Resources
Plant lists, local networks and funding for land in Andalucía
Which plants cope with a dry Andalusian summer, which networks Bosque Humano works with, and where to find funding.
Funding
Grants and eco-scheme payments
EU CAP eco-schemes and Junta de Andalucía programmes can pay farmers for practices like cover crops, agroforestry and soil protection.
Learn
Gatherings at Bosque Humano
The demonstration food forest at Bosque Humano in Coín has hosted the Málaga permaculture network’s plant exchange thirteen times, and the Red de Permacultura’s first seasonal gathering.
Plants
Drought-adapted plants for Andalucía
A starting list of species that cope with long, dry summers once established. We choose from lists like these for every design, matched to your soil, slope and altitude.
Trees
Olive, carob, almond, holm oak and cork oak. Deep-rooted and long-lived, the backbone of a dry-climate food forest.
Fruit and nut shrubs
Fig, pomegranate, jujube and strawberry tree (madroño). Productive with little summer water once their roots are down.
Aromatics and groundcover
Rosemary, thyme, lavender, sage and santolina. They cover bare soil, feed pollinators and need almost no irrigation.
Recommended nursery
Viveros Santa Bárbara.
Native hedging
Lentisk, wild olive, myrtle and kermes oak. Windbreaks and shelter for birds and insects, adapted to local conditions.
Terrain stabilisation
Mulberry, melia, fig…
Bosque Humano
Four facts from the demonstration site
Figures and rules from the Bosque Humano case study, in Coín.
Five installation layers
Every project is drawn in five layers, from the ground up: information, earthworks, infrastructure, vegetation and functionality.
Swales: slopes under 20%
All swales must be dug on slopes lower than 20%. At Bosque Humano, a swale cut too wide on a mid slope caused land movement that will need remediating.
Water concession and real use
The irrigation concession is 6,000 m³ a year. After the new irrigation went in, use is 4,612 m³, 23% less.
Licensing
As an agricultural installation in a non-protected area, Bosque Humano required simple licensing. In a protected area the situation can differ.
Networks
The networks around Bosque Humano
Bosque Humano is part of a wider regional movement. These are the networks the site works with and hosts events for.
Networks and community
Red de Permacultura de Málaga and Algarbía en Transición: regional networks that Bosque Humano works with and hosts events for.
Funding
Funding in Spain and the EU
Public money can pay for part of a regeneration project, if the holding qualifies and the application is made in time. Rules change every year, so treat this as a starting point.
PAC payments and eco-schemes
Holdings that make the annual PAC declaration (Solicitud Única) can claim eco-scheme payments for practices such as cover crops, reduced tillage, pasture management and space for biodiversity.
Junta de Andalucía water grants
The Junta periodically opens aid for irrigation efficiency and water infrastructure on farms.
Agroforestry and soil protection aid
Under Spain’s CAP Strategic Plan, regional calls can support agroforestry, hedgerows and soil protection on farmland.
How we help
Applications are made by the holding or its adviser.
Reading list
Books we recommend
The books that shaped how we design. If you only read one before we meet, make it the first.
Gaia’s Garden
Toby Hemenway. The clearest introduction to designing a home-scale food forest.
Water for Every Farm
P.A. Yeomans. The keyline method for moving and storing water across a landscape.
Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual
Bill Mollison. The reference book behind every permaculture design course.
Braiding Sweetgrass
Robin Wall Kimmerer. The best book we know on why caring for land matters.
