Ethics and Codes of Practice:

The essence of the code of practice is to achieve high ethical, practical & spiritual standards whilst recognising that in some circumstances there may be a practical need for compromise.
• To pursue compassion & non-violence in practice & communication, towards all beings & the earth;
• For all those living or staying at Ecoforest to be following a 100% vegan, essentially raw food lifestyle at Ecoforest. (This allows for the heat drying & other processing that occurs with nuts, some dried fruit, spices & so on, thereby accommodating those new to the raw food diet & those in transition. It allows for freedom of choice whilst off-site, although a vegetarian lifestyle would be expected to be maintained off-site);
• To be following vegan organic land practices, unless it is deemed necessary in exceptional circumstances (e.g. where an immediate fertilisation is needed to save dying trees where the only known alternative to use of manure would be agro-chemicals)
• In construction, landscaping & physical works to use ecological design & ecological materials where feasible to do so & without entailing excessive cost, recognising the limitations in the availability of information on ecological building & of ecological building materials in Spain at this time;
• To be highly aware & not wasteful in relation to water use for drinking, washing & garden use, in use of firewood, food & organic wastes including ‘humanure’ & other valuable resources, & to be cycling these resources efficiently & effectively within the site, minimising non-organic / non-biodegradable wastes.
Summarising the codes of practice, in diet, construction & land practices to be following a ‘BAPNEEC / BATNEEC’ approach – in other words Best Available Practice / Technology Not Entailing Excessive Cost.

The Vision

The vision for Ecoforest is that it becomes a home for self-managing people, living highly sustainable & naturally healthy lives.

There will be a homely atmosphere, with greatest attention given to the resident & visiting members needs, with some people ‘passing through’ at a reasonable but not excessive level.
People at Ecoforest will be largely self-reliant, growing their own food on individual plots for members & long term visitors, with communal plots for shorter term visitors & courses, all managed on a vegan organic basis.

The site as a whole & its various elements will be a beautiful place to live, with artistic & sculptural elements, & other human created features of beauty, as well as the existing natural beauty.

The site will be a home for a rich & diverse range of wildlife & be high in biodiversity.

The upper part of the site will be gradually growing into a forest garden system with seasonal vegetable production from autumn to early summer each year, & a constantly increasing diversity of drought tolerant fruit & soil improving, shade & beauty creating trees that are tolerant of heavy clay soils, as well as a range of trees native to the area. The seed bank of self-seeding annual plants will be building up in the soil in this area, with plants such as beans, alfalfa, clover & coriander self-seeding themselves, as well as self-seeding flowers, & with soil fertility & structure improving year on year.

The house will be extended with a newly built 2-storey section. It will be an interesting & attractive, energy efficient building, ecologically designed & built using the best available materials not entailing excessive cost (in terms of money or human energy). The improved house will include a range of facilities including bunk-room / camping barn type accommodation for visitors on courses, etc., a secure office with appropriate energy systems & phone line to manage the project on-site, a workshop & teaching room of sufficient space to comfortably provide for at least 20-30 people in a workshop / taught course situation & space for at least 12 people on yoga or tai chi style courses.
The upper part of the site will include an outdoor, covered & shaded space for tai chi, yoga & other activities outside in nature during most of the year.

The middle part of the site will be an area where different types of drought tolerant trees are growing that are tolerant of very hard & rocky soil, with a similar approach to the upper part of the site, although probably involving a slightly different range of plants due to the different soil conditions.

In time the middle part of the site might prove appropriate for the building of permanent dwellings, possibly built by members in partnership with Ecoforest, with agreements that give appropriate levels of security to both the members & to Ecoforest. In time ‘the shop’ may also be replaced with a more permanent building with better facilities.

The lower part of the site will include both an intensive permaculture style forest garden food growing area & the orange grove managed on a Fukuoka style, ‘natural way of farming’ basis.
There will be a good range of functional areas to provide a simple & rustic yet relatively comfortable living situation, such as good compost toilets, tool & wood stores, facilities for clothes washing & drying, seasonal showers, & so on.

The dwellings on site will include good quality ‘tentage’ (yurts & domes), & other temporary structures. A limited number of caravans may be acceptable if they are beautified & integrated into the landscape.

Objectives for 2004 to 2005:

• To become a member focused project, & in 2004 to secure at least 3 new members, with a long term objective or having 8 to 12 core members living at Ecoforest as a main place of residence, with additional visiting members regularly staying for shorter periods, & to have a relatively good balance in terms of female & male members;
• To maintain a situation where on average there are 10 to 20 people living at Ecoforest at any one time, including both resident members & visiting members, as well as other visitors;
• To secure at least 30,000 Euros / 20,000 pounds to repay outstanding loans in finance from membership deposits, donations, ethical investments as loans, & other forms of finance;
• To secure a further 75,000 Euros / 50,000 pounds for project development, further land purchases, etc. in finance from membership deposits, donations, ethical investments as loans, & other forms of finance;
• To be sustaining a healthy & productive orange orchard & a system of personal & community gardens with all those living at Ecoforest to be engaged in food production for themselves, whether as members or long term visitors;
• To secure self-reliant members with gardening / horticulture, building & other practical skills;
• To secure Spanish ‘Asociacion’ status for the project;
• For visitors to arrive within specific times on specific days & to be at Ecoforest within a clear framework, with clarity about what to expect & what not to expect, with clear agreements negotiated individually by specific Ecoforest members according to those members needs, time capacities, responsibilities & abilities;
• For people living at Ecoforest to be supporting themselves financially, in appropriate ways;
• To be hosting a range of courses, & for this to be a primary way of bringing visitors to Ecoforest, rather than having a constant flow of visitors.

2004-2005 Infrastructure Objectives

To have:
• An outline design & plan for the improvement & extension of the house, which will be drawn up in sketch form to help gain funding;
• “bunk room” accommodation available;
• the car parking area improved with space for more parking & turning;
• a permanent, high quality twin-vault compost toilet built & in use, with 2 more compost toilets in operation (i.e. top, middle & bottom of site);
• a solar shower system available (potentially for seasonal use);
• plans for rain-water collection systems in place for collection from the house roof & the kitchen roof, & if feasible to have constructed these systems;
• an insect & animal proof ‘cool-store’ facility to reduce food wastage;
• information / interpretation panels & other sources of information for self-education for visitors regarding picking salads, collecting & efficient use of drinking water, etc.
• good recycling systems & storage in place;
• the orange grove managed & maintained on a Fukuoka style basis, raising fertility & soil quality each year, increasing the diversity of fruit trees, bushes & climbers, & maintaining a good level of wild food plants according to season;
• a forest garden system with personal & community gardens in place above the orange grove, between the track & the asecia, where all those living at Ecoforest are engaged in learning about & growing food for themselves;
• a tool store for building related tools near the house & a tool store for garden / landscaping related tools in the garden area;
• a dry, weather proof fire wood store near to the house;
• improved pathways, potentially with a more direct path between the gardens & the house, running closer to the chumbos & passing within easy reach of a permanent compost toilet in that area.

Other Long Term Objectives Include

• To improve the shop facilities in time, depending on availability of funds, energy & other resources.