Essential Marbella Online - September 2020

A FAMILY WITH HEART Paul and Marina take me through the gorgeous garden. Here, ‘swales’ (or channels) built by the family collect rainwater.

Vegetables, trees and shrubs grow boundlessly and their son works endlessly alongside a HelpX volunteer, using cardboard to block the sun and kill weeds without the need for pesticides (since the sun doesn’t reach the weeds, they simply die, and can then be used for mulch – a necessary ingredient in this permaculture ‘forest’).

Regarding volunteers, Marina tells me, “We invite them to stay in the camper van for free and we share meals with them, and in turn they work on the land a few hours a day. Most people who ask to stay are those interested in setting up a permaculture system back home.”

THE SWALES Paul explains a bit about how water is collected: “When it rains, our lower driveway turns into a river. If we do nothing, the water runs off the land again and that is a waste because Andalucía is so dry and we need to conserve water. Permaculture techniques allow us to slow down the water, spread it, and soak the land. It takes years for the soil to become fully saturated but once it does, you no longer need to water it.” @ESSENTIALMARBELLAMAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2020 / 191