====== Finca Verde - South Side ======

===== Land Management =====

My name is Charlie. I am from the UK and have been living in Orgiva for 1 year. I am volunteering at the Finca Verde for 3 weeks. It is now June 2022 and very hot in Southern Spain. I have been doing my personal online work during the day times and doing some clearing on the terraces of the South side during the evenings. 

I have been using a small scythe and some gardening gloves. I have been taking a small basket to collect oranges and lemons. I have had to wear jeans to cover my legs. I didn't wear a long sleeve top, but other people might prefer to do so. I usually start the clearing work around 7:30 pm, when it is cool outside. On average I work 90 minutes per day. 

It took me 12 days to clear all of the terraces on the South side and the bottom of the valley where the orange trees are located. This comes to 18 hours. The top terraces had a lot of sticks that needed to be put into piles. This work can be done pretty quickly. The lower terraces had a lot of scrub and overgrown plants that needed clearing. This takes longer. 

I put all of the sticks and gathered them in piles by the side of the terraces. I put a lot of the scrub on these piles also. Some of it I cut and left where it was, to turn into mulch. There wasn't much wildlife to deal with. 

Some of the long grass was fibrous and difficult to cut. It had to be held in a bunch with one hand and chopped down with the other hand. Some plants were easier to pull up by the roots than to cut down. Most of the plants were pretty easy to just scythe down.

I would walk along each terrace doing a rough job. On the way back I would cut down and arrange any parts that I had missed. I usually spent 5 minutes after working sitting down, eating some oranges, and admiring the beautiful views. The work was very restorative and enjoyable.