Sorry it’s been a while, we’ve been struggling for wifi of late, so the next 3 posts might come in quick succession!
One of our main ideas for travelling was to try to do as much volunteering as we can, especially those which are focused on environmental causes. So it was great news when we were accepted to help on this eco project in Colliguay (central Chile) – over 2 hours away from the big cities.
After a very bumpy drive through the mountains we arrived at our home for the next 2 weeks. We were shown to our accommodation (a tent…!) and given a tour of the forest and the very basic facilities (cold outside shower, dry toilet). The land is beautiful – 90 hectares of forest with hidden natural springs and waterfalls. We were struck by just how remote and isolated it was, after 6 weeks in big, noisy cities it was fantastic to be somewhere so quiet and full of clean air.
The project is named Aguamadrina (with the idea of a fairy godmother who takes care of the water) and aims to protect and restore the forest of the Colliguay Valley. This was a big, ambitious project that should take around 10 years to finish (we joined at around the 2nd year of its existence), however, it could be over well before then if the rains don’t come – the area is in the midst of a serious drought that could spell the end for the project as it would be impossible to live there. Hopefully 2020 will bring rain for the region!
Our work for the 2 weeks was pretty varied, but here are some of the things we helped with:
- Bioconstruction of a building using mud/sand
- Permaculture at the heart of everything we do (inc. above ecological building)
- Picking fruit and vegetables
- Building fences so that a local farmers cows didn’t eat all the aforementioned fruit and vegetables(!)
- Digging and lots of hard manual labour
- Helping at a local arts festival
One of our favourite parts was that we pretty much lived off the land; most of the meals we had contained food that was grown there, picked with our own hands and cooked over fire. It was really refreshing to live so sustainably and is something we will try to replicate as much as possible as we continue our travels.
We loved how random rural life was in the valley of Colliguay – chasing cows away from the Aguamadrina land, attending a Pink Floyd tribute band concert, a full-moon outdoor screening of Woody the Woodpecker movie, and a donkey saying goodbye to us onto the bus as we left!
We had a great time here with our host (Gabriel) and the other volunteers (Keisha, from Paris and Bettina, from Brussels). Also the pets – the beautiful dog, Maqui, and the 1-month old kitten, Morita (whose company we enjoyed far more than the tarantulas and snakes that also lived nearby!). We’ll miss the hard work and being outside all the time, but maybe we won’t miss the tent…!
Josh & Lisa in South America 