Time has flown by during the past few months, but we are getting ready to return home. A little over a week and we´ll be back in the states. Along with processing coffee, Mary Laura also spent her time cultivating fruits and vegetables, and caring for the various animals at the farm. It was a less hectic expereince than living on the Ranch in the fall. Besides her host family, there were two other volunteers to share the work load. The cultural experience of living with a Tico family was invaluble for her.
I chose to stay at Rancho Mastatal to continue learning about natural building and permaculture techniques. In total we maintained around forty people at the Ranch at any given time. It never got boring as we had several groups come through for various courses and experiences. Currently there is a class from Yestermorrow design and build school working on a structure using bamboo and earth. We welcomed two goats in January to the family but unfortunately they won´t be producing milk for another year as they are just a few months old. I guess I´ll have to come back next year to sample a little goat cheese. The focus of this internship turned out to be food production. With a couple of interns who brought farming and gardening experience we have begun the process to actively supplement our food comsumption with home grown produce. Most of this work has consisted of soil building and design but we are finally beginning to see the fruits of our labor. The nurseries are filled with seedlings ready to be planted and our garden beds are filling out nicely. It would be nice to stick around to see things develop further but it is time to head home.
The transition back to PA should be aided by the work that we will be starting upon our return. We´ve both been accepted as interns at Living Hope Farm in Harlysville. It is a first year CSA that will be running from April until the end of October (livinghopefarm.org). We´ll definitely have our work cut out for us. It does feel great though to have something lined up for the next six months at least. The challenge will be in balancing reaquainting ourselves with friends and family and getting involved at the farm. A slower transition may have been prefered but it´s a wonderul opportunity. We look forward to seeing all of you in the very near future (April 8th) Until then...we love you
I chose to stay at Rancho Mastatal to continue learning about natural building and permaculture techniques. In total we maintained around forty people at the Ranch at any given time. It never got boring as we had several groups come through for various courses and experiences. Currently there is a class from Yestermorrow design and build school working on a structure using bamboo and earth. We welcomed two goats in January to the family but unfortunately they won´t be producing milk for another year as they are just a few months old. I guess I´ll have to come back next year to sample a little goat cheese. The focus of this internship turned out to be food production. With a couple of interns who brought farming and gardening experience we have begun the process to actively supplement our food comsumption with home grown produce. Most of this work has consisted of soil building and design but we are finally beginning to see the fruits of our labor. The nurseries are filled with seedlings ready to be planted and our garden beds are filling out nicely. It would be nice to stick around to see things develop further but it is time to head home.
The transition back to PA should be aided by the work that we will be starting upon our return. We´ve both been accepted as interns at Living Hope Farm in Harlysville. It is a first year CSA that will be running from April until the end of October (livinghopefarm.org). We´ll definitely have our work cut out for us. It does feel great though to have something lined up for the next six months at least. The challenge will be in balancing reaquainting ourselves with friends and family and getting involved at the farm. A slower transition may have been prefered but it´s a wonderul opportunity. We look forward to seeing all of you in the very near future (April 8th) Until then...we love you
