6 reasons to use a biodigester as a low tech, off the grid, renewable energy source for cooking

6 reasons to use a biodigester as a low tech, off the grid, renewable energy source for cooking

For almost two decades now, Rancho Mastatal has been working on creating a more sustainable lifestyle by researching, developing, and teaching about more efficient ways to build, grow food, cook, and live as a community while reducing the impact these activities have on our environment.

As cooking is one of the most energy-consuming activities within a house, we find it relevant to implement an alternative renewable energy source to satisfy one of our guests’ favorite moments of the day: meals. With that perspective, we built a biodigestor 8 years ago.

Timber Framing: A Real Application of Sustainable Forestry Management

Timber Framing: A Real Application of Sustainable Forestry Management

The deforestation problem that constantly threatens our global forest resources is one that we can overcome. To accomplish this, though, we must again learn to give our forests real value. The main idea here is that our forests must be more economically valuable in their current state than they would be under competing land uses. If not, they will be deforested.

Transforming Human-waste into Fertilizer: Compost Toilets

Transforming Human-waste into Fertilizer: Compost Toilets

You likely grew up with flushing toilets, seeing your poop as something to dispose of, but you might also be one of those who agree that humans can only thrive once we live in harmony with nature. The zero-waste movement is in a sense, a yearning to imitate nature where there is no such thing as waste; one organism's excrement is another's food. Compost toilets turn human "waste" (discarded feces and urine) into soil fertility as humanure (food for micro-organisms and fruit trees) - the actual human waste is everything that cannot decompose: cigarette butts, plastic-sixpack rings, deodorant cans, batteries, the five billion gallons of polluted drinking water we flush down our toilets everyday, and the millions of tons of organic material dumped into the natural environment year after year.

Awakening the student and teacher in us all

Awakening the student and teacher in us all

I like to think I’m open-minded and my ideas flow freely, but as a professor I can become stuck in the rigid model of preparing lectures, grading and academic writing. The opportunity to have my sense of wonder reawakened and be reminded that there are so many springs of knowledge available in the world in invaluable. Rancho Mastatal reminds me of this truth and has inspired every student I have brought to think bigger, make connections and consider what their role in addressing the climatic challenges we face.

Tropical Brewing

Tropical Brewing

The craft brewing movement has migrated to Central America and the Caribbean. A growing number of small scale artisanal producers are building on the American Craft Brewing tradition by incorporating local spices and fruits into traditionally brewed ales. To distinguish themselves, from their temperate counterparts, they are adding a tropical flare and creating innovative flavor combinations

La Importancia de la Permacultura

La Importancia de la Permacultura

La creciente crisis social y medioambiental nos ha obligado a buscar métodos y procesos alternativos que reduzcan el impacto humano en la naturaleza y nuestro entorno. Como una de las principales alternativas de cambio, la Permacultura constituye un sistema donde se combinan la vida de los seres humanos de una manera respetuosa y beneficiosa con los animales y plantas, y donde se logran implementar soluciones de menor impacto medioambiental para satisfacer las principales necesidades humanas

Dairy Dairies: How to Make Cream Cheese with Dairy Kefir

Dairy Dairies: How to Make Cream Cheese with Dairy Kefir

Dairy Kefir is so interesting to me because it embodies stacking functions - like alchemy, it's possible for 1+1 to equal 4. Milk, grains (scoby) and a days time and voila, you have a delicious base product better than the milk you started with. It's now lightly carbonated, stable in the fridge, resistant to microbial incursion, lower in lactose, tangy, creamy, probiotic and great for your gut.

Book Recommendations: The Titles I Read this Fall

Book Recommendations: The Titles I Read this Fall

Last year I wrote a short article about the books that I read while visiting my family last fall in the United States.  I received a handful of positive responses after we posted it to the Ranch’s blog and as a result I thought that I’d go ahead and repeat the exercise this year.  The books are in the order that I read them.  I would recommend and learned something important from all of them.  A few of them impacted me profoundly.  I will try to incorporate the lessons that I learned in many of these books into my personal and work life.  

Building an Adobe Shower with Tadelakt Plaster

Building an Adobe Shower with Tadelakt Plaster

We recently completed our adobe shower and thought we would share with everybody how and in what order it was executed.  The building blocks of the design were Adobes that we made with our 2018 apprentices and student groups that visited us through the year

How to Make a Simple Hooch

How to Make a Simple Hooch

Hooch is a homemade alcoholic beverage and in this blog I’m going to explain how to make it.

For thousands of years humans have been fermenting for recreational, spiritual and medicinal uses. Fermentation allowed humans to store and use ingredients they’d harvested later in the year. Although hooch is an alcoholic beverage, it can also be brewed for medicinal purposes.

Gardening and Permaculture practices at the Ranch

Gardening and Permaculture practices at the Ranch

Here at the Ranch the year long apprentices have various roles and functions that support the Ranch community. By taking on responsibilities and managing certain areas we the chance to learn and experience those areas on a deeper level . Part of the educational model created by the ranch team is a monthly rotation of these so called life skills. Each apprentice transitions their life skill to the next apprentice, passing on all of the relevant information to their colleague in order to complete the various tasks associated with each life skill.

Vegetables & Greens that Thrive in the Tropical Rainy Season

Vegetables & Greens that Thrive in the Tropical Rainy Season

When the rainy season arrived, it started with a sense of relief - dry season went on longer than expected and our trees and plants were scorching in the heat. For myself the cooler air was welcome comfort, and the rains a reminder of home and getting cozy. Mornings were beautiful with the sight of the sun rising through the dewy mist.

When The Ants Go Marching

When The Ants Go Marching

Even before the start of my apprenticeship at the ranch, I would not have described myself as a particularly squeamish person. I like to think that I reacted to incidents involving large numbers of insects (infestations) with an appropriate amount of squeam. However, on more than one occasion, I was nudged outside of my comfort zone within the first few days of my time at the Ranch. Over the past few weeks, my relationship to these small jungle friends has changed once again.