At this time we are two people and three dogs in the house. It is quiet for the time being. Soon, August will be upon us and the house will fill. The helping hands will be many, and we look forward to many good times and lots of work getting done.
The garden grows despite many days without rain
Despite being in the middle of the rainy season, we are experiencing many dry days and nights. We seem to get just enough of the wet stuff to keep our garden growing. Monday night we had our first salad with greens picked from the garden. Yesterday on the land, we picked and ate our lunch!
The workers have finished building the frames for the internal walls of Conejo (the first house we began). We continue to gather eco-bricks and in August the walls will be filled with these innovative bricks with our volunteer team! At this time the workers are varnishing the bamboo ceiling and trusses of Conejo and it is looking spectacular!
The newly varnished bamboo
Next, one team will plaster the outside of Conejo while the other team does the floor in Tortuga (the second house we began). We are using a method of compacted earth combined with linseed oil. We will embed beautiful Mexican tiles in various spots throughout the house. I’m excited to choose from among the 90 pounds of tile we hauled back from Mexico on our a little February journey there!
Testing the new plaster mixture
We’ve been working closely with Jorge on planning the next steps around government applications to receive children, recruiting and hiring of the moms, etc. Last week we met with a psychologist at one of the SOS Children’s Villages. Soon we will be working to plan our Fall schedule back in Vancouver.
Choosing tile to embed into the floors
At this time, about 70 sections of the wall have been “adopted”! The wall looks so amazing with the growing collection of names on it. I love walking along, reading the names and feeling the gratitude for each person who generously shared to help make this Village a reality. We had donors pledge $25,000 in matching donations on June 12th and at this time, we are at 23,000!! Wow! Absolutely amazing!
-Heather Alicia
Things look very good Heather. You have made good progress. N