rrands and stock up on the supplies they are not yet able to produce at their place. For the other volunteers and myself, today is one of our two rest days a week and although i would have much rather stayed at the farm, i had a few things i needed to check/emails to send etc.Anyway, the first week at Mama Roja has been great. We wake up early with the morning sun and after a breakfast of homemade cereals, fruit and bread we set to work on the days work. There is a rota for various daily activities such as bread baking, kitchen help and plant watering. The afternoons are free for us volunteers to do as we wish. I often spend 
time reading (Marcelo and Kim have a great collection of books about sustainable building, organic gardening, arts and crafts etc etc), pottering in the garden, playing in the river, doing yoga or exploring the jungle-esque surroundings of the farm. The other day we all went out to explore the surroundings (Machete-ing down a previoud overgrown trail) and noticed an orange tree. After creating a viable path to the tree - during which we also found a passion fruit tree - we collected two bags of oranges which we will make into marmalade.
time reading (Marcelo and Kim have a great collection of books about sustainable building, organic gardening, arts and crafts etc etc), pottering in the garden, playing in the river, doing yoga or exploring the jungle-esque surroundings of the farm. The other day we all went out to explore the surroundings (Machete-ing down a previoud overgrown trail) and noticed an orange tree. After creating a viable path to the tree - during which we also found a passion fruit tree - we collected two bags of oranges which we will make into marmalade. Our main project at the moment is building a shade covering structure for one of the vegetable gardens. The shade covering fabric is designed to let in enough light for the plants to be productive but prevents the very harsh rays which in the summer heat can frazzle the poor greens. In addition to this we have been doing lots of other little jobs such as constructing trellis for the cucumbers, staking the tomato plants, harvesting wheat seeds to name but a few. 
Everything here is very sustainable and in harmony with the environment around. Everything is reused or recycled (composting toilets!), food scraps are fed to the chickens or contribute to the compost which then feeds the rest of the garden. The river provides all the water needs and also gives us a nice place to bath/wash our clothes. There is a shower in one of the earthern bathroom buildings but the river is much more enjoyable place to bathe. 
Everything here is very sustainable and in harmony with the environment around. Everything is reused or recycled (composting toilets!), food scraps are fed to the chickens or contribute to the compost which then feeds the rest of the garden. The river provides all the water needs and also gives us a nice place to bath/wash our clothes. There is a shower in one of the earthern bathroom buildings but the river is much more enjoyable place to bathe. 
There are lots of creepy crawlies around inlcuding some amazingly coloured caterpillars and butterlies. I also saw a coral snake yesterday, heading straight for my tent, hmmm, however Kim reassured me that it wouldn´t go into my tent!
I am learning lots about how many things we buy can easily be made by ourselves eliminating lots of chemicals and giving you the satisfaction of having created something for yourself while preserving the resources and environment around you...watch this space!
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