Drinking water is rapidly becoming one of the most valuable commodities on our planet and so many of us in the so called developed world take it for granted and treat it with little respect, as if we have a divine right  to have it at the turn of a tap.

At Fonte de Baixo we are blessed with our own sweet water from the bore hole. We have connected all the grey water (showers, basins, sink and gutters) to a collection tank. We use this water to irrigate our lower terraces where we grow potatoes, onions and other root vegetables.   

Our toilets are all grey-water flush systems connected to a septic tank in the lower meadow. The septic tank has a perforated membrane which allows the fluid to seep into the surrounding soil to act as both fertiliser and irrigation for the grass and fruit trees that are planted there.  There is also a natural spring in the meadow from which the property gets its name "Fonte de Baixo" (spring below). This water is used to water our goats and feed the meadow, keeping it green and lush well into the summer months.

We also have a water mine from which we extract water into two cisterns for irrigation of the vegetable terraces. We have also built a ram-pump which pushes water up 60 meters into two holding tanks which we use to irrigate the upper terraces and fruit trees.

This brings us back to the bore hole. We use the bore hole for drinking, cooking and washing. The water is natural and not filtered, drawn 180 meters below ground the water is sweet, cold and refreshing. We heat the water for showers and washing through our solar system but are only able to hold around 300litres. We have a supplementary system that uses butane gas - this is both expensive and not environmentally friendly. We ask everyone to use water with respect - for the divine resource that it is, in consideration of the other people living here - if you have a long shower, others will have a cold one and finally for the planet, water is a gift, not a right.

Please don't waste water.