Update from the Flores Fruit Farm Summer 2014

It has been quite some time since we have updated the blog.  In that time we have done the projects posted below.
We are without a vehicle or phone line, so we do not have the opportunity to use the internet often.  We will try to write more explanatory blogs as time allows, in the mean time enjoy the photos of our project.
Mitra will be turning 1 and Odin will be 3 this August Both boys are thriving with sunshine and love and healthy foods.  They don’t seem to mind living in a construction zone.

The Hydro-Electric project has been functional for one year now. It is not completed, but works fantastically as is.  In time we will maximize its output.

The view from our backyard.  So much concrete work and terraforming yet to do. 

Our primary banana patch is expanding yearly where jungle stood before.

We are getting lovely  bunches of fresh fruit more frequently as the roots dig into the rich valley soil and the sun penetrates where forest shadowed before.



The citrus orchard with limes and sweet oranges that is home to our chicken flock is completed fenced now.  This allows us to gather ALL the eggs that are laid daily. 

The chicken manure feeds the fruit trees and the chickens eat the weeds and pests for us.  On average we gather 6 eggs daily. 

We are doubling the size of our flock this year to replace old chickens as needed.  Soon we should have a surplus of eggs to store for winter.

The road to our house is getting a bit bushy without traffic.  We decided to “ring-bark” the remaining large Eucalyptus trees rather than risk dropping them.

Our front yard with an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean.

The primary vegetable gardens making use of the stone walls we hand built so long ago.

Our house and front yard.

Our lemon tree and grapefruit  are producing fruit regularly now after we planted them in 2008.

We want to start a new blog site, as we are so much more than ‘Magnus and Konswan’ at this point.  Whenever time allows us to create the new site we will post a link to the new page.
For those who helped us resolve the driving license fiasco, THANK YOU!
Magnus now has a Portuguese drivers license and no problems with the Portuguese police after paying a 200 Euro fine for driving with an United States Drivers License for over 90 days. 

A Fantastic Year of Serendipitous Change

In the United States and Canada they have a tradition of ‘giving thanks’ on one day out of every year. It is a time to reflect on the bounty and benevolence of our universe and to gather with friends in celebration of our unlimited grace.

So much has happened in the past years that it is difficult to know where to begin.  We have had a whirlwind of events, people and projects surround us and uplift us.

Our humble cottage in the forest could only be accessed via a foot path one year before, the nearest road was more than a kilometer away ‘as the crow flies’.  All materials brought to our farm had to be transported on foot or by using our zip line.  Deadly trees still hovered over our roof, making every storm a potential disaster.

In an amazing series of synchronistic events that defy human comprehension, the universe has blessed our humble endeavor with its grace.

This year we have a road to our house directly, all the dangerous trees are cut and have been safely moved out of harm’s way; and we have built an annex to our cottage.

In addition, we have received a beautiful baby boy to share our idyllic life with. 

Our gardens are thriving with the increased sunlight available due to the overhanging trees being removed. We were also able to build three new retaining walls that receive the maximum sunlight available throughout the seasons.

Our winter crops are more abundant this winter than we imagined possible.

Magnus was honored to be chosen as helper for the annual Holy Spirit Festival and Luncheon.  This ancient tradition deserves an entire blog post of its own to explain. 

In short, it has been a fun filled and adventurous year and we are Thankful for all the fabulous changes in our lives; and eagerly awaiting more!

Second Retaining Wall Completed

Another marathon week of construction has come to a close with fantastic results.
Happily, we discovered that below 60 cm of earth, the mountainside was in plain view. This allowed for our foundation to be smaller than the previous wall, saving time and materials.



Our second massive retaining wall needed a sturdy concrete footing for its corner pillar. We utilized the ample stones on our land in conjuntion with concrete to build up a low spot in the natural stone foundation.



We also added a 'deadman' midway through the wall to farther strengthen the central pillar and add weight into the mountainside to overcome a potential tip over during our rainy season.



We backfilled the wall with tons of stone to allow the water to pass through the many drain holes we placed strategically along the wall.



This wall ended up being slightly taller than the first since we had the option to add a fifth course of concrete block.



Here is our home, with both retaining walls seen behind the house and below the grade of the roadway. Soon we will be planting these new terraces with all manner of sun lovers.

Retaining Wall Completed

This retaining wall is located directly above and behind our house.

View last years post about the project here, http://magnusandkonswan.blogspot.com/2010/10/wall-building-to-retain-new-road.html
We began last September, but had to wait for the wet weather to end before moving forward.

We needed to be sure this wall cannot fall, especialy after moving the mountainside and altering millions of years of soil and rock sedimentation.



We dug a 40 cm deep by 70 cm wide trench and then filled it with stones and concrete, in order to provide a stable foundation.



Next, we used 30cm concrete block reiniforced with iron and poured concrete.



In order to transport the concrete to the site we used a high density polyethelene tube.



We hired two local workers to help with the project. Below you can see the three man team making progress.



The finished wall meets the approval of the boss and baby boy.



Next we will add manure to the soil and plant the garden with sun loving tomatoes. This location is completely protected from the wind and gets twelve hours of direct sun in the summer.

Progress on Baby Room

The cement blocks arrived Monday. 

 We asked the Ribeiros to deliver as close to the construction site as possible.  Off picture, to the right and down the hill is our house.

 While all the exciting block delivery was happening, the farm keeps going.  The hens are also having babies, although their baby room is the entire property!

Wall Building to Retain New Road

First we begin by excavating the job site to hold the new retaining walls above our house.



Unloading cement blocks is much easier this year, since the blocks can be delivered to the loading zone on our land directly using the new road.

Unfortunately, the road to our house is only accessible with 4 wheel drive, so we have to bring the blocks from our loading zone higher up on our property to the actual building site using our little jeep.



Once all the materials are on site, we will begin to build massive retaining walls!

3 Year Anniversary of Our Arrival on Flores

When we arrived, we found that the jungle had overtaken the fruit farm, and that the house had fallen down!

Our original plan was to live aboard our sailboat, while we fixed the property. However, the shipwreck changed that plan and we began working on the house first. This way, we would have a place to live while we worked on the land during the following year.

Our next challenge was to get building materials to the site. The original builders had used Oxen to pull the stones along an old path. We had a modern idea...using gravity!

The nearest road is 150 metres, as the crow flies to our house. An inconvenience for us was the river and valley between the road and our house, making the trip by foot about 600 metres!

The send off...

Magnus´s mom and Steve spent their summer vacation helping to bag sand and send concrete blocks across the valley at dangerously high speed.

The recieving end.

Here the house is taking shape.

Now, the forest surrounding the house needed to be cleared.

Gardens and fruit orchards need as much sun as they can get, and this thick jungle was not helping.

We learned how to build free standing stone walls, allowing us to terrace our most protected property for food production.

Collecting stones from all over the mountainside, bringing them to site via foot and wheel burrow was a challenge. But now, we have an abundance of food.