Memoirs of Teresa: Farm Work for a City Girl

I spent last week volunteering on a farm. Yes, you read correctly, a farm. It was a really interesting experience and I got to meet some cool people from around the world. An Aussie, a Kiwi, 3 Brits and a few other fellow Americans. The farm is up on a mountain in the Southern part of Ecuador, just outside of a village called Vilcabamba (which is called the Valley of Longevity. The two oldest people in town at the moment are 98 and 100 years old. They're on billboards and posters around town). The goal of this organization is to create sustainable living conditions for the natives within a functioning ecosystem.

Yves

Just getting up to the farm was quite a journey. It's about a 2 hour hike from Vilcabamba.The path is super steep and very narrow in areas. It had rained a few days before so it was also slippery. There were a few moments when I wasn't certain I was going to make it up, but eventually we did. The next day, we received a tour of the farm and Yves (the guy who started the project) gave us a run down of the tasks and projects that needed to be accomplished. My duties consisted of weeding, digging rain diverters, cutting trash for cob (small pieces of trash mixed with mud to make walls, benches, and other things),watering plants, and helping in the kitchen. I was willing to lend a hand wherever needed but I did feel a bit lost up there. Some of the other volunteers seemed to know a lot about permaculture, nursery care, and farming techniques which made me feel completely out of my element and a bit inadequate, to be honest. But a good attitude and a willing pair of hands seemed to be all that was required....and those I did have!

Using the bathroom was interesting. We all had to pee outside in the bushes. If anyone had to go number 2, you had to use this toilet made from cob with a bucket underneath, which we all had to take turns emptying. Absolutely no pee in the poop bucket! Otherwise it would be soggy and even grosser to empty. Each time you go poo, you cover it with sawdust, which seemed a bit more sanitary than the outhouses I used in the Republic of Georgia. The contents of the bucket were used as fertilizer. It was amazing how they use absolutely everything for something. Even the trash is used for cob building.

Yves made a 15 year commitment to this project. So far he's been here for 7 years and although a lot has been accomplished, there is still so much to be done.