• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Danyadara

Permaculture at Suryalila

  • About
    • Our Work
    • Our Host
    • Our Sponsors & Collaborators
    • The Team
    • Contact
  • Projects
    • The Food Forest
    • Soil Recovery
    • Water Harvesting
    • Our pioneer trees
    • Forest-Agriculture Mosaic
    • The Garden
  • Courses
    • Six-week PDC
    • Retreat “Yoga & Permaculture”
    • Testimonials
  • ‘Gift a Tree’ Christmas Card!
  • Donate
    • Offset your carbon footprint
    • Support us
    • Get Involved
  • Blog
  • Eco-Tour
  • en
    • es

Soil Recovery

The desert is coming to Europe: Soil and water are the first line of defense.

Due to drought, increased temperatures and unsustainable agricultural practices, many previously fertile fields in Andalusia are now desert. The level of destruction in the wake of this natural disaster threatens the livelihood of thousands. Forest fires aggravate the advanced soil erosion and speed up the desertification process. In 2015, 12,650 hectares of forest area caught fire and the average annual rate of soil erosion is significantly higher than the rest of Spain. Andalusia’s geographical location makes it particularly vulnerable to climate change and with soil actively degrading, local farmers struggle to grow their products in sustainable and profitable ways.

What are we doing about it?

Bringing Back the Biodiversity

Healthy soil is abundant with life. It is it’s own ecosystem that creates a sponge-like effect for storing water internally. The level of organic matter in the soil determines its fertility and water holding capacity. Microbial species like bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, yeast, protozoa, algae and nematodes all forge beneficial relationships with plant roots helping them access nutrients. This enables water and air movement and controls disease.

If soil is dead, we depend on chemicals to grow crops. If the soil is alive, we depend on biology to grow crops. That is our goal.

Our volunteers are busy seeding microbes. We maximize our biological resources through creating a extract – literally strained from our compost – to be fused with water and sprayed in order to inoculate soil with microscopic life, speeding the healing process and fostering organic growth.

Our “humanure” compost toilets use modern science to convert human waste into a useful fertilizer for the land and you will see a hearty bee population busy pollinating our garden.

Increasing Soil Carbon Sequestration

It is time for the 4th Agricultural Revolution and we want to be a part of it.

It is time for the 4th Agricultural Revolution and we want to be a part of it. We are replanting grasslands prioritizing ground cover to protect the soil and care for the multitude of flora and fauna that are indigenous to Andalusia.

We are counting on our hearty pioneer trees (we planted 4,900!) to photosynthesize. In addition to their immediate ability to provide shade, resist erosion and create microclimates to foster life. Moreover, the five pioneers we selected are super hearty and can survive the desert conditions while feeding local wildlife.

As the trees grow, they will require more resources. After the first year, our team will engage in regular trimming and thinning of the forest to speed up the process of nature by building organic material in-place, managing male-to-female ratios and becoming a self-sustaining.

Creating Microclimates and Defending Against Erosion

Microclimates are established through planting a diverse group of species where shade is created in order to allow for the multitude of living organisms necessary for productive soil to thrive. A great indicator of the success soil is checking in to see worms and insects.

Plants play a significant role in keeping the water clean and clear. Half of the water used on planted landscapes is lost to evaporation, runoff or infiltration beyond the root level. 

A substantial amount of groundcover thanks to our pioneer trees will reduce the risk of topsoil going airborne in gusting winds or washed away with runoff.

Primary Sidebar

Choose Language

  • enEnglish
  • esEspañol (Spanish)

Danyadara in your inbox!

Be in the loop of how we use farming to reverse the desert in southern Spain & be the first to know about courses and events.

Search

About Us

Danyadara is a not for profit permaculture project focused on land regeneration. Our goal is to reverse and mitigate desertification in Andalusia through sustainable agriculture techniques, creating a legacy that will inspire the region for years to come.

From desert to forest!

Help us build a food forest. We are raising fund to regenerate a 7 hectare field over the next 2 years (2018 - 2019)

Donate to stop the desert

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Footer

About Danyadara

Our Team
Our Dream
Cookie Policy

Apprenticeships

We welcome enthusiastic people who want to get their hands dirty and learn about Permaculture in harsh climates!

Support us!


Donate to stop the desert

If you are travelling, you can offset your carbon footprint here!

Offset your carbon footprint

Contact us!

Send us an email at
[email protected]
Call us at +34856023631
Or visit our contact page here.

Find Us!

Suryalila Retreat Centre Pago del Pagarete Cortijo La Fabrica 11650 Villamartín, Cádiz, Spain View Google Map
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2021 · Danyadara Permaculture is a project of Suryalila Retreat Centre

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more