The time has come: After ten years in Basel, I am finally ready to take the big step and leave my old home behind. The migration slowly started two years ago. The constant back and forth was a good experience, but also tiring and sometimes a bit frustrating. As soon as I took on a project in one place, I had to leave to take care of the other one. But now Urbanroots is in good hands and I'm happy to be able to concentrate fully on Son Selva from now on.
Building up and running Urbanroots has taught me a lot and it was a great experience to share my passion for growing food with others. Over the past 5 years I successfully built up an onlineshop for organic seeds and garden supply, convinced many souls to start their own garden, helped plan outdoor spaces of restaurants and offices, gave countless workshops about urban gardening and permaculture and even had a series in Switzerlands most read newspaper Blick!
What's next? –
My to-do list for this year is getting longer and longer. The fact that I am no longer tied to Switzerland gives me the feeling that I will have endless time in the future!
Buy a container and (at some point) expand it into a workshop/warehouse.
Start a vegetable garden.
Build an outdoor kitchen and shower (including a gray water garden).
Learn to beekeeper.
Build entrance gate.
Restore dry stone walls.
Attend a Spanish course (for advanced learners).
Order tents, clear camping area.
Inauguration of the workshop space and implementation of the first workshops.
Repair pig enclosures, build chicken coop.
Buy pigs, chickens and quails.
Clarify water supply.
Detailed planning of the house (building permit should come through this year!)
Implement four upcoming planting orders.
Farm tour: Visit and portray various projects on the island.
Planting Miyawaki Forest.
As I write this list, I realize that this is probably a bit overambitious. We'll see how much of it I can actually implement! In addition, every step also costs money. Anyone who has not yet been able to bring themselves to donate or sponsor a tree can still do so.
Let's grow a food forest together!