Dear All

A bit of a plug! If are not interested in these opportunities please forward them onto networks and individuals that you think may be.

Sunseed Desert Technology (www.sunseed.org.uk) runs on an off-grid environmental education and research centre in the South of Spain The project is currently recruiting several spain based staff positions to build a new and dynamic team. These posts all offer the chance to gain valuable practical experience and training to help people to prepare to take essential roles within communities in a post oil, climate changed world, or in international development work .

Staff posts on the project are on 1 year contracts, they are bursary funded by Sunseed, with the income from the projects education and paying volunteer programme. The bursary covers all on project living costs, food, accommodation, water, power ect this is worth around £6K pa. Staff members receive a small weekly allowance of around 20 euros each.

Sunseed project management are ideally looking for skilled, experienced people, with a desire to move into, or gain practical hands on experience the field of low tech, off grid environmental sustainability. People who are not afraid to rough it and get their hands dirty. The trust will however consider all applications on their merits.

Many notable members of the UK and international environmental establishment have worked for Sunseed, gaining valuable experience. These including the newly appointed Sustainability Manager at Nottingham City Council, myself and one of the directors of Bioregional consulting (Bedzed) to name a few of the top of
my head.

The staff posts offer a rare chance to be funded to live, work and learn within a totally off-grid environment, served by organic gardens, solar power, sustainable waste management and working closely with others from across the practical environmental disciplines and a range of nationalities. This is the chance to build real practical skills, contacts and knowledge, adding to both professional and personal development. There is also the chance to share skills and knowledge with volunteers and students in an informal and formal basis.

A key area of Sunseed's work is the academic research, focused on degraded land and arid soil improvement techniques, with PhD placements working particularly on soil fungi root associations. It is expected that the dry land manager post, while maintaining the fruiting trees, erosion control and small arboretum, will also work alongside this team and implement practical programmes using the findings of the research.

Living conditions on the project are currently very basic; however newly appointed project management and a strong trustee team have a commitment to improving the buildings and facilities as a first priority; for this reason the construction post is key. Someone with practical construction skills and a keen interest in sustainable building technologies is needed. Working in the heat of the South of Spain to construct and refurbish buildings that can remain passively cool in temperatures over 40oC, will provide a valuable learning curve for anyone hoping to work in sustainable building over the coming years.

This is chance to get involved in an off grid project at a time when it will be changing and evolving rapidly to meet the growing issues of adaptation and transition to a climate changed fossil fuel depleted world.

http://www.sunseed.org.uk/page.asp?p=169 Dry land management job desc.

http://www.sunseed.org.uk/page.asp?p=113 Education Publicity and fundraising coordinator.

http://www.sunseed.org.uk/page.asp?p=171 Construction and maintenance coordinator

http://www.sunseed.org.uk/page.asp?p=115 Appropriate Technology Coordinator

All of these posts have deadlines within the next couple of weeks, so it is worth applying quickly. Even if you miss the deadline you should still send your CV for Sunseed's files, as the project may wish to appoint further additional posts in certain departments, particularly construction and dry land management, in the near future. It should be noted that low carbon transport from the UK to the project can be achieved relatively easily and cheaply via the Eurostar and new high speed rail links across France and Spain to Malaga or Almeria, taking less than 24hrs on the overnight train.

The world is going to get hotter and drier, even if we stop producing Greenhouse gasses today. We are also running out of fossil fuels; starting with Crude oil potentially within the next 5 years. We are about to enter a period of post oil transition and climate change adaptation, while still needing to retain commitment to reducing our emissions. There is no better place to learn how to live and work in this inevitable future environment than the Sunseed project, which has been surviving and working under these conditions for over 20 years.

Best regards

Jerome Baddley