Water cycle revival course

Summary

A hands-on introduction to small-scale water cycle revival will be led by Guilherme Weishar (EcoAtivo) and Raymundo Resink (Miracle Project), passionate practitioners, teachers and co-founders of Mãos na Terra, an initiative that has been coordinating community-driven eco-regeneration actions across Cova da Beira since this summer’s fires.

Across two days, you’ll learn the principles of rainwater harvesting, how to “think like water”, read the landscape and implement water-retention structures for the good of your lands and community! We’ll walk the terrain, map flows, and then see these ideas come to life in a site design for Quinta do Céu. Because learning sticks best in the field, this course includes a strong practical component—marking contours, planning small water-retention structures, and translating principles into action. You’ll leave with a clear framework, practical skills, and the confidence to begin regenerative water work on your own land or with your community.

What this course will give you?

A SHIFT IN MINDSET

  • Busting the myths that can keep us stuck in (invisible) degradation loops
  • Embodying natural, abundance-increasing patterns

ADAPTIVE KNOWLEDGE

  • Mitigating drought–flood–fire risks, “thinking like water” and working for water
  • Do’s and don’ts of water harvesting, water-retention and earth works like swales, ponds, dams and terraces.
  • Do’s and don’ts of (inter)planting, mulching, irrigating and managing.
  • Designing with the end result in mind; planning for the next season; learning with agility as you go

PRACTICAL SKILLS

  • Practice quieting the mind and letting the land speak through you.
  • Become a reader of landforms, soils, vegetation, flows, threats and opportunities.
  • Build small water-retention structures, safety valves and erosion stoppers that you can implement immediately—no machinery needed.

EMPOWERMENT & CONNECTION

  • Because no one is as smart as everyone, and together we are so much better at being the change we wish to see.

Download the program of the course

What Will You Be Doing?

  1. You’ll be offered frameworks designed to empower you in becoming a co-creator of strong, lush and healthy environments, through the element that connects all with everything: water.
  2. You’ll put theory into practice, building two different water-retaining structures that you can implement on your own land without the need for machinery.
  3. You’ll have the chance to ask your questions at the end, so that you can go home with the skills you need to start with where you are.
  4. You’ll receive links to our sources of inspiration and deeper dives, to help you shape your own learning journey.

And last but not least, you’ll be connecting with people who share your dreams of being stewards for a future that thrives instead of survives, at a beautiful spiritual learning centre. 

In short: food for your thoughts, tools for your hands, and inspiration for your soul.

Your teachers

This course is led by Guilherme Weishar, project manager of the environmental association EcoAtivo and Raymundo Resink, co-founder of the Miracle Project Association (Associação Projeto Milagre).

Guilherme got into rainwater harvesting by participating in a reforestation project in La Muela, Spain in 2017, led by the Ecosystem Restoration camps foundation. In this 1 month project, he got to experiment with building small check dams with different kinds of materials. In 2018 he participated in a Erasmus Youth Exchange with the 10 day program focused on watershed management. In 2021 he became the project manager of EcoAtivo and since then has hosted many ecological interventions with volunteers where rainwater harvesting structures were often implemented.

Raymundo followed Syntropic Agroforestry courses in The Netherlands and Portugal and recently completed a six-month water cycle revival course at WaterStories.com. Miracle Project is the culmination of his dream: a community-driven ecosystem and people regeneration project in central Portugal. A model site and learning centre for reinventing how we relate to ourselves, each other, and the planet.

Inspired by lumineers like Sepp Holzer (Austria), Brad Lancaster (Rainwater Harvesting, USA), Zach Weiss (Water Stories, USA), Jos Willemsen (Teaming with Life, The Netherlands) and Ernst Götsch (Syntropic Agroforestry, Brasil), Guilherme and Raymundo have been honing their skills by doing what they love: learning while teaching.

Our first Mãos na Terra ajudada!
Construção de "swales"
Placing the biomass on contour
Seeding the rainwater harvesting structure.
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Making holes for putting in anchor stakes
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Price options

We offer several price possibilities:

  • Early bird ticket: 135€ (until 2nd of November).
  • Regular ticket: 160€
  • Solidarity ticket: 200€ (this will contribute towards the ongoing ecological regeneration projects in the region, thank you so much!)

These prices include accommodation and all meals for the duration of the program.

We also offer a neighbor price for those who do not need accommodation. 

It’s 90€ for the whole course and includes lunch for Saturday and Sunday.

Accommodation:

You will be staying in Ananda Kalyani’s Guest house, a very cozy building with central heating. 

Meals:

Meals will be vegan (let us know at registration if you have any additional dietary requests) and is included in the price.

 

For additional informations please contact [email protected]

 

Additional yoga and meditation classes will be available to who wants to join during each day of the course.

 

 

Registration form

Partners