After spending over 3 weeks either in a valley or up in a mountain without electricy I have now returned to babylon where I am just another consumer...though a conscientious one, and getting moreso every day.
The first farm I arrived on was called Never Never Land. I was attracted to this farm because the write up about it mentioned that it was an organic farm that used the antique methods of farming. It was said to have a composting toilet and was run my a local midwife who was involved with empowering and educating the local community. After spending some time at the farm I realized that it was a far cry from the organic farm run by the community organizing midwife that I have envisioned. Instead the woman running the place was more like a chain smoking, over the hill, mostly miserable, energy sucker. The composting toilets were merely latrines, the gardens were in complete disarray, and everything seemed disorganized and lacking vision and purpose. Portions of our $35 weekly food donations were used to purchase cases of box wine (gross) and sometimes weed and I didn´t agree with many of the things I saw happening there. No work seemed to get done and it seemed not to matter as long as the money kept coming in.
In any case, though it had gardens (sort of) and was rustic without electricity and many comforts of home, it was not the right placement for me. I decided to leave Neverland and check out another farm near Vilcabamba called Sacred Sueños (Sacred Dreams). Getting to Sacren Sueños involved walking 45 minutes from town (or taking a $3 cab) and then hiking up a mountain which could take anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours. The hike was almost entirely up, without much relief. Upon arrival, the view alone made the grueling hike worth it. Then I saw the farm and talked with Jenn, one of the two full time residents.
But I was pretty terrified at the same time. The worked described was pretty structured. You must be active before 9am (not hard except that it was the complete opposite of my bartending schedule), you were expected to work 4-6 hours on top of your share of the daily chores. There was only one volunteer there the night I visited and I saw him building and moving adobe bricks all day, pretty heavy duty work. I was worried that I wouldn´t be able to keep up with the pace and demands of the farm. It was built into the top of a mountain and everything was at an incline. Physically I knew it was going to be a challange.
I spent the night and then hiked back down the mountain the next day. I thought about not returning, the hike itself was deterrent enough. I talked to two other nearby farms but I knew that this farm was the one I was looking for. I returned to Neverland and gathered my things and the next morning began another hike up the mountain.
Sacred Sueños was started about 4.5 years ago by Yves, a Swiss-Canadian and everywheresman. A son of dairy farmers, he hitchhiked and WWOOFed his way from Canada through the US, Mexico, Central America, and South America, eventually finding a spot in Ecuador. He then went to Japan for a year a whored himself out teaching English to save enough money to buy the farm. Ever since he has been working tirelessly to restore a degraded mountainside, destroyed by slash and burn agriculture, by planting exotic and native tress, building earthen structures, using permaculture methods, growing organic vegetables and so much more in the hopes of eventually being completely self-sustaining. In 10 more years he will donate the entire farm to the community as an example and educational center of an alternative to the harmful practice of slash and burn agriculture.
I spent the past few weeks shitting in a bucket, emptying my shit along with everyone elses into piles to then be composted and turned into humanure. I wake up early every day and stare out over the valleys from this amazing mountain that I somehow managed to be lucky enough to find myself upon. I take care of the goats, make cheese and kombuche, and hunt for the donkeys in the afternoons. I work in the orchards and prepare soil in order to plant dynamic accumulators. I wait for the perfect time of day and weather conditions to transplant little plants being ever so caring with their delicate little roots. I harvest beans and uvillas and agchochas. I stop whatever I am doing when it starts to rain and run with the rest of the community to cover the adobe bricks before the get too wet and ruined. I learn about using recycled plastic to build cobb walls, about contour bunds and grey water systems. I share delicious food and stimulating conversations and read every night by candle light. I´ve showered once in the past 2 weeks and am hairy and greasy and I think I smell like onions but it´s okay, because there are no mirrors on the mountain and everyone else is dirty and smelly and greasy. I have dirt under my fingernails and callouses on my palms. I feel happy and centered and alive.
I am sitting at the bus station now and will be boarding something that isn´t at all similar to a donkey. It doesn´t leave until 11pm and I haven´t been up past 10:30pm in weeks. I am sad to be leaving Sacred Sueños but I am on my way to Peru to meet up with Mike for a few weeks and I am very excited about that. Besides, I am fairly certain I will find my way up that mountain again in the near future. They´ve made a comfortable community up there and it is rewarding work that I truely felt good about at the end of the day...and I have so much more to learn!
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