Appreciation
Wednesday morning was dedicated to presentations. First, people working on the sustainable school project presented and then got feedback from all of the facilitators as well as the clients. Then all of the ecovillage groups went, mine being the last. I have to say that I am really proud of what my group produced. We paid attention to the permaculture principles and incorporated so much of what we learned in the past three weeks; I think it was a great reflection of what I learned. It also meant a lot to me to be aware and succinct in terms of my public speaking abilities, so it felt awesome when all of the facilitators told my group that our presentation style was right on!
In the afternoon we had a lot of reflection time and tying up of loose ends. We also had to prepare for the talent show later in the evening...
The evening began with appreciations. We all went around in a circle and each person said something in appreciation to someone that had not already gotten complimented. It was so nice to go around in a circle and feel such warmth from everyone, and I´m pretty sure I could have thought of something to appreciate in every person that I have gotten to know here. It was a wonderful way to start off our last night, because the appreciations kept flowing even after our activity.
The talent show was amazing. We have singers, musicians, dancers, and a lot of wonderful people in this group that are not afraid to put themselves out there. That is one of the things that I have loved most about my experience at IPEC, the fact that this is such a safe space where support is coming at you from all sides.
This course and experience has taught me so much about myself already, and I have a feeling that there is a lot that I still have left to realize. I am going away a changed person, permaculture principles in hand, hoping to make a real difference in the world. I´m so lucky to have a small network of friends that share my interests and that will continue to support me in my future endeavors. I think together and individually we have, and stand to accomplish great things!
The Design Task
Monday morning we had class with Cris, one of the residents of the IPEC. We talked about appropriate architecture, building styles and techniques. We also discussed the importance of using non-toxic materials in the home and got some recipes for natural paint!
Our next steps were to finish construction on the cob oven at Lucimarie´s house, which inevitably ended up in a mud fight. It has been really wonderful to see everything come together out there and to know that I have had a hand in the creation of what will be a beautiful yard space.
Tuesday was for working on our designs all day. My group was working on the creation of an ecovillage in the land above IPEC, our clients being some of the current residents here. We began by doing a site map, or a layout of the land and a mapping of all of the elements and their affects on the land. Then we got into the aerial view of the entire village, and then we had a close-up of features that we wanted to talk about in particular. One of the features that we emphasized was the usage of a wetland pool, because the clients expressed interest in having a pool. I enjoyed learning about this element because it points out that there are more sustainable solutions to even the most seemingly unsustainable fixtures.
I´m really excited about our presentation... I think it will be a great capstone to the course!
Where has the time gone?
That our Permaculture Design Course is almost complete hardly feels possible! Every moment filled with something new and beautiful has left us all exhausted and somehow hungry for more! We are a contagiously energetic gathering of people at IPEC, always providing another invitation for adventure. After a week of intensive study and play, the weekend offered even more opportunities. As participants have begun to speak Portuguese and feel more at home on site as well as in the larger community, folks visited a gorgeous local waterfall at the Omni community, hiked through a nearby nature preserve (sampling many decadent homemade preserves), danced the night away at a party with a local DJ (that the ever-punctual US visitors arrived to before nearly all of the Brazilians!) and haggled at the local outdoor artesano market to bring gorgeous gifts home to many of this blog's readers. And after all of that hustle and bustle, Living Routes participants still managed to have enough energy to initiate the preparation of a delicious Sunday evening dinner for their newfound family! Though staff had retreated to do some planning for this week, we were blessed with a special delivery of Robert's famous fried plantains with chocolate sauce! An excellent surprise.
This morning we concluded our final session of Permaculture content regarding working abroad by offering empowering knowledge that local communities might use for positive change rather than the oppressive imposition of sustainable living as a cure-all from afar. Participants offered wise reflections regarding their position of privilege and consequent responsibility in the world as young change-makers. It has been an honor as an educator to work with this group. I look forward to following their life paths in the years to come.
Today's work will surely sneak into the night as design teams prepare for their Design Project presentations tomorrow morning. This project is the culmination of student learning, giving them an opportunity to collaboratively integrate the Permaculture Principles and Ethics we've been chewing on for nearly 3 weeks. While we stress the importance of process and know that this is but a chapter in the participants' journeys of integrating sustainable living practices into their lives, we look forward to the formal presentations tomorrow. Design projects provide time for practical application of the theory we've been learning as well as an opportunity for participants to reflect upon their personal learning and group participation.
Every PDC concludes with a Talent Show that will surely bring some exciting offerings into the spotlight. We've built such a strong and respectful community in these few weeks, I have no doubt that people will shine as they share and support one another.
Thursday morning we will have the opportunity to largely wrap up the local project that Emily and Faith mentioned in their entries (super adobe benches, a cob oven with a natural paint plaster, several herb spirals, a gorgeous 9 meter diameter mandala garden, two substantial swales and several newly planted trees). Though our posting of photos has been suboptimal, we will copy our copious photos onto the DVD each participant will receive. You'll see evidence of their hard work soon!
Off to our final Portuguese lesson. Tchau! In community, Vanessa
The Last Week?!
Shocking that time has flown by so quickly! The first week here went by so slowly but since then, its been a blur. Thursday was all about food with courses talking about permaculture on the table. Luciana talked to us about nutrition and local foods, and taught us how to make rice milk, peanut milk, oat milk - apparently you can make milk out of more than I ever would have imagined! We did some tasting activities, and in the evening got ready for our wood oven pizza night.
We split into three groups, one making the pizzas, one doing the serving and decorations, and one finishing a cob oven and doing the clean up. I was in the serving and decorations group, which I really thought would be a piece of cake. Although it was more of a challenge than I thought it would be, it was a beautiful process, working with six other opinionated people. We certainly hit some snags along the way.
Friday we did the local exchange and traded things that we had brought from home. People had everything from soaps to homemade candies to music. It was an interesting lesson in local economies.
We brought a little bit of the United States spirit to IPEC on Friday night, celebrating the Fourth of July, had a leisurely Saturday, and now its already Sunday again! I´m not ready for the end, but I´m excited to see how all of our design projects turn out in the next week. I´m also curious to see the next steps that I choose to take; hopefully permaculture will be included in my journeys...
Life at IPEC
A week and a half in, we are settling into a steady pace of life. It´s the pattern of work, class, and times of reflection to process the massive amounts of information we are receiving. Some of us have been going to the sauna on the property in the evenings to unwind as well.
The past couple of days have been spent exhausting ourselves working on Lucimarieś house in the morning, then learning about aquaculture and the energy transactions in systems in the afternoons. This morning was considerably slower and really enjoyable. We discussed applying permaculture solutions and principles to problems in urban areas which is a topic that I am particularly interested in. We also had meetings in our design groups this morning which seem like they were quite productive overall.
Our afternoon schedule consists of making soaps and talking with Juliana, the on-site herbalist, which I´m really excited about. Capoeira and a pub quiz are to follow in the evening.
I can not believe that our time here is already over halfway finished. I feel like there are so many friendships I still need to explore and so many things that I have left to learn! Fortunately, I think that this is only the beginning...
Work Hard, Play Hard
The weekend came and went just as quickly. I love it here because there is never any down time, but that just means we are moving too quickly to the end!
On Friday evening, we celebrated a birthday in the group and got some much-needed relaxation time. Saturday morning, some of us miraculously woke up early to help Luciana (one of the women that lives on IPEC) add to her cob house, which was a lot of stomping on mud and straw and letting the mud squish between our toes. Really wonderful and therapeutic morning work. The afternoon was lazy and in the evening, we got to experience our first Brasilian square dance. People around here get pretty into the tradition... country dresses and costumes; all the food is made out of corn.
Sunday was spent hanging out at an incredible waterfall and in town. Some of us also got to have a good sweat in the sauna they have here. We´ve all been pushing ourselves hard, so the relaxation time is much appreciated.
Then all of a sudden it was Monday morning again! This morning we were back to working on Lucimarieś house, which was more difficult for me personally this time than the last. I began working on the garden and met a lot of challenges. Interestingly, however, every time I thought I was at a breaking point a new opportunity would present itself that made the work easier. As someone that has difficulty accepting constructive criticism sometimes, I have found this work to be a tremendous lesson in patience and humility. As I discussed with my room mate Ruby, itś wonderful to feel so productive and see the progress that so many people can make, especially when you know who you are working for.
Now its dinner time... another treasured event here at IPEC. One of our favorite points of conversation is how much we love the food here. Until next time!
Report from the faculty
Living Routes Brazil has kicked off to a great start with 27 participants settling in to the beautiful dorms that nestle amongst the green surrounds of the Ecocentre. The weather at this time of year is clear and mild and the days have been filled with a wide range of learning experiences that take full advantage of the learnscape in which we are situated.
Students participate in both lectures and experiential learning sessions and have coped well with long days that can be both intellectually and physically tiring. Subjects covered so far have included Permaculture ethics, principles and characteristics, global climate change and carbon cycling, principles of ecology, sustainable water management, soil and organic waste systems, trees and their energy transactions, aquaculture, domestic waste-water treatment, integrated pest management plus lots more...
The community action project that students undertake is designed to provide a means of practically applying the design skills they are learning as well as giving something back to the community. Luciemarie, our host, is excited about the circular ‘mandala’ vegetable garden, mosaic table, adobe benches and cob oven the group are constructing. Fruit trees have also been planted, as well as a banana circle for treatment of grey water.
Students are actively involved in community life through a roster of daily task that helps them integrate into the wider community and get to know the people who call it home. Everyone has adapted well to the new culture, different food and customs; students are learning Portuguese and are enjoying trying out their new vocabulary with community members.
Challenges for the group have included feeling that they are learning so much and have little time to absorb and reflect, however allocated journal writing time and regular community meetings help to mitigate this. In addition, all participants have been assigned a guild group, each led by one of the faculty, who are able to provide support and feedback where necessary.
A range of social and recreational activities has helped to forge bonds within the group. Students have participated in a traditional Brazilian festival, have learned traditional and modern dance styles, visited local water falls and participate regularly in capoeria and yoga classes. Amazingly, given the busy schedule, these activities are always well attended!
From an educator’s perspective, it is exciting to work with a group of young people so obviously switched on and motivated to affect social change. We are all looking forward to seeing the results of design tasks and the completed community action, as participants apply the many skills they are learning here in Brazil.
Work Day Number One
This morning was an early start on the more physical aspects of the course. A woman named Lucimarie lives with her two children right outside of IPEC, and the center decided to take on the job of building her a house and yard using permaculture principles so that she could move out of her parentś house. It is definitely hard work!
The house has already been built, so we were working on the yard this morning. Some of us were digging swales for proper water dispersal to avoid soil erosion, some working on the layout of a keyhole garden and herb spiral, and some leveling earth for a table and benches. We will eventually be working with adobe and building a cob oven.
Although some of the work is a bit tedious and the sun is hot, it was impressive to see what so many eager hands can do in a short amount of time. One thing we were told at the beginning of the course was that permaculture is not about producing products, it is about processes. As someone who loves seeing the end result, this is going to be a challenge in patience for me, but I also do not believe in rushing just to get things done. All in all, I loved having my hands in the mud.
The rest of the day is going to be dedicated to our design projects: Interviewing our clients and meeting further in our groups. This evening, one of the girls in the group is turning 20, so we will have a celebration in her honor here at the farm.
Im glad that the weekend is almost here. As much as I like to learn, Ive also really enjoyed getting to know everyone here and will be excited for more social time! This week has been such a whirlwind of information, it will be nice for some reflection time!
Belleza!
Thursday morning began with meetings in our small groups, or guilds. It was a relaxing time to check in with our groups and an instructor about what we were enjoying and any complaints. All of the guilds did different activities; one had a discussion and meditation period by a waterfall, another made cookies, and so on. Then we got together and reported back to the entire group. I think that these exercises were helpful, especially living communally like we are. Communication is extremely important here.
During our lunch period, most of us participated in square dancing lessons to get ready for Festa Junina (June Festival) which is going on in Pirenopolis right now. Apparently, everyone dresses up in plaids like hillbillies and they do a lot of dancing and putting on plays. All of this is taking place this weekend, so more on that later.
Our afternoon sessions were about the principles of creating an organized Zone 1, which is the area directly around the household. This area can include everything from veggie gardens to herb spirals to small animals and ponds. We learned about proper placements and designed a zone one that could work for our own homes.
We had Indian food for dinner, and then one of the guys that lives here, Diego, gave us a talk about the constellations. The sky here is incredible; we must have seen a dozen shooting stars!
All in all a wonderful day!
The Weekend and Beginning of Classes
After an intensive Friday of orientations, we got to spend a peaceful Saturday afternoon at a beautiful waterfall. In the evening, most of the group went and explored the small town of Pirenopolis. The area surrounding IPEC is quaint, with cobblestone streets, small shops, and restaurants. In the center there is an artisan market in the evenings with all sorts of handmade jewelry, dreamcatchers, and clothing. Sunday was much more individualized, with people splitting off into smaller groups to do different activities.
Monday! The first day of classes. Monday morning, breakfast at seven, and then community Roda, or meeting time. Our first meeting covered ideas surrounding the environment in a global context, followed by the ethics of permaculture. Our teachers are extremely knowledgeable and obviously have a lot of hands-on experience, so I am really excited to work with them. On Monday, we also talked about permaculture principles and patterns relating to design. I would love to be able to describe and do justice to the places we have been learning in, but that would be impossible. I will post pictures of the village as soon as I can figure out how!
Monday evening was our first capoeira lesson as well, which I thought was amazing! Capoeira is a sort of martial arts-blended dance, and we had some community members come in and show us the moves and music. It was so much fun - and then our teacher had us come up individually and dance with him in front of the entire group! A little embarassing at first, as I was only the second one up, but once I was up there, it was a blast. Itś nice because I feel so safe putting myself out there with all of these people that Ive just met! We have a wonderful group of people here.
Today was more classes and dividing into groups for our design projects. I will be working on a project that is creating a design for an ecovillage.
Ive been feeling wonderful, happy, and healthy since Ive been here and this feeling seems to be the general consensus all around. For me, living closer to the land in a communal space has been my intention for a while now, and Im glad that this experience is turning out to be such a positive one.
As I said, I will hopefully be posting pictures soon. Until then, everyone is well and you will all just have to picture the most beautiful place you can imagine and multiple it by about a million, cause thats where we live!
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