It has been a whirlwind journey so far! So much has happened, important decisions made.. and a VERy firm commitment by myself has been established. I have moved 8 times in as many weeks, and right now I crave and look forward to some stability and safe space. Feeling vulnerable has been a huge theme during this journey, and on more than one occasion have found myself in the position of having to suddenly leave due to what i will simply call human emotions, exacerbated by a very difficult time for everyone. I am SO happy that I have managed to hold myself together. At times it has felt like i would fall apart, and there have been moments when I have wondered if i can find my way here. Thankfully, every challenge has brought with it its own blessings, and the most recent one was meeting a beautiful Austrian couple who live just 3Km from our land. This marks a very special point in the ecoVillages journey...

Leaving my previous host under duress was a first for me, and my friend Nico who was living there with me and a lovely young lady called Melody from the UK. With no where to go I stayed at my dear friend Michael (@orlev) for a few days, whilst i made my final decision to buy a yurt and live on the land of the Austrian couple Gopi and Andrea. They are a beautiful couple and it was clear from our very first meeting that we share the same vision and way of manifesting community and great co-creation with community spirit. I met them for two hours to decide IF they would be comfortable for me to put a Yurt on their land and join then for an indefinite amount of time. Everything lined up, and we were all very happy to begin this journey together. Now since yesterday, Nico has also moved there, and we expect Melody to come soon too. Our new little family is beautiful and growing fast! We are just the kind of people that I have wanted to work with, and i cannot wait for my Yurt to arrive in 7-10 days so we can set it up and I can begin my new life here in Portugal...

When times have been really tough I have made sure to meditate and count my blessings. Somehow or other, with almost no money, virtually no possessions, and no home I have managed to buy land, buy a new home, meet just the right people to collaborate with, i now own a (pretty terrible) car, and I am slowly now acquiring the very basic things i need to live. It really has been with the support of Hive and my dear friends that I have managed to make it this far, and I am now SO close to achieving self sufficiency with little to no ongoing bills to just live and survive.

The biggest remaining purchase I still have to make is a small solar power system. I have no grid power on their land, and will of course need it for my basic computer work, and most like a very good fan! Its gets HOT out here, as hot as 45 degrees in August, so i am doing my best to prepare for that. I also have 10 thousand small things to make and buy as I will own a yurt with nothing in it except my suitcase and highly inappropriate clothes! I left from India for an expected two weeks, when Portugal was cold. I need a new wardrobe! I will make all I can from free materials, and have discovered the local Facebook group to be very supportive! A nice chap called Alan is about to deliver me a truck load of old wooden palettes so that I can make my furniture, bed, tables etc.. I will need some new tools, but do have a few I can borrow from my new friends.

What i realise already though is that I cannot just buy the cheapest stuff available. It is a lesson i have learned well in India, and am learning it again here. So far my cooker broke before i even used it, my cheap knife handle snapped in half whilst i was cutting a sweet potato,. my car is about to fall apart at the seams, and my bedsheets are pure polyester and quite nasty to sleep in. I am going to have to be resourceful, and careful.. Let's drink to that!

So, onwards and upwards as I say. These are amazing times! I am also working on getting a small pond dug out on our land, and hope that we can at least get SOME water there so that it will be possible to move to that land when the time is right. Thank you for stopping by, i hope this story demonstrates that when we are doing the right thing, life has our backs! It is HARD to step out into the unknown all by yourself... but so far at each step there has always been an angel to save me. Thank you universe, I am humbled.

---

Would you like to support me in these amazing times?

It's fair to say that right now i do need some help. I am so close to being able to stand on my own two feet again, but am simply deluged with the number of things i need to buy and make to get going. If you would like to donate anything it will be gratefully appreciated, and will help me to get things that will have a long life and serve me well. As many of you who know me well will understand, i only ask for things when i really need them. It is hard for me to do it, but i know that right now I really need to ask.

How to Donate

- Send Bitcoin To: 35uJ2YrRfLAUETEdt8qNX4Fe3j7Mu9fUHU
- Send HIVE or STEEM to: @eco-alex

SEND MONEY VIA PAYPAL TO: [email protected]

Please DM me if you would like to send via direct bank transfer. I use transferwise and have accounts in USD, Euro, GBP, etc.

THANK YOU! EVERY BIT IS GOING A LONG WAY RIGHT NOW~ <3

READ PREVIOUS ECOVILLAGE JOURNALS

ecoVillages Journal #25: The EcoVillage Model Earthship
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/ecovillages-journal-25-the-ecovillage-model-earthship

ecoVillages Journal #24: $6,000 Euro donation received to initiate Phase 1 of ecoVillages ;-)
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/ecovillages-journal-24-usd6-000-euro-donation-received-to-initiate-phase-1-of-ecovillages

The Spiral Earthship Simplified and Tweaked For Hot A Climate: ecoVillage Journal #23
https://peakd.com/hive-174578/@eco-alex/the-spiral-earthship-simplified-and-tweaked-for-hot-a-climate-ecovillage-journal-24

A Model For The Prototype Earthship!!! ecoVillage Journal #22
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/a-model-for-the-prototype-earthship-ecovillage-journal-22

ecoVillage Journal #21: Opportunities Abound!
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/ecovillage-journal-22-opportunities-abound

ecoVillage Journal #20: The Decentralised Vision
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/ecovillage-journal-20-the-decentralised-vision

IT'S OFFICIAL! :>) It Gives Me Great Pleasure To Announce...
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/it-s-official-it-gives-me-great-pleasure-to-announce

ecoVillages Journal #18: Tickets Are Booked Back To Portugal!.. Will they let me in?
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/ecovillages-journal-18-ticket-s-booked-back-to-portugal-will-they-let-me-in

ecoVillages Journal #17: 'Tis Happening!
https://peakd.com/hive-174578/@eco-alex/ecovillages-journal-17-tis-happening

ecoVillages Journal #16: The New Approach, what it means for YOU!
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/ecovillages-journal-16-the-new-approach-what-it-means-for-you

ecoVillages Journal #15: A NEW VISION IS BORN: A new, ultra de-centralised approach to rapid ecoBuild adoption in Penamacor, Portugal.
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/ecovillages-journal-15-a-new-vision-is-born-a-new-ultra-de-centralised-approach-to-rapid-ecobuild-adoption-in-penamacor-portugal

ecoVillages Journal #14: SUCCESS! HUGE UPDATE - We have more land + ecoVillage Coin
https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@eco-alex/ecovillages-journal-14-success-huge-update-we-have-more-land-ecovillage-coin

ecoVillage Journal #13: PORTUGAL!!!!
https://peakd.com/hive-109038/@eco-alex/ecovillage-journal-13-portugal

ecoVillage Journal #12: I'm flying to Portugal Tomorrow! Here's the plan!
https://peakd.com/hive-109038/@eco-alex/ecovillage-journal-12-i-m-flying-to-portugal-tomorrow-here-s-the-plan

ecoVillage Journal #11: €30,000 natural giving donation by an anonymous Steemian!
https://peakd.com/ecotrain/@eco-alex/ecovillage-journal-11-eur30-000-natural-giving-donation-by-an-anonymous-steemian

ecoVillage Journal #10 - NVC, we had to ask him to leave!
https://peakd.com/ecotrain/@eco-alex/ecovillage-journal-10-nvc-we-had-to-ask-him-to-leave

ecoVillage Journal #9: I've booked my flights to Portugal!
https://peakd.com/ecotrain/@eco-alex/ecovillage-journal-9-i-ve-booked-my-flights-to-portugal

🌍 Steem ecoVillage Journal #8 : Will we start building this year!?
https://peakd.com/ecotrain/@eco-alex/steem-ecovillage-journal-8-will-we-start-building-this-year

🌍 ecoVillage Journal #7: How will we choose who lives in ecoVillage?
https://peakd.com/ecotrain/@eco-alex/ecovillage-journal-7-how-will-we-choose-who-to-lives-in-ecovillage

🌍 ecoVillage Journal #6 Q&A: Open Meeting Part 2
https://peakd.com/ecotrain/@eco-alex/ecovillage-journal-6-q-and-a-open-meeting-part-2

ecoVillage Journal #5 Q&A: Open Meeting Part 1
https://peakd.com/ecotrain/@eco-alex/ecovillage-q-and-a-open-meeting-part-1

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