What a strange few years we've all been going through. Personally, I'm more glad than ever to live at the end of the road in a third world country. Living outside the modern day bubble has some real advantages. Like emotional peace.
Yes, it's been quite a while since we've posted on the blog. Sorry about that. But it isn't for lack of thinking of you. If you read this, please drop us a note letting us know what's up. You're our connection to the outside world.
There have been a lot of changes here. A lot. To really update you, we've put together a book which will soon be out as an ebook and in print, both versions will be available on Amazon.
"Leaving Behind Normalcy"
The book begins with our decision to get out of Dodge and goes up to present time, addressing insights we've had and stages we've had to pass through.
The first matter at hand is how our packaged coffee currently looks:
Love it!! We tried a new roaster who did a nice job on the roast.
The only concern is that the "ground coffee" is in bags that say
"whole bean"
and the "whole bean" bags say "ground coffee".
Either way, it tastes great.
The development of the property and projects has continued moving forward. Possibly the most meaningful project we've undertaken is with respect to:
Volunteers
For the past few years they have made our day. Coming from all over the world, they bring us news of the outside world and of their personal worlds. They enjoy working with us, teaching us and learning from us. So to accommodate them we built the Outlook, a large, open-air kitchen and dining room with an amazing view of the valley. The volunteers sleep in the homestead cabin with three private rooms available. We normally host 2-3 people at a time.
Best of all, volunteers keep us company. Here's a smattering of photos of some volunteers over the past several years, all memorable people.
Around these parts, she's known as Super Woman
This looks a bit odd, right? We lay the sheep down on their backs
in order to clip their hooves. This is Molly, the ugliest sheep in the world.
And also my favorite.
Bamboo conference. Serious stuff.
He's going to get a huge rack of bananas to bring home for making fertilizer.
Such an amazing group of volunteers
We picked the coffee then de-pulped it. Now the beans are
laid out in the sun for the first level of drying.
Honestly, we've sponsored upwards of a hundred volunteers in recent years and have a whole host of unforgettable memories as a result of it.
Again, let me know when this post arrives to your in box If I don't hear from you, I'll presume your contact info has changed.
Our joint email address hasn't changed. It's still:
TwoLittleExpats@gmail.com
Jeff's on facebook, as usual. I've been off of it for years now and just re-entered. My facebook page consists of a profile picture - only.
Our favorite way to communicate is by Whats App. Let's catch up.
Now for a thousand photos of volunteers we've hosted:
Our first volunteer learning to make sulfur calcium, an organic fungicide.
This German couple renovated the inside of the homestead cabin.
See you guys later. Have a good life in Switzerland.
You put this here like this. Then you do that other thing to the you-know-what.
Having an audience can be entertaining.
They taught us how to make noodles. Impressive.
Yee-Haw!! We'll just go tie her to a tree, then I'll sit on her
while you clip her wool. We'll see how that works out.
The first time shearing sheep for this Maltese couple.
Feeling silly and chilly. But you know about those Argentines.
One is holding the sheep on her back and the other
is trimming the hooves. It's cozy.
The French guys built their first gate.
Setting up to install the worm bins.
They rescued two abandoned puppies and nursed them back to health.
Talk about dedication.
This sure beats working in a BANK!!
She discovered the finer virtues of pole saws
and the joys of pruning trees.
Nursing the abandoned pups for several months.
Pull with everything you've got - then run like hell.
I'll bet they don't do this in Germany.
They're directing the Asper bamboo cane that Jeff is cutting down -
so that it MAY not hit and damage nearby trees.
Happy Birthday . . . to someone.
Mixing with local expats.
The compost making class.I think we should plant them here. Ok, let's string up a trellis
for the black beans to climb on.
We cut the sugar cane then took it to the neighbor to be milled into sugar cake (tapa dulce). Here we have representation from France, Italy and China.
Loading up bamboo canes for a friend.
I'll hold the ladder for you. The German chicken and sheep Queen.
Garden roof raising.
The two new worm bins set next to the sheep platform.
Meet Nabie, one of the two abandoned puppies. She's now my shadow.
Amazing wood worker
Scrubbing down the plastic greenhouse roof
We have so enjoyed sponsoring volunteers. Although we readily admit that it's exhausting. Since they come and go every two weeks to two months, we are forever training, forever teaching, forever telling the same stories and explaining the same things.
For the past few months we've been taking a break, giving us time to take care of the little tasks that we haven't been able to do for a while. By now I feel a rumbling within, that the time is near of accepting new volunteers again. We'll see how that rumble rolls.
In the meantime, please let us know if you've received our note so we can update our contact list and begin re-entering the land of family and friends.
Here's the final flurry of Photos. Enjoy!
With just a little instruction, this couple was off to the races.
Our youngest volunteers. Perfectly amazing people.
He taught us how to trim sheep's hooves.
Showing us how to create a "bio-digester"
Electricity class
She's cutting the ceramic tiles for installation in the Outlook kitchen
He came all the way from South Africa.
Lining a raised garden row with block
Happy trails! Off to make a life in Panama.
I wonder if I could make a pot with this clay by the creek.
And so she did.
Introducing the German finance manager/arborist who has
his own timber trees in the Black Forest. He's training us on how to manage our timber trees.
Learning to dress like an arborist.
They come to learn. They come to teach.
Brits de-pulping coffee cherries
I heard you guys accept volunteers. It doesn't happen very often anymore, but once in awhile
unexpected visitors arrive. And we still don't know how to manage them.
I mean seriously, what do you do when a cow parks at your doorstep?!
A first-time pruning for a cinnamon tree. We're working on strategies for removing the cinnamon bark from the branches.
The amazing German sisters who jumped in to take care of bottle feeding and entertaining triplets.
This volunteer gained the nick name of "Woody." He started out as a group project and now lives in she sheep shed
as a scarecrow.
As pleasant and interesting as they appear
After planting a sugar cane plot and dozens upon dozens of plantains,this pandemic pair of professional photographers continued on
their journey. Unforgettable.
Having volunteers has been amazing. In a way, it has been the reason for all this.
When we began this late life escapade, we had no idea where it would take us. When we bought this abandoned coffee farm with thousands of sick and dying coffee plants, we had no idea where it would take us. When we realized the pathetic condition of the soil here, we had little idea how to revitalize it.
Now we understand so much more. We had to take this long walk in order to arrive at a life changing waterfall.
Let's stay in touch. We've left the porch light on.
