Forty years of living differently: Sunseed Desert Technology is still going strong... and needs your help!
The pioneering expat-founded community in southern Spain is turning 40 this year; this is how Sunseed made a name for itself as one of the most innovative centres for sustainability research and alternative communal living in Europe
Tucked into a sun-drenched valley in Almería, in one of the driest corners of Europe, a small but quietly remarkable community has been doing something radical for four decades: actually living the change it wants to see in the world.
Sunseed Desert Technology – based in the ancient off-grid village of Los Molinos del Río Aguas – turns 40 this year, and it's every bit as relevant as when it was first dreamed up at a green festival in the 1980s.
Founded by British pioneers who rented a house in arid southeast Spain and started asking practical questions about desertification and low-impact living, Sunseed grew into one of Europe's most respected centres for hands-on sustainability research, appropriate technology and communal life.
From solar panels and organic gardens to natural water treatment, vegetarian food and drylands restoration, this is the lifestyle of the future that Sunseed has been creating since before it was in fashion.
The centre is also remarkable for its work as a living experiment in communal living and alternative methods of governance and decision making that eschew the coercive, power-based structures present in most communities.
Four decades in, the work continues
With 40 years of play, work, research, learning and experimenting, Sunseed aims to inspire and involve people from around the world to join the movement towards a culture of people and planet care.
But it's not all about high-minded ideas. It also includes an ongoing fight for environmental justice closer to home: the River Aguas, which runs through the valley and supplies water to around 40 villages in the province of Almería, is under serious threat from intensive monoculture olive farming that is draining the aquifer far faster than it can recover.
Sunseed has been a vocal part of the local resistance, and the centre is known for its valuable role in the local area as a force for good and a champion of the rights of nature and those who inhabit it.
Want to get involved? There's a programme for that!
To mark the anniversary, Sunseed has launched a Co-learning Residency Programme – a hands-on stay with more focus on collective knowledge-sharing and creative experimentation across the project's various departments.
Whether you want to dig into sustainable agriculture, appropriate technology, or simply try something new in a genuinely inspiring place, this is an open invitation. Applications are being accepted now; just fill in this secure Google Form to get started.
They're also on the lookout for a Technology Coordinator: someone bilingual in Spanish and English, with a passion for environmental stewardship and a willingness to commit for a year.
If mentoring, giving guided tours and working within a close-knit community sounds like your kind of role, get in touch at sunseed@sunseed.org.uk.
And if you can't make it in person... donate!
Running a small rural project in the Spanish countryside for 40 years takes more than good intentions. To keep the lights (solar-powered, naturally) on for another 40, Sunseed has launched a crowdfunding campaign.
You can make a one-off contribution of any amount on their GoFundMe page, or set up a standing donation of just €1 a month via teaming.net/sunseed.
As the team puts it, "Sunseed is happening because of you."
After 40 years, that feels worth celebrating, and worth supporting.
Find out more at sunseed.org.uk
Address
Los Molinos de Rio Aguas, Buzon 2, 04270 Sorbas, Almeria, SpainTel: 0034 950 52 57 70
Sunseed Desert Technology is a non-formal environmental education project and a hands-on practical centre for sustainable living situated in a national reserve in Almería, Andalucía, in the south of Spain.
It has been a project since 1986 with an aim of helping develop, communicate and disseminate a sustainable and resilient way of life in our environmental conditions, a semi-arid region and the only desert in Europe.
It is a self-managed and dynamic community focused on living and learning together. They use the sun for energy, the river for water, the gardens and local providers for food, and they share all cooking and cleaning to make the community a comfortable place to call home.“We support each other in taking personal responsibility for our impact on the environment, feeling empowered in the knowledge that changes really can be made when one is part of a thoughtful and focused community,” say the organisers.
The Sunseed project, which is made up of a transient and ever-changing group of 10-30 people, is located in Los Molinos del Río Aguas, an entirely off-grid village in rural Almería. Sunseed is the only communitarian project located here, off-grid but not completely self- sufficient. The nearest town is Sorbas, around 7km away.
The river which gives its name to the place is the only one in the whole province to flow all year round; it carves a narrow valley where natural pools host unique species of flora and fauna, a real oasis in the desert. The village hosts other projects related to sustainability, creativity and deep ecology.
There are 7 departments at Sunseed:
- Appropriate Technology
- Communications
- Drylands Ecosystem Restoration
- Education
- Eco-Maintenance
- Organic Gardens
- Sustainable Living
During their stay visitors and volunteers have the chance to work in their department of choice, in order to get a deeper knowledge of the tools and techniques and/or develop a personal project related with the department tasks and Sunseed overall.
From Monday to Friday, they start the day with a Morning Circle where tasks of the day are offered to the group. Community members join tasks, with the intention of finding a balance between personal interests and continuity of work. On Monday, they take care of the communal space by doing a collective clean of the whole project. On Friday there is a general assembly, and each week sees a variety of communal activities and workshops on everything from sociocracy and degrowth to how to build with cob and caña, to how to make natural ferments and tinctures from foraged ingredients.
Visitors and short-term members participate in project activities at least 4 hours a day, while medium- and long-term members contribute at least 6 hours a day. Saturdays and Sundays are self-organised and meant for relaxation, connection and rejuvenation. In order to uphold the wellbeing and mental health of the community, they also host weekly sharing circles where they create a space for deep listening without judgement.
This little community is a living project that has sustained this space in a disappearing oasis for nearly 40 years.
To learn more or to arrange a visit, you can get in touch using the following contact details:
- Address: Los Molinos de Río Aguas, Buzón 2, 04270 Sorbas, Almería, Spain
- Telephone: 0034 950 52 57 70
- Website: www.sunseed.org.uk
- Facebook: Sunseed Desert Technology
