Living Routes: Ecoversidade 2005 Summer

School's Out

Thanks to John for creating such a detailed weblog for people to follow. My name is Danielle, a student with the program. Yesterday we presented our final permaculture design projects. The designs will hopefully help a friendly neighbor regenerate his land into a tropical paradise fit for human habitation. We then closed the course and each student received a certificate of completion, said our final words. Today many people have headed home, while others of us are staying here...

My Final Entry

I am back to IPEC after a terrific trip to the Chapada dos Veadeiros, full of hiking, swimming under waterfalls and a bit of easy rock climbing. I leave tomorrow for the US to return to my own family (and my gardens which need weeding). The students have been working hard on their Garden Center and have begun their major design project. This morning they were all busy working in groups on this project. Before I left, they built some tanks and ponds from...

Monday Morning

The weekend was both busy and lazy at the same time. Lots of events, travel into town, shopping, reading, and naps. It is now Monday morning and the students are back in class. They begin their big project today which is a major design project. They will learn how to create base maps which is their first professional drawing of a site. I am off on a field trip for a few days myself. I�m headed for a national park north of Brazilia called Chapada dos Veadeiros. I�m scouting this...

Friday

We began the day with a presentation by Andre on the use of biological systems to handle grey water and other `waste�products. It was really good. Here is Andre talking with us. He is an excellent teacher.... Then we went for a walk to see the `living machine�that turns...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Pictures

Here are some pictures from our first few days... At the airport... Our first class....