Oh noooo! Its all over, just that, at the drop of a hat, and that is that! What can i say other than I am seriously disappointed and have sadly had to put an end to this entire ecoVillages project.. at least as it has been envisioned for some years now. People warned me about the Portuguese berocracy and i just fell victim to it! Let me at least try to explain what has happend, very briefly as i am can as im not really in a great place to write at the moment.
When i bought this land one and a half years ago, it was at that time permiited to build here. The area is low risk, but there are some areas of brush and governmnent land. ALso my land is unusual in that it is very long and narrow. I have been in touch with the the local planners here, as well as the forest department to try to get clcearance for the workshop and build. They were very quick to inform me that there could be an issue since there is no spot on my land that is 50 meters distance from certain boundries. These boundries were recently changed, and they have tightened up the rules a lot also.
The bottom line is very simply that im not allowed to build here, despite how the picture looked a year an a half ago. TO add insult to injury, i have invested most of my money and life into this land expecting to be able to build on it and live. I can not even calculate how much money i have spent here on the things i have put here, most of which i would have a hard time selling for anything close to what i had spent. Alogether i have to be honest, this is a total shit storm for me as well as the project. I will have to try move on, because its not easy living on this land in a yurt. Its been a hard year and summer and now i realise i must leave. Where will i go, i dont know... but i will leave Portugal beause so much of what i believed was true about this place is simply not.. As nice as it is, and there are also alot of nice people around.. i think ive realised that europe is not really for me.. Perhaps i was in India too long, or not long enough!
Also i have to say is, living IN this 'system', even in Portugal is not pleasant. I could rant on for hours about how terrible the system is, and after 15 years not seeing it, i can say its got much worse. The predatory nature of it, combined with its inefficiencies, corruption and rules means that people are just ripped apart and sucked dry at every opportunity. Its very hard for me to see that people also accept it.. but i have to be honest, i can not accept it, and i would rather live in a tree on a mountain rather than become like a rat trying to run around someone’s maze! That is how it feels sometimes here.. This system is so broken, its hard to fathom. Corona has only highlighted and amplified the issues, and i hope we see great change and very soon.
It has been an amazing adventure. All can say is that its all been very character building, and this past year has taken its toll on me. For now i will do nothing and just pick up the pieces. In the meantime i hope to keep the ecoTrain running and make some effort to post.. i seem to have much less to do suddenly!
On a positive note, SO good to see Hive break $1 all time high today also.. wow.. congratulations to all HODLERS...
Xxxx