# Permaculture in northern Spain

**Language:** Spanish  
**CEFR Level:** B1  

> Join Elena and Daniel to master the Spanish of ecological design, food forests, and regenerative farming, one short conversation at a time. Each lesson trains your ear until you can follow every word and answer back.

**Setting:** The setting is a rustic permaculture farm in the green, rainy hills of Galicia in northern Spain during a practical agroforestry workshop. Elena and Daniel are paired up as design partners for the duration of the course, collaborating on a project to adapt food forests to the wet Atlantic climate.

## Lessons

### 1. Switching to informal address

Daniel and Elena introduce themselves as design partners, comment on the rainy Galician weather, and agree to address each other informally.

### 2. Comparing regional climates and landscapes

Elena and Daniel share where they are from and discuss the contrast between Spain's dry south and wet north, highlighting the challenges of designing for high humidity.

### 3. Explaining career goals and motivations

Daniel shares his dream of changing careers to become a regenerative farmer, while Elena explains her engineering goals and why she chose this specific workshop.

### 4. Discussing course costs and amenities

Daniel and Elena discuss the affordable price of the workshop, what is included in the cost, and the high quality of the organic food provided.

### 5. Explaining environmental solutions

Daniel and Elena discuss the best agricultural techniques for rainy northern climates, focusing on food forests and managing excess water.

### 6. Planning future volunteer work

Daniel praises Elena's engineering skills, and Elena shares her plans to volunteer with an ecovillage network after the course.

### 7. Expressing preferences for buying property

Elena explains her goal of gaining practical experience through volunteering, prompting Daniel to share his own plans of buying land.

### 8. Discussing large-scale farming projects

Daniel expresses interest in visiting Navarra to see large-scale regenerative agriculture, and Elena confirms it would be a great learning experience.

### 9. Discussing life changes and risks

Daniel explains his decision to take a leave of absence from work, while Elena praises his bravery and shares what inspires her.

### 10. Discussing community and alternative economies

Elena explains how a local cooperative works, and she and Daniel discuss the benefits of sharing resources and land in community projects.

### 11. Planning the layout of a space

Daniel and Elena begin mapping out their land, deciding where to place the house, the vegetable garden, and the food forest.

### 12. Praising a successful collaboration

Daniel and Elena finish planning their tree placement for optimal sunlight and compliment each other on how well they work together.

### 13. Discussing upcoming plans

Daniel asks Elena about her plans after the workshop, and she asks him to keep her updated if he finds any interesting courses in the north.

### 14. Dividing up tasks

Daniel and Elena decide who will draw the rainwater pond and agree on how to split their design and construction responsibilities.