Cosmic Cabin and Hip Happenings!

Almost at the end of the spring Internship, Mama Roja has a budding garden, a gorgeous adobe cabin, new kittens, and many new stories and friends…

The little Earthen cabin tucked in the jungle:
The adobe walls of the cabin go up…

The roof goes on, framed with local hardwood and made of recycled Tetra-pak cartons…

And we plaster with earth, sand, pine needles, and cow dung…

And we make sculptures too… Mud art for all-- even Rambo!

And the cabin was dubbed the Cosmic Cottage... for aesthetic reasons, of course...
Other hip happenings at Mama Roja:

The community workshop brings lots of folks from all over to participate. Even a local t.v. crew came out to do a little piece on our mud-house making. We will try to get that uploaded soon.

A batik workshop at the farm—a mellow artistic Sunday.

Our outting to the Chacra Suiza—Thanks Paulina and family for a great time!

And let’s not forget the goings on in the garden and surroundings. Corn, squash, beans, tomatoes, mandioca, etc, all bursting from the earth—even in some surprising places!

And of course the new kittens… eyes open to the wonderful jungle world, and to “MAmanita” and her great mama skills.

Spring Busy-ness

We are a few weeks into our spring Internship and having a wonderful time with a great group of people. The sun is shining, the flowers are bursting, the trees fruiting, the birds singing… just a heavenly springtime delight.

The gardens have been getting a lot of love and compost, as well as some new additions including a medicinal plant bed and an herb spiral.

In the background you can see mounds of dirt and a giant hole we had dug for a future fish and duck pond. It hasn’t been sealed yet, but our last big storm filled it up… and it even got tested for swim-ability! Our neighbor did us the favor of bringing his oxen back for a visit and they plowed up a little piece of land near the river. We planted mandioca, corn, squash, and peanuts in the field.

The seeds are in the ground and starting to sprout! What wonders will come, and when?

A bean-and-squash teepee for a shady retreat later in the summer…

The Earthen cabin is underway, and going up gorgeously with adobe bricks and plenty of bottles.

During the springtime rainstorms, we have been keeping busy in the kitchen making peanut butter, jams, cheeses, and Marcelo’s favorite, lemoncello.

We are making fermented fruit medicines (E.M.), herbal tinctures and ointments, and (in the photo) medicinal mud for internal and external therapy.

Other farm news, we have several new chicks (yes, Nurkle’s finally a mom) and maybe some baby kitty’s coming soon…

We started the adobe bread oven in the kitchen. The base is done, but we are taking our time on the rest, so the actual oven will be a project for the near future.

More updates to come as our spring blooms.

Easing Out Winter

Winter time in the subtropics is all about surviving the humid chill that interweaves with warm sunny days. To get ready for making our own medicinal remedies for such springtime maladies as bug bites and stings, we are harvesting wild plants, garden flowers, and other herbal gifts. (Above, calendula, plantain, lavender, and a bottle of plantain liniment. )

Mushrooms galore... strange looking but true! They're everywhere, blooming in glorious colors and delighting in the jungle rot.

Nothing like a quick dip in the refreshing (and chilly!) river bathtub.
The gardens get a winter coat. Tubes of bamboo and plastic hug the warmth into the gardens, even in our occasional nighttime freezes.

Flowers and greens poke out their heads during the daytime sunshine.

A delicious and beautiful garden lettuce, we found her tucked in betwen the peas. Who planted this?? Thank you for the surprise!

Finishing up the buildings, the community bath house has a floor, shower, hand washing sink, and two composting toilets. What luxury!

The little earthen cabin has been painted and floored in preparation for its first inhabitants! The interns are coming!

Misiones Gets Dirtier!

Winter in the subtropics is upon us and we are keeping ourselves busy working with our fellow Misioneros and getting dirty! We have been attending and hosting workshops in Earthen building and organic gardening specific for Misiones.



In the Chacra Suiza, we discussed the details of a biodigestor and saw a functioning system (20 years old!)

In El Hormigero, we helped in the first of a series of workshops on Earthen building. We did a patch up on an existing building with a straw-mud mix over a bamboo structure.

At the top of our hill in our village, we hosted a workshop in how to convert a simple wooden house (common here in Misiones) into an Earthen house, which will be more insulated for both winter and summer temperature extremes, cheap and fun to do, and beautiful to live in and look at. Just in time for this family of 4 and the winter cold that is sure to follow the current rain.

(Some of you that have been here might recognize the house as Claudio´s, next to the bamboo bar!)

We added scrap wood to the walls to help support the weight of the mud-pine needle mix.

In two days of beautiful weather, we were able to get the first and thickest layer up. It was quite the community gathering, with lots of curious onlookers from the village, and some others who stopped by and jumped in the mud too!

First layer up, only the plaster and paint to go! Thanks to all helping hands!

More photos to come... and future projects too!

´Twas Lovely

Our Fall Internship ended on a wonderful note! Much gratitude to the wonderful women who shared so much with us and helped Mama Roja grow.


The adobe bathroom, even though it didn't quite get finished due to rain, is beautiful and full of love. Two coats of plaster, both exterior and interior, done. Only lacks a bit of mud touch up and the final install of the tub and sink, the top of the composting toilet, and some natural paint for the walls.

All in all, a success! And a beauty!

Thank you to all who lent a hand to the growing and learning!

The spiders will miss you too!