Permaculture in La Gomera 🦎
🌱 Reviving the soil
For plants to thrive, they need healthy, nutrient-rich soil. When I arrived, some areas were extremely dry, barren and almost lifeless. Today, beneath the mulch and compost, I find countless microorganisms, insects, roots… a whole miniature ecosystem taking shape. The worm compost, mulching and organic matter now available on the land are gradually nourishing the soil. The goal isn’t just to provide nutrients to the plants, but to recreate soil that retains water better and, above all, is looser and more welcoming for the plants.
💧 Learning to live with very little water
At La Gomera, water dictates the entire project. Months can pass without any truly useful rain. So everything revolves around water: the plants chosen, how to capture every drop, store it and, of course, use it.
The idea is to slow down consumption so that every drop goes further. In winter, healthy soil allows water to seep in deeply, and plants with long roots can tap into this reserve for a long time. In the dry season, I water once a week using their oya (a buried clay pot that waters through porosity). Trees that need more water seek it out with their roots.
🌳 Planting a future on the land
Planting a tree today means committing to something that takes time. The plants on the land are suited to this climate – I want the trees to feel at home. I’m gradually planting fruit trees, aromatic plants and species adapted to local conditions.
Some plants are there to produce, others to provide shade, shelter from the wind, create biomass or improve the soil. I’m investing water in building an environment that will grow larger and enhance life on the land, with more shade and well-established, resilient plants. Roots also help prevent erosion.
The aim, then, isn’t simply to fill the land with plants, but to gradually create the conditions for an ecosystem that can evolve over time.
🌿 Working with what’s already there
At La Gomera, many things are difficult and expensive to bring in. So I prioritise simplicity: working with what’s available allows me to move faster. And above all, to have simple solutions that I understand and can repair or adjust on my own.
🔎 Experimenting, observing, adapting
And perhaps this is what best sums up the project. I start with existing knowledge and principles, but every piece of land has its own constraints. What works perfectly in one place may need adapting elsewhere.
So I observe, compare and try to understand what’s really happening, adjusting as I go. Some experiments work far better than expected, others far worse. But each one helps me understand the land better and evolve the project.
The goal isn’t to create a perfect model or claim to have all the answers, but to discover how far it’s possible to transform a dry plot with little water, little energy and a lot of observation.
And that’s exactly what I want to share with this community: the successes, the mistakes, the experiments, the discoveries and all the small solutions that emerge over time. 🌿
