Permaculturing in Portugal

Finally! After a lot of trial and even more error over the last 2 years, it looks like we have the hydro generator we need for this site. As I write, it’s contributing power to the batteries, something that none of the previous generators have managed to achieve. Not a lot, because of the present meagre flow of water – for the second winter in succession there has so far been very little rain – but the wheel IS contributing for the first time.

Not only that, but it’s a supremely funky addition to our power generation capacity and is also, like the water wheel, proudly made in Benfeita! (Benfeita means ‘well made’.)

The axial flux alternator on the back of João’s quad bike in its green and orange paintwork

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The solar shower is finally up and working.

The heating system I first put together in May has proved itself workable. With a few adjustments of radiator position and the purchase of a self-standing garden shower that fits into the garden hose system I’ve used for the pipework, the system gives us enough hot water on a sunny day for anything between 2 (luxurious) and 4 (frugal) showers, but until recently the only way to use it was to stand on the bare earth out in the open. The quinta isn’t a particularly public place, but we all agreed we needed a cubicle to enhance our bathing experience …

A view of the whole system with the cubicle partially complete – radiator, tank above, shower and cubicle

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Some friends who are seasoned yurt dwellers told me this last year and it’s been on my mind since: it’s not the rain that’s the main problem when it comes to living in yurts in this climate, it’s the sun. The sun rots the canvas covers, and under the full glare of the Portuguese summer sun, even a heavy 12oz canvas cover like this will only last 2-3 years. At over £500 a time to replace, it pays to take some measures to lengthen the life of the covers.

Not only that, but a yurt sitting in the full summer sun gets pretty hot inside. Too hot to be really comfortable, even with the roof open and the covers lifted around the base.

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Besides a dining table and water from a tap, there’s another thing noticeable for its absence these last 18 months.

That’s a shower! Bucket baths are all well and good and serve their purpose, but once in a while there’s nothing to beat the feeling from a shower.

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Water coming out of a tap into a kitchen sink. A very ordinary photo of a very ordinary process. But it’s had me shrieking with delight for the best part of the last hour, standing at the sink turning the tap on and off, and and filling all manner of receptacles with water just for the hell of it, all the while giggling insanely. Who would have believed so much fun could be had with a tap and a kitchen sink? If me 5 years ago had seen me now, I would have immediately taken out life insurance and given up the wine.

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We have been living on the quinta now for over a year with a severe lack of convivial eating furniture. Last year a slightly decrepit foldaway camping table and some slightly decrepit foldaway chairs did the job, but barely. 6 people to a meal meant there was only enough room on the table for the food. Plates on knees didn’t make for easy enjoyment of the fruits of our labour in the garden, and neither did the occasional chair collapse, so a workshop on lashings at Easter weekend’s Encontro Verde provided both inspiration and skills to remedy the situation.

A few days ago I went up into the woods to cut pine poles for the purpose with Valeri, our new WWOOFer, and today we started work.

Lashing 3 long poles together to make a tripod. The middle pole lies in the opposite direction to the outside pair.

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… or your alternators before they’re run in.

I spoke too soon.

We purchased this alternator from Presto Wind in the USA on the basis of its advertised power curves and a couple of videos showing no evidence of cogging, which was the problem with the first generator we tried. As soon as it was installed, it was running well over its claimed threshold for generating usable power, so it was just a matter of waiting for the bearings and rotors to run in and then the batteries would be getting some much-needed juice 24/7. Or so we thought …

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Yesterday I did the laundry. I put the laundry in the washing machine, added laundry liquid, switched it on, and went away while it did its thing.

And was almost insanely pleased with myself.

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It was almost time enough to have a baby in, and in many ways it’s felt a bit like a pregnancy, but finally we have hydro power!

Today the sprockets arrived for the water wheel’s gearing. They have been waiting for the last couple of weeks to have US threads machined into them to fit on the spindle of the new permanent magnet alternator from Presto Wind in the USA. So it was just a matter of fitting the M-24 plus framework to the existing framework housing the water wheel’s gear wheel, chain and chain tensioner, adjusting the chain to the correct length, connecting up the M-24 to the junction box and switching on the generator and its charge controller. It only took about half an hour.

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When climbing a very steep learning curve or making a big transition, I’m discovering that it often makes a lot more sense to take lots of small steps than attempt the leap in a few giant ones. It’s as much about preserving sanity as anything, and that’s one thing it definitely helps to keep a hold of when trying anything like this …

Mindful of Peak Oil, not to mention expense, climate-weirding pollution and general noisy smelly unpleasantness, I set out with the intention of trying to stay fossil fuel-free on the quinta. But having already succumbed to a couple of petrol-driven power tools like a brushcutter and chainsaw … and of course there’s the car … I’ve had to be pragmatic about it yet again.

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