According to Europa Press reporting on Sunday 6 September 2026, the campaign was launched on 16 July by Andres Larrain, a board member of the Rigdzin Community Foundation, which owns the centre. An initial target of €60,000 covers priority repairs; the organisation puts full recovery at around €80,000.

English-language coverage from Visiting Almeria confirms the same figures and timeline. The verified campaign page is:

GoFundMe — Rebuild Namkha Dzong retreat centre after wildfire

Insurance will cover part of the damage, but the campaign states that the expected payout is not enough to restore water and electricity and rebuild the affected spaces.

A quiet place hit by a devastating fire

Namkha Dzong has operated since 2010 as the main retreat centre of the Rigdzin Community. From its terrace, nearby towns including Bédar, Los Gallardos and Turre — and further afield Mojácar — can be seen across the Sierra de Bédar, as earlier local reporting described.

The July wildfire that swept through Los Gallardos and the surrounding Levante Almeriense was a profound community tragedy, with multiple fatalities and large-scale evacuations reported at the time by outlets including Diario de Almería. This update focuses on one inland sanctuary’s efforts to restore basic living conditions so teaching and practice can resume.

What the fire destroyed

The complex has three main areas, Europa Press reports, drawing on an interview with Wangchen, the resident guardian who has lived at the centre for 14 years.

Namkha Dzong (main building)

Home to the temple, rooms for the lamas, the students’ kitchen and dining room, and Wangchen’s room. The fire completely destroyed the ground-floor kitchen, dining room, resident’s room, toilets and showers, and damaged the water and electricity supply.

Retreat caves

Seven caves used for individual retreats were not damaged inside, Wangchen said, but they are without water and electricity, along with their bathroom facilities.

Khandro Ling

The estate area where about 80 per cent of students sleep during group retreats. The water tank and pump, pipes, drainage and electrical cabling were all lost.

Wangchen and the centre’s director returned on 12 July, escorted by police while the fire was still active. Their first concern was the two cats that lived at the centre; both were found safe and later moved elsewhere — a detail also recorded in the GoFundMe campaign text and in Visiting Almeria’s summary.

Life on site today

The centre cannot currently host retreatants. Three people remain in what Wangchen described as minimal conditions. For drinking water they travel to the Fuente de la Serena or into Bédar; at times they rely on prepared meals because the kitchen and dining facilities are gone.

Race to restore supplies before the next retreat

The immediate priority is to restore water and electricity and replace basic kitchen, dining and bathroom equipment before the next group retreat, due to begin at the end of September and last about a month and a half, with groups of 40 to 60 people.

Reconstruction plans also include burying pipes and cabling so the installations have better protection against future fires. Wangchen told Europa Press the intention is to use the rebuild to put everything back into proper working order and give the site more protection.

That timetable matters for more than comfort. Wangchen said group retreats are the centre’s only source of income for mortgage, utilities and food through the rest of the year. Across a typical year, group retreats bring together some 200 to 250 people — mainly practitioners from European countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Lithuania and the Netherlands — and the centre is now open to anyone who wishes to take part. Individual retreats and guided visits together have involved more than 359 people, he said.

The Rigdzin Community, according to Wangchen, has 13 centres in different European countries and a committee that handles financial matters.

Determination after the flames

Despite the hardship, Wangchen stressed the resolve of those who remain. Speaking to Europa Press, he said: “Es más fuerte nuestra determinación para restablecer todo que otra cosa” — our determination to restore everything is stronger than anything else.

For neighbours in Mojácar, Garrucha, Vera and the inland villages of the Levante, the story sits alongside everyday local life — from weekly markets listed in our local market days guide to community listings on What’s On and things to do across the area. Support for Namkha Dzong’s rebuild is one more way the wider community can stand with those repairing after the summer fires.

How to help

• Donate via the official campaign: Rebuild Namkha Dzong after wildfire (GoFundMe), organised by Andres Larrain for the Rigdzin Community Foundation (Bédar).
• Read the source reporting: Europa Press (6 September 2026) and Visiting Almeria.
• Background on the fire’s impact on the sanctuary: Diario de Almería.

Figures in this article follow the Europa Press / Visiting Almeria reports of 6 September 2026 (€37,546 from 184 donations). The live GoFundMe total may have moved slightly since publication — check the campaign page for the latest.

Suggested Facebook caption

A Buddhist retreat centre in the mountains of Bédar is racing to restore water, power and basic kitchen and bathroom facilities after July’s Los Gallardos wildfire.

Namkha Dzong Orgyen Khandro Ling has raised €37,546 through 184 GoFundMe donations — short of its €60,000 priority goal and around €80,000 needed for full recovery — ahead of a group retreat due at the end of September.

Read the full Mojácar Life update: [LINK]

Donate (official campaign): https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-namkha-dzong-after-a-wildfire

The post Namkha Dzong in Bédar Raises €37,546 After Los Gallardos Wildfire first appeared on Mojácar Life.

September on the Levante coast is still warm, the evenings are long, and this year there is a fresh reason to hop between neighbouring towns after dinner. Acordes. Festival de Música del Levante Almeriense runs from 17 to 20 September 2026, linking Mojácar, Pulpí, Turre and Carboneras with concerts, guided visits and a touch of gastronomy.

Directed by Désirée Halac, with collaborators Ana Orero, Elisa Carrillo, Elena Colvé, Mercedes Ruiz and Isabel Baraza, Acordes aims to put the Levante’s cultural and artistic life centre stage — not only through music, but through the plazas, fountains and historic corners where the events unfold.

If you live here, or you are visiting for a late-summer break, it is an easy festival to enjoy: some nights are free until capacity; others are ticketed at modest prices. Below is the programme as reported by Diario de Almería, with practical notes for locals and guests. For the wider calendar of gigs and listings, keep an eye on our What’s On page as updates land.

What Acordes is about

Acordes is billed as a high-quality, distinctive music-and-culture project for the Levante Almeriense. Organisers want a programme that feels new and different, using music as a universal language to highlight the artistic importance of the comarca.

Expect a mix across mudéjar repertoire, flamenco, jazz and world music, alongside guided heritage visits and food-related moments. The idea is simple: discover the landscape and people of the Levante while sharing concerts in plazas, fountains and historic corners — not only conventional concert halls.

That fits Mojácar’s reputation as a place where art sits close to daily life — see What is Mojácar known for?. Acordes extends the same spirit across four towns in four evenings.

Day-by-day programme

Thursday 17 September — Mojácar

The festival opens at home.

• Guided visit: Rincones históricos of Mojácar
• 20:00 — Festival presentation at the Museo de Mojácar
• 20:30 — Evoèh Q-Art, Semillas, at the Fuente de Mojácar
• Entry: free until capacity

Arrive early if you want a good spot at the Fuente — free nights fill quickly when the weather is fine. For maps and cultural tips, Mojácar’s municipal tourism points are listed on Puntos de información — Turismo Mojácar.

Friday 18 September — Pulpí

An afternoon of minerals, then tango-jazz after dark.

• 18:00 — Guided visit to the Sala de Minerales Luminiscentes and the Sala Negra
• 20:30 — Sheila Blanco & Federico Lechner Tango Jazz Trío, Los Mareados, at the Espacio Escénico de Pulpí
• Tickets: €13 in advance / €15 on the door

Pulpí’s mineral rooms sit in the same geological story as the Pulpí Geode, though Friday’s festival tour covers the luminiscent minerals and Sala Negra — not the geode mine itself. Pairing the visit with the evening concert makes a full day out from Mojácar.

Saturday 19 September — Turre

Culture, Moroccan flavours and a concert under the open sky.

• 18:30 — Moroccan gastronomy: interview and colloquium with Fatimah Mounib Husni at the CUM in Turre
• 19:30 — Moroccan sweets and tea with Shirín and belly dance
• 20:30 — Begoña Olavide (Salterio y Canto) at the Fuente Morisca
• Entry: free until capacity

Saturday stacks talk, tasting and concert in one block. The Fuente Morisca show is free until capacity, so treat the whole evening as one outing. Turre’s Friday market is in our local market days guide if you shop the day before.

Sunday 20 September — Carboneras

The closing night moves to the castle.

• 20:00 — Welcome drink at the Castillo de San Andrés
• 20:30 — Jasiel, Noche de Flamenco, at the Castillo de San Andrés
• Tickets: €15 in advance / €18 on the door

The Castillo de San Andrés is Carboneras’ founding fortress (Bien de Interés Cultural), restored for cultural use. More on the castle: Turismo Carboneras — Patrimonio. A welcome drink plus flamenco is a strong finale — book ahead if advance tickets appear.

Practical tips for locals and visitors

Free vs ticketed

Mojácar (Thu) and Turre (Sat) are free until capacity — not a guarantee of a seat if you arrive at the last minute. Pulpí (Fri) and Carboneras (Sun) are ticketed; advance prices (€13 / €15) are kinder than the door (€15 / €18).

Timing and transport

Guided visits start late afternoon; concerts mostly at 20:30. Allow time for parking and a short walk — especially at the Mojácar Fuente and Turre’s Fuente Morisca. The four towns are an easy drive apart; if you are car-free, plan buses or a shared lift rather than late-night hops between all four.

Make a mini-route

If you only pick two nights, many locals will start with Mojácar’s free opening and finish with flamenco in Carboneras. Doing all four makes a gentle Levante circuit — heritage, minerals, gastronomy and flamenco.

September is festive nearby too: Vera’s Feria del Levante usually falls later in the month (archive Vera Fiesta guide). Acordes sits earlier as a more intimate multi-town music route.

Beyond the festival

Outside these four nights, Mojácar’s bar and venue circuit is on our live music listings.

Soft note from Mojácar Life

Programmes can still shift as venues and ticket outlets firm up. Watch Mojácar Life for updates, and town-hall or venue notices before buying Pulpí or Carboneras tickets. Mojácar tourism: official information points. Carboneras heritage: turismocarboneras.es. Also watch pulpi.es and turre.es for Espacio Escénico / CUM notices.

Source: Programme details summarised from Diario de Almería coverage of Acordes. Festival de Música del Levante Almeriense (17–20 September 2026, Mojácar, Pulpí, Turre and Carboneras). Always cross-check times, prices and ticket outlets nearer the event.

The post Acordes Festival 2026: Levante Music Guide first appeared on Mojácar Life.