Thursday, April 28, 2011

Going with the Flow



And so our Internship winds to an end. A wonderful group of people, lots of learning and exchanging of skills, friendships bridged, and lots of fun in spite of... unforeseen circumstances. Good news first...

The breakfast crew on chocolate chip banana pancakes-- a wonderful surprise:

Our freshly carved spoons a real success with the young crowd!

Candle making out of bee´s wax...We finished the wood-to-mud cabin convert, and it looks fabulous... photos soon to come...
Okay, so the month's drama goes like this: The Castle floor went in, a lovely hardwood tongue and groove.

The arched windows and bottled walls were built up...
And the final touches were being applied...
Rambo of course thought the castle was to be his new house... And wouldn't you know it-- a GIGANTIC storm came through and flooded our rivers, drenched our land, and...
...and conquered the Castle!
Shortly after the rains subsided, we attempted to rebuild the walls. Of course, it was still a little too wet outside and we were building too high too fast, and well, some instability and tumbling taught our determined selves some humility and a lesson about roofs on Earth buildings in the sub-tropics-- make sure you have one!! (We put up a provisional tarp roof for now to protect the remaining structure.)

But all in all, Earth is surprisingly resistant and the base stood strong, the floor solid, and now a good portion of the wall awaits for the full resurr-erection. So, you can guess our next project-- re-erecting the castle, maybe this time also adding a moat and drawbridge!

None of this mild catastrophe bruised our Easter celebrations. That´s right, chocolate chickens, scavenger hunts, fancy surprise cakes, and more! Always in style at Mama Roja!

Bonus photo: Dragon flies love the rains!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

The Castle and other Delights


Sweet April—we are rounding up our final month of the Internship with a wonderful group of people and lots of good energy! Morning glories, butterflies, mud buildings, gardening, and all...





The long drop toilet—now known as the “Castle” for obvious reasons—is almost done!



Arching windows, bottles in the wall, hardwood floor installed… it’s great!


Mmmm, mud-liciousness.

Also, the Cosmic Cabin is getting spruced up-- interior yellow flour-clay paint, fitted windows and door, a storage loft, and soon the front porch. Fancy!






Where do we keep our fresh delicious veggies for our groups? Why, in the fruit-n-veggie conserver, of course.





And what do we do with gorgeous veggies and an awesome mud oven? Why, we make pizzas, of course!

We are still in the middle of lots of projects, as you can see. Next photos will be the finishing series!!

Bonus Photo: Sweet Reflections