La Comunitat

I was looking for signs of permaculture farming when I arrived in the village of Oristà. Because of my practice of merging organic gardening with my visual art, I was curious about the composition of the soil around the village. On my daily hikes I did discover some examples of permaculture—very tall, stalky grasses grew on the banks of the Riera Gavarresa, were put to use. Those stalky grasses were fastened together and used as trellises to support vining vegetables. Still, I wanted to learn more about the soil.

The following day I saw loose stones in the bank of a roadside hill. Within the gravel, I saw one with a familiar pattern. Upon exploring the ground I realized that it was a piece of broken pottery. I saw another shard, and more partial buried pieces of classic terra cotta. On top of the hill was a dwelling capped with Spanish tiles. It made sense that bits of the roof could end up breaking and eroding down the hillside, but did not explain other ceramic wares, like broken cups, plates and vessel handles strewn throughout the grade. This discovery had me thinking if it is customary for residents to toss out broken dishes as a way to return the earthenware back to the earth. I’ve used clay pellets and broken flower pots in the garden knowing that they help with water retention as a soil additive. Surprised to find more ceramics broken in the roads, trails, and adjacent fields, it informed me about a community principle of permaculture—a sign that I was looking for.