Sunseed Desert Technology: young people fighting against desertification in Spain

Nearly a third of Spain is affected by desertification. This phenomenon, which is due to global warming and poor soil management, dries the lands and makes them infertile. To prevent that from happening, ecological solutions such as permaculture exist, as evidenced by Tamera and A Quinta in Portugal. In Spain, an English group met more than 30 years ago to study this problem and found Sunseed Desert Technology.

Today the project is being conducted by a community of twenty incredibly young people aged between 20 and 30 years old, who practice sociocracy. This form of politics is organized in several groups and works without a leader.

Everyone is responsible for their own projects in different sectors: sustainable life (e.g. food and cosmetics), technology (e.g. energy and water), communication, permaculture, education, maintenance, eco-construction…

Here, any volunteer can develop his idea. We have great freedom. This helps us grow and gain responsibility.
– Lucas, 22 years-old, Eco-construction Coordinator at Sunseed

Settled in an ecovillage called Los Molinos del Río Aguas in Almeria, young people have carte blanche to manage the place and create innovative new technologies for life in arid environments. Solar pump for water, solar oven for cooking, wind and solar panels for energy… various tools which facilitate a self-sufficient and sustainable life almost everywhere in the world.

To respect their environment, the community makes sure to only use local and natural products. This is important, as chemicals are neither good for us nor for the nature in which they are dumped when they leave our washbasin. Some communities have a rule to consume only edible cosmetics, following the principle that the skin only absorbs as much as our stomach can. Therefore it seems incomprehensible to put creams with chemicals on our faces while we would not ingest them.

A beautiful natural pool allows them to cool off during the hot summer hours, when temperatures can reach 45 °.

Discover Sunseed in images

In the future, the community wants to expand and welcome new international volunteers through the Erasmus + program. The next initiative is to build an Earthship, a house made of recycled materials.

Visit the official website to learn more.