Here we are, in the middle of summer, but things this year have been very different to any previous years during my personal history here on the island.
After very little rain in January and February, we later suffered a drought of 3 months with hardly a drop of water falling from the sky.and arrived in the middle of May with extremely dry conditions. This meant that the usually fantastic display of beautiful spring flowers was a very short story, which seemed to pass by in a flash. Fortunately, some rain has fallen since then, but far too little and too late to help those farmers who planted fields of wheat, barley, or other cereal crops, hoping to realise some kind of profit from their investment of time, money and effort.
As no-one really knows how the weather patterns will change over the next few years, we should all make plans to catch and save as much water as we possibly can and be prepared to reduce our consumption to coincide with the available supply.
Here in Casita Verde Ibiza, we still have a hole in the main water tank that supplies the centre with water collected during the heavy rains of early autumn. Also, as there seems no way to repair the original lining which was damaged by a rat, when it somehow jumped into the tank for a cool swim last August, we’ve had to order a new lining from Holland and will need to install it before any more heavy rain falls and miss our chance to collect it.
As most of the ornamental plants, plus many of the food producing trees and Aloe Vera’s are resistant to dry conditions, the whole garden has come back to life, with only a few scattered rain showers to water it. Also, magically, our wonderful eco-pond has remained almost full of water during the whole time since the heavy autumn rains last year.
This springtime, we had quite a few educational visits to the centre and made the decision to do our tours mainly on Sundays wherever possible, as we never go out of the centre on Sundays and it’s the most popular day for a walk around the installations. Just as we did last year, we have postponed our visits from the end of May until the beginning of October, in order to avoid walking around the property in the hottest part of the day, which is neither pleasant for myself or for our visitors.
Meanwhile, we keep the centre in perfect condition, mostly for our own benefit, as we also like to enjoy this little green paradise in the hills. This process took around 30 years and was only made with the help of more than 1000 volunteers, who nearly all made a positive contribution to the exotic looking Casita Verde that exists today.
As founder and director of the Casita Verde project, I have constantly tried to be a perfect leader to follow in all respects. If I did fail, it was usually due to a overload of new people for whom I was obliged to take responsibility.
After the Covid nightmare, I became convinced that with fewer people living in the centre, the better things were organised, which resulted in less stress for me of course.
However, as I have now passed my 70th birthday, I must think of how we can continue with at least some socially conscious activities going on in Casita Verde.
Perhaps I can somehow find a way to combine my newfound feeling of freedom from too much responsibility, with a more relaxing offer of activities which would use the installations correctly, but without disturbing me too much.
In this case, I would like to find a suitable trainee manager, who could actually operate the place if I am unable to do so, for whatever reason. With this in mind, I am formulating a list of qualities I’m looking for, plus deciding what this person could be given to do, as they learn how to navigate the ship into the future..
Presently, I am in the process of trying to alleviate some of my most troublesome aches and pains, with a few medical examinations, visits to osteopaths and light sessions of yoga together with a Scottish friend who’s staying for the summer.
Georgina has almost finished the online Greenheart Guide to Ibiza, after many hundreds of hours in front of the computer and having to learn many new skills along the way. Hopefully, this new version of the guide will help to orientate our island residents and visitors towards finding the most sustainable entities Ibiza has to offer!
Speaking of summertime, Georgina and I will go out of the island for our usual two week holidays on the mainland for the last two weeks of August. This year we have decided to go and visit some of the lovely places in the pyrenees for ten days, then take a train down to spend some time with Rey Aldana and his team at Casita Verde Granada, plus check out our little caravan there.
Hopefully, I will feel better before going away on holiday and will return with some more energy to carry on my work here in Ibiza.
Of course, if you would like to visit our centre for a guided tour, 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 608838190 (English and Spanish)
With warm greetings from Casita Verde,
Chris Dews – coordinator
https:/www.ibizafenix.org