Permaculture Design Course, Autumn 2019

20 September – 4 October (14 days certificate)

Led by Peter Cow and Elena Symeonidou

We are excited to announce the fourth FULL PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE (PDC) that will be hosted in Tinos Eco-lodge welcoming two very knowledgeable and experienced teachers, Peter Cow from England and Elena Symeonidou from Greece. Peter and Elena will combine their skills from both Northern and Southern ecosystems and climatic conditions and will put emphasis on Social permaculture as well as Regenerative agriculture, with lots of hands on and practicals during the course.This PDC is fully certified by the Permaculture Association (Britain). The course will be taught in English. read more

Hello People

This Blog will discuss and illustrate the evolution of the design and co-working progress of the eco-friendly tourist destination Eco-lodge Tinos (Greece).

The core subjects of the Blog will have technical character in the field of regenerative energies, recycling of resources and eco-friendly building materials. Around the core there will be discussions and ideas about ecology and a group orientated planning and design process.

The Eco-lodge team

Volunteering at the Ecolodge

Volunteering at the ecolodge has always been a priority since the beginning. We had our first volunteers, mainly friends, coming to stay with us and help with the different chores at the construction and the garden. read more

Vegetable garden and building a community

Working as a team in the garden has so many positive effects as we realised this year preparing the vegetable garden at the Ecolodge and also a second one at Aruts place. It is fun, it gets the job done in just a few hours, it is encouraging and rewarding but its also about building a sharing community. read more

Hydrousa project HORIZON 2020

Hydrousa project has started and Tinos Ecolodge is an important part of it. Hydrousa is a research project on water management and closing the water loops, funded by the EU through the HORIZON 2020. Head of the project is the National Technical University of Athens and we are 27 partners from all over Europe, including 3 Universities, and 3 Municipalities. The project has as a goal to find and propose nature based solutions of collecting and managing the water in water-scarcity areas like the Greek islands and it will be implemented in 3 islands, Tinos, Mykonos and Lesvos. It will have 6 demonstration sites and one of them is Tinos Ecolodge. read more

Tips for First Time Indoor Gardeners

When you spend time relaxing in eco-friendly environments, you’re more likely to want to bring that mindset back to your own home. Living in an apartment, though, can make that introduction a challenge. Luckily, it’s easier than you think to bring a garden indoors – so much so that 37% of today’s young people are able to have fresh produce daily while living in an read more

DIY propagation greenhouse

We had some old windows laying around….so one morning the idea popped into our head that we could build a small greenhouse. The purpose of the greenhouse is to propagate and raise seedlings. read more

Yin&Yang Yoga retreat with Jens Simon Petersen from Berlin

13 – 19 May 2018
We’re hosting a new retreat in May, led by Berlin-based Yogi Jens Simon. Stimulating morning Yoga sessions on our Yoga deck, sprinkled with practical inputs from Yoga philosophy and the principles of Yin and Yang, journaling, meditation in the afternoon and deeply relaxing Yin Yoga sessions at night form the backbone of this retreat. read more

Orionas Yoga Shala retreat 15-18 June

Orionas Yoga Shala invites you for a 3 day retreat at Tinos Ecolodge where we will practice Hatha and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga as well as guided sessions of Thai massage. Cost for 3 days: 210€ in a room and 180€ in tents, price includes 3 vegetarian meals per day.
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Spring offer 1 April- 30 May 20% discount. Wild herbs and trekking tours

Enjoy Tinos and the Ecolodge during the nicest period of the year with 20% discount on both houses (65euro small /80euro big). In spring the island is totally green, full of wild flowers and colors. It is the best period to explore the inland, make trekking tours in one of the hundred footpath trails, guided or on your own. It is also the best time to find wild herbs or collect capers. read more

Easter special 8th of April

Come and join us for Easter holidays and spend with us a full day of traditional Greek Easter celebrations. Special prices for both lodges will be from 60 euro the small lodge (sleeps up to 3), and 80 euro the big lodge (sleeps up to 5) for the period of 1st to 15 of April . On Easter Sunday 8 of April, we will offer our guests the whole traditional meal which includes goat on the spit, greek delicacies, wine and lots of music! read more

Permaculture Design Course, Autumn 2018

22 September – 4 October (12 days, 80 hours certificate)
We are happy to announce the third FULL PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE (PDC) that will be hosted in Tinos Eco-lodge welcoming back two knowledgeable teachers from England, Dr. Rod Everett and Mill Millichap. Rod and Mill are teaching permaculture since 1990 in various parts of the world and are coming to Greece and spreading the permaculture philosophy and way of life for the past 7 years.

This PDC is fully certified by the Permaculture Association (Britain). read more

PDC experience 2017

The second Permaculture Design Course was realised in Tinos Ecolodge this autumn and we are convinced that this is the way to go! Another wonderful bunch of people got here to spend 12 days together, to share experiences and knowledge, to live as a caring and loving community for the people and for the earth. read more

SUR LES CHEMINS DE TINOS

C’est à la nuit que nous débarquons sur l’île de Tinos. Il faut attendre le lever du jour pour découvrir le merveilleux balcon naturel qui nous accueille pour une semaine de vacances et de randonnées. read more

BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND FULL OF YOGA AND RELAXATION

We really enjoyed hosting our first Yoga seminar on our newly constructed deck with Eleni Toli from Tinos, centered on the 5 elements earth, water, fire, air, and aether. Between the old oak trees, the running water of the small river, the sound of the wind through the plane leaves, the singing birds around us, we had a nice journey through the asanas and meditation techniques to a deeper connection with our inner self and nature. read more

Yoga deck construction DIY

In the beginning of 2017 we started conceptualizing a wooden platform that could be used for all kind of activities like yoga seminars, dancing seminars, acrobatics, theatre and so on. Our first design steps where made at the computer visualizing the overall look and the technical necessity that the construction would demand. The goal was to provide a shaded place on the wooden surface for about 15 people with mats. We calculated that we would need an area of about 10,5x4m what comes out to 42 sqm so that every body would have a surface area of 2,8 sqm for moving and laying. read more

Autumn 2017 Permaculture Design Course

23 September – 5 October (12 days, 80 hours certificate)
Led by Andrew Jordan and Elena Symeonidou
We are excited to announce the second FULL PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE (PDC) that will be hosted in Tinos Eco-lodge with two knowledgeable teachers Andrew Jordan from Ireland and Elena Symeonidou from Greece. read more

Yoga and the 5 elements Weekend

Ελάτε να περάσουμε ένα Σαββατοκύριακο στη φύση της Τήνου, κοντά στις πηγές του Ακέρατου, με πρακτικές yoga στο καινούργιο μας deck μέσα στο δάσος με βελανιδιές, μπάνιο στα καταγάλανα νερά της Σάντα Μαργαρίτα και χορτοφαγικό φαγητό από τον βιολογικό μας κήπο. Ο Rama από την Αγγλία και η Ελένη Τόλη από την Τήνο θα μας καθοδηγήσουν σε μια πρακτική σύνδεσης με τα 5 στοιχεία της φύσης, μέσα από άσανες Hatha yoga, τεχνικές διαλογισμού Kriya yoga, βαθειά χαλάρωση Nidra yoga, και restorative yoga. read more

Eco Statistics

The Ecolodge has closed its first full season. We finally managed to gather and compose some data on the consumption of the Ecolodge. While designing our closed loop systems we had to make a lot of assumptions that where uncertain how they would play out. read more

Yoga retreat at Tinos Ecolodge, 3rd-10th June 2017

Re-charge your batteries and re-kindle your Spirit on this seven day retreat of yoga and sunshine. We will be based on the beautiful island of Tinos, Greece, staying at Tinos Ecolodge – a self-sustaining eco-friendly resort surrounded by breath-taking views and within a short hop to the local beaches. During your stay you will be guided through daily sessions of hatha yoga, meditation and deep relaxation using practices to help us discover and refine our connection with the elements. We also have time to explore the island and its riches as well as time for reflection and contemplation.
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Barrel Compost Toilets

This article aims to show how to build an outdoor compost toilet and encourage others to use this green technology which is the best solution to sustainable sewage treatment! read more

Permaculture Design Course What an amazing experience!

In the late of September we had the last busy days in preparing everything for the PDC infrastructure. The last bits and peaces had to come together at the Compost Toilets and Kitchen, no time for major mistakes. So we were running up and down the field with screwdrivers, drills and all sort of equipment with spirits up that we will make it in time. read more

Building New Compost Toilets

After a good while of research we came up with this……..in a future post we will publish the design thoughts and technical plans so till then enjoy watching us build…

Garden view

Outdoor kitchen and showers

This spring we put all our effort in preparing outdoor infrastructure for hosting seminars and camping in our land. We decided to make a communal space at the back by the vegetable garden for cooking and sitting, showers, sink and compost toilets. read more

Special offer for June 30% discount

June is one of the nicest months in Greece, its the beginning of the summer and the mood is positive! The temperature is pleasant hot, you can go swimming but also climbing and hiking. Come and enjoy Tinos in June at the small stone house (sleeps 3) for 490 euro/week and the big stone house (sleeps 4) for 700 euro/week. read more

Autumn 2016 Permaculture Design Course

23 September – 4 October (11 days, 72 hours certificate)

Led by Dr. Rod Everett and Mill Millichap

We are excited to announce the first FULL PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE (PDC) that will be hosted in Tinos Eco-lodge with two knowledgeable teachers and lifelong farmers from England, Dr. Rod Everett and his colleague Mill Millichap who are teaching permaculture since 1990 in various parts of the world and are coming to Greece and spreading the permaculture philosophy and way of life for the last 5 years.

This PDC is fully certified by the Permaculture Association (Britain).

read more

Goat Attack

The Goats are the biggest enemy of our vegetable garden as circumstances just proved. As life plays they are our closest neighbors. As a neighborhood relationship can be complicated so is ours. Some days ago, coming to the Garden i saw the whole herd eating and snacking from the nice stuff we were cultivating. That was a major setback in our winter vegetable garden! Lesson learned: never underestimate the Goats:

  • they are intelligent
  • they are persistent
  • they climb and jump incredibly well
  • and they are overall real gourmet eaters

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November like summer

This November was amazingly hot, with 20 to 28 degrees and clear blue skyes, our guests had also the oportunity to go swimming!

Autumn Vegetable Garden

The vegetable garden is growing. We are trying to expand the garden, which comes down to hard work. Through out the last 20 years the soil was only grazed by sheep and not cultivated at all. Which results to a nutrition rich, well layered soil, that is unfortunately hard as rock. So a lot of digging and plowing has to be done in order to get a fluffy well structured soil. We enrich the soil with a good layer of humus that we find under the oak trees Valonian Oak (Quercus ithaburensis ssp. macrolepis), in order to get it even more fluffy, well drained and attract earth worms. Also we found out that the old stone stables contain a 30-50cm thick layer of chicken and pig manure that has transformed over the years in to a very nice fertilizer. read more

Special off season offer

From now until the end of March 2016 we offer a getting to know us special price of 250€/week for the small house (up to 3 people) and 385€/week for the big house (up to 5 people)! read more

Solar power

2.25Kw power was installed on the roof of the small house that covers the electrical needs of the 2 houses (lights, fridge and occasionally hair dryer and vacuum cleaner – both low watt appliances), the reed-bed pump system, water pump system, washing machine and electrical tools used on the eco-lodge. The installation was completed and tested in 4 days by the team of Giannis Sgourakis, Tasos and mr.Thodoris, Giannis’ father. After one year with solar and candle lights we were amazed to realize that light is definitely a matter of getting used to. However, cold drinks from the fridge were greatly appreciated! read more

Xerolithies – Dry stone walls

The dry stone walls that can be found all over the island and have been supporting the terraced slopes for centuries are under threat! The fields are abandoned as they are no longer being cultivated and their walls are collapsing because there is no one to maintain them. There used to be a rule that the neighbour from above is responsible for maintaining the stone walls below. So here we are fixing our stone walls on the border with the neighbour, which have been down for the last 4 decades!

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Pergolas in the small house

The view from the small house terrace
The view from the small house terrace

Summer is coming and the sun is hitting strong! The small house is now protected by two pergolas on the verandas and it’s fresh and cosy to sit outside!

pergola smallhouse2

Construction 24/7

The day has grown longer and work goes on until late! With Rafa here we take advantage of this and usually stay until sunset, also we are running now to meet ESPA deadline of 30 June!!! And to be open for our first visitors in July!!!

Stone plates

We started our first expierience with laying stone plates. First attempt was to lay them in mud with this simple but time consuming technic we realized a pathaway and an sitting area under the mulberry tree at the small house. The second technic was to lay them into mortar. Its quiet a bit faster and much easier to level them to each other.

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The First to come

A million thanx go out to Joni the first who came, stayed and worked with us……..for our dream. We will always remember the nice 3 months you spend with us. All the input to the project or how you would call it “company” lol……lets see what we can make out of it. read more

Rain Water Cistern of 100.000L

The cistern is the central part of our fresh water management, it stores the winter rainfall that is collected trough out all hard surfaces like roofs, verandas and stairs that we created through out the building process. This area ads up to 281 sq m with an average 380 mm of annual perception (rainfall) the water that will be collected is around 100.000 L (100m3). This amount of water can provide all needs of the Ecolodge trough out the 4 dry Summer months. read more

Slow down with the weather

Untitled_Panorama1

The weather finally permitted us to finish the roof and the terrace of the small house and the last wall of the big house. Now its time to construct the mold for the roof of the big house. We also started the drainage canal around the small house and we are preparing the molds for two more terraces. This winter is raining a lot which is good for the island but hard for the construction site….and we are left with only 3 workers, so things are going pretty slowly…the race for finishing in June for the ESPA funding will be hard, but we are still optimistic!!

Panorama2

Snow in Tinos!

The beginning of 2015 was full of surprises. A snow storm arrived that reached unbelievable heights that locals never remembered again! Roads were blocked, electricity was cut off for 3 days and also water. The landscape was magical but people suffered from cold and lack of water. Luckily we had minor damages in the ecolodge, on the island some trees were broken, plants, cultivations and also animals suffered and drywalls fell down.

Access to ecolodge was possible only by foot
Access to ecolodge was possible only by foot

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Wishes

Marilia, Rafael, Ronan and Nicos wish all of you the very best for the coming year. Special thanks go out to Joni, Martin and Niki who stayed with us and made us laugh, enjoy and helping us getting on with a million jobs. read more

Some Panoramic impressions

pano collage eco lodge

Our progress so far……. we still have nice weather with temperatures around 18 C during the day and working outside is still fun. At the moment we finished the small utility house (house in the middle), that will host all of the equipment that is needed for the supply of water, electricity and commonly shared things like washing machine etc. The small house (upper house) has a roof that is curing out for the next 15 days in order to get the supporting scuff holding out. After that we will start with the windows to close the house up and begin with the inside construction. The big house (lower one) is missing one outside wall that due to a change in the building permit is waiting now for 2 months to be constructed. Hopefully in the next week bureaucracy will move on…….. read more

TIP: Power trowel

Power trowel

The power trowel works on medium wet concrete surfaces. After finishing you get a very durable hard surface in what ever color you want. For us it was great to find out about the little machine, we saved a lot of material, time and money.

Roof is coming

tinos eco lodge roof small house

So last week we finished the roof construction of the small house and the veranda in front of the house.

Camping in winter

Camping is still going on during winter. Even in November, with the temperature going up to 20 degrees during the day and not under 15 the coldest night, Jonathan and Ronan mostly and Nico and me, we are still sleeping there, cooking and making a fire at night to warm up.
Its also amazing how green everything is turning again and its wonderfull every morning to get up with the sunrise! And the noise of the workers!

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We’ve got company!!!

Four female little doggies just arrived under our plot one day! Of course someone abandoned them there to get rid of them, thinking maybe that we would like to keep them…. Well what to do with 4 dogs??? Fortunately George and Stefanos, two of the stone workers with a bit of pursuasion they got one each. Then we started to like having them around, they could be also of some use at the plot, like chasing the goats away!! So we kept the other two….

The small house

The small house as you see it, without the roof, was finished in 11 days. The time span was amazing. In this speed we managed to make all the necessary preparation for electrical installation, plugs and switches, and on the spot decide were to make shelves inside the wall.The stairs also connecting the small house to the Utility were made really nice and comfortable to walk on by the two workers from Agapi.

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The pig

After 3 weeks the stone walls of the Utility house and the small house are ready! Time for a small celebration. George Clooney from Albania killed the pig, Stefanos and Petros brought their own homemade wine from Agapi and the fire is on!!! The pig was delicious!!!and the wine sweet, the kitchen has moved inside the valley and everyone really enjoyed it. The next one will be the wild goat.

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Stone building has started!

The small house 1st day of building.
The small house 1st day of building.

The most fascinating phase has started. The stone builders of “Xatzis” firm were chosen between several different offers. We started with the utility house to check their technique and make adjustments. 7 workers have come and in 6 days the Utility house was up! They are so fast that it was difficult to keep pace with them and some things were missed! Read in the construction page more details about foundation waterproofing, drainage walls and electrical installation.

The utility house was up in 6 days!
The utility house was up in 6 days!

Concrete bloody concrete

concrete utility

After one month preparation the  big moment has arrived! All foundations were ironed, tubes were placed and fixed real tight in position, electrical installations also, final leveling was adjusted and the concrete is poored. We were really anxious that the tubes would not move from the concrete force and luckily everything went well! 10 concrete trucks arrived and brought a total of 66 cubic meters of concrete all the way from Tinos to Potamia / Akeratos.

I have to say that concrete is not our favorable material, but license is not given for rock foundations anymore for new houses, and the cistern could not be constructed otherwise. However, the stone stables that are already there since 1955 and before will be repaired as they are, keeping all the traditional methods and techniques!

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Time lapse of construction

filmed with:Gopro2
filmed by Rafael Krause, Nicolas Bedau
edited by Rafael Krause, Nicolas Bedau, Gerard Cañadas
Musik: See You Later by Pitx featuring Fireproof Babies, Bmccosar, License: CC

The construction site is on

Yes, finally we got most of the paperwork done and started on the 27.7.14 the construction on site!!
We decided to move into tents on the plot in order to get a better impression of the work and of course to make the 6:30 morning shift easier.
So after the first weeks here are some impressions on what we are doing and how it looks like.
The first thing to start with was the excavation for the foundations of the two houses, utility house and cistern …..a lot of rock, a lot of dirt and a big mess.
While the big machines did their job we started fixing some of the broken dry stone walls, although a back breaking job, it gives direct satisfaction caused by immediate result.
After the first excavation the molds for the foundation slabs were constructed and the iron was installed.
Through the planning process we had decided to get all installations like fresh water, grey water, black water and electricity into the concrete foundation, so we installed like a million pipes…….
So at the moment the whole for the huge cistern of 100 cubic meters is molded and we had the first official control, everything came out smooth till now.
So greetings to all of you reading this!

Ps: Time-lapse videos of the work are in preparation!

blog-tinos-ecolodge-work-progress

Final designs of the stone houses

plot outside final small

Hello everyone! Finally we have our house designs ready for committing to the Architectural committee of Tinos on Friday!! We have been working hard the whole past month, making hundreds of changes on the way, taking into consideration your thoughts and comments and we hope we have found a nice solution! Check the Design Process page for close ups of the two houses and leave your comments! We hope you like them!

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Plot arrangement

landscape blog

This is a first drawing of the general plot arrangement. Its very difficult to place everything on the right spot! Many things have to be considered: like access to the houses and terraces, entrance and parking space, connections of places, as well as plants and wind direction, as well as all the technical details of water collection and treatment. Then the orientation and the natural phenomena, north face-windy, east side- sea view, west side- sunset light. So still working on it but a first arrangement is presented.

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The location

The plot is located in the East side of the island, 2,7 km going down from the village Steni to the beaches Santa Margarita and Lychnaftia.

Sunrise Panorama1

After nearly three years of on going search for a nice piece of land, also affordable, we found this great spot, which contains also 3 very old traditional stables made of stone, and many big old oak trees!! which is amazing for this arid Aegean island. At its west side it almost borders a small river stream with big Platanus trees and other riverside vegetation which makes this place amazingly green and wild.

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espa flags

Η επιχείρηση ενισχύθηκε στο πλαίσιο του "Περιφερειακού Επιχειρησιακού Προγράμματος Ενίσχυση Μικρομεσαίων Επιχειρήσεων" που δραστηριοποιούνται στους τομείς Μεταποίησης, Τουρισμού, Εμπορίου - Υπηρεσιών. Με τη συγχρηματοδότηση της Ελλάδας και της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης