Sierra Estronad (www.sierraestronad.es) is an old settlement of stone houses huddled around a tumbledown church, with fields and woodlands, all in all 240 ha. At 700 metres, Sierra Estronad lies in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The setting is spectacular; stunning views, abundant wildlife and a relatively harsh climate with cold winters and hot summers, bracing and bright. There is a large garden
, scores of olive and almond trees, 33 ha. of arable fields with barley or oats, lots of other fields and 100 HA of woodland. The nearest neighbours are 12 km away down a dirt road. The place is run with the idea to create and maintain a sustainable landscape with its inherent wildlife, combined with domestic cattle. Opening up overgrown fields, clearing woodland and restoring the Mediterranean permaculture systems, that have been here for the last 2000 years. When we came here 20 years ago, the hamlet had been deserted for at least 30 years and was very overgrown. We opened up fields, restored houses and made off-the-grid living possible. There are solar panels and water from the old village spring. The equilibrium of this whole system is still rather delicate, but that’s the fun of it. We have two cows, eight sheep,chickens and various dogs. Outside the nearby village, where there are shops, a post office, bars and banks, we have a large vegetable garden. This garden forms part of an ancient Moorish irrigation system and has an abundant and crucial water supply. The house is comfortable, and our summer living room is under an enormous old oak. There is a book room with hundreds of books in four languages, internet connection and wifi: e-learning is possible. The work consists of maintaining and improving the whole lot. At the moment we are restoring an old stone barn to convert it into a workshop and shed for all our tools. Our son Jacob and a trusted friend are professional stonemasons and bricklayers who can teach you a lot about traditional building techniques. The garden and vegetable garden need never failing attention and care. We grow a large variety of tomatoes and at the end of the season bottling and freezing are in full swing. All sorts of trees need pruning, firewood has to be cut and the fields have to be cleared with the brush cutter to help the cows in their grazing. There is also always some dry stonewalling that needs seeing to. To be honest, there is more work than can be properly done, but we know that we are just one generation carrying on our work for the next. You are welcome to join in.
