Personal learning in Sunseed

“What often happens in communities is that random people come together to work on projects. While it can be exciting, I believe it should work the other way around: first, you build trust and relationships, and then you decide to collaborate on creating things together. Therefore, the priority should be on developing conscious bonds and relationships with different individuals, which later serve as a solid foundation for collaborative endeavors. Otherwise, it becomes challenging to create when your energy is still focused on building the foundation - getting to know who you’re working with. This approach resonates with me and is my key takeaway from the Sunseed experience.”

“I love learning, so I have been feeling great since I arrived here. It’s an intense experience, sometimes overwhelming, but it offers an ongoing and endless process of learning. I’m not only learning about communal and social life, but also about the structures of meetings, planning, and coordinating skills.”

“Sometimes I have this feeling that Sunseed is a place where people come to enjoy themselves, have fun, and then leave. Other times, I see it as an anarchist project that was initiated, abandoned, and somehow managed to survive for nearly 40 years.”

“This is why it was so frustrating for me to be in Sunseed. I came there with a different purpose, wanting to focus on learning the technical aspects. However, I soon realized that many people go through the same struggle. They arrive seeking a crash course on self-sufficiency, but they find themselves faced with the challenges of navigating group dynamics and tensions. In Sunseed, there is no CEO or executive who can solve problems and dictate how to live. Instead, if you open yourself up to it, you receive a manual on how to interact with others and yourself. During my time there, I gained a deeper understanding of the different roles we play in groups, the processes we go through as collectives, and the importance of facilitation and the soft skills required for conflict resolution.”

“My biggest learning right now is to say NO to things and focus on what I have to do, doing it well. Essentially, I have become more aware of my personal boundaries and limits.”

“The relationship that I have built with the surroundings is the most valuable relationship I have established here in Sunseed. I have noticed that the land has given me so much in return, and it has undoubtedly given me the strength to stay.”

“I believe Sunseed provides a sustainable and secure space for experimentation and personal experiences. Nowadays, there are not many places where you can have the gift of complete autonomy in your actions and realize that you are ultimately responsible for your decisions. The way one experiences Sunseed undergoes significant changes over time. The understanding gained after two weeks, two months, or two years is completely different. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to be there for two years because it has allowed me to see lessons learned that were not visible to me at the time. I don’t think the real impact Sunseed has on people’s lives can be accurately measured or summarized in bullet points within a project proposal or report. It is more about the actual experience a participant gains and the understanding they develop by immersing themselves in a partly surreal environment. This experience stays with them throughout their lives. It’s not about whether the walls are crumbling or not, but rather the fact that someone with no knowledge of natural building can come in from the street, learn how to fix them, learn from their mistakes, and feel empowered to construct their own shelter.”

“I remember when someone was describing a challenging situation in Sunseed, but then they said, ‘Sunseed is amazing. Do you want to learn? Just go there’.”

“I must admit that I believe Sunseed serves a purpose. Sometimes I find myself questioning what we are doing here, feeling like it’s all meaningless, that we’re just occupying these houses in the village and giving opportunities to privileged young individuals to come and play around. However, on the other hand, I truly appreciate and admire the fact that our presence and work on the water system breathe life into these areas. Without our care, they would have been abandoned and even more exploited. So, the significant contribution Sunseed makes is bringing vitality to Los Molinos.”

CREDITS:

Design and text: Nini Khuroshvili

Sketches: Stefania Kasouni and Nini Khuroshvili

Editing: Lara Stammen, Olivia Route

Huge gratitude to everybody who was so honest and open during the interviews and converstations

‘This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union’

Useful Links

Seeds of change (podcast)

Sunseed website

Prepsoil

Alt Shift festival

Decolonial knowledge

Festival Del Agua

Without water there is no life

Climate Change Post

Food unfolded