Participating in the 15th edition of ‘Moinhos Abertos’. April 15 and 16.

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Thanks to the repair of the roof of our small mill building we can participate in the National Open Mill Weekend on April 15th and 16th and show the centerpieces of the history of this old millers farm. We cannot spin the mill as that requires a new wheel but we can show the wood part of the system that sits above water in the mill house. Come see it with your own eyes during this weekend and spend some springtime in the river valley. It’s glorious!

Renovated mill building

Interior renovated mill

There were 7 mills on this quinta and sr. Antonio, the grandson of sr. Costa the original miller, told us that usually they had 5 spinning, also through the night. That was some serious production taking place here, providing the flour for a lot of the bread making in the region.
We maintain the infrastructure of this mill complex, including a small reservoir and water channels, because we need it for harnessing energy with our small hydro wheel installation. Old technology meets new technology!

Program Open Mill Weekend @ Moinhos do Dão:
Saturday the 15th 14h till 18h ~ guided visits of the mills and quinta & serving tea all afternoon.
Sunday the 16th 14h till 18h ~ guided visits of the mills and quinta & serving tea all afternoon.
Optional on Sunday at 14h: guided visit to the nearby monastery of Santa Maria de Maceira Dão. Send a pm if interested.
More information about this national program: www.moinhosdeportugal.org

Mill system cross section

Tree Fund Success!

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Dear Friends of the MdD,
We want to inform you that our "mini" Tree Fund Campaign has been a great success!  We have reached our goal, and actually more (!!!), by receiving some donations outside of the GoFundMe system.  We wish to thank you, all those that donated, and all those that shared our message—YOU made it happen!  And now, we are ordering the trees, and while waiting, preparing even more areas for a planting blitz before the end of November (which should be the perfect time to get those saplings in the ground, ready for winter, ready to grow those roots, and "take hold" by next years summer hotness).
Again, muito obrigado, and we hope you'll keep an eye on our Micro Reserve Project in the future...you don't want to miss out on seeing those trees grow up!!

-  Freya, Steve, Lea, Sophia, Nicole.

Nature Connection & Regenerative Culture: A Participatory Presentation from Joshua Glass

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A moment of 'working out loud' where the artist in residence, Joshua Glass, will present his in-progress artistic research on the intersection of nature connection and regenerative culture.

After 8 days of exploration, Joshua will share insights and drawings on the topic. He will invite us for an experience of nature connection and inter-personal inquiry in the forest of Moinhos do Dão Eco Quinta.

Join us for a deep dive into curiosity, conversation, nature connection, and of course, tea and cake J

Essential information:

  • Location of the presentation: Moinhos do Dão Eco Quinta. The quinta is accessible by car from the village Vila Garcia (directions here) You can also choose to park your car by the nearby Monastery and enjoy the 20 min walk down into the Dão valley.
  • Date and time: Sunday September 25, 16:00 till 18:00
  • Bring clothes for rainand footwearfor a short forest walk. The outdoor part of the presentation will occur rain or shine.

About the artist
The work of Joshua Glass elaborates on the intersection of performance art + social experimentation + nature connection. He designs his offerings to be embodied so we can practice:

  • exchanging with non-humans
  • reviewing the boundaries of self and other
  • coexisting in community

Recently, Joshua has produced participatory performances, community-building events, artistic installations, workshops, and a non-profit organization called The Treehouse Maastricht. The Treehouse was co-founded in 2018 in the Netherlands as a public coffeehouse for developing emotional integrity and silliness in the context of deep community. With The Treehouse, Joshua researched and implemented dynamic governance, microsolidarity (mutual-aid), and socially experimental dinners. In 2020, Joshua graduated from the Interdisciplinary Arts program at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Currently, he's loosely based in Amsterdam.

While in residence at Moinhos do Dão, Joshua has continued his research within themes of regenerative culture, nature connection, and social design. He's been exploring questions including:

  • Which nature-based practices strengthen a palpable, personal relationship with non-human beings?
  • What's a regenerative lifestyle, why's it important, and how can I live one?
  • How can I access and trust animate intelligence (i.e. non-rational) and foster an integrated intelligence to guide my actions?

Joshua's website: https://joshuaglass.net

Joshua Glass artist in residence September 2021

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Moinhos do Dão is excited to host Joshua in the artist in residence program. In his work the domains of art, social dynamics and nature intersect and this touches on many aspects of life here at the quinta. It seems therefore very fitting to host Joshua after a quiet period in the residency program.

Join us & participate!

On Saturday, 25 Sept., in collaboration with the people and land of  Moinhos do Dão ~ Eco Quinta, Joshua will co-host a participatory moment to present his work.

To sign up and receive participation details email: info@moinhosdodao.org

 

 

 

The work of Joshua Glass elaborates on the intersection of performance art + social experimentation + nature connection. He designs his offerings to be embodied so we can practice:

  • exchanging with non-humans
  • reviewing the boundaries of self and other
  • coexisting in community

Recently, Joshua has produced participatory performances, community-building events, artistic installations, workshops, and a non-profit organization called The Treehouse Maastricht.The Treehouse was co-founded in 2018 in the Netherlands as a public coffeehouse for developing emotional integrity and silliness in the context of deep community. With The Treehouse, Joshua researched and implemented dynamic governance, microsolidarity (mutual-aid), and socially experimental dinners.In 2020, Joshua graduated from the Interdisciplinary Arts program at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Currently, he's loosely based in Amsterdam.While in residence at Moinhos do Dão, Joshua will continue his research within themes of regenerative culture, nature connection, and social design. He'll explore questions including:

  • Which nature-based practices strengthen a palpable, personal relationship with non-human beings?
  • Why are humans blamed for destroying planet earth?
  • What's a regenerative lifestyle, why's it important, and how can I live one?
  • How can I access and trust animate intelligence (i.e. non-rational) and foster an integrated intelligence to guide my actions?
  • How can principles of nature and permaculture nurture a win-win relationship between human and non-human beings?

Joshua's website: https://joshuaglass.net

Lisa’s story – Micro Reserve

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As part of my studies “International Forest Ecosystem Management” I spent three months at the Moinhos do Dão, focusing on the forest restoration work in the Micro Reserve.

Its been a great learning experience to spend that much time on this hill. Getting to know the soil, the plants, the heat and drought in summer, as well as the heavy rains and frosty nights in autumn. And with all these impressions, trying to envision a transformation into a more resilient and diverse ecosystem. Trying to find the role that we as humans can play in supporting the change. It’s been a gift to hear about the experiences that Freya and Steven made in the last years, to learn about their methods and to evolve new ones together. There is lots of space for new ideas and suggestions!

After many hours of pullerbearing, bramble-removing, mulching, seeding and planting, it’s amazing to see how the land has changed. From a non-accessible hill that is covered with tall broom to a rocky landscape with little paths that I love to walk on. Amazed by all the life that is found under that layer of broom: Saplings and larger trees of endemic oak species, strawberry trees, pines, hawthorns, an olive tree, native blooming shrubs and wild roses. Seeing these plants is what kept me going during the work. What gave me patience to dig up one bramble after the other, and perseverance in fighting with broom in the heat. Sometimes it felt quite destructive to pull out so many plants by their root, burning them, basically clear-cutting an area. To see these trees and saplings that are there already, and that now have light and space to grow tall, to spread their own seeds and to eventually form a self-regulated forest ecosystem that provides habitat for many more species. Seeing how easily broom and brambles catch and spread fire made it more understandable why we burn some of the woody material.

I loved to walk through the surrounding forests, collecting acorns and little trees to transplant them. It feels good to give something back to the soil, to plant something into each hole that we create.

A beautiful experience was to spend a full moon night on the hill together with Mary Ellen and Rory. To wake up on that hill and spend a day there without doing anything but observing and enjoying what is there and what has changed the last weeks. Realizing again the beauty of this place and dreaming of the forest that might establish here in future.

I hope there will be many more people to come and learn from and with this beautiful hill!

Summer Newsletter 2020

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Newsletter content:
Making the best of a different summer & memories of 2019.
Time for other things.
An update on the Caminho do Dão.
Moinhos do Dão ~ Great place to live! ~ Open for Partnerships.

Check out our recent Newsletter here to see what is (and not) going on at the quinta!

With greetings,
Freya & Steven

Forestry Weeks at Moinhos do Dão, from the 18th till the 30th of November

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Planting trees and seeds because the Dão valley and Mother Earth can use some extra help.

November is the best time of the year for seeding and planting. We have a lot of young trees ready to be planted and hundreds of acorns, chestnuts and hazelnuts to put in the ground. Besides planting and seeding we’ll also be removing shrubs and non-native trees to make space for the planting and seeding. This effort will be part of ‘A Grande Bolotada Ibérica’ (the Big Iberian Acorn Seeding) where thousands of people across the Iberic Peninsula are joining in the important effort to of reforestation. Join them and us by doing your part in bringing back the native forests in the Dão valley.
Why? Because these forests support the local biodiversity, are less susceptible to fires, play a big role in keeping a healthy water cycle and the prevention of desertification, not to forget to mention that planting forests is a way of storing carbon and act against climate break down.
Sounds like the right thing to do...right?

You can come help for a day, a few days or a week if you want. The Moinhos has comfy places to stay, we’ll be preparing meals together and in the evening you can put your feet up and relax by the fire place. For those spending the night and staying more days there is a cost of € 10 per day incl. food. We’ll be working with a group of maximum 8 people.

If you want to know more, or let us know you are interested in coming, please send us a message. info@moinhosdodao.org
Also please share with people you know who might be interested!

Looking forward 🙂
Freya & Steve

Forestry Weekend Nov 2018 with the Xerox team

Writing Week ‘Time to Write’ 2019

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The third edition of our annual writing week 'Time to Write' took place from June 1st till June 8th and we look back with a smile on our face. We had a 'full house', the program being sold out and two Portuguese cooks (Hugo and Nuno) singing in the kitchen. Laughter was heard all day long, everyone worked hard, the food was always good and friends were made.
This was one of those moments where the qualities of Moinhos do Dão could be experienced in full. Everyone has a comfy bed, the food is healthy and colorful, the locations for the work sessions inspiring and all that in a green valley full of life.
We are looking forward to the next activity week!

Antipasti Dinner Buffet.