Emma takes inspiration from her daily surroundings and transfers these into beautiful drawings and installations.  The MdD and the Dão valley region will play a part in the reflection and creation of new works.

Below is a small selection of works found on Emma’s web site:

The post MdD Residency — Sept.–Oct. 2016: Emma Levie first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

River side: Fragosela, Viseu
March 13 from 10:00 till 14:00 (incl. lunch)
Meeting & Parking at Quinta. the Sernadinha – Leisure Zone. GPS: 40.615566, -7.848661
Equipment: boots, gloves and appropriate clothing.
Lunch: Rancho Viseu style.
Registration until the 11th.

The post CuidaDão – River Cleaning Activity *NEW DATE* first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

We are looking for a volunteer(s) for the months of:
April through September, 2016

In this year, we are looking for volunteer(s) with experience and/or interest-to-learn in the following:

– New forestry projects.  This year, we will put some major focus of our time into clearing land nearby the MdD for fire protection, but more importantly, to establish a more indigenous plant and tree landscape, one that we can view from the MdD, and hopefully, our visitors to the MdD can walk through.  This will involve light clearing of plant and tree matter, creating swales for existing trees, planting and swales for new trees, path building, and removal of invasive species.  It’s real “outdoor” work in this Forest Reserve zone of the MdD.

– The floods of early 2016 have really reshaped the landscape of the MdD, the island in the river and more.  Not only were we gifted a new beach on the MdD, but there is quite a “forest” of drift wood, trees and whatnot all tangled around the river’s edge.  We will be harvesting this wood and taking tally of what needs to be felled or arranged for keeping the river good flowing and to prevent any further erosion.  So some tree removal and tree replacement, landscaping, erosion prevention and water-way management,  and wood prep, are all part of the program.

– General grounds-keeping (mowing, weeding, wood chopping)

– Horta (vegetable garden) maintenance and/or canning/storing of produce (only in August – September).  Our horta will be doubled from the previous year, and although it is rather small but just enough for us, it will involve an added level of care and management.

– Communal cooking and light guest services

– General maintenance (cleaning, painting, fixing things around the terrain)

– Relocating a cabin (dismantling, moving, rebuilding

See a Gallery of Images of Volunteering on the MdD

In 2016 we will be expanding our food producing gardens, work on upgrades in our solar and hydro-power systems and do ongoing building and landscape maintenance. For the spring and fall months we are looking for volunteers who can work in our vegetable garden, assist with general terrain and facilities maintenance, and random projects. For the summer months of July and August we are looking for volunteers with the skills mentioned above and/or with experience in cooking, restaurant and bar services, and guest services.

MdD is a living/working community in which everyone participates in the cooking, cleaning and care of the community.  Being at the MdD is about learning skills and ways of living on the land, in a responsible relationship with nature. We have made efforts to include permaculture practices into our life here on the Moinhos do Dão, and to be good stewards of the land under our feet, and that surrounds us in this valley, and in the region.

What we ask and offer for Volunteers: 5 days per week working on the MdD (average of 6–7 hours per day); private living quarters in a cabana (cabin) on our terrain during the stay; communal breakfast, lunch and dinner for 5 days a week (working days); 2 days of the week are considered Leisure Days for the volunteers (and us as well).  We prefer volunteers coming to the MdD for a minimum of 3 weeks.

Please send us a small biography of your background (including age, education and country of citizenship/origin) and interests.

Get more information about our Volunteer Program at this link on the WWOOF network.

-Freya & Steven

The post Seeking Volunteers for 2016 Season first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

Both artists worked on developing images and objects—as well as a relationship—to the environment of the Moinhos do Dão.  Each explored new techniques in materials use and reflected both on the Nature at the MdD (and/or the Self as it exists in Nature or a natural environment).

Their 1-month stays culminated in an Open Atelier Day on the MdD (plus an Artist’s Talk at the Viseu Polytechnical School):

Below is a selection of art work and statement about the practice of Jalinka Gressmann (NL):

Is a visual artist living and working in Amsterdam, with a background in commercial creative studies (Cibap 1998) and a Bachelor in fine arts (HKU 2004). Combining her knowledge and diverse experience, whilst wrestling with structure & time, it results in a mix of patterns, compositions and combinations. Jalinka enjoys getting lost in details and finding the beauty in everything, extending borders or connecting them,and always questioning everything. Her main focus is focus; losing it, looking for it, grasping it and letting go. Her art is a spontaneous manifestation of her vision, always developing in an experimental and playful way. The results are to be seen in her mixed media art.

Furthermore, below is a selection of artwork and the proposal submitted by Beckey Kaye (USA) for her interest in the residency at the MdD:

Continuing with my exploration of animal architecture, I am currently fascinated by insects as creators of their own worlds. The ambiguous boundary between outer world (environment) and inner world (the body) is best demonstrated by cocoons. Insects often use the physical components of their environment to build an auxiliary exoskeleton for insurance of proper incubation and metamorphosis. The materials, structure and body become integral. With a residency at Moinhos Do Dao, I would scavenge through the remnants of the environment to create a cocoon-like form. I would like the chrysalis to be unique in texture, palette and tone. The mixed media sculpture will include an opening for the viewer to peer inside. This cocoon will play with the notion of inner and outer worlds as it will serve as a contemplation of what is kept near and what functions as a protective barrier.

The post MdD Residency – September 2015: Jalinka Gressmann & Beckey Kaye first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

At Moinhos do Dão, I became fascinated by the dried grasses and remnants of flowers in the fields. I see them as small dry accessories and they have become the subject of my work here. Looking very closely at their shapes and lines brought back my interest in drawing. I have been trying out different ways of drawing the plants and I am experimenting with ways to integrate these drawings in my paintings.

Karen described her initial project ideas here:

I will use the AiR to focus on drawing, photographing and painting everything that is located on or around the MdD . The landscape as a whole but also studies of plants, flowers and trees. This material will be a basis for my paintings I am planning to do during the stay and when I am back in my Studio in Rotterdam.

Ik zal mij tijdens de AiR vooral bezighouden met het tekenen, fotograferen en schilderen van alles wat zich op of rond de MdD bevind. Het landschap in zijn geheel maar vooral ook studies van planten, bloemen en bomen. Dit materiaal zal een basis zijn voor mijn schilderijen die ik van plan ben te maken tijdens het verblijf maar ook als ik weer in Rotterdam ben.

www.karenvandevliet.nl

Below is a small gallery of Karen’s art work of the recent past:

The post MdD Residency – August 2015: Karen van de Vliet first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

February 2015 Newsletter!

The post Newsletter – February, 2015 first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

During this time, Ewoud van Rijn (http://ewoudvanrijn.blogspot.com) researched and developed content for his Master study, as well as small concepts to apply to an upcoming exhibition of his oeuvre.

Karin de Jong (http://www.printroom.org) was researching and developing a proposal for continuing the project Printroom, Rotterdam.

The post MdD Residency – August, 2014: Ewoud van Rijn and Karin de Jong first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

For two weeks in August this summer our guests, volunteers and residents could participate in daily yoga session. Ciske van Zevenbergen offered morning sessions for adults and afternoon sessions for kids.

Ciske spoke about the experience of offering yoga at MdD:

“It was delightful to offer yoga classes at MdD. The morning classes for the adults were special because of the quietness of the morning and the fresh air and first sunbeams on our skin; a relaxing and healthy start of the day. The kids classes were one big party. They learned about yoga and the poses and got very much into it. They were so good at trying the poses and had lots of fun when the dog would walk through the class. The mindfulness –workshop was also great to give. We were by the water, had the birds chirping in the background, what more can you wish for!?”

The post Yoga and Mindfulness at MdD first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

The goal was to provide some basic scientific understanding of processes that take place in healthy soil and how one can generate healthy soil in the garden using materials at hand. The lecture was followed by soil building activities. The MdD worm-box was analyzed and improved upon by adding more loose dry materials like leaves and straw. A new hot compost pile was built using goat manure from the neighbor for heat and compost from an existing pile was worked into a bed and watered.

The post Permaculture Workshop: Healthy Soil, with Rob van Deursen first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

Below is a selection of images from the presentation:

The post “First Spring,” Exhibition of Artwork by MdD Residents at Galeria Saguao first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.