First of all I’d like to apologize for not writing a blog in the last months, but there never seems to be enough time to do everything, as well as find some moments to enjoy our ever more wonderful creation along the way! (Also, there aren’t so many new stories to tell these days, so I thought it would be better to send them all at the same time). From now on, I will write a blog every three months, just to keep all our followers up to date with news from our growing family of Casita Verdes, as well as from Greenheart Ibiza and Ibiza Fènix!
I guess we got so used to seeing very few people during the lock-down, and although we managed to stay in good contact, plus exchange a lot of useful information with many friends and followers, it’s been quite a slow process to get back into the habit of meeting people live and all the mask story in the street etc, is just a bit too much for my non-conformist lifestyle!
I’m happy to see that at last some serious doctors are getting together and making a full investigation into the whole COVID 19 nightmare, so we can perhaps have the truth to deal with and not just what the media would like us to think!
For us, it’s also been a very different experience in Casita Verde this year, but I really enjoyed our new rhythm of activity, which allows us much more opportunity to do things very well and with no stress or hurry, plus have the chance to appreciate some of the fantastic new spaces we are creating in this already very beautiful paradise.
There are only three people living here now, plus we have my girlfriend Georgina along to help every weekend. Somehow we manage to get everything done and the place stays in presentable condition at all times, even with such a small team at the moment.
I’m still not sure what will happen next in Casita Verde Ibiza, but for sure it will be orientated towards environmental education, both in live form with school visits, plus via on-line platforms hosting consultancy and education programs, such as the new offer from ‘Greenheart Connects’, which we are presently co-producing, together with our American friends from Greenheart International in Chicago.
If all goes according to plan, this programme will go live on the 24th of September. Of course, we’ll announce the details of how you can get involved on our next Blog post, plus make some publicity via our social media platforms.
With all the fuss and worry about the unseen enemy, which may put us all out of business unless we pay very good attention to what we are told to do, I’m not surprised many people are beginning to get very upset about the whole situation!
For me, all this seems a bit crazy, especially to people who have a wide angle world view. So many of us are wondering just who is behind the master plot and how can we avoid being manipulated into accepting something we will not like at all when it finally plays out to the end.
If the threat of imminent death from the effects of Climate change are not bad enough, now we have the next best selling story for the media to turn into a reality show (whatever that means nowadays!).
I personally have a quite a different idea of a reality show. My version of reality is to include a whole range of information dedicated to fixing the problems and sharing this useful information, so we can all have a chance to do well here.
I know that at times this idea we have to save our world seems like a very noble thing to do, but in reality it’s the only thing we have left to do, unless we want to lose the battle for the planet and leave soon, because we’ve managed to kill off the body we’re living in, like some kind of uncontrolled self destructive vampire.
Having spent such a long time making our own idea of a ‘Heaven on Earth’ showcase here in Casita Verde Ibiza, I don’t really want to think we’ll be some of the only survivors if everything falls into chaos when the ugly financial machine we invented finally stops working, or is hijacked by an increasing number of more conscious humans.
Most of the people I know who live in the country actually enjoyed the lock-down, at least for the first few weeks. They were able to do all the jobs they didn’t do before and also have time to think of what kind of world they would like to live in. Normally, we are so busy running our daily lives, we sometimes forget to check out where we are actually running to, as well as try to identify our purpose in life, if we haven’t already done that!
Ibiza Fènix
Meanwhile, the Ibiza Fènix coordination team (Marc Osmo, Agathe Utard and the Ibiza Fènix main directors), have been busy making a beautiful brochure about the whole Social Leadership movement, as well as working on some specific projects, while looking for appropriate sponsorship or investment.
After waiting a few months, we were eventually invited to pass by in the Consell d’Eivissa and speak to Vicente Roig, the politician who is responsible for the environment here in Ibiza. There, we experienced a very warm welcome and really enjoyed our interview, paving the way to a working relationship with the local government and hopefully sharing some interesting projects.
Apart from presenting our new Ibiza Fènix brochure, we also discussed the Ibiza Ecolandia project and the idea of promoting a new offer of Eco Tourism, also under the flag of the Ibiza Fènix movement.
I guess we will need to see the island council again in early September, so we can connect to the waste management department and organise our part in the yearly ‘World clean up day’ which will be performed this year on Saturday the 19th of September.
Please check our social media platforms to see how you can join in with this very necessary international event!
Casita Verde Ibiza
Apart from having a rest from daily visits, weekend events and residential courses for students, the Casita Verde now has a beautiful new rooftop bar and entertainment space made from mostly up-cycled materials, plus a very lovely outdoor spa area, with a homemade jacuzzi constructed from an old hot water heater donated by my brother Paul.
Meanwhile, we do not intend to hold meetings open to the public, we continue to invite friends and people working with the various projects of the Ibiza Fènix movement.
We also hope that soon, we can resume our invitation to school groups for visits and workshops as soon as the education centres open their doors again.
Casita Verde Granada
I am actually writing this blog, while sitting in my portable office inside our lovely caravan in the garden of the second Casita Verde centre here in the mountains of Granada.
We arrived only a few days ago, but have already installed a super solar system in the caravan, giving us full autonomia, plus we’ve installed a much larger system for the main house at the centre. My brother Paul, is with us to take charge of both installations and enjoy a bit of time away from the crazy life of Ibiza in August.
At the moment, there are no resident volunteers here either, as we decided to have a break from visitors until the Covid story blows over and people can start to move around without so many restrictions.
Meanwhile, we’re very busy making some major improvements to the new centre, so that by the time we’re ready to open our doors again to ‘Casita Verde experience’ students and other volunteers, we’ll have much more electricity and much more fresh water storage capacity.
Finally, I just received some news from Dorus Rijkers and friends over in Mallorca, that they will begin their ‘Sustainable living courses’ later this year and that the next Two Week Sustainable Living Workshop is planned for the second half of October 2020 near Bordeaux, France.
(Dorus Rijkers is the Dutch carpenter / builder who used to live and work in Casita Verde Ibiza and who also built the beautiful eco-wagon there, as well as the fabulous eco-pond we so much enjoy these days).
Of course, if you have any questions about alternative lifestyle techniques, or want to know how you can be a more eco-conscious citizen, please get in touch by email, sending your request to info@casitaverde.com, or calling our main office on 971 187353 / 608838190 (English and Spanish)
With warm greetings from Casita Verde,
Chris Dews – coordinator