Benifallet lies on the river Ebre in Catalunya – a working village of steep paved paths between old houses, stacking up to the 13th-Century Ermita, once the parish church, but long abandoned. Its restoration is one of Amanda’s projects – or rather part of her project. Half-Catalan, half-English, Amanda is an artist, entrepreneur, gallery-owner, builder, human dynamo. And her project is to bring tourism to Benifallet – but without spoiling the charm of the place. Her Benifallet Community Project aims to build interest in the village through art projects that involve local people. She started with her mosaic murals, initially funded by the council, now un-funded, but she still works with found and reclaimed materials on the monoliths waiting along the riverbank.
She moved into her house 4 years ago, and immediately started hacking off plaster and knocking out walls with an energy and abandon that I can’t imagine. It’s another on-going project: apparent caves are strewn with angle-grinders, jack-hammers, old beams waiting to be inserted, cables and power-tools of all kinds. She bought a Citroen Dayane van (in the corrugated style) and muralled its bonnet with a view of the village, captioned El Projecte de la Communitat de Benifallet, and she seems to know everyone. And everyone knows her – and her passion and determination to do something for her adopted home.
If It's Munday... 