Life
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Solar and Cuba
Electricity has occupied my thoughts in the last week. Solar electricity and charging stations to be more accurate. To help the planet, we invested in an electric car, mainly because we are more or less 100% solar at home. Last week, we took off through the dry, red Alentejo countryside to Evora – a Roman town celebrate my birthday. We had done some homework about charging stations. Still, we fell at the first hurdle, not least because the instructions for charging were only in Portuguese and why not? It is Portugal, after all. We quickly translated the instructions. The other obstacle to accessing solar juice was the need for a…
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Pete Seeger – Community activist, musician, and inspiration for peace
I don’t want to focus my thoughts on war right now or the arguments about who is right or wrong. What I need is hope. So with that purpose in mind I have edited and updated this article first written in 2014. Maybe it will resonate with your desire for peace and hope too. Image credit – Pete Seeger at the Clearwater Festival in June 2007 Photo taken by Anthony Pepitone Pete Seeger, singer and musician, died on January 27, 2014. His unique style and passion for music brought people together locally and globally. His songs with words such as “We shall overcome” or “Where have all the flowers gone” stirred millions to march…
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Leading from the future as it emerges – U-lab course
Jim and I have recently become interested in taking a course called U-lab and fortunately the course is going to happen in Tavira.How cool is that? The U-lab course created by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is being rolled out across Portugal beginning in April 2018 and Tavira is on the list for it to be delivered in English, (in other towns it will be in Portuguese). The course explores leadership challenges through the lens of three divides, an ecological divide – separation between self and nature, social divide – separation between us and them, spiritual divide – separation between self and self (who I am today and my potential…
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Planting trees for resilience – Sunday 26 November 2017
Five years ago a group of enthusiastic people, some dreamers, some with solid plans and hopes came together in a forest near Tavira, to plant trees. Some brought along their skills. Others brought tools and labour. The idea was born out of a small community group of friends who wanted to be part of a global vision under the umbrella of the Transition Movement. So what is the Transition Movement? The vision is one of inclusion and democracy. Transition’s role is to inspire, encourage, connect, support and train communities as they self-organise around the transition model, creating initiatives that rebuild resilience and reduce CO2 emissions. People get involved from all…
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NESI – The mysterious consciousness called happiness
How do you measure happiness is the question in the back of my mind as I interview Felipe Viveros, European Representative of the Bhutan Gross Happiness project. Originally from Chile, now living in the UK, Felipe outlined a narrative that is fascinating some in the Western world. Felipe is a writer and an ecologist with an MSc in Holistic Science from Schumacher College. He attended the New Economics and Social Innovation Forum (NESI) with Sonam Tsoki Tenzin, (Director) and Sherub Chokii (Administrator), two women from the Happiness Centre, Bhutan. They took part in a lively workshop entitled ‘Wellbeing and Happiness as policy tools and drivers of the economy.’ The ‘Network…
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Thinkers and Doers meet in Málaga, Spain for the first Global NESI Forum
What would a sustainable world involve? Can it be achieved? Should we leave it to politicians and corporate interests to determine our future? If you are a thinker and doer and want to be part of the process of finding solutions to some big issues, NESI may be for you. On 19th-22nd April, Málaga (Spain) will host the first New Economy and Social Innovation Global Forum (NESI Forum). Sounds grand but it is a simple enough concept. The forum will bring people together so they can focus on what is wanted to influence wider agendas. The issues associated with population increase, the democracy deficit and crisis, the changing environment, gender…
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Cambodia: the circus and plastic – Eco-tourism
I have fallen in love with Cambodia. We have been here for over two weeks, and I feel rejuvenated in a way that I find difficult to understand or articulate. I am trying to work out why Cambodia has enlivened my spirit. The intense oranges and greens of the landscape and the solid temples, mixed with a touch of French colonial culture, have captured my heart. Old art, drawings, and paintings sit on Cafe walls as a silent testament to an age before the Khmer Rouge. It feels like being dropped into a warm, soapy bath that smells of jasmine, but it is not like that at all. Our trip…
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La mer and all that jazz in the farthest part of Europe
There are moments when you are glad you sat in the right chair. Yesterday afternoon at Sao Bras Jazz Club was one of those goosebump moments. The Hot Manouche Trio that turned out to be a quartet, played Django Rheinhart and other jazz greats. They are playing again in Cafe Cantaloupe on June 28, 2016. Well worth a night out. Yesterday’s setting in the courtyard of the Museum of Work meant the band played between old agricultural implements and wagons. Overhanging vines framed them as Betty M sang and zipped her violin. The tree that provided us shade was heavy with intoxicating yellow blossom. (Must look up what it is). The…
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Onshore or Offshore – Oil, Gas, Drilling in the Algarve
Neptune would probably not be happy with what is being planned 40 kilometres off the coast of Faro. Portuguese media are reporting that despite every Mayor in the Algarve being against offshore oil exploration, drilling for gas may start in October 2016. Antonio Costa Silva, president of the Executive Committee of the Partex Group, said there will be no oil platform in front of the beach. Everything will happen on the seafloor. It is not clear what that means. When gas was drilled off Scotland in the North Sea, was it on a earthquake fault line? The Algarve is on such a fault line. What is the motivation to continue to put…
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The “old laughing lady” in Olhão market
“If I were a pop star, I’d sing like Johnny Cash,” said Clive James. I wondered who Josie would imitate? I do not sing, but music and Josie’s voice are occupying my thoughts. Josie Whistler is a character in development. She may appear as an ageing hippy, owner of a food van, frequenting music festivals, in a new novel this year. The birth pangs are not painful, just ever present and ponderous. My head was full of Josie when we made our way to Olhão Market, parking near the garden not far from the port.
