Autumn at Almenara: Harvest and New Beginnings
With the autumn equinox came our first light rains. Nights have cooled, humidity is rising, and Catalina exhales after the long, dry summer. Not only did we survive the heat — we thrived. The new syntropic lines have been bursting with abundance, gifting us a steady stream of summer vegetables and even our first guavas! As we continue to enjoy our daily harvest of fresh pomegranates, we’ve begun transforming our carob pods into a rich, sweet syrup.
Though we don’t follow an academic calendar, this season always feels like a new beginning — a time to return to long-term projects and seed fresh ones. With a diverse team of creative, energetic collaborators now gathered at Catalina, we’re feeling well-rooted and ready for the season ahead
Slow, Spread, Sink and Spring: Dancing Regeneration
In September, with the support of a grant from Diputación de Cádiz, we hosted Slow, Spread, Sink and Spring — a week-long queer artist residency exploring how Water Retention Landscapes and Permaculture principles can inform artistic practice.
El Pasillo de la Fertilidad
Work has begun on a new area we’re calling El Pasillo de la Fertilidad — the Corridor of Fertility. This on-contour strip links Catalina’s entrance to the mandala gardens, forming a living classroom where people, plants, and soil can meet. Here we’ll produce compost, seedlings, and bio-fertilizers, and nurture the fertile relationships that sustain them.
Over the coming months, we’ll build:
- a new compost toilet and shower,
- a covered outdoor classroom/workshop,
- an improved composting zone, and
- a modular tree nursery.
Restoring ecosystems begins with locally adapted plants, suited to the soil and conditions of their territory. In time, this corridor will help us grow most of our own plants and serve as the backbone of our educational programmes.
Launch of JARA: La Janda Red de Acción Regenerativa
In November, we’re launching nuestra Red de Acción Regenerativa — a new programme of twice-monthly volunteer days designed to create more opportunities for local people to learn, connect, and take part in regenerating our shared landscapes.
We’ll gather one Wednesday and one Saturday each month, sharing knowledge and learning from our peers and from experts from Catalina. Together, we’ll learn by doing — caring for soil, trees, and ecosystems in community. The project is a collaboration between Be.Time, SCA and Asociación Almenara Culturas Regenerativas, and is part of the EMCCINNO project, funded by Horizon Europe.
If you’d like to join us (or invite a friend!), you can sign up by completing this for
Collaboration Between Art and Science: “Bajar a Tierra. Laboratorio de regeneración invasiva”
We are thrilled to be collaborating with ‘Bajar a tierra’ (Down to Earth) – a collaboration between artists and scientists. In ‘Bajar a tierra. Laboratorio de regeneración invasiva’ (Down to Earth. Laboratory of Invasive Regeneration), we are designing an invasion of exotic plants and microbes to restore lost life to degraded landscapes.The project will put into practice a series of ideas conceived during the development of the artistic project El jardín invasor (The Invasive Garden, 2018-2025) by Alberto López Baena and Manuel Prados, by forming an interdisciplinary team that jointly activates specialised knowledge in the fields of visual arts, gardening, microbiology and permaculture to address environmental issues related to soil degradation.The proposals resulting from this work will be tested at Finca Catalina. Artists Alberto López Baena and Manuel Prados will lead the project and, together with curator Cécile Bourne-Farrell, will contribute their experience in the field of the arts. Francisco Javier López and the Department of Microbiology at the University of Seville will provide scientific support. The Almenara collective will represent the social vector and contribute their knowledge of permaculture and regenerative agriculture. This team will expand its scope by involving other specialists and collectives.
This project is funded within the “Agitación Científica” (Scientific Agitation) programme, made possible by the International University of Andalusia, the Carasso Foundation and CSIC, with the mediation of Tekeando.5 Rhythms & Yoga
This autumn, the yurt will once again fill with movement and breath. To join a session, please contact the facilitators directly:
- Zacharias (626 42 39 01): Hatha / Kundalini Yoga, twice weekly
- Sónia (635 04 37 86): 5 Rhythms Dance, every two weeks — first session Saturday 11th at 18:00
- Andrew (622 82 21 06): Evening Yoga, Mondays at 18:00
Come move, stretch, and reconnect as the season turns inward.
EMCCINNO Launch
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of our Horizon Europe project, EMCCINNO, on November 13th at the Museum of Vejer. Over the next two years, we’ll collaborate with local schools and associations to deepen eco-literacy and explore how we can actively respond to climate change and ecological challenges — not only as individuals, but as a community rooted in place and possibility.
Residential Earth Care Steward – Vejer de la Frontera, Spain
Our resident arborist Thomas is moving on in spring to start his own exciting project in France. This means that here at Catalina, we’re seeking a Resident Earth Care Steward to live in community and work on-site, caring for the land while guiding its next phase of regeneration. The role involves coordinating daily Earth Care work, supporting volunteers, and refining our systems for tree care, soil building, and agroforestry. Ideally, this role would begin in February or March 2026, though we can be somewhat flexible.
The right person will be grounded in permaculture design, with experience in regenerative agriculture and/or syntropic agroforestry, and comfortable leading small teams with clarity and care. This is a resident position for someone proficient in English and Spanish, organised, collaborative, and ready to imagine a multi-year commitment following an initial trial period.
Our remuneration has two parts: a modest paid salary with benefits, plus food, private accommodation, and access to community spaces and resources.
If you’re drawn to work where water, trees, and people grow together, we’d love to hear from you! Write to us at this address.
PACESETTERS Summit: A Polyclinic of Creative Practice, 12 – 16 November 2025, Málaga
Unusual responses are needed for unusual times, and PACESETTERS – a sister project, also funded by Horizon Europe – have issued an invitation that will bring their Consortium together with other people working in the same direction for up to five intensive days to co-develop and test a new event format – a Polyclinic of Creative Practice. It will be opened by Teresa Ribera, the Vice-President of the European Commission, and offers a unique opportunity to highlight the diversity of art and culture as a driver of the climate transition and Europe’s competitive edge.
La Térmica, a former hospital in Málaga, will be reverse engineered into a polyclinic for creative practice. Rather than performing the conventional roles of speakers and audiences, a series of creative productions is proposed — something like a film set or role play, a large-scale experiment or a prototype for future collaboration formats driven by Artistic Intelligence. Actions will include micro-radio and video production, urgency rather than emergency rooms for wool futures, fermentation across disciplines and virtual production — to name just a few ideas —, as well as providing waiting rooms, diagnostic areas, policy labs and research departments.
We’re really looking forward to participating in this event and hope to see some of you there. If you are interested in participating, either in person or remotely, please sign up:
· Register your participation at the SUMMIT: https://pacesetters.eu/summit
· Spread the word and share this invitation within your networks.
· Make suggestions for your contribution to the programme.
Thanks for walking alongside us as the seasons turn. Together, we’ll keep learning, growing, and tending to what truly matters.
