.” Visit the Substack to read the full interview to find out more about this aspect of our work.
