|
|
Farm Fresh, April 2024
In this Issue:
|
Sanctuary Summit April 19-21! Great Music, Great Food, Great Venders, Good People! |
Dear Friends,
The Sanctuary Summit is just days away! I hope you are making plans to join us. There will only be 400 weekend tickets available for the Sanctuary Summit so that we can create a strong container of learning, celebration, and healing. Day passes on sale at the gate.
I have just returned from a thrilling two weeks in Colombia, South America, where I had the opportunity to visit three ecovillages or, in Spanish, ecoaldeas . See my report below on Atlantida.
Also below. Part Two in my series on Microbiology on The Farm. Spoiler Alert: Life on the early Farm was no paradise. Still, for most of us in spite of the hardships, it remains what I call a peak life experience.
Namaste Y'all,
Douglas
Ecovillage or Ecoaldea Atlantida is located in the southern part of Colombia, South America, high enough in the mountains during my visit for Easter week in March 2024 for temperatures to alternate between warm and cool following the pattern of rain and thunderstorms that cycled off and on both day and night. The land was lush and green, with its homes and other buildings located beneath a replanted forest of eucalyptus and citrus trees mixed with native flora and fauna.
Fast-growing eucalyptus trees were planted many years ago.In their own words:
“We are a diverse group, who share an integrative vision of life, being, nature, and spirit. We agree on hope and the search for a better world. Biologists, psychologists, educators, sociologists, communicators, artists, and therapists who have decided to live together in the countryside to form a demonstration center of an alternative, healthy and sustainable human development model.”
The driving force behind Ecoaldea Atlantida is Jorge Calero, who with his mother, owns the greater part of the property, about 40 hectares, the equivalent of 90 acres, with a smaller section of 11 hectares separated as community land.
Jorge Calero and his motherThe land was originally purchased in the 1970s by his father and mother to establish a retreat center, and several buildings, including a set of apartments and the main kitchen dining area, date back to those early days. It continues to function as a retreat center with accommodations for up to 90 people, with many of the newer spaces built on the community land.
Some of the original spaces for the retreat center.In many ways, the community is an interesting hybrid of systems. After paying a joining fee, new members can be allocated space to build a home, with about 11 people living on the land full-time. A number of people maintain homes there but live elsewhere for work or other reasons. There are also those who pay an annual membership fee to be considered part of the community that stay in some of the available accommodations at various times throughout the year, especially during holidays such as an annual New Year’s celebration.
Some of the new accommodations for retreats and events.
The home of a resident.The homes and accommodations of Atlantida are constructed primarily from locally sourced building materials including clay bricks, wood, and recycled lumber. The dominant material, especially in the newer construction, is bamboo.
The MalokaThe incredibly impressive Maloka is a round meeting space 18 meters across, built from some of the largest bamboo I’ve ever seen! I was told the main construction took place over about two weeks, using volunteer labor. Its roof is covered first with a layer of split bamboo, followed by a layer of recycled, repurposed vinyl banners. On top of this is a layer of plastic followed by another layer of shade cloth which helps absorb sunlight to prevent the breakdown of the plastic and the vinyl banners.
A residence that operates a small cafe during events..Most of the newer buildings have living roofs, again starting with a base layer of split bamboo covered with thick mil black plastic and then a top layer of soil. There is an abundance of rain, and the roofs are aided by the fact that it never freezes. This helps these living roofs to be very well established. Many are over 10 years old now and so far, no leaks. Impressive work!
There are over 16 Ecovillages or Ecoaldeas in Colombia. Next month: Ecoaldeas Feliz and Varsana
Farm Flashbacks
Microbiology on The Farm - Kids and Parasites
photo by Clifford Chappell
A Second Hepatitis Outbreak
Several years after the first hepititius outbreak before the community was even on the land, a second wave of hepatitis swept through the community. My memory at the time is that it started in one communal tent-house of about 20-30 people, and it was suspected that it came about from mothers giving their young babies a bath in the bathroom sink that was also used for washing dishes for a few days before a new sink was installed in the kitchen.
It is quite common for mothers to give their young children some warm water and bubbles playtime in the kitchen sink. Maybe you have been the one in a sink or have done this with your own children. My guess it is one thing to do this in a single-family home, but more risky when living together in a large commune.
There is no way this could be confirmed as the source, but it made us again realize we had to have higher standards of cleanliness.
Worms
Living in a rural environment with dirt roads, it was not uncommon for folks, especially children, to pick up various types of parasites such as pinworms and roundworms. The eggs can be inhaled from dust, starting a cycle that can be difficult to control.
Pinworms are small, white worms, visible to the naked eye, but often not seen because they only leave the body out of your butthole to lay their eggs, and the eggs cannot be seen except under a microscope. The worms make your butt itch, and if you are a little kid, it’s easy to scratch and then hand-to-mouth reinfect yourself.
The eggs can also go from the body to your clothing and bedding. Just yanking your sheets off the bed can send the eggs into the air providing another avenue for reinfection. Deborah recalls having to use care removing our sheets for the bed, folding them to contain any eggs. Sometimes it would take several rounds of washing and drying, plus medication, to rid the family of these annoying little creatures.
Roundworms were even more alarming. They are about the size of earthworms and are usually discovered after pooping as they wriggle around. Common in dogs, cats, and horses, they can also infect people. The typical route of infection is when dirt contaminated by pet feces gets in the mouth. And little kids love to put their hands in their mouth.
The current treatment is a medicine called albendazole that prevents the larvae from getting bigger or multiplying until you eventually poop them out. Ugh!
Which is all to say, those early days on The Farm were not easy. We experienced what it meant to be “dirt poor,” even though we did have floors in our homes and tent houses. It was a time of contrasts, extreme fun, livin’ the dream, and a lot of struggles and hard work.
End of Part 2 - More to come
A Devastating Fire at Twin Oaks Community!
On Wednesday afternoon March 20th, 2024, tragedy struck (the) Twin Oaks (community in Virginia) when a nearby brush fire spread to our property, completely destroying our warehouse complex, our sawmill, and our conference site. Over 200 acres burned through the night, forcing the entire community to evacuate. Luckily, no people, pets, or residences were damaged.
However, Twin Oaks does not have insurance and the damage we’re facing is devastating. The structures destroyed include our large warehouse complex, our sawmill, 4 vehicles, our kilns, a hoop-house, a functioning outdoor kitchen and pavilion at the conference site, countless storage structures including 3 barns and 2 trailers, and many other small structures.
We are estimating a loss of more than a million dollars. This loss also means the end of our 57 year old hammocks business, which was Twin Oaks‘ beating heart for many decades since its foundation in 1967. Other Twin Oaks businesses experienced losses as well, but will most likely recover.
We have yet to understand the full scope of this tremendous loss, and are grieving the parts of our community that have been destroyed. If you would like to donate to us to support the community financially, we would greatly appreciate it. Donations will go towards infrastructure repairs and other expenses addressing the financial loss of the hammocks business.
You can donate directly to the community’s bank account by clicking here,
|
April 19-21, Sanctuary Summit 2024
Join us for Dances of Universal Peace during the Sanctuary Summit!
Jen Friedman, Executive Director for Dances of Universal Peace North America, will be present to lead a Dance workshop.
- April 19-21 Join us for Dances during the Sanctuary Summit
- Dances on The Farm every Sunday from April 14 - May 19
- May 23-28 Ozark Sufi Camp, Missouri
- August September - Deborah and I will be visiting the northeast, including New York, Ne w Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
Thank you for your time and attention!
My books:
Out to Change the World and The Farm Then and Now
A big thanks to everyone who has become a patron of Farm Fresh! When you become a subscriber, your contribution helps spread the word about community-based alternatives and the spiritual path.
Take this one small step to be part of the solution!
|
