(This weblog is in chronological order)
Welcome to the Weblog
Please be sure and tell your friends and parents about this weblog. I hope to post pictures here on a regular basis to keep folks back home posted about our adventure and learnings. You will also be able to post messages of course.
We have found this practice to be really useful in the past, as it lets folks know what we are doing (and helps parents to worry less!).
To see other Living Routes weblogs, see.... http://www.livingroutes.com/weblogs/weblog.php
John Gerber
The landscape at Ecoversidadae
Students at work
Students arrive safely!
Just a quick note to let everyone know that students have arrived safely and that they are happy, well-fed, and enjoying a tour of the area. Ecoversidade lost their modem due to a thunderstorm, but expect to be up and running by this evening.
We are all well
I apologize to all those trying to find out about the students on the program. The day we arrived, the computer modem burnt out. It was replaced this morning and we are back on line! All of the students have arrived safely and are learning their way around. I can tell you that the food is great, the rooms comfortable, and the hosts are very, very welcoming. The students are in class this morning, the sun is shining and life is good. I will try to post some photographs as soon as I figure out how to use this computer.
If anyone has a message for a student, you can send it to my email address, which I will check every day (as long as we are on line). Write to....... jgerber@psis.umass.edu
The students will also have a computer to use later today.
More later.
John Gerber
Pictures
Here are some pictures from our first few days...
At the airport...
Our first class....
Meeting the community at Ecoversidadae....
A tour of the gardens...
Attentive students in class....
If anyone would like a picture of one of the students, please just let me know and I´ll do my best. Write me at... jgerber@psis.umass.edu
More later...
Saturday
Last night the folks at Ecoversidadae cooked a pig and we had a party. Here is the pig...
This morning we went to a local waterfall for a swim. The trip began by walking into town...
And then a swim....
We had to hike and climb a bit to get back to this waterfall, but it was a beautiful area....
Then we went into town for a wonderful lunch and tour of the city....
And back to Ecoversidadae for a nap. Most of us will be back in town tonight for a local festival, which had begun earlier....
Here are some of us in town...
Sunday and Monday
I apologize for not getting photographs on the web these last two days. Sunday was very relaxing. Most of the students went to town (shopping) and had a quiet day otherwise. Today, Monday, we were in class all day and I just didn´t get the chance to get the photos loaded. It takes a while, but I promise that by Tuesday afternoon there will be more photos. The big event today was the dedication of the Bill Mollison Education Center here at IPEC. Bill smashed a bottle of champaign on the new structure and we all had our photo taken. Big day but tiring. We are happy and well fed. More later.
john
More pictures
Okay, so here are some pictures that I promised some of the Moms back home....
We had a birthday party for Xavier last night!
And spent the afternoon yesterday talking about our hopes and expectations for the course...
This morning we had a lecture on soils by Emily and then we chopped organic materials and made a compost...
There are three volunteers here from Europe who have become good friends...
Planning and Work
Today the students did their first plan. It was a garden center on the Ecovillage site. Here the students are measuring and doing their preliminary plan on the ground...
And on paper...
Then each group presented their proposal to each other and the folks at IPEC....
Then began the construction on the ground....
And some tree cutting....
And more digging...
Really good and productive day. Everyone worked hard. Here are a few photos from just a minute ago. They are out there right now singing, laughing and celebrating their work! This is an amazing group.
Great day!
Another work day
The students began the day with a lecture on water availability and use from Antonio...
Then off we went to a neighbor´s farm to build a swale (which catches water). Here we go...
Well, some of us walked or took the truck. We got instructions on how to use land measurement tools for small farms. The students learned how to find the contour of the land in order to place the swale in the right place....
Then they began to clear the brush and dig the swale. This was hot work...
They dug about a 20 meter swale and then returned to IPEC for lunch and a nap. The afternoon was devoted to learning about how to build with ferrocement. This began with a math lesson on how to calculate the size of a tank depending on the size of your family and the amount of rain water needed. Pretty cool. Here they are spreading cement at the location of the tanks they designed into the garden center.
And mixing cement with sand....
It is late in the afternoon and I can hear them still at work, laughing and playing music. They worked hard today!
Again, a reminder that if I am not getting a photo of your favorite Living Routes students, please send me an email. I can take photos and send them directly to you as an attachment if you like. Write me at... jgerber@psis.umass.edu
John
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