My final goodbye to Huehue
Wow, the final days at Huehue simply flew by. We did not finish the structure of the recycling center, but it was such a large undertaking that we all expected that. What we did accomplish was to level the ground, set a rock wall and pour a concrete floor and four supporting pillars, as well as construct a cute garde3n with some impatiens, aloe vera, and taro to the right of the structure with our own Living Routes 2007 stepping stones. I am so proud of the work we put into such an amazing structure; it is almost too nice to use as just a recycling center!
More...
Time is winding down.....
January 17, 2007
I write this weblog entry at the end of a very long, physically draining day. For the past two days we have been constructing the foundation of the new recycling center. Yesterday we outlined the foundation and dug trenches where our hired mason would construct the stone walls. Today we continued to construct the walls as well as fill in the floor where tomorrow we will pour a cement covering. Although I am doubtful that we will have the entire structure finished by the end of Saturday, to have part of a physical structure built is quite satisfying...
More...
Mas photos.....
1. A group photo after we hiked atop one of the mountains behind Huehue. Pictured is our ecological guide, Cesar, who is telling us of the flora and fauna of the area and preparing us for our field trip into Chimalacatlan the next day.
2. In Chimalacatlan, we visited the local school where the children have a real teacher as well as an interactive projection screen, which is a new technology for the pueblo as of this year. We were shown up by the children's ability to use the touch pad. It was so strange to see such new technology in a town otherwise very poor.
3. Hiking up the mountains (some of us on horseback/muleback) to visit an ancient cave where the locals yearly prey to their wind god to bring rains for growing in the rainy season.
4. An example of some of the small group work we have done to learn the decision making process.
5. As one group work activity, a local drummer taught us some rhythms. The energy was definitely flowing by the end of our jam session.
6. Prepping the work site for the future recycling center.
7. More of the site
More...
Consenso!
January 14, 2007
The past two days our group spent meeting to come to consensus on our group project proposal for Huehue...
More...
Coming closer to consensus
Hello all,
It has been difficult to find time to access a computer and blog in the past week; our activities at Huehue and in the surrounding area are able to fill the day. When I last wrote, I discussed how our group was learning about the area and getting accostumed to the local culture, geography, flora and fauna, as well as the specific workings at Huehue. Tomorrow will mark one week in Mexico for us, and in this time we have been learning how to function not only as a community of friends, but also as a community of consensus decision makers......
More...
Our Journey to Huehue. January 3, 2007
Hõla! Estoy aquí en Huehuecoyotl, una puebla muy pequeña cerca de Tepotzlán, en el estado de Morelos. (Hello! I am here in Huehuecoyotl, a tiny village near Tepotzlán in the state of Morelos.) Where to begin? To get to Huehuecoyotl, or “Huehue,” as those who live in this ecovillage call it, one must spend a crazy day hopping planes and lifting heavy luggage just to get into Mexico City...
More...
First Day Orientation, by Giovanni. January 3, 2007
Today students received the full course orientation by all the staff here at Huehuecoyotl.
After a couple of rounds of introductions and some fun with our names and places of origins they were asked to tells us a little bit about their concentration of studies, so we could assess how to best present the course materials with relevance to their individual interests. Everything from Sociology, to Environmental Studies, Science, General Studies and Sustainable Develoment.
More...
Getting ready to leave the U.S.
December 7, 2006
Hello all! My name is Emily Wheeler, and I am a junior at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts studying Environmental Studies and Biology. I discovered Living Routes one night during my first year while rummaging through pamphlets of possible study abroad programs, and was enticed by the idea of an ecovillage. Since then, I have become increasingly interested in developing sustainable agricultural systems worldwide, particularly through ecovillage/community farm development. I am also interested in holistic health, natural medicine, and yoga, so I am extremely excited for the opportunity to visit Huehuecoyotl in January and Auroville in the spring, both of which offer related study. I have never traveled outside of the United States for longer than two weeks, muchless on my own. I am nervous but extremely excited to get on that plane by myself and explore the differnt habitats offered in Mexico and India.
There is less than a month before I fly from Hartford Connecticut for Huehuecoyotl. After three short weeks there, I’ll board another plane bound for Chennai, India, and begin my adventures at Auroville. I am still having a hard time conceiving the end of the semester. I have put so much effort into organizing these trips without any outside (i.e. parental) help that I am half expecting to wake up from this dream to discover that I have forgotten to complete something horribly obvious. However, everything seems to be in order. All I need to do is finish finals at Mount Holyoke, go home to visit my family, pack, and drive to the airport! It seems too simple.
I have been visiting both websites more frequently as the days until departure keep shrinking. What I am currently most concerned about, especially in India, is the weather. Considering Western Massachusetts just experienced its first accumulation of snow on December 5, while my home of Orange Vermont experienced 70 degree (F) weather on November 30, I can only imagine the extra warmth in India due to global warming. This environmental change that even I, in my short lifetime of 20 years, have observed is why I am glad I decided to spend my time abroad studying sustainable living at ecovillages. I believe that our global society needs to make major lifestyle changes, and soon. This starts by recognizing our inherent coexistence with the biosphere. We do not live DESPITE the global ecosystem; we exist BECAUSE of it. I am hopeful that small autonomous, intentional communities such as Huehuecoyotl and Auroville will offer some solutions to our general detachment and over-consumption.
I hope you all enjoy these entries as they accumulate between now and May 3, 2007. Please feel free to make any comments or suggestions about this weblog. These entires are meant for all, and I want it to be complete and informative.
Hasta luego,
Emily
More...
My final goodbye to Huehue
Wow, the final days at Huehue simply flew by. We did not finish the structure of the recycling center, but it was such a large undertaking that we all expected that. What we did accomplish was to level the ground, set a rock wall and pour a concrete floor and four supporting pillars, as well as construct a cute garde3n with some impatiens, aloe vera, and taro to the right of the structure with our own Living Routes 2007 stepping stones. I am so proud of the work we put into such an amazing structure; it is almost too nice to use as just a recycling center!
More...
Time is winding down.....
January 17, 2007
I write this weblog entry at the end of a very long, physically draining day. For the past two days we have been constructing the foundation of the new recycling center. Yesterday we outlined the foundation and dug trenches where our hired mason would construct the stone walls. Today we continued to construct the walls as well as fill in the floor where tomorrow we will pour a cement covering. Although I am doubtful that we will have the entire structure finished by the end of Saturday, to have part of a physical structure built is quite satisfying...
More...
Mas photos.....
1. A group photo after we hiked atop one of the mountains behind Huehue. Pictured is our ecological guide, Cesar, who is telling us of the flora and fauna of the area and preparing us for our field trip into Chimalacatlan the next day.
2. In Chimalacatlan, we visited the local school where the children have a real teacher as well as an interactive projection screen, which is a new technology for the pueblo as of this year. We were shown up by the children's ability to use the touch pad. It was so strange to see such new technology in a town otherwise very poor.
3. Hiking up the mountains (some of us on horseback/muleback) to visit an ancient cave where the locals yearly prey to their wind god to bring rains for growing in the rainy season.
4. An example of some of the small group work we have done to learn the decision making process.
5. As one group work activity, a local drummer taught us some rhythms. The energy was definitely flowing by the end of our jam session.
6. Prepping the work site for the future recycling center.
7. More of the site
More...
Consenso!
January 14, 2007
The past two days our group spent meeting to come to consensus on our group project proposal for Huehue...
More...
Coming closer to consensus
Hello all,
It has been difficult to find time to access a computer and blog in the past week; our activities at Huehue and in the surrounding area are able to fill the day. When I last wrote, I discussed how our group was learning about the area and getting accostumed to the local culture, geography, flora and fauna, as well as the specific workings at Huehue. Tomorrow will mark one week in Mexico for us, and in this time we have been learning how to function not only as a community of friends, but also as a community of consensus decision makers......
More...
Our Journey to Huehue. January 3, 2007
Hõla! Estoy aquí en Huehuecoyotl, una puebla muy pequeña cerca de Tepotzlán, en el estado de Morelos. (Hello! I am here in Huehuecoyotl, a tiny village near Tepotzlán in the state of Morelos.) Where to begin? To get to Huehuecoyotl, or “Huehue,” as those who live in this ecovillage call it, one must spend a crazy day hopping planes and lifting heavy luggage just to get into Mexico City... More...
First Day Orientation, by Giovanni. January 3, 2007
Today students received the full course orientation by all the staff here at Huehuecoyotl.
After a couple of rounds of introductions and some fun with our names and places of origins they were asked to tells us a little bit about their concentration of studies, so we could assess how to best present the course materials with relevance to their individual interests. Everything from Sociology, to Environmental Studies, Science, General Studies and Sustainable Develoment.
More...
Getting ready to leave the U.S.
December 7, 2006
Hello all! My name is Emily Wheeler, and I am a junior at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts studying Environmental Studies and Biology. I discovered Living Routes one night during my first year while rummaging through pamphlets of possible study abroad programs, and was enticed by the idea of an ecovillage. Since then, I have become increasingly interested in developing sustainable agricultural systems worldwide, particularly through ecovillage/community farm development. I am also interested in holistic health, natural medicine, and yoga, so I am extremely excited for the opportunity to visit Huehuecoyotl in January and Auroville in the spring, both of which offer related study. I have never traveled outside of the United States for longer than two weeks, muchless on my own. I am nervous but extremely excited to get on that plane by myself and explore the differnt habitats offered in Mexico and India.
There is less than a month before I fly from Hartford Connecticut for Huehuecoyotl. After three short weeks there, I’ll board another plane bound for Chennai, India, and begin my adventures at Auroville. I am still having a hard time conceiving the end of the semester. I have put so much effort into organizing these trips without any outside (i.e. parental) help that I am half expecting to wake up from this dream to discover that I have forgotten to complete something horribly obvious. However, everything seems to be in order. All I need to do is finish finals at Mount Holyoke, go home to visit my family, pack, and drive to the airport! It seems too simple.
I have been visiting both websites more frequently as the days until departure keep shrinking. What I am currently most concerned about, especially in India, is the weather. Considering Western Massachusetts just experienced its first accumulation of snow on December 5, while my home of Orange Vermont experienced 70 degree (F) weather on November 30, I can only imagine the extra warmth in India due to global warming. This environmental change that even I, in my short lifetime of 20 years, have observed is why I am glad I decided to spend my time abroad studying sustainable living at ecovillages. I believe that our global society needs to make major lifestyle changes, and soon. This starts by recognizing our inherent coexistence with the biosphere. We do not live DESPITE the global ecosystem; we exist BECAUSE of it. I am hopeful that small autonomous, intentional communities such as Huehuecoyotl and Auroville will offer some solutions to our general detachment and over-consumption.
I hope you all enjoy these entries as they accumulate between now and May 3, 2007. Please feel free to make any comments or suggestions about this weblog. These entires are meant for all, and I want it to be complete and informative.
Hasta luego,
Emily
More...
