Sunday, January 30, 2011

Información en español

Mama Roja Ofrece:

  • Talleres: en Bioconstrucción, Yoga y Meditación, Vida Sostenible, Medicina Herbal Natural, y mas... Fechas y costo a publicar. Solicitar mas información por e-mail.


  • Pasantías (bilingue en Ingles): duración 1 a 3 meses. Ver "Internships" para detalles del programa y costo.


  • Visitas diarias con tour: avisar por e-mail el día a venir y esperar confirmación de bienvenida. Donación a voluntad.


  • Grupos de escolares; acordar por e-mail.

Contacto: kimberly@mamaroja.org o mama.roja@yahoo.com

Se paciente-- tenemos acceso a internet una o dos veces a la semana.


Monday, January 24, 2011

Summer Superb

Sweet summer days-- refreshing mornings in the garden, long hot afternoons in the river. We are in between programs right now so we have been creative with our free time-- that is to say, hammocking, reading, and taking time to relax and create other projects.
Between visitors and hammocking, we have been slowly building our bread oven:

The adobe bricks were macheted to size.


The body is igloo-shaped with stacking bricks in an upward growing dome curving in on itself. The front will be a double arch over the door and a chimney spout to go over the top and out the back.

Mingo, Marcelo's father (almost 80 years old!), was here to help out... or rather boss us around! :)

Plastering with a horse poop and mud mix, with some smooth stones for décor.Now to just let it dry a bit, then we can light it up for fresh baked goodies!
We laso took a few trips around Misiones. Here we are in O´paybo (school for natural health) in Alem testing and prepping for a future workshop to transform a wood plank shed into a luxurious mud composting bathhouse.

Many birds around... this variety of toucan is particularly noisy and likes to watch us work from the treetops. (This fellow in the picture, however, lives in the bird park and was very photogenic-- notice the galiant pose. The wild ones aren´t this friendly.)

This fruit is a from a guembe (split-leaf philodendron)-- when it is totally ripe it tastes like custard heaven, but don't bite down on the seeds or you'll get one heck of an itchy throat!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Teaching Methodology


Eckhart Tolle tells us that It is only our lack of awareness that limits us.” So how do we cultivate awareness, and how do we open ourselves to our full potential?
The current common educational systems are flawed and impede true learning processes. A classic classroom system fails us in that it creates dependency, regimentation, and apathy, and dulls the fire to learn. The follow-the-orders way of learning (and living) stifles the imagination and is tremendously wasteful of our human potential. We need to break away from this mold in order to reclaim our minds and spirits, and experience the richness of our creative power.
Our world is confronting desperate problems and we need all possible human creativity and pro-activity to solve them. We cannot just blindly follow our leaders, teachers, gurus and so-called experts. We must rise up together to make positive change and to break away from the collective insanity. This means we need a new way to learn.
The very nature of living a simple and sustainable lifestyle elicits a new manner of learning in and with the world. It is a constant first-hand learning-by-doing in which we participate with our bodies, see our hands as useful tools, grow in emotional stability, and feel the power of our own potential. Since we are active participants in our cycle of livelihood, what we do or don’t do affects the whole system for better or worse, and reflects back on us. Through this direct interaction, we begin to understand that there is no separation between the world and us. Recognizing this connectivity automatically makes us more responsible and aware beings, freeing us to indulge in our limitless creative intelligence.
By engaging in simple, sustainable living, we are already making the world a better place—using less of the world’s resources, setting an example for others, and rising up to our full potential as a free creative beings.
At Mama Roja, we are a fellowship of learners and teachers, encouraging an atmosphere conducive to personal growth, where we can all thrive mentally, physically, and spiritually. The teacher and the taught together create the teaching.” We invite an expanded learning experience by seeing each other as valuable resources. Each of us has a vast treasure-store of knowledge and experience, and sharing that with each other allows us all to have more tools in our “personal toolboxes.” And we need all of the tools we can get to take part in the reshaping and redesigning of this world!
Just as learning from each other is natural, vital, and beautiful, so is making mistakes. If something is learned in a process, even if it “fails”, it is no longer a mistake! If you are stuck and just following orders, you are not really learning. So, ask questions, experiment, explore new techniques, bounce ideas off each other, and search for natural, healthy solutions, and congratulate yourself if you make a mistake.
It is up to each of us to make life a rich, rewarding experience. So let the learning process be fun and joyful! If we are not enjoying what we are doing, then we are doing something wrong. Growing and developing should be lifelong activities—one of the most pleasurable and exciting experiences of life at all ages.” –W. Coperthwaite