A dense, imperfect, and resolutely constructive year
If we had to sum up 2025 at Ermitaj Malin in a single sentence, it would probably be this one: many things moved forward, sometimes through fatigue, often through complexity, but with foundations that grew stronger.
Structuring such a year is not easy. So here is the story, as it unfolded!
Infrastructures
Ensuring resilience
At the beginning of the year, we completely revised our electricity production system.
New battery, new regulator, new solar panels, and a petrol generator as backup, now connected to the entire installation.
This choice marks an important step. As we are not connected to the grid, it seemed coherent to integrate a “dispatchable” energy source, one that can be activated according to needs. Sun, water and wind have an undeniable quality: they are renewable. Their drawback is just as well known: they are intermittent.
Rather than oversizing a solar installation to cope with short, foggy winter days, we opted for a mixed system. The result is a relatively modest solar setup, sufficient for around nine months of the year, complemented by a generator used occasionally. In practice, this represents the equivalent of one to two full car tanks of petrol per year.
This choice reflects one of the most well-known permaculture design principles:
“Each element performs several functions, and each important function is supported by several elements.”
We also explored the option of hydropower, which combines renewable and dispatchable qualities. After careful calculations, the idea was abandoned: several tens of thousands of euros for a few kilowatt-hours of storage via an upstream pumping system. In our context, it was simply not worth it. Wind has never been an option as our site is not windy.
At the same time, electricity was extended to the barn and the classroom. Lights and sockets are now available in sufficient numbers, without relying on extension cords.
The major change brought by this system upgrade is that we can now have cold beers when the sun is blazing 😛 But, of course, it will ease our lives when we welcome big groups! It also allows Iamandi and Joanne to spend the winter at Ermitaj and, more broadly, it opens up the possibility of online activities for digital nomads.
These new infrastructures were immediately put to use, notably during the arboriculture course held at the beginning of spring. Clay plasters also continued to progress in the classroom, library, and office.
In terms of equipment, we invested in a mobile fencing system. Even though it has not yet been fully used, it opens the door to welcoming grazing animals when and where we choose, by example using rotational grazing.
The Romanian Permaculture Association
Three years of procedures to regain some calm
From the very beginnings of Ermitaj, we have organised events together with members of the Romanian Permaculture Association. Coline and Remy officially joined the association in 2022. Hardly had we arrived when we found ourselves immersed in a particularly complex human and organisational situation.
Even with the best intentions, working collectively remains a challenge. The famous “human factor”. Precious, certainly… but not only 🙂
As the association’s registered office is located at Ermitaj, much of the administrative work passed through Coline’s hands: court files, procedures, legal exchanges.
After three years of judicial procedures, the association is finally regaining a sense of calm. A new phase is opening: collectively redefining objectives and missions, with the ambition of strengthening its reach at national, European, and even international levels.
European projects
What was done “solo” becomes visible and better supported
One of the clear conclusions of 2024 was this: what we have been doing at Ermitaj for years, without subsidies or grants, actually corresponds to criteria recognised by certain institutions, particularly at the European level.
We therefore decided to activate this lever. And it is beginning to bear fruit.
Within the framework of the Communities for Climate project, several events were organised:
- a visit to the Blue Gardens farm,
- a spring worksite camp focused on woodchip mulch from pruning and arboriculture.
- In this context, we were also invited to Brussels, where many European actors met, exchanged, and took part in training sessions
Another major step, announced in the previous newsletter, was the creation of a horizontally managed cooperative for herbal tea production. The project is supported by the King Baudouin Foundation via the EU Staff Fund for a Fair and Sustainable Future, and later received additional support from the QiGreen Foundation.
We also attempted to become partners with two associations for camps and training activities aimed at youth workers: one with the Romanian association Buruiana, and the other with the Slovenian association Divja. Unfortunately, these projects were not selected. We will try again, notably through the creation of a Romanian legal association dedicated to our training activities.
Local roots and networks
From local to European, and back again
Paradoxically, it was the European projects that brought us closer to the Local Action Group Ținutul Haiducilor. This is a collaboration we hope to continue this year and in the years to come.
https://galtinutulhaiducilor.ro/
Coline and Remy also took part in an in-depth soil course led by Mark Siepman and organised by Provision, as well as in the Permaculture Camp Fire hosted by our friends from Dupa Gard, where we facilitated a clay plaster workshop.
https://marcsiepman.nl/
https://provisiontransylvania.com/
https://www.dupa-gard.com/homeng
Remy followed a Dragon Dreaming training in Slovenia. The name sounds a bit too new-age for our taste, but the collective project management methodology proved to be interesting.
https://dragondreaming.org/
Belgian permaculture network: Coline and Remy both participated in the network meetings. For our Belgian followers, the next Permanant gathering will take place on Sunday 19 April 2026 in Soignies, in the province of Hainaut.
https://www.permanant.org/
Communication, team, and everyday life
What is not always visible, but truly matters
2025 also marked a renewed energy around communication: a website redesign, blog articles, and more consistent online content. It also opened up the possibility of promoting our activities for free through the world’s most widely used search engine.
This was made possible thanks to Olivier Leclercq and Occupy The Tech Brussels, who supported us over around ten sessions with very hands-on guidance. Website audit, relevant add-ons, support with the Google Ad Grant process… Beyond the topics covered, what really stood out was the generosity of the support, the clarity of the explanations, the concrete results, and the great availability whenever questions came up.
We warmly recommend Occupy The Tech Brussels to any organisation looking to strengthen its online presence, whether a school, an association, or another values-driven project.
Above all, 2025 is the year when the Ermitaj team expanded, as announced in our previous newsletter, which you can revisit here:
ENG https://mailchi.mp/21478bb7d7b7/nous-revenons-avec-une-nouvelle-newsletter)
Homesteading
Vegetable garden
In the vegetable garden, not everything was done, but the results were fairly satisfying. Special mention goes to onions: weeding early on, yes. But during a very dry and hot July, letting bindweed take over the beds can turn out to be an effective strategy. It protects the bulbs from excessive heat and helps retain soil moisture.
Energy
Aside from the electricity system upgrade, the arrival of new people on the project required a substantial amount of work related to firewood.
Water
Some may remember washing dishes with sand at Ermitaj. For now, we are keeping our fingers crossed that this remains a thing of the past. The spring water capture built by Remy in 2022 still provides us with roughly one thousand litres of water per day.
There are, however, points of concern that became apparent in September, notably the drying up of one of our shallow groundwater wells. This is worrying. Paradoxically, according to climate models, we receive more precipitation than before, yet soils are drier, and watercourses reach low-flow conditions earlier, sometimes drying up completely.
Remy and Coline will likely be able to explain this better in the coming weeks, as they are currently following a training course in regenerative hydrology. While the term itself is relatively recent, many of the methods and tools it encompasses have existed and been tested for several decades. Until a training session is organised at Ermitaj or a blog article is published, we invite you to read an article or watch a video on the topic. Talk about it with decision-makers in your village, mention it to anyone you know who manages land. This approach offers many levers for action.
Animals
As in previous years, we hosted a neighbour’s cows and horses on the land. The expansion of the Ermitaj team opens the door to the return of livestock to Ermitaj itself.
Orchards
Aside from peaches and walnuts, it was not a fruitful year. A sharp minus three degrees while the trees were in bloom wiped out most of the fruit crop. We also intervened heavily on many of our old apple trees during the arboriculture training, in an attempt to rid them of mistletoe.
Formations
Between the desire to welcome and the difficulty of reaching the public
The trainings that were maintained went very well. Others, however, had to be cancelled due to a lack of participants, which remains frustrating considering the amount of preparation their organisation requires. The interest for these topics does exist, but reaching the right audience remains a challenge.
The main difficulty today is therefore not the quality or relevance of the trainings, but their visibility. Reaching potential participants requires significant investment in communication, particularly through the production of content for social media. It is a project in itself, essential yet demanding. 2025 brought clear progress in this area, and we intend to continue building on this momentum in 2026.
We maintained the arboriculture training, notably thanks to the support of C4C, with Adrian Florea and Bogdan Suliman, as well as the forest garden training with Cristina Colis.
Trainings are essential, but they cannot constitute the sole economic foundation of the place. From a resilience perspective, it makes sense to develop other activities in parallel, in order not to depend on a single revenue stream. At this level, the herbal tea cooperative is very positive news, as although it is a project with its own identity, it also means that Ermitaj has entered into production.
And now?
2025 was not a year of grand announcements, but a year of consolidation. More robust systems, clearer partnerships, a growing team, and projects gradually moving from experimentation into a more structured phase. Not everything was simple or smooth, but the essentials are there: Ermitaj continues to build itself on stronger foundations.
2026 follows naturally in this continuity. The foundations laid this year open the way to new developments, more regular trainings, collective projects gaining momentum, and a more assertive presence, both locally and beyond. Discover our programme.
