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| Jim DeArmon: Supporting Our Planet February 2007
Why would a MITRE systems engineer spend two weeks living in primitive conditions, working the land, in the deserts of southeast Spain with his wife and son? For Jim DeArmon, it was to gain a better understanding of the relationship of the human family to the environment. The "eco-village" Sunseed Desert Technologies (SDT), a British nonprofit organization, is located in the semi-arid region of Los Molinos, Spain. The project is run chiefly by volunteers, who help with environmental research in desert studies, soil rehabilitation, appropriate technology, and permaculture techniques. SDT also attempts to raise awareness of desertification (the process by which land becomes desert) through education and outreach. The eco-village inhabitants promote sustainable living, not only through demonstration but also by using the same sustainable techniques within the community. After previous summers of vacations to London, Alaska, and Costa Rica, DeArmon and his family wanted to try something new and "give back." The two weeks of volunteering were real eye-openers for the DeArmons. SDT is "off-the-grid," getting a nominal amount of electrical power from solar panels, receiving water for showering and washing dishes from a Moorish irrigation canal (established circa 900 A.D.), and collecting rain water for washing dishes after heating it via solar energy. It was a bit of an adjustment for the first couple of days with the composting toilets, limited electric power, and the lack of refrigeration, but the daily fresh-baked bread and organic vegetarian meals helped a lot. Soon the DeArmons fell into the routine of awaking at 6:30 a.m., working from 7:30 to 9:30 and 10 to noon. Their hours of labor consisted of weeding and irrigating the organic gardens; mucking-out the irrigation canals, which become occluded with silt and must periodically be dredged using buckets and shovels; repairing the interior structure of the buildings; and re-routing the kitchen waste-water system. In addition, volunteers and staff share the communal housekeeping duties, so baking bread, cooking, and cleaning was also necessary using ultra-low-cost methods. For example, residents wash clothes using a bicycle-powered apparatus. The wash cycle consists of adding clothes, soap, and river water then pedaling strenuously. The experience was liberating for the DeArmons. "It felt good to be contributing little to the conventional waste-handling system, and to having a net near-zero contribution to pollution and exploitation of the limited resources on the planet," DeArmon says. Once the chores were completed, free afternoons were spent hiking to swimming pools in the Rios del Agua, biking into town to the Internet café, or playing guitar and ukulele for the entertainment of the staff. SDT provides an oasis from the workday world by emphasizing simple living and the commitment to minimizing environmental impact. DeArmon came away from the experience more aware of the consumption of inordinate amounts of resources by first-world denizens. "Everyone creates waste, and working in teams with like-minded people was enthralling and makes for a good time away from the rat-race of Washington, D.C.," he says.
Page last updated: February 5, 2007 | Top of page |
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