Sachawasi

Before we get started, we apologize for the rushed blog... We are trying to get some info on this place posted before we head to the next (tomorrow!!)



Sachawasi was a little bit different from what the website lead us to believe. The original project that was integrated with a community did not work out, and Bruno ended up purchasing a rather large portion of private land within with to build a permaculture. Most of the work is done by Bruno and a rotation of volunteers, usually about 10 people but sometimes as many as 20.

The land having been only 3 years into cultivation, we arrived during a period of installation and transition. We ate our meals on top of tables made from the future doors of the main house set atop logs, and projects included wiring the house and the kitchen with electricity, and installing a sink.


Initially, much of the work was isolated to Bruno's farm, and we had very little interaction with the other members of the town save the occassional football game (though us Americans did not participate) and pleasantries as we made small purchases in town.

Luckily, we were there in time to clebrate Carnaval with them. We were invited to join in their opening celebrations, a night of dancing and music. The dancing started with some sense of rhythm and regular movement, but quickly would degenerate into a train of people running in and out of the building. All the while, the children of the town pelted us with water balloons. It was a great way for us to break the ice.

The next day, We were able to return with a gift for the town. We dressed up in burlap sacks and leaves and marched through the town playing music and dancing for them. According to Bruno, we were representing a much older native tribe of Bolivia, but I think we just ended up convincing the rest of the town that gringos really are crazy.

By the end of our stay, a system of work exchange was set up. WWOOF volunteers worked on the farms of some of the other people in town, and at some later date, they would work on Bruno's farm. Not only did this allow for for us to have more interaction with the townsfolk, but we also hope that over time, they will be able to learn from Bruno's philosophy of premaculture as a better alternative to their current agricultural methods.

The day-to-day was wonderful. Jon and I felt productive and stress free at the same time. Some of the work was very difficult (clearing an area of Amazon for a future camp location for a reunion of a Bolivian ecological group), and others very relaxing (harvesting "Taruma" or food for lunch).

When we were done with work, we bathed in the river and relaxed with each other. All in all, it's been one of the highlights of our trip. We would like to go back in 5 years or so to see how it has developed.

(Please don't judge the river in this photo. It's a bit murkier than usual due to some heavy rains the day before.)





My time on the computer is almost done, so I will end with this:

Skillz learned that are just as important as NumChuck Skillz to get the wimenz:
1. Machete skillz
2. We can tell and harvest Choclo vs. Maize
3. Japanese Rock Weaving (taught to us by a kid from Vermont. His teacher isn's sure if it's Japanese either... it's just where she saw the method)
4. Pachamanca!!
5. Kill and clean a chicken or duck
6. Other harvests: Taruma, Yukka, Yutuyuyu...
7. Medicinal herb skills (though the taste of Plantain leaves are so bad that I would rather just use my hydrochortizone...)
8. Bug bite relief skills - MUD!! And after 3 weeks of meticulously drinking a very bitter tea to repel the bugs, we learned that we should have been RUBBING IT ON OUR SKIN!!
9. Starting a fire (well, half of us learned this one...)
10. Catering a full meal for 20 people over an open campfire
11. SPANISH SKILLS. Very important words like "probar" as in when there is an amazing smell coming from the kitchen, one says "¡Quiero probar!"

Bolivian Buses

We are now safe back in civilazion!!

Gathering our thoughts on the farm may take us some time... meanwhile, here is the story of our 12 hour bus ride turned 30.

We got on a 5pm bus out of Apolo to La Paz (named "Suavecito"), a 12 hour ride, getting us into the city by morning and saving us a night at a hostel. We were pretty lucky to have been able to get the tickets, since there was a bus strike just before and a planned strike for just after the day of our trip.

The trip started fairly well, with the standard uncomfortable seats and odd smells (one lady was transporting a poor chicken the whole way in a heavy plastic bag). Then, only four hours out of Apolo, the bus came to a halt. At some point in the day, there was a major rock slide blocking the road.

There was little to do but to wait. There is a crew assigned to each portion of the road, and we were assured that they would be out soon enough with the back hoe...

By morning, no one had arrived, and no new news, just more assurances that they would be out soon enough. There was another bus stuck on the other side of the slide, equally frustrated and hungry. Some men got out and started moving some of the smaller rocks and brush away.

To deal with the hunger, Jon and I found a small tienda selling nothing but candy and soda. We stuffed ourselves with Cremocitas (a HORRIBLE thing to do to your stomache after 3 weeks of predominantly healthy, organic, vegetarian eating) and soda. Needless to say, I got dirahea. More on that later...

By noon, we had four buses and two jeeps full of frustrated people. The men had already started putting their back bones into clearing the road, using nothing but makeshift tools of fallen trees and a 1.24" rope to move boulders close to two tons in weight. When the work was nearly complete, four men sent to clear the road finally arrived, armed with nothing but shovels and wearing sandals. Hurrah... our saviors.

Some people have had negative experiences with Bolivians, but we´ve found that for the most part, they are incredibly friendly. Most strange reactions are simply due to the fact that they aren´t quite sure what to make of us tourists. After everyone working together to clear the road, some of the other bus riders shared their bread and fruit with us.

And finally we are off!! So, the dirahrea was slowly gurgling it´s way down my stomache when we finally come to a rest stop in a small town. We stop for dinner, only to find out that they can´t serve us all. About 10 of us didn´t get to eat (including us gringos).

When I ask for a public restroom, I am told to go around the building. Around the building is an allyway leading to a field where people seem to just throw their trash. While I had gotten accostomed to (and even sometimes prefer) "el baño natural", going in a city field lit up by a street light was something very different...

We wandered around the town to finally find a small tienda selling more Cremocitas, and luckily also some small bread and cans of sardines. mmm...

Once back on the bus, which had up until now been playing pop music, the driver decides to change the entertainment, and puts in a DVD of footage of cock-fighting... for 3 hours... definitely the biggest downer of the entire bus ride.

We finally arrive in La Paz at two AM. Luckily Jesus (a friend we made on the bus) helped us find a cab and a hostel. (There is currently a strike on all buses and taxis that started this morning, so most hostels were full and guests aren´t likely to leave anytime soon.)

All in all, NOT the worst bus ride we´ve had in South America. After the 48 hours turned 60 to Buenos Aires with no air conditioning, this ride was a piece of cake.

We didn´t take pictures of the rock slide, but we were pretty closely located this waterfall. Had the trip gone on without delays, we would have missed a lot of the scenery...