Rancho Mastatal UPDATE for the months of AUGUST and SEPTEMBER 2010.
The Ranch
is billowing with action and excitement as we hit the homestretch of the summer
internship and prepare for our trip to the United States. We're putting in the
cob floor at the Cork, constructing a new composting toilet out at the Casucha,
producing more gas than ever in the fully-functional Meth Lab (biodigester
toilet), tweaking and refining the biological experiment at the pond, harvesting
up to 30 eggs a day, creating beautiful salads, jams and fermented goods out of
the gardens and in the kitchen, planting dozens of new fruit and nitrogen fixing
trees in the newly named Ferngully and out at the Goat Slope, rehabilitating the
earthen walls at the Hankey, baking amazing breads and above all having an
awesome time while doing it all. The latest crew of interns mostly start
departing the Ranch in mid-September leaving Robin and I a few weeks with this
year's caretaking crew before we head to the Northeast to see family and
friends. AMY, EILEEN, VIKKI, CAROLINA, RACHEL, MICHELLE and a few others will
make up the group that will be overseeing the Ranch in our absence this year.
They'll be running the operation a bit differently than in years past as we
attempt to truly slow down the activity level during the rainiest months this
year. On the community front, we've welcomed two new babies into the community.
CRISTINA and CAROL each recently gave birth to ALISON and SANTIAGO as the
population continues to grow slowly. We're enthusiastic to see many of you
during the months of October and November. Our itinerary will be bringing us on
a not-so-unfamiliar route as we hit the Adirondacks, swing by the Bioneers by
the Bay Conference in New Bedford, MA, get our yearly dose of VT, and spend a
considerable amount of time introducing Sole to the state where Robin and I were
both born and raised, New York. It's been another busy and long year and we must
admit that we're looking forward to sleeping in once or twice and reconnecting
with our peeps up North after getting after it for almost 10 straight months
here in the Tropics. A special thanks to rock star intern MARY ELIZABETH for
spearheading the newsletter this month and getting us back on track. Enjoy the
update and post us up when you can.
RM Program News: Hasta Luego Lakeside Crew, Bienvenidos Permaculture Course
Though this is the August/September issue, we start way back in July, when the
Ranch was graced with a group from the world-renowned Lakeside School (not
really world renowned… but kind of). Twelve rising, hand-selected 9th graders
along with three teachers –Sandy, Patrick, Deb– came for two weeks as a part of
the school's Global Service Learning (GSL) program. I say hand-selected because
the students go through an application process in order to be able to come on
the Costa Rica GSL trip. Needless to say, they were all very intelligent and
mature albeit somewhat intense given their ages.
It was a great couple of
weeks for both those living at the Ranch and the students. The students each
paired up with an intern on two occasions to learn about their respective work
and contribute to the productivity of the Ranch. They also helped with a few
community beautification projects at the soccer field, the elementary school,
and the cemetery. Although I personally enjoyed giving the kids a hard time
about their pubescent and hyperactive ways (which is completely understandable
from a group of 14 year olds), they were undoubtedly a special bunch,
continually surprising me with their knowledge, insight, and willingness to try
new things.
Their stay culminated with a pizza party where students,
teachers, and interns alike raided the costume boxes to come up with some
interesting superheroes, none of them coherent or recognizable. I was a mix of
Madonna and Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Frankly, I looked a lot like Carrot
Top, who happens to be a personal hero of mine (JK). We also had Bandana Girl
and my personal favorite: Hello Kitty meets a cowboy meets Raven from Mortal
Kombat.
Once the Lakesiders left, we were bombarded by an international
clan of budding permaculturalists. I was among the group who participated in the
intensive two-week course that taught the principles and applications of the
Permaculture Science.
The final assignment was a project in which groups
of four to five individuals presented a design to satisfy their fictional but
very convincing clients. Two groups were required to set up a Permaculture
system for Christopher Mr. Miyagi, a leader in the international group Ninjas
Overtaking World Orders. Christopher Mr. Miyagi had purchased a piece of land
from the Ranch, and the design team had to transform that space into a
Permaculture workshop for other ninjas while also teaching the local community
how to set up small businesses utilizing Permaculture principles. The other two
groups also had to recreate a piece of land while incorporating the things they
learned in the class, BUT their clients were no ninjas. In fact, Fetishka and
Ivan, a happy Russian couple, had an organic soap-making/pornography venture
called Happy Fluids, which they wanted to continue in Mastatal, Costa Rica. They
requested the service of permaculturalists to set up a piece of land so that
they could pursue two organic businesses that fulfill their life passions: sex
and soap. The design groups got their hands dirty, both literally and
figuratively, working with the land and the forces that affect the land in order
to please their clients. All in all, everyone did a lovely job, making both
themselves proud as well as the instructor, Chris Shanks.
The course
ended with a bang and by bang I mean a talent show, for lack of a better word.
The show included a rap about Permaculture, a poetry reading, several singing
performances, and a hilarious spoof of the instructor Chris Shanks. The class
then took a field trip to Turrialba where they acquired seeds as well as plants
in order to start their own Permaculture systems.
--Mary
Elizabeth
Bert, Designer and Builder of the Kakhut
Building Report: The Shit Shack
BERT and HANA, with the help of BEA, TODD, FABIO, BRYAN, DAVID and others, have
been working diligently to design and build a new composting toilet out at the
Casucha. They've affectionately dubbed their new building the "Shit Shack" (or
"Kakhut" in Dutch). No longer will residents at the Casucha have to pinch cheeks
and hustle to the "Tower of Poo" near the Hankey in the early morning to make
their daily deposits. The new toilet, a 5-gallon bucket design reminiscent of
our first ever composting toilet, "The Bank", features a beautiful cedar floor,
Guadua bamboo frame, and cedar walls. Bert and Hana took this project on to
satiate their appetites to design and build a structure from beginning to end
and worked at lightning speed throughout. They saw the project through to
completion in record time, one month. Come check it out on your next visit to the
Ranch. It's a beauty.
Goat house garden and orchard
Conservation Update: Vetiver
Vetiver, an upright, tufted, deep-rooted, and extremely dense grass, has quickly
become one of our Permaculture superstars and with the assistance and motivation
of AMY and RACHEL, has found its way extensively into our new food production
systems. Vetiver grass, which originates from Northern India, is an excellent
tool for combating erosion. Erosion control barriers using vetiver grass is a
low-cost, simple and effective technology. Vetiver can survive extremes of
drought, heat, water logging, pH, and, to some extent, cold. It is insensitive
to photo period and grows year-round where temperatures permit. It does not
harbour pests and diseases to any significant extent. Most importantly, most
cultivated varieties of vetiver do not produce viable seed as has been shown
in trials in a number of countries including Hawaii. So it is not a weed and not
invasive. Any reader interested in growing vetiver grass should check carefully
that the plants are of a genotype (genetic selection) that either produce no
seed, or produce only sterile seed.
Vetiver is a bunch grass with very
rapid growth in warm, moist conditions growing to more than 2 meters in height
and with a remarkably dense and vertical rooting system descending for 3–5
meters. It is an extremely strong plant, its roots having a tensile strength
equivalent to one sixth of mild steel, and when planted on the contour as a
hedge presents a virtually impenetrable barrier through which soil can hardly
pass and through which water only passes with much reduced velocity. As silt
builds up behind the plant it is capable of shooting from the nodes and rising
above the deposited silt to form a natural terrace. Weeds and undesirable
foreign grasses, are unable to penetrate through a well-established hedge. It is
cheap and easy to plant and maintenance is minimal. Overall, it is not
detrimental to crops or forestry grown between hedgerows due to the vertical
nature of its rooting system.
Vetiver is tolerant to a wide range of
climatic and soil conditions. For instance it has been shown to flourish in
temperatures from -9 degrees C to 50 degrees C and in areas with rainfall as low
as 300 mm per annum or as a high as 6,000 mm per annum. It survives pH levels as
low as 3.3 and as high as 10.6. It has been successfully grown to stabilize
soils on the slimes surrounding mining sites in South Africa and tin mine wastes
in Malaysia and Australia where it tolerates very high levels of heavy metals.
It has also been used for degraded wasteland rehabilitation. It will grow in
saline and sodic conditions and even in acid sulfate soils or pure laterite. It
survives fire well, pushing out new green shoots shortly after fire has ravaged
an area. Consequently, when in its green state, it can be used as a firebreak.
Whilst Vetiver is growing effectively at 40 degrees North in some countries its
primary area of growth is in the tropics and sub-tropics. It is commonly grown
to control soil erosion and retain water on slopes in excess of 45 degrees.
Vetiver acts as a pioneer plant growing where other plants would not survive and
providing micro-climatic conditions where native species may become established.
Vetiver has a myriad of on-farm and other uses besides those mentioned above,
including, for example, use as a living fence and boundary marker. The leaves
and roots of Vetiver can be used for an extensive range of handicrafts and are
excellent for thatching. The young leaves are palatable to livestock and have
about the same nutritive value as Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum). It is
used domestically in cooking and insect control and also has medicinal
properties.
Vetiver produces an excellent long-lasting, absorbent mulch
which, when placed around fruit trees reduces evaporation and aids in the
long-term, build-up of mycorrhizae. The leaves are unattractive to insects. In
India it was recorded that 90% of tree seedlings survived when mulched with Vetiver as against 30% in an untreated control nursery.
We are counting
on this increasingly important species to be a principle player in the
revitalization of our orchards and gardens and hope to spread the word to others
who might be interested in incorporating this magical plant in to their systems.
Gardening Gang
Farm Facts: Agnus, Mabel and the Ducks
Soon after the passing of ALICE we wanted to get BONNIE another companion or two
rather quickly as goats do best in company. As a result we arranged the delivery
of two new goats and to many's surprise four ducklings. AGNUS and MABEL, the
young does that now accompany Bonnie out at the Goat Slope, have added new life
and excitement to the Ranch with the help of our first and yet unnamed
waterbirds. The "Farm" is bustling with life these days and becoming a popular
spot for animal lovers to hang out. With upcoming goat milk and cheese
production, the evolving pond, and other developments there promises to be much
new news originating from this area of the Ranch in the coming months and years.
Stay tuned!
Red
photo by Matthew Abrams
Community Stories: That's what Mastatal Does! Science Fairs and Futbol
In the past month, Ion, Moises, and Josue, a few of the beloved kids in the
local community, represented the Mastatal elementary school at the
district-level Feria Scientifica in La Gloria. I attended the science fair not
knowing at all what to expect.
The high school reminded me a lot of what
I picture a public school in the southwestern United States to look like. It was
very open to the outdoors with a lot of ramps and different levels (a
skateboarders dream) and painted predominantly blue and white. One of the things
that struck me most about the day is that after lunch everyone brushed their
teeth. Everyone. It was an odd sight seeing a group of high school students in
their uniforms of light blue oxfords and navy blue pants brushing and spitting
into the grass all at the same time. When I asked Kattia, Ion's mother, a cook
at the Ranch, and a friend of mine, she told me that everyone in the country
does that. When I informed her that nobody in the U.S. would brush their teeth
at school, she responded by saying "sucios," meaning dirty in a joking tone.
Costa Ricans presumably do not see a dentist twice a year so their form of
dental care involves brushing their teeth right after every meal – not a
terrible alternative.
The science fair, on the other hand, took up two
classrooms. There were probably twelve projects mas o menos competing to make it
to the regional science fair which will take place in Puriscal in the coming
months. The ages of the children competing ranged from five to twelve. Projects
included showing the process of water moving upwards throughout a plant using
the ole' celery and food coloring trick – lame. Another presented the
metamorphosis of a butterfly… also underwhelming. I was half expecting to see
the baking soda volcano. To be fair, there were some legitimate presentations.
Many of the projects dealt with environmental issues such as water
contamination, recycling, and medicinal plants. The school from Zapaton (an
indigenous community right up the road from Mastatal) presented clay and ceramic
artifacts of their tribe. They described how they were made as well as the
importance of the artifacts to the history of their people. Moises and Josue's
project described the medicinal uses of the local plant Targua.
Our
favorite, Ion's project, was of course the best one. He explained the process of
making paper from banana leaves and bamboo. He along with every other project
had a stand-up poster explaining the project and its primary objective, the
processes, and the conclusion. He also had finished products of his paper in the
form of greeting cards and a small notebook as well as an official-looking
booklet describing the entire process of his paper-making venture. His objective
was to help nature by finding an easy way to make paper on a small scale using
plentiful resources in your environment, i.e. bananas and bamboo. Yay! His
excelled beyond many of the others for two reasons: he had a finished product
that he himself had made and a pertinent scientific topic (environmentalism).
Good job, Ion!
I was very proud of Ion. Evidently so were the judges,
because he got through to the regional fair. The kids from Zapaton and Moises
and Josue did as well. I LOVE SCIENCE. WHOO!!
-- Mary Elizabeth
Group Shot
Intern/Guest Gossip: The Dance, the Beach, and the Inevitable End
I have exactly one week before I pack my bags and leave Mastatal, Costa Rica,
hopefully to return one day soon. When I first arrived at Rancho Mastatal, it
was quite an adjustment. I moved into a glorified tree house, had to pee in a
bucket in the middle of the night, and constantly worked with either human or
cow feces. To say the least, I was overwhelmed. I distinctly remember thinking,
"Three months?! I can't do this for three months. It's too much. It's too
different." Those feelings of fear and regret lasted approximately two days.
Since then my time here can be characterized as happy and rewarding.
I
arrived here on June 20th a week after the rest of my intern group, and the
process of getting to know these unique and giving people has been a blast. The
internship at Rancho Mastatal is an experiment in community living. In sum, we
have become a family living, working, and sharing meals with each other. As a
group, we have had our ups and downs of course. However, I can honestly say that
I will remember these people for the rest of my life because of the experiences
we have shared. Whether it was a trip to a nearby waterfall or a dance party in
the kitchen while doing the dishes or a night of playing Apples to Apples, these
last three months have been permeated with establishing lifelong friendships and
coming up with ways to enhance the livelihood of the Ranch.
Some
highlights: Our trip to the beach was exceptionally lovely. We had a long
weekend getaway at a small beachfront hotel in Esterillos Este, an extremely
isolated and undeveloped beach in the central Pacific region of Costa Rica. Due
to the isolation of the hotel, we had only each other to keep ourselves
entertained. Thankfully, with the help of Tim and Robin's daily trips to the
beer store, we were able to stay happy and satisfied. He he. In all honesty, the
trip was a perfect retreat offering lazy and relaxing days full of reading,
swimming in the ocean, and beach sports followed by fun nights where we
entertained each other with cards, Cranium, and drinking games. An experience
from the trip that will be forever etched in my memory is a volleyball game
played alongside a gorgeous Costa Rican sunset. Once the hilarious game of both
skill and folly was finished and the sun had set, we all ran into the ocean and
swam in a soft blue light which was provided by a bright and low moon – utterly
beautiful and unforgettable.
Also recently, Mastatal hosted un baile, a
dance! During the week leading up to it, the town spent many hours getting the
community center ready for the big event. And by that I mean cleaning it out,
setting up DJ equipment and some disco balls, and of course equipping the place
with a full bar. People from Mastatal as well from the surrounding towns came
together to enjoy a fun night of dancing and mingling. What struck me most about
the dance was the presence of children. The community did not treat the dance as
a sinister event where sinful behavior like drinking and dancing occur. Thus
they did not exclude a large portion of the community based on an arbitrary
thing such as the difference between 20 and 21. Rather, it was an inclusive
event where everyone could gather and have fun. I personally had a delightful
time dancing in a circle with all my friends albeit many of my friends happen to
be under the age of 12. In between the regaton and pop music, I along with most
of the other interns also dabbled in merengue, salsa and other Latin
American dances. Bless the ticos who were patient enough to show the gringas how
they are done. It was indeed a very fun night!
Although each of these
celebrations brings the intern and volunteer group closer together, it is really
the day-to-day activities and meals where we have become a family. This Ranch
functions best when we are working together and for each other day in and day
out. It really comes down to the little things that makes this place special:
the conversation about a person's belief system while you are trying to complete
a project, the act of helping with dinner even it is not your shift to cook
because you recognize that the person cooking is exhausted, or even the small
demonstration of gratitude at circle when you thank someone for helping you out
earlier that day. All of these things and so much more that I could never put
into words are the heart and soul of Rancho Mastatal. With only a week left, I
am already feeling the pang of sadness and nostalgia at the thought of leaving
this amazing place as well as the people who make up the community behind.
--Mary Elizabeth
Gnocci night with Agustin
Comida Corner: Lemon Muffins (or Starfruit or Mango Muffins)
Check out these delicious muffins.
Makes 8
Muffins
Ingredients:
• 1¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour • ½
cup sugar • 1½ teaspoons baking powder • ½ teaspoon baking soda • ¼ teaspoon salt • 1 stick unsalted butter (one stick) • Grated lemon zest of
two lemons (optional) • 2/3 cup of lemon juice (star fruit or mango juice or
diced chunks of mangoes; starfruit also works) • 2 large
eggs
Process:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups and
fill empty cups with water
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl using
whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, and zest.
Combine also the
butter, lemon juice extract, and eggs
Stir the wet mixture into dry
ingredients and pour batter into muffin cups
Bake 20-25 min or until
lightly brown and cooked in the middle
What is especially cool about this
recipe is how versatile the ingredients are. Sometimes at the Ranch we
substitute some of the ingredients (cream or oil for the butter, starfruit for
the lemons, etc.) and they still always come out delicious.
!Buen
Provecho!
Mary and Moi
Futbol Follies: Girls and Boys on a Roll
Both the girls and boys' teams are on a little roll with recent wins for both in
Playón Sur and Guarumal. Deportivo Feminino Mastatal matched up against a solid
San Vicente team while the boys took on a tough Naranjal team in Guarumal a few
weeks back on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. MARY led the girls to victory with
four, yes you read it right, four goals, every one which was necessary, as San
Vicente netted three goals of its own in a 4-3 victory for the good side.
Meanwhile, the boys fought back from a 1-0 deficit to score two second half
goals, the first by RONAL and the second, a blistering shot, by CRISTIAN, for a
real nice victory. The following week saw similar results as the boys took on a
solid team from Parrita called "Los Sueños" and the girls a big team from the
hosting community, Playón Sur. TIMO led the scoring for the boys with a nice
header about 10 minutes in, a birthday goal for the aging vet, and CRISTIAN and
ALEX rounded out the scoring for a real nice 3-2 win in a well-fought battle.
The girls marched to victory with nice goals from ANNIA and Mary and added
another on an own-goal in a solid 3-1 triumph against the hometeam. Action
continues in La Vasonia this Saturday for all three Mastatal teams with the
kid's team back in action after a bit of a hiatus. More to come next month.
Inspirational Impressions: Merton
"No man who seeks spiritual freedom can afford to yield passively to all the
appeals of a society of salesmen and of consumers. There is no doubt that life
cannot be lived on a human level without certain legitimate pleasures. But to
say that all the pleasures which offer themselves to us are now legitimate is
quite another story"
