<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Beija Flor]]></title><description><![CDATA[Beija Flor]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 02:04:01 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.beijaflor.world/pt/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[When Spring Comes to an End]]></title><description><![CDATA[May 2026. The southwest of Portugal is making a shift. From the green hills and valleys of winter, dotted with yellow oxalis flowers, to the explosion of color in early spring — by mid-May, the drought begins to set in. Flowers hurry to produce seeds, and from the second half of May it is relva-time: grass flowering. But very soon the grass turns yellow. April and May are the months when people start to mow. In Portugal, it is the law to mow before summer, because of the high fire risk when...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/when-spring-comes-to-an-end</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a11e827b883334b04e5dd94</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 18:40:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_b76e1188cb0f4aeb95b7cb29a1753d04~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Comunidades — Experiências para a mudança social]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dois terços do livro «Communities - Experiments for Social Change» (Comunidades - Experiências para a Mudança Social) já estão escritos e hoje gostaria de partilhar um pouco mais sobre este livro que está para sair. A ideia de escrever um livro sobre este tema surgiu há três anos, quando eu vivia numa comunidade na Holanda. Hoje, essa comunidade já não existe. Tudo começou com belas intenções e muita energia positiva, mas foi difícil sustentar o modelo económico que foi formulado. Em termos...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/pt/post/comunidades-experi%C3%AAncias-para-a-mudan%C3%A7a-social</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b29cd1b518b9ed3649cece</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:11:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_dac19df392ad4ef4a4619f7bc1acba90~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Communities — Experiments with Social Change]]></title><description><![CDATA[Two-thirds of the book Communities: Experiments with Social Change  have been written, and today, I would like to share more about this upcoming book. The idea to write a book about this topic arose three years ago, when I was living in a community in the Netherlands. Today, the community no longer exists. It began with beautiful intentions and positive energy, but it was difficult to sustain the formulated economic model. Simply put, we ran into financial trouble. As money became scarce,...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/communities-experiments-for-social-change</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b27a129f757da15ac5814c</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 10:49:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_dac19df392ad4ef4a4619f7bc1acba90~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A relação entre culturas relacionais e a anarquia «suave»]]></title><description><![CDATA[Tribos indígenas como os Yawanawa, no Brasil, podem ser descritas como tendo uma cultura relacional, autonomia e anarquia suave (com base na minha pesquisa em 2023). Olá, mundo. Hoje vou partilhar a minha visão sobre culturas relacionais e a sua relação com o que chamo de «anarquia suave». O conceito, ou realidade vivida, das culturas relacionais é um dos pilares do meu livro sobre comunidades, mas pode ser aplicado num âmbito muito maior (ou menor) do que apenas comunidades. Para mim, as...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/pt/post/a-rela%C3%A7%C3%A3o-entre-culturas-relacionais-e-a-anarquia-suave</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b277a15944c8c3369f6aff</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 08:29:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_22383b45c22449f58a29516bfba7a770~mv2.avif/v1/fit/w_626,h_418,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Author Portfolio]]></title><description><![CDATA[Exploring how relational cultures allow autonomy, community, and ecological belonging to grow together. My latest book, freshly written, and based on a research within communities between 2023 - 2026 Author &#38; System Thinker Wende is a system thinker, writer, and community practitioner based in Portugal. Her work explores how relational cultures emerge and how autonomy and connection can reinforce each other in human communities. Drawing from lived experience in intentional communities,...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/author-portfolio</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69b18617b888d78955e43d4a</guid><pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:04:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_25b8d8ff3e7947ac8e647338d69b1e83~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_595,h_841,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Relationship Between Relational Cultures and 'Soft' Anarchy]]></title><description><![CDATA[Indigenous tribes such as the Yawanawa in Brazil can be described by having a relational culture, autonomy and soft anarchy (based on my research in 2023) Hello, world! Today, I will share my vision of relational cultures and their relationship with what I call "soft" anarchy. Relational cultures are one of the pillars of my book on communities, but the concept can be applied to a much larger—or smaller—scope than just communities. The Role of Autonomy Relational cultures, for me, are...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/the-relationship-between-relational-cultures-and-soft-anarchy</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699ad1acd0f466b1c6e087db</guid><pubDate>Sun, 22 Feb 2026 10:58:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_22383b45c22449f58a29516bfba7a770~mv2.avif/v1/fit/w_626,h_418,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sobre comunidades]]></title><description><![CDATA[As comunidades sempre foram importantes para mim ao longo da vida. Gosto de partilhar a vida com grupos, como a minha turma durante os meus estudos de agricultura biodinâmica, quando passámos dois dias juntos a comer e a dormir na escola, ou quando os meus dois enteados trouxeram todos os amigos para casa para comerem panquecas. Podemos chamar-lhe uma família alargada. Desde 2009 que tenho visitado ou vivido em comunidades, o que continuo a fazer até hoje. Entre 2021 e 2025, visitei diversas...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/pt/post/sobre-comunidades</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69975a4840ae0a60d2d076c9</guid><pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 18:54:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_a80a31794434427d9b3d828ae51900f2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[My Travels in the World of Communities]]></title><description><![CDATA[Communities have always been important to me. I enjoy sharing my life with groups of people. For example, I enjoyed spending two days with my class during my biodynamic agriculture studies, eating and sleeping at the school. I also enjoyed it when my two stepchildren brought all their friends to our place for pancakes. You could call it an extended family. Since 2009, I have been either visiting or living in communities. From 2021 to 2025, I visited various communities, ecovillages, and...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/on-communities</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699752c4aab309115cb4b780</guid><pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 18:28:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_a80a31794434427d9b3d828ae51900f2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Uma visão inclusiva sobre a natureza e a jardinagem]]></title><description><![CDATA[Há um mês, desenvolvi um workshop mais elaborado sobre jardinagem natural. Foi para a Queer Garden Week na Terra Rosa, perto de Barcelona. Os workshops evoluem, tal como a natureza, e o meu último workshop está no auge dessa evolução. Profissionalmente, crescemos, evoluímos, tal como toda a vida à nossa volta. É interessante ver que ainda nos separamos da natureza. Este artigo é baseado nos meus workshops e trata de reformular a forma como vemos a nós mesmos e à natureza ou, como às vezes...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/pt/post/uma-vis%C3%A3o-inclusiva-sobre-a-natureza-e-a-jardinagem</link><guid isPermaLink="false">697b76062c80129225d3cbbc</guid><pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2026 15:04:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_b9752174b99141a6b201bce86f872032~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_900,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[New Website, New Liberties]]></title><description><![CDATA[Welcome to my renewed website! The last four weeks I have been evaluating the first year of project Beija Flor. What began as 'just' an evaluation, grew into a process of clarification. Clarification of who I am, how I am wired, to clarification why I like to play so many fields: counseling, garden design, workshop facilitation and community work. From clarification of an overall perspective of life, including work, that I have, to the clarification of very concrete new texts, design and...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/new-website-new-liberties</link><guid isPermaLink="false">696b824c3e23fce29375f73a</guid><pubDate>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 12:50:49 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e46b9_87dd21588b5a4f848f0f24482512a7f2~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[An Inclusive View on Nature and Gardening]]></title><description><![CDATA[A month ago I developed a more elaborate workshop natural gardening. It was for the Queer Garden Week at Terra Rosa near Barcelona. Workshops evolve, just like nature and my last workshop is at the pinnacle of this evolution. Professionally we grow, we evolve, just like all life around us. Interesting to see that we still set ourselves apart from nature. This article is based on my workshops and is about reshaping the ways we look at ourselves and nature, or, as I sometimes like to call it,...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/an-inclusive-view-on-nature-and-gardening</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6930604f68373123b35a65f9</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Dec 2025 18:02:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_b9752174b99141a6b201bce86f872032~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_900,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Free downloadable e-book about Natural Gardening]]></title><description><![CDATA[" What if gardening wasn't just about growing vegetables, but about unlearning the systems we were raised in? In a world obsessed with...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/free-downloadable-e-book-about-natural-gardening</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6859380d91bd73bf18508b25</guid><pubDate>Mon, 23 Jun 2025 11:41:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_1fc7e904ce314d7aa779d814bd248e4e~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Use of Microclimates in Your Garden]]></title><description><![CDATA[When we think about gardening, we often imagine a standard landscape where the same plants thrive in uniform conditions. However, nature...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/the-use-of-microclimates-in-your-garden</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67e1ca6021a7b44b35ee422f</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Mar 2025 21:29:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e46b9_032804aae89a4308a8bdd5adae241573~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Uma Amável Proposta ao Povo do Alentejo]]></title><description><![CDATA[Caros Amigos e Amigas do Alentejo, Escrevo-vos com profundo respeito e admiração pelas vossas tradições e pelo conhecimento que mantêm viva a alma desta bela terra. No Alentejo, temos tesouros naturais e culturais que, se bem cuidados e valorizados, podem florescer para benefício de todos. A Importância do Montado O sistema do montado, único e adaptado ao nosso clima, é uma herança que precisamos proteger e revitalizar. Com as mudanças climáticas, sabemos que o Alentejo está a ficar mais...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/pt/post/uma-am%C3%A1vel-proposta-ao-povo-do-alentejo</link><guid isPermaLink="false">66c9c850d5e9ba8f1e2e383b</guid><pubDate>Sat, 24 Aug 2024 12:02:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_98244c102b384dda8242f37631e9a01f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Indigenous Lessons for Creating your Garden of Eden]]></title><description><![CDATA[Photos by Sebastião Salgado My approach to landscape and garden design is deeply inspired by my experiences in the Amazon Rainforest and...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/indigenous-lessons-for-creating-our-garden-of-eden</link><guid isPermaLink="false">665f1cd99ccc79d44a71b491</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 Jun 2024 15:29:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_e4cd35c753284ccea82ce07892dd19a9~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How water influences the earth's climate]]></title><description><![CDATA[We used to believe that CO2 and methane emissions from traditional agriculture, industries, cars, and planes were the sole drivers of...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/how-water-influences-the-earth-s-climate</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6604483c70860676d9bfb82c</guid><pubDate>Wed, 27 Mar 2024 17:12:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_6ba8b98a5ef548f3aa891b68fa8f9da7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_640,h_436,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[An Economy of Abundance]]></title><description><![CDATA[Almost all of us are caught up in the rat race of earning money. Some fare well, or are just plain lucky, accumulating substantial sums...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/an-economy-of-abundance</link><guid isPermaLink="false">65eda998cfa37dbe80a7cfc2</guid><pubDate>Sun, 10 Mar 2024 14:54:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0e46b9_ece90a920894458094a4577466653bcf~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Exploring the Intersection of Queer Ecology, Ecofeminism, and the Diversity of Natural Ecosystems]]></title><description><![CDATA[In the intricate tapestry of life on Earth, where every species and habitat intertwine in a delicate dance of interconnectedness, the...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/exploring-the-intersection-of-queer-ecology-ecofeminism-and-the-diversity-of-natural-ecosystems</link><guid isPermaLink="false">65e60a644c28eff8a5301516</guid><pubDate>Mon, 04 Mar 2024 21:41:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_7d3eea6c9efd49598d42936180bd0fba~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Portfolio]]></title><description><![CDATA[These are some of my designs I made for several clients in an ecovillage in the Netherlands. Within the restrictions of the average small...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/portfolio</link><guid isPermaLink="false">65e484c348d2af97819f5038</guid><pubDate>Sun, 03 Mar 2024 14:58:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/904f18_e1ff337603c54b27b759c024d991e513~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Gardens of Eden: my inspirator Piet Oudolf]]></title><description><![CDATA[One of my great examples in garden and landscape design is Piet Oudolf. He taught me that dead or dying plants can also be beautiful and...]]></description><link>https://www.beijaflor.world/post/gardens-of-eden-my-inspirator-piet-oudolf</link><guid isPermaLink="false">65e473764221b525225a388f</guid><pubDate>Sun, 03 Mar 2024 14:07:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="http://vimeo.com/81833686" length="0" type="video"/><dc:creator>Wende Brand</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>