Greenheart News - Spring 2026

Chris Dews
Mar 21
5 min read

With all the horrific wars and uncertainty going on at the moment, it’s difficult to imagine what will be the final outcome. Will we be turned to dust, or will we somehow manage to survive the worsening scenario, which cannot be ignored, even if you live a long way from the physical action of war zones.

With this in mind, and considering our fortunate position living on the little Mediterranean island of Ibiza, we seem to be far from many of the serious problems facing many people in our forever more crazy world environment. However, I believe that the famous philosopher Nostradamus predicted that Ibiza would be one of the safest places to live, in the case of an international melt-down, so hopefully his prediction will be true and we’ll be saved from the worst of the potential disaster.

This doesn’t mean that we can afford to sit quietly ignoring what's happening on the rest of our planet, but it may give us a chance to survive in relative security, especially if we begin to think like adults and focus our combined intelligence towards making our still beautiful island home into a more efficient and resilient place to hang out.

With this in mind, I am very aware of the many problems and solutions that we are currently dealing with and will no doubt continue to face, as a unique island community, consisting of over a hundred different nationalities. Our unique situation may just be what it takes to become some kind of united local force, which could, if necessary, secure our chances of a safe and more permanent future. By sharing knowledge and resources, with both family and neighbours, plus working together with local authorities who have similar ambitions, our collective dreams could surely be transformed into a positive reality, where at least, here in Ibiza, we can live in peace and harmony with each other, despite the global chaos outside our little island bubble.

Considering how much the island has changed over the last 40 years or so, I’d say, we have most of the tools and resources we need to not only continue enjoying the luxury of living in such a more of less stable society, but also to find feasible solutions for the majority of the problems we experience as a growing international colony.

Certainly, there are many more great projects being developed every moment and as an environmentalist, I'd say that in some ways we’re ahead of many other similar holiday destinations. Of course, we still have a long way to go before we can consider ourselves in any way self-sustainable, but this could quite easily happen if the circumstances demanded that it becomes an unavoidable option.

Personally, I’ve spent the last 38 years of my life trying to demonstrate that by working with nature and not trying to fight it, we can make use of every available resource in a more appropriate manner. Together with other people, I’ve directed the evolution of the Casita Verde since its foundation in 1993 and am very happy with the result. Apart from encouraging many visitors to adopt a different lifestyle, or even to change their previous jobs, we’ve definitely played a leading role in the ecological development of the island, by inviting thousands of locals and tourists to see how an alternative way of living is both possible and more attractive.

These days, although the place is more like a living museum than an activity centre, it still serves as a showcase for other well-intentioned individuals or groups to visit and become even more inspired to set up something similar, either in another location on the island, or in a different part of the world.

Casita Verde Ibiza

Apart from the constant job of keeping the centre in good condition, for my own satisfaction, as well as to impress any visitors, we’re in the process of trying to re-invent our profile as an eco-educational facility and are exploring different options which are both useful and feasible.

Obviously, there’s no way we intend to re-open the centre for Sunday lunch meetings, since this would be quite unnecessary as well as virtually impossible. However, we do need to consider extending our present offer of occasional school visits and meetings with other NGOs, at least as far as my state of health allows.

Meanwhile, I still plan to get in touch with the education department of the island council, with the intention to examine the possibility of organising more educational visits, but I’ve been waiting for the right moment, when I’m feeling more energetic and can actually make a workable proposal.

Casita Verde Granada

Rey Aldana, the owner and director of Casita Verde Granada has now returned to work in his own farm, where he’s busy improving the facilities, ready to offer a better experience to the volunteers who will visit the centre starting next year. They continue working on the recovery of their organic olive grove; this year they had their first harvest, which will be distributed to interested businesses and individuals.

Casita Verde Ireland

Béo hill farm is currently taking bookings for volunteers from March-October 2026, so please look out for them on the Platforms of WWOOF Ireland and Work Away.

Joanna Sweeny, the owner of the farm is excited about the launch of her first book, ‘Wildcrafting Pathways’, due for release in April this year and is doing a pre-sale offer of 20% off the normal sale price, using the code: WP20 at checkout. (This offer is valid until April 2026).

The book tells the story of the Casita Verde philosophy and includes interviews with several people, including myself.

There will be a presentation of the book at Casita Verde before the summertime, so we’re looking forward to seeing you there - Date to be announced.

Wildcrafting Pathways: Transformative Wisdom for a Regenerative Lifestyle : Sweeney, Joanna: Amazon.co.uk : Books

If you would like to visit our centre for a guided tour during the cool season, organise a weekend conference about environmental subjects, or want to know how you can be a more eco-conscious citizen, please get in touch by email, sending your request to chris.greenheart@gmail.com, or calling our main office on +34 608838190 (English and Spanish)