ARE you a die hard consumer? What are the deal breakers in your life that you couldn´t live without? For most it would be hot running water, flushable toilets, washing machines, a TV screen in the corner of the room and internet. But can we survive without them?
Right now, Spain is undeniably in the midst of its biggest financial crisis in many years, and one of the first areas of consumer activity to be hit was of course the property market, followed next by new car purchases. So people are clearly tightening their belts, but for many, just by a few comfortable notches.
But there is a slow burning movement taking hold, a definite move away from consumerism, where beating the Jones´ in conspicuous consumption is being supplanted by a lifestyle motivated by sustainability and minimising our carbon footprint.
Deep in the foothills of Aroche, close to the Portuguese border, a Belgian couple are living a paired down life that is arguably far richer than most of our mundane but technologically advanced existences. Ana and Marco have turned their backs on the fast living facilitated by electrical appliances and mainstream technology in favour stripping things back to their basic form.
It´s no surprise then that there are no flushing toilets at Ana and Marco´s, but again this was no hardship. There is a compost loo, where you do your business and then cover it with sawdust, while all the while looking out over the breathtaking views of the Picos de Aroche. I can´t think of anywhere else I´d rather be for my early morning toilet visit, watching the pinks and purples fade as night becomes day.
And drinking water, that precious resource that we take so much for granted, just turning on the tap, filling our glass and quenching our thirsts without thinking of the whys and where-for-alls of from whence it came. Well here in this little corner of paradise it comes from a well, and you need to pump it. ‘Piece of cake’, you might think. So it is, apart from the fact that the well is 15 minutes down a steep hill from the house, and would be tricky to negotiate even for the most nimble 4-wheel-drive vehicle.
‘So what is the point of all this?’ you might ask. Why choose to spend your waking life manually doing the chores that technology have made possible to do in an instant? For me it was summed by watching Ana scrubbing her clothes by hand, after having boiled them in a big pot on an open fire, with a blissful smile on her face that personally I’ve never seen worn by someone operating a washing machine. She was there being fully present to what she was doing, which contrary to what most people would think about returning to pre-washing machine dark ages, was an utter pleasure to her.
For me, dipping into Ana and Marco’s world was inspiring and thought provoking. It was a simple rhythm of life that was somehow hypnotic, and one to which I can’t wait to return. Ok, I have to admit I probably would become a bit of a soap dodger if I lived there for any length of time, as just jumping into the shower is out of the question, but maybe that’s a good thing, as the whole experience made me think more about our precious resources and how we should be more mindful to conserve them.
Hi Mary
I love the aracena area but don’t know aroche… Is this somewhere you can actually pay to stay?
Sounds wonderful.
J
Hi Jon, yes I didn´t know Aroche before, just Aracena and Fuenteheridos, it is indeed stunning. Sadly you can´t pay to stay here. Mary