The Glories of Roofing

And so the roof goes up! The adobe house on the hill is now topped with a glorious and beautiful sombrero, put up with sweat and love!
Up, up, and up...

Outside west-facing patio. What great wood-work!!
Looking toward the future library-kitchen and bathroom.
Go team techo! These roof-monkeys were a real asset on those hard to reach edges.

Looking down from the roof into the bathroom. Bottle walls, niche, built-in shelves, bathtub hole... its got it all.
Tongue-and-groovin!
Still groovin-and-tonguing!

After the woodwork on the roof, we made an insulation layer of muddy straw.
Wood, a layer of plastic, then the mud-straw mix.
Roof with view!
A break in the wheel barrow, with Rambo soaking up the love.That's our roof!

Now the trapezoidal metal sheeting.




The future looks bright, but shaded!

End of a journey

The internship has come to an end. What a gorgeous experience rich with learning and growth. Thank you all for what you gave to us and to Mama Roja. May your journeys be filled with light and love.

Where we started...

Other Happenings

Bug happenings
More bugs happening (it's a caterpillar!)
And still more bugs happening
Pickle happenings
Candle happenings
Candle burning happenings
Pig happenings
The new kitty happenings
Paint happening on the cosmic cabin... (to be continued)
Marshmallow happenings over a warm fire. (Special thanks to Kate's mom for the gift package of treats!)


Party happenings

The caterpillars were very happening!

Close-up happenings

The House on the Hill

And up it goes...

The house on the hill is blooming in our muddy hands.
The living room...
The water level reveals the truth of our good work.
On-site trees recycled into scaffolding to get those tall walls up.
Columns add support between windows, and a touch of buttress-flare to the structure.
The joy of being a mud builder!

Sweet plaster days of joy.
The mud is irresistible!
The bathroom... bottle installation in the shower, for light and a view!
Earthen building is surprisingly easy, and fun!
On the ladder to greatness.
Side view with improvised roof-- rain protection?
The kitchen bottle wall between the window openings.
A tribute to the many buckets of mud toted and built with. Nice hauling!

In a bathroom plaster bliss...
The finishing details on the structure... in progress!

Giving Thanks

So much to be grateful for in this life!

We spent a whole day giving thanks for all the blessings in our lives, including friendship, health, love, the sharing of knowledge, growth in learning, and the joy of community. And of course we ate our way into a delirious food-inspired bliss.
We fired up the earthen oven and made empanadas, breads, pumpkin pie...etc, etc.

To top it all off, a friend shared with us the art of aerial acrobatics on a silk cloth suspended from a tree! So much fun, if not extra challenging from the weight of our full bellies.

Let's not forget to give deep gratitude to the garden (and her spirits) for blooming full of food and lessons.

Taller de Bioconstruccion

What a wonderful weekend workshop! November 5-6, 2011

Folks came out to put their hands in the mud and learn a bit about earthen building.

It was a lovely sharing experience between our international interns, local Misioneros and visiting Paraguayans.Gracias a todos por su participacion y buena energia.