După Gard

06/06/2026

Week Three - Turning Knowledge into Legacy 🪵
Week 3 was the week where everything we’ve been learning, observing, and feeling at D**a Gard peaked. We transitioned from students absorbing the vast world of ecological design into active creators, all while pushing our boundaries in the wild, breathtaking Transylvanian mountains.

Mastering the Blueprint 📐
This week marked a major milestone for our cohort: we officially completed the input phase of our Introduction to Permaculture course! Guided by Andreas, we wrapped up our deep dive into David Holmgren’s 12 Permaculture Principles.

But the real challenge - and the most exciting part - is just beginning. To earn our official course certificates (a brilliant, unique bonus of this ESC experience), we are shifting into the design phase next week. We will be diving into our final group or solo projects, mapping out and pitching our own regenerative designs to apply everything we’ve learned so far 🖨️

Reviving Știubei: Horses, Heritage, and Thatching 🐴
The absolute crown jewel of our week was up in the high summer meadows of Știubei. Surrounded by pristine, untouched nature and a majestic herd of wild horses, we worked on a project far bigger than ourselves. This meadow was once a vibrant, integral part of the traditional summer life for Poșaga’s villagers, and we are incredibly proud to be part of reviving it 🧗‍♀️

We joined forces with Lupu, Cristina, and the Poteka team to achieve an incredible milestone: the completion of the very first barn’s thatched roof! 🌾

Under the guidance of the locals, we practiced the nearly extinct tradition of thatching roofs using local, natural materials. It was a profound, hands-on masterclass in how cultural heritage conservation can be used as a modern regenerative building practice. Standing back and looking at that completed roof, knowing our hands helped preserve a piece of living history, is a feeling none of us will soon forget 🛠️

Next week we will explore natural construction further: using cob to renovate the barn at După Gard 🌱 and of course diving into our final design to, after completion, getting our certificate of the Introduction to Permaculture 🌟📜🌟

05/06/2026

Probabil unul dintre cele mai valoroase cursuri pe care le poți face anul acesta în România, recomand cu incredere:

Trăim într-o perioadă paradoxală. Niciodată nu am avut atât de multe informații despre starea planetei și, totuși, rareori ne-am simțit atât de deconectați de soluții.

Cercetătorii care studiază „limitele planetare” ne spun că am depășit deja 7 din cele 9 praguri care mențin Pământul într-o stare stabilă: climă, biodiversitate, apă dulce, utilizarea terenurilor, ciclurile azotului și fosforului, poluarea chimică și, recent, acidificarea oceanelor.

Poate suna copleșitor. Dar vestea bună este că nu suntem condamnați la neputință.
Permacultura ne invită să schimbăm întrebarea. În loc de „Cum salvăm planeta?”, poate ar fi mai util să ne întrebăm: „Cum construim sisteme care pot traversa schimbările care vin?”

Cum regenerăm solul? Cum păstrăm apa în peisaj? Cum producem hrană fără să epuizăm resursele? Cum construim comunități mai reziliente și mai conectate?

Permacultura este despre design. Despre a observa natura și a crea sisteme care funcționează împreună cu ea, nu împotriva ei. Fie că vorbim despre o gospodărie, o fermă, un sat sau un oraș, principiile rămân aceleași: grijă pentru Pământ, grijă pentru oameni și împărțirea echitabilă a resurselor.

Schimbarea începe rareori cu decizii globale. De cele mai multe ori începe local: într-o grădină, într-o comunitate, într-o conversație, într-un curs.
Ce soluții vezi deja în jurul tău care merită susținute și multiplicate? 🌱

Am scris un articol pe blog-ul nostru despre aceste lucruri: https://buff.ly/FXF2vRY

Vrei să înveți design în permacultură? Înscrie-te la următorul nostru PDC aici:
https://buff.ly/PLdmulZ

Ai un teren sau un proiect? Oferim și servicii de consultanță și design în permacultură. Contactează-ne: https://buff.ly/NQLtEcZ

05/06/2026

VINO LA INTERVIU - OPEN Info-Event and INTERVIEWS

Ești elev în Baia de Arieș, ai 18 ani (sau îi vei împlini până la vară) și visezi să explorezi Europa? 🚄 Asociația JJ Films & Culture (După Gard) te invită astăzi, vineri, 5 iunie, ora 10:00, la o sesiune de informare specială despre proiectul DiscoverEU: Travel, Learn and Connect.

Unde și când? 📍
Locație: Școala de pe Ocoliș 🕒 Când: Astăzi, vineri, 5 iunie la ora 10:00 💬

Ce facem? Prezentăm programul și stăm de vorbă cu cei interesați. Este o oportunitate excelentă pentru interviuri informale – vino să ne cunoști pe noi (Ioana și Andreas) și să ne spui de ce vrei să vii în această călătorie!

Nu rata șansa de a obține „Biletul tău spre Europa”! Te așteptăm alături de doamna profesoară Doriana Pârțilă. 🌿✨

31/05/2026

Week 2, presented by Rie and Valentine:

A day at the Step on Earth project starts with morning weeding while waking up, and then morning circle at 9 where we check in for the day. Then we do more weeding, mulching, and garden work until lunch. In the afternoons we usually go through some permaculture theory, like the 12 principles of permaculture.

This week, we started Monday out with planting red beets and cauliflower and mulch around the hazels that have truffles on their roots - we mulch, in order to protect the soil around the plant from the sun.

Tuesday, we planted potatoes in the food garden near the camp kitchen and gathered hay to do more mulching 🌱🍂 this was a hot day of 25 degrees and a UV-index of 9 so the day called for a slow and steady approach ☀️🫠

Wednesday, was another warm day with lots of sun protection needed. We gathered hay with rakes and drove it from the barn to the food garden to use as mulch for the potatoes and other plants.

Thursday, half of the group went to a barn up in the mountains where they helped thatch the roof of an old Romanian house and the other half stayed at D**a Gard to collect elderflowers for lemonade and acacia flowers for tea.

Friday marked the halfway of our project and we started the day with reflecting on our work so far and what we can continue to learn from it. We also went to see a beautiful view of Posaga de Jos where we on the way practiced how to tune in to your different senses - not just sight. This little exercise allowed us to be more grounded for the day, and to be ready for the last weeding of the week and a little learning about syntropic forestry and its implementation here at D**a Gard.

Once again, the dusk comes and to celebrate the end of this wonderful week, we decided to make a warming campfire. Around it were shared a lot of stories, feelings, as well as cultural items from home: Austria for Laura, Denmark for Rie.
And Saturday morning marked the beginning of our little adventure days in Cluj, allowing us to refresh and relax before the new week !!

30/05/2026

Did you know the thatched barns of the Apuseni Mountains are built without a single modern nail? 🛖😮

​We are currently at the Știubei summer pasture, once a bustling hub for agriculture and grazing. Together with Lupu, we are ensuring that the traditional architecture of the Moți people doesn't disappear.

​Preserving the past to inspire the future 🇷🇴 made possible by our ESC volunteering team, co-founded by the EU 🇪🇺 and supported by our partner in Poland LOGOS NGO

28/05/2026

🌿 MAKE IT FLOW 🌿
Permaculture Youth Exchange
🇪🇸 Sanillés, Pyrenees, Spain

📅 01–10 July 2026
(Arrival: 30.06 | Departure: 11.07)

👥 Looking for 6 participants
🇷🇴 Romania
🎯 Age: 18–30

✨ Permaculture workshops
✨ Outdoor activities
✨ Intercultural evenings
✨ International community experience

🌱 If you are interested in sustainability, nature and intercultural learning, this project is for you!

🗃️Infopack:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19swf2rksoY9DMkPDyzEYrDBnyp_Hqi86/view?usp=sharing

📌 Apply here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScavH0q6wg-fAhHEUY4PXIKwUs1IDl86Y1IKTTQMKWlGWi1ig/viewform

⏳ Application deadline: 5 June 2026
📩 Selected participants announced by: 7 June

🌍 Don’t forget to bring snacks, music, drinks or games from your region for the intercultural evenings!

👥 Participating countries:
🇬🇷 🇵🇹 🇧🇪 🇫🇷 🇷🇴 🇪🇸

27/05/2026

During our Introduction to Permaculture for volunteers, we dive deep into David Holmgrens 12 Permaculture Principles. One of our volunteers made this video on one of them, can you tell which one? Comment below 👇 the right answer gets a bag of fresh mint during the next stay at După Gard 😁

23/05/2026

Week One – Arrival

After long journeys by road and air, our team arrived in D**a Gard from all across Europe. We were first welcomed by the tall, green mountains surrounding Poșaga de Jos, whose peaceful beauty immediately made us feel at home.

Our hosts and teachers, Andreas and Ioana, introduced us to D**a Gard — the place we would call home for the upcoming month. The next morning, we woke up to the sounds of early birds, roosters, and the village dogs that roam around D**a Gard, giving the mornings a truly authentic atmosphere.

We began our days by gathering in a morning circle, getting to know one another while reconnecting with our bodies and with nature. It was the perfect way to prepare ourselves for days filled with new knowledge about the many techniques and principles of permaculture.
Later, Andreas took us on small walks around the land, showing us the different plants and trees he had carefully cultivated over the years. From cup plants, which are excellent at collecting rainwater, to apple trees that had been grafted to host several different species of apples, every corner of the garden held something fascinating and inspiring.

During the following days, we virtually joined the Wild & Kind Permaculture Festival at the village primary school. There, we not only got a glimpse into the broad and inspiring philosophy of permaculture, but also had the opportunity to spend time with the local children and make friends with the cuddly village dogs.
Besides that, we also made great progress through physical work. It was amazing to see how quickly the appearance of a place can change when everyone works together with one common goal in mind: supporting the growth of the seeded plants. Along the way, we also encountered some exciting inhabitants of the garden beds: a large ant nest and two blindworms. How exciting!🐜🐍

Friday became a day of celebration: our dear team mate Stijn turned 25. So naturally, we did what every professional outdoor team would do: we lit a fire and grilled delicious stick bread together under the evening sky.

What a beautiful ending to our first week, surrounded by the magical Transylvanian landscape 🌟

17/05/2026

Reflecting on my first month as an ESC volunteer here in the heart of Transylvania, and what a journey it’s been! 🌿✨ (by )

I kicked things off with an intensive 15-day permaculture course, where I was introduced to the 3 ethics and 12 principles that now guide my daily life at D**a Gard. My absolute favorite principle is “integrate rather than segregate”. I see it everywhere-from the way biodiverse systems thrive in the garden to the way sharing values with others makes us stronger as humans.

Life here is a beautiful mix of learning and doing:
🌱 In the Garden: I’ve learned to see soil as a living ecosystem full of fungi, worms, and life. I’ve mastered the art of mulching to keep the earth happy and even started identifying wild plants to include in our daily meals.
🌳 New Skills: I tried my hand at grafting with Vlad-it’s not easy (lots of trial and error!), but it’s fascinating to think that this technique actually inspired early medical skin grafting, or "the agriculture of the body". It’s such a powerful reminder of how interconnected we are with nature.
🤝 Connections: Beyond the garden, I’ve found so much wisdom in the community. From the off-grid life at Ermitaj Malin to visiting Cristina in the village, who shared traditional teachings (and plenty of goat kisses!).
⛰️ Adventure: And of course, the weekends! Hiking to local waterfalls with Poteka ecotourism has filled me with so much gratitude for this stunning landscape.

This experience is teaching me that permaculture is about so much more than just plants - it’s about how we connect with everything around us. So thankful for this path! 🌍💚

**aGard

PS: we congratulate Ioana on completing her Introduction to Permaculture, including her first 🥇 own design which she created with another volunteer as team work