Waking up in the cloud forest was amazing experience. The night of our campout, I walked about half an hour alone into the forest before lying down to sleep. When the sun rose, I was delighted to see the colors return to the bromeliads and orchids in the canopy above. I gathered my belongings and walked over the valleys and ridges to our campsite, where we all waited for Teacher Alan to join us. The five of us did our yoga and meditation for the last time, and took a couple minutes to reflect on how this practice had worked for us over the two weeks. We then walked back to the house, did our chores, and ate a final delicious breakfast. The sun flower seedlings are looking awesome, and the beets are coming along great as well! We also took time to create a video encouraging other Quaker schools to switch to green energy, and Teacher Alan and I returned to the forest to water the Chicalaba seedlings we had planted a few days before. After lunch and rest, we drank a couple last-minute glasses of water and loaded our belongings into the truck. We drove to the top of campus, where we met our apprentice friends, Angel and his family, and Eduardo and Mauricio. We all rode together to the original cloud forest, and even got to meet the legendary Ricardo, founder of Las Cañadas! Together, we did a final moral imagination exercise in a circle of stumps where we imagined how our descendants would view the climate warriors of today. We practiced holding hands and acknowledging the life and power of other people. After this emotional moment, it was time for the sweat lodge!

The sweat lodge was one of the craziest experiences of my life. First we prepared verbally for the ritual, and then faced the four cardinal directions to the sound of Ricardo’s drum. The sweat lodge has a door in facing in each direction that corresponds both to natural elements and aspects of a person’s life and character. We then lined up and received small pieces of wood to pour anything we hoped to rid our lives of into. We each received a smudging from Ricardo before throwing our stick into the fire and entering the lodge. At first the sweat lodge was very dark and cool. Banana leaves carpeted the floor and flowers hung from the ceiling. We filed in a sat in a circle against the small igloo-like walls. Ricardo explained what would happen, and then the rocks were brought in, each one glowing red hot like it was from the core of the earth. The rocks were so beautiful! We greeted each rock, closed the door, and then began singing, imagining, and laughing as we cycled through first the Door of Earth and then the Door of Air. After the Door of Air, it was time to bring more rocks in. This time they were small boulders! It was at this point that I started to get really hot. Ricardo poured water on the rocks to make steam infused with the most delicious herbs I have ever smelled. We were all very, very sweaty at this point. At the Door of Water, the memories start to get a bit fuzzy for me. I remember my heart racing, my whole body being covered in sweat, and a sudden realization that I definitely had lungs and had better use them. We were splashed with water, given a chance to share our prayers and feelings, and hammered with hotter and hotter air in a beautiful mix of joy and pain. Then it was time for the Door of Fire. The Door of Fire is the hottest door of the sweat lodge. At this point I was lying flat on my back, very hot and completing unable to form most coherent thoughts. I have never felt so weak and strong at the same time. We were invited to think of a goal for our lives, and share anything we wanted to throw into the fire and rid from our lives. Reflecting on my determination to help the Earth and need to abandon my feelings of inadequacy felt like the culmination of everything I had learned in Mexico. The top door of the lodge was lifted, and our steam and feelings went flying up into much, much cooler air.

After the sweat lodge, I remember sitting in the river to cool off, lying on the grass and watching the sky spin above me, and realizing that I had momentarily lost my ability to speak Spanish. I felt very tired, very much part of a community, and strangely, very clean. I eventually walked into the cloud forest to change my clothes and had an encounter with some very large ants. I hope I did not disturb them too much. We rode the bus back up to the top of campus, and sadly said goodbye to Angel and our apprentice friends. We then drove to Orizaba, ate dinner together, and had a chance to walk around a different Mexican city. Over dinner, we gave each other compliments and appreciations for our roles during the trip. We stopped by Teacher Alan’s hotel room to receive new Angel Cards with values we hoped to embody on our post-Mexico journeys. I got Obedience, which I can only interpret as obedience to my commitment to enjoy every moment of my life as an environmentalist. After a wait at the bus station, we said goodbye to Teacher Alan and boarded our 1am bus for Ciudad de Mexico. Teacher Paula and I said goodbye to the others at JFK Airport, and then had an adventure involving several train rides, subways, broken phones, a lot of culture shock, and a period of looking for my parents at random train platforms in New Jersey. We finally found them and made it home safely, which was quite a relief!

After a week back in the USA, I’ve been trying to reflect on my experience at Las Cañadas. While I think it will take me years to process it fully, there are a few things I am sure of right now. One is that there are so many options for interacting with the Earth and others, and that the most rewarding involve being fully alive, taking risks, and being unafraid to really love something. Another is that helping the environment and living sustainably are incredibly fun and rewarding. I know that I’ve gained some self confidence and validation about what I want to do with my life, and that I will remember the amazing Mexicans I met for years to come. I think most importantly, I learned that even though the world and environment are incredibly messed up right now, there are so many options for fixing it and so many people across the world who genuinely care. I know I’m not alone.

With profound gratitude to Teacher Alan, Teacher Paula, Angel, Alba, Gloria, Ester, Eduardo, Mauricio, Daniel, Juan, Daniel, Dany, Yolanda, Tyde, Ricardo, Mishel, Hector, Pati, Julia, Concha, Carlos, Nuco, Juan José, and wonderful, wonderful Eugenio,

-Leif

Note: We are still having trouble posting the pictures! Hopefully we will get some posted in the next week. Thank you for your patience!

 

The day began with some yoga, led by the yogi-in-training, Sam. After yoga, we did our daily chores and ate an amazing breakfast. I think this might have been the best all week! From that moment, I could already tell we were going to have a fantastic day. As soon as we were all cleaned up, we got in the car and headed to the resort where we would be zip lining. Once we arrived, we were shocked by the amazing view of the Mexican Grand Canyon. From where we were, 800 feet above, we could see the river flowing and the birds soaring majestically over the valley. Then we went with our guide up a tower, about 40 feet, to get clipped onto the line. Personally, this was a great challenge, as being afraid of heights,  I was not sure I could trust the equipment. Eventually though, I realized that we must run towards our fears; conquer the beast! And so we did; capturing an amazing view and serene voyage. After the zipline, we hung out in the restaurant area of the resort and played some cards. Eventually we were ready to head back, and enjoyed a nice car ride back to Las Cañadas. When we got back, we were able to eat a nice lunch, nap, and get ready to set off on our campout. We took a nice little hike to the campsite, where we discovered that Angel had built us an impressive canopy in case it rained. Once it got dark, we built a fire and were able to eat some burritos and roasted potatoes. Shortly thereafter, we took a nap and then T. Alan stopped by to share a moving story with the group. We then gazed at the stars, admired the bright-lit moon, and talked for a bit. Unfortunately, it was hard to sleep well, since the bugs, birds, coyotes, cows, and the hard ground made the night slightly uncomfortable. Still, it was a night to remember!

-Mekhi

 

 

Today was a very soil-centric day! Last night after Dahoon’s post we watched the Documentary Dirt, an excellent film about the importance of dirt to our planet, food, ecosystems, and personal lives. When I woke up this morning, the hills were covered in clouds. I’ve been living in a little outdoor loft, so watching the sunrise is always beautiful. We did eight sun salutations with Teacher Alan, meditated while listening to the birds and chickens, and then did our chores.

We have ten chicks right now and they are adorable! They’ve been eating multiple bowls of feed a day and are growing rapidly!

After chores we returned to the house and ate breakfast cooked by Gloria and Alba, two amazing Mexican cooks. They brought their granddaughter/daughter Maite with them today as well and gave us the gift of amazing eggs, tortillas, and beans.

After breakfast we walked down to a field to meet Angel the farm manager and learned that we were going to be making dirt! We used machetes to cut down an entire row of Flemingia. Flemingia is a windbreaker plant that is cut-and-come again, meaning that even though we cut it down it will grow back in the future. It is especially important because it is a nitrogen fixer. Once it is cut, all of the nutrients in the roots go into the soil, while the top pieces are used in compost piles.

After we cut the Flemingia, we met Mauricio and Eduardo, two campesinos about our age. We all worked together to build square compost lasagnas with layers of Flemingia, dried grass, earth and water. We added humus from previous years’ compost piles to introduce bacteria. This was the most beautiful compost I have seen it my life! I was paired with Eduardo, so we had a conversation about compost and compared the fertility of the soil at Westtown Mini Farm, the soil at other farms I have worked on, and the soil at Las Cañadas. I was so impressed by Eduardo’s physical strength, kindness, and ability as a farmer. It was great to practice speaking Spanish and make some new friends.

While we were composting, Eric Toensmeier walked by! He is a visiting lecturer at Yale School of forestry, and he talked to us about carbon sequestration, compost, and nitrogen cycling. You should look him up! Here is the link:  http://www.perennialsolutions.org/

After the compost project, we went down to the bamboo bridge to go for a swim. Teacher Alan was a very impressive swimmer because he just jumped right into the cold water. The rest of us were a bit more hesitant. I was attempting to boulder on the side of the pool when a rock broke and I fell in! I am happy to say that this was my first (pretty shallow) deep water soloing fall as a rock climber. I also found some roots to climb on. The water was cold, but refreshing. After our swim we went back up to the house and ate some amazing rice, salad, beans, and malanga patties prepared by Alba and Gloria. We took a short nap, and then it was time for Teacher Alan and I to catch the chicken!

Our dear chicken friend has been eating ants in the blackberry patch for several days. It was time for her to come back to the coop, so Teacher Alan and I headed down the hill to collect her. She did not want to come back, however. We spent twenty minutes herding her around through the blackberry rows. The bushes were prickly, so I nudged her with a stick to chase her to the corners of the field. After a very long time Teacher Alan finally grabbed her and I carried her up to the coop. We decided to name her Zarzamora for her blackberry-like personality. After the chicken adventure, we all went on a tour of the sewage system.

The sewage system is made of compost! We learned about several different types of composting toilets, as well as the mechanical, solar and wind laundry system. All of these processes use zero fossil fuels, while the sewage actually contributes to the soil! Every factor of the process is taken into account, from air circulation, to solids and urine separation and fly capture. I was completely blown away by the beauty of these processes. After our tour and a short walk through the food forest, we returned to the house and watched an amazing TED Talk about humus. We learned about the importance of living soil and how it can help our nutrition, reduce climate change, filter and store water, hold the soil together, and sequester carbon. We discussed steps that individuals and communities can take to promote humus cultivation and solve climate change, and how we can apply these ideas to our own lives. If you haven’t seen this TED Talk, you definitely should! Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q1VnwcpW7E Overall, today we learned a ton about humus and living soil, including how to create it, integrate it with the waste from our bodies, and how it could save the Earth. I can’t wait to see how we can use this knowledge to improve sustainability at Westtown. Thanks so much for reading and remember: compost is important!

-Leif