The slow process of adjusting the mirrors

Improving the prototype of our solar oven is big work for us. Step by step we learn more and improve our invention. Now and then it remains a struggle. Sometimes we clash with ourselves in this slow process, and sometimes we feel we are the happiest people on the world.

Continuously adapting and improving the construction and just getting slightly better results deprived Rick of his energy. And that's not what we hoped for. To see such a moment of fatigue as the time to make decisions and choices was what we needed. We had a very inspiring talk about the state of the project and at the end we decided to stop improving the mirrors, accept their current state and start to work with it. It seems so simple, but it was a turningpoint. It showed us new details and different ways of working.

The thing is that the small mirror is quite good, and the big one refuses to get in the exact right shape. May be we won't have an exact focus point, and may be the material of the mirrors wasn't the best choice. But we have, although it may be a bit blurry, an immensely strong bundling of solar energy, and we are going to use it!

We are transforming our ceramic ovens into tin kilns now and we'll start working. After we made the decision to do this, ideas for great new ovens appeared, like ovens specially designed for blurry mirrors ; ) The enthusiasm is back and it hasn't left us since.

During our continuous learning process we also have developed an improved model. An array of mirrors and ovens we can take with us on our travels. So they need to be light, smaller and quick in assembling. We imagine they feel like an air balloon or a kite, and we are very inspired to build this new model.

The first test
We've started testing late in the afternoon, on the 21^st of September. We came to 391 degrees, and then the sun disappeared behind a cork oak. These things happen in Portugal!

Rick checks if the focus point is in the right position.  

The first test gave us a bit more then 383 degrees.

We're not certain if ceramics will work for now, but this temperature is more then enough for melting tin. The goal of making ceramics is a fantastic force that brought us to were we are now. And working on it continuously brings us closer. One day it will all work fantastically, and it will all be normal to us. For now we walk the way to get there, and this is a great experience. More about further testing developments in a few more days...

About one and a half month to go in Portugal

It's a very strange psychological mechanism; if you are halfway in your stay somewhere, you start to get concerned about with what will happen afterward. No matter how long you're there. Slowly we are starting to make plans for what we are going to do when we leave here. Rick actually made his first 'to do list' in three months.

What's next?

Our plan at the moment is to travel back at the end of October along the Spanish Mediterranean coast and hop over to Morocco for a few days. Doing short stretches upward until it becomes too cold. Then we race back to Holland in a single stretch. We're not in a hurry so it might be mid-december before we will arrive. Already we are planning some visits to people and places along the route.

We began looking for places where we can stay and work next year in spring or summertime. It would be ideal to find a place where we are able to fully focus on testing and working with the solar oven for some months. So if you know any place close to the Spanish or French Mediterranean coast (or a bit more inland), where people have setup a project with crafts, spirituality and/or ecology, please let us know. We would be very glad to hear it from you.

We need eyeprotection to look into the focus point

Try this recipe, it's amazingly good!

A huge sage bush (dutch; Salie) grows in the garden here, and we wanted to cook something tasty with it. Then we got this great tip from a girl from Berlin (Thank you Annette!).

And because Annette's recipe made us very happy, we really need to share it with you:

You take quite some fresh sage, from your garden of course, as everyone does have ; ) Cut it into pieces, and then you mix it with fresh soft butter. Put it aside and give the butter some time to absorb the flavor of the sage. Boil some (fresh homemade) pasta. Mix it with the sage butter, a little bit of coarse sea salt on top, and put it in your mouth...

We find it's deliciously! Close to divine! The butter is also very nice to put on your lunch toast or to flavour your couscous with.

Enjoy! 

Anna & Rick

What we are up to…

For almost two months now we are in Portugal at Monte Maravilhas, and time flies. Some of you must have been thinking… “what are they up to, how are things going…”

Stillness on the mountain

After all the bustle of the past months; moving, exhibitions, planning and arranging things, the stillness of the place here is really a relief. Sometimes it's so quiet that we can’t hear anything, total silence. Fantastic. This is such a gift for our being. The noise of everyday life in a crowded country like the Netherlands is completely gone. Which brings us both back to a deeper layer, closer to ourselves.

Our hammock finally found the perfect spot, and so did we! 

We have taken the time to land here, and to organize our living and working for the months to come. We’ve build a beautiful outdoor studio, with excellent work tables on top of ‘our’ mountain. The building of cabinets, tables and flattening the rock to make a base for  the oven has been a lot of work. We are still not testing because we make some last improvements on the surface of the mirrors this week.

We have made an inside and an outside sleeping place on the mountain. When it is a bit chilly we sleep in the caravan. And when the nights are not too cold, we lie under the stars. And wow this is fantastic! We even find it difficult to fall asleep, because it is so wonderful to lie comfortably on your back gazing at all those beautiful stars. And when we have wished enough, after the many falling stars, then we easily fly to dreamland.

our little home and place to work on top of the hill

Meeting lovely people

All kinds of wonderful people come here to stay for a few days or longer. We have met many persons and had great conversations. This is really inspiring. Its special that the atmosphere here always changes with the people coming and going. The scenery remains the same, but the actors are always different.


We have some special neighbours too, who we meet quite often. Just three kilometres away there are living as much as thirty people and a Jamaican guru, named Mooji. Mooji lives in a state of awareness, or you could say is awareness. He speaks about truth, and often travels around the world to give satsangs; this means ‘gathering in truth’. Satsangs are meetings where you can ask specific questions arising from your spiritual journey. The group is developing and maintaining the land and just started to build a new international community here. Next summer they will be able to receive people for retreats. But already they organise satsangs and welcome some guests. If you like to see more, visit: http://www.mooji.org/ and http://moojisangha.net/

Satsang under the big oak.Photo: http://moojiportugal.files.wordpress.com/

Daily live at Monte Maravilhas

Of course we also work at Monte Maravilhas. During the week - in the morning or evening - we maintain the vegetable garden, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom and the swimming pool and do various jobs like picking apples and figs. The afternoon from twelve to four is often too hot to do anything. Then it is really a necessity to take a Sesta.

This is Tara, the very friendly dog of Monte Maravilhas,
taking one of her many naps.

On Saturdays and Sundays there is often a coming and going of guests. This is busy, because then the four of us have to clean three large houses, and sometimes two caravans. So then all the refrigerators and kitchens and bathrooms are polished from top to bottom, and all spiders are chased out of the houses (and there are many).

The valley here has an abundance of fragrant rosemary, thyme and mint, and there are fresh grapes, figs, prunes and apples to pick. From the garden we get tomatoes, zucchini and tasty strawberries, which is delicious when for years you’ve only had a tiny balcony.

O moinho, the old mill. A very nice walk

with even a greater view.

We can recommend it to anyone who wants to stay in a nice rural place for a while! Today we heard from a guest about "wwoofing. So if you have serious ideas or have a longing fore some quietness? Look at; http://www.wwoof.org/

This is a nice organization where you can find a living and working place for some time. And each summer there are people needed here at Monte Maravilhas to live and work for some months. So if what we’ve just written inspires you, just contact Prem Zijtveld; http://www.montemaravilhas.com/