Brazil – Summer 2011

Soo… fashionably late I have FINALLY figured out how this blogging thing works.

It´s already been a week since I left Brasil. Yet I just can´t seem to get IPEC off my mind. Over the course of three short weeks the amount of mind blowing information I received, beautiful people I met and amazing things I experienced is unbelievable. As soon as I dragged myself onto the bus headed to the airport, all I could dream about was coming back to the paradise that is IPEC.

One day in class Andre told us about the three options humanity has for the future: we can violently and selfishly self destruct, hope to be saved by technology, or create permanent cultures that work harmoniously within nature. I choose to create my own reality. Andre, Lucy and the whole rest of the community showed us how this is possible. They shared with us the knowledge, methods and ethics to create sustainable and resilient homes and communities. This course, by far, was the best I have ever taken in all my 18 years of education. Every single moment of every single class my eyes were further opened and my mind further blown by all the possibilities there are for a better life on this planet. With permaculture the possibilities are infinite. Permaculture gives me hope for the future and IPEC has returned my faith in humanity. I am so gracious to all those who were part of this experience with me and so excited to go out into the world and start planting the seeds for permanent cultures across our big green and blue spaceship.

Com amor e luz,
Natalie

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At Brasilia international airport, only a handful of us are left and only a few hours remain until boarding time. I have been walking around aimlessly for the last few hours, practicing my Portuguese with store clerks for the last times. It hasn’t really occurred to me that I am leaving yet–that these people I have been so close with for the last three weeks will soon disappear from my daily life.

I think that I should feel sad about all of this coming to an end. I am. Though, I find myself with feelings of peace and anticipation.

Peace because in these weeks at IPEC I have been able to be completely myself. The time that I was here, I was a part of the community. Everyone was. There were no cliques and I never felt like anyone was judging me. This is something I have never experienced–especially when having to work in groups. I think this was an essential part to my experience here because I was able to focus more on what was going on around me and understand concepts and ways of thinking on levels that I have never been able to do before.

I feel anticipation for going home for many reasons. I am excited to bring back all the knowledge that I have gained in these past weeks and see how I can integrate that into my life and into my community at home. There are so many different strategies and techniques and … even just ways of looking at the earth and the landscape that I want to utilize. I am looking forward to helping my mom garden and teach her some Permaculture principles.

What is the most exciting though is the fact that we are all going home with the same anticipation and same attitude towards change. We will all bring back the knowledge we have gained here and we will all have an impact in our own way.

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We’ve been at IPEC for three weeks. I cannot Faha if the correct management of 1,000 compost toilets depended on it but I’m learning other valuable things. As I sit here on a rock in the river I am distracted by thoughts of the aspect of the slopes that form its course and how shadows might move through the dense vines and flowering trees. I have seen land as an environmentalist, student, and explorer, appreciated beauty and mourned degraded landscapes, but learning to observe in the way we have creates a sense of excitement and empowerment that is unfamiliar. With permaculture we can create and restore places that enrich the earth and the people that live in them. By knowing the angle at which the sun hits a hill we can build homes that require less fuel and grow fardens that can feed neighborhoods. Creating top soil and alternatives to conventional ag inputs will be invaluable to the future, especially in Minnesota, where I live and eat and now will shape and cherish in a new and hopeful. This time at IPEC has changed forever how I will interact with my surroundings and though I am lucky to be able to keep exploring Brazil after the course I am feeling increasingly excited to get home and start the thousands of things this time has inspired.

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Last semester I took a class at my school called Environmental Ethics. It fell into the over-arching realm of Philosophy while mainly focusing on debates surrounding the rights of our non-living world. If you had talked to me at the very beginning of the semester, asking my interpretation of the class thus far, I would have told you that I love this class. It is mentally stimulating and allows for moments of pause to seriously contemplate the ways in which we conceptualize nature and the broader category of natural rights. This same discussion, however, would have gone quite differently towards the end of the semester. At this time the same question could have been posed to me and I would have been annoyed at the mere thought of my response. Most likely, I would have expressed a single sigh without any discourse at all. Throughout the semester, I saw myself losing interest in this class and I was unable to specifically pinpoint why. My moment of initial clarity came during Andre’s lecture on Peak Oil.

Clarity means clearness. It is the ability to feel throughout your whole body and with all of your senses your inherent freedoms of thought and expression; it is a progression of personal reflections. Initially, I was actually quite anxious to come to Brazil. My Environmental Ethics class dropped my level of hope to an almost nonexistent state. I dreaded going to that class so much that sometimes I just did not go. I felt as though I could not do anything for the environment and what I could do was simply not enough. Nothing seemed to matter, nothing at all. I have never come to such a deep and untrue realization in my entire life as I did throughout the progression of this class. Andre’s lecture sparked my interest when these fears were presented as logical fallacies. They are simply inherently untrue. Of course this is the case. I can always do something and the mere fact that I am choosing to do something is doing something. Everything does matter. I have never felt so mentally reassured as I did in that moment. My teacher and all of my classmates were simply ignorant to the viable solutions that lie ahead of us in this amazingly creative and innovative world. I have stepped inside a sustainable world here at IPEC and I hope to never step out. I have learned so much and I truly can never stop learning. This lecture gave me my moment of clarity and this clarification has given me the drive to keep moving forward towards my future and the world’s future of sustainable living.

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The end of an amazing 3 weeks has now come to an end. I feel a sadness in my heart for leaving these incredible people and beautiful surroundings, but I also know that I will always have this experience to help guide me through my next life and educational steps. I have learned so much about sustainable living, working with others and what I am truly capable.

It is hard to describe my time here, the inspiring atmosphere and the warm energy that I have been surrounded in. I am excited to bring home all that I have learned, but I also know that only I and others on this trip understand the complete enlightenment of this experience.

Although I am sad to leave I know that this experience will not just fade into my memory, but that I can continue to learn from the people I have met here and also continue to discover my own sustainable way of life. I am so thankful for this incredible opportunity to expand my interests, skills and dreams.

At first I was a little intimidated to come here, not sure of who I would meet or what I would be doing, but the unknown led me to find happiness and growth in the simple experiences I had here, such as making recycled paper and stomping on adobe. I now hold a greater appreciation for nature and the natural pattens and systems that allow life to flow.

It may be the end of the Living Routes Ecocentro IPEC program, but from what I have learned here many new doors have opened for me to further explore myself and what it means to live in harmony with nature. It is only the beginning of this amazing journey we call life..

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We have finally made it to the last final stretch of studying and learning at Ecocentric IPEC and all I can say is wow! I am in amazement on how much knowledge I have gained from being here from all the instructors to the other students. I feel so grateful to be able to participate in such a program. I have learned how to make spiral gardens, swales, adobe, superadobe, cob, paper out of all kind of materials, and natural soaps, creams, etc. Other than these hands on experiences I have gained knowledge that I have not been taught in my own school experiences.

Living in Brazil the past three weeks has opened my eyes, mind, and heart to try to transform the world and community that I live in. I hope to be able to change the ways Americans live and hope to get them to realize that anything can be reused. I am so sad to leave but am so blessed to have spent part of my summer involved in a life changing program. Tomorrow we go to the final waterfall and am so excited! The waterfalls are beautiful. They are a reminder that we actually are free no matter the circumstances we come from. We all have the power to change the world (even in a local way) and being here has helped me realize that we are not doomed. Permaculture is not just a study design it is a lifestyle.

Ciao!

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Another day, another opportunity, another open door. In IPEC, I wake up to a world full of wonders, my mind full of dreams and questions. Another blank page of my notebook is ready to soak up the wisdom that I will gain – that is, unless it is Sunday – our day off.

I spent my first Sunday soaking up the colors, sounds and smells of Pirenopolis, the small city near IPEC. The town was celebrating its annual Festival do Espirito Santo, so the streets were teeming with people from all parts of Brazil. The city overflowed with chatter and laughter. Vendors set up open air markets and the smell of roasted nuts floated through the air. I visited a few shops to have a look at the hand made goods (from weaving, to cleverly recycled crafts to delicious dulces (sweets)). I also tried my first acai smoothie (mmmm!)

Walking through the small residential strip before entering the “tourist” section of Pirenopolis, I was struck by the vibrant beauty and individuality of the doors on the houses.

Often when people talk about doors, they talk about an open door as an opportunity, and indeed, it is important to always look for opportunities to learn and grow, but doors are much more than that. They are both the gateway to a new day and the familiar sign of returning home. They signify adventure and reflection. They are relief after a hard day of work, and they are a support to people who lean in their frame while chatting with neighbors.

My experience at IPEC is a two-way door. I walked through the bright green, engraved door of this opportunity with an open mind and heart. I am still on my journey here, but I am ready to eventually walk back through it, with new knowledge and new perspectives, to reflect and share and then open a new door. Life isn’t just about moving forward, its about learning, growing, sharing and celebrating. Its about walking through the door twice.

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So I have been in Brazil an entire week and I can’t believe it. IPEC is indescribable!  We are learning tremendous amounts of information. So much so that it is hard to take it all in, but everything makes sense. There are just so many components in this course that it is a stepping stone for all of us to do more research in order to figure out how we want to use the principles in our area of the world. For example today in class we learned about climate, trees, and architecture. All in one afternoon! I am sure we only scratched the surface about the opportunities available in natural building; however, at least now we are expose to what is out there!

Learning here is entirely different from any class I have ever had. First, we are always outdoors, as in the lighting is always natural sunlight and the air, moving with the breeze. Next, everyone at IPEC is always teaching us whether that be through class discussions, practical applications, yoga or language practice: we are always learning! I am in an environment where the goal is to learn, not compete with another student or stress about an assignment. It makes it easier to learn, excel, and apply knowledge.

We received our design tasks today. We are to design a housing cluster on a plot of land approximately 2 hecatres in size, located just above IPEC. The goal of the design is to create a plan where an Ecovillage of one to eight houses that is sustainable and still interacts with Ecocentre. We are divided into four groups and each group has their own plot of land.   Thus avoiding competition between the groups, and allowing us to work with others to make the area as productive as possible.  We are going to present our designs to a Brazilian group of sustainable designers at the end of our stay. That is good motivation for everyone to do a great job. For the next two weeks, the majority of our free time, which isn’t a lot as it is will be focused on completing this challenging but exciting task!

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It’s the halfway mark and we’ve been working hard here in Brazil: making compost and herb spirals, planting trees and digging swales. But tonight there is a full moon (& a lunar eclipse), and as we learned this week, the full moon is not a time for working, but rather is the time to reset ourselves and start new.

So this morning after breakfast and a community heart-to-heart, (instead of heading to the outdoor classroom) we trekked off into the bush.  As an archway of green surrounded us, we opened our ears to the galloping hum of water slowly beginning to add rhythm to the birds’ song. And then there it was: open your eyes to see a powerful, regal cascade of water. We fearlessly jump in to a force much larger than ourselves.

This past week has been just that. Leaping into something that we can’t control. A concept too large to grasp: Like our final design project, like the current state of the global environment. Our emotions. Our futures.

But still, we hold nothing back. We come to the edge of the cascade and let the indomitable flow of water rush over us. At first, our breath is taken away; we’re in shock at how small we seem. But then we let the pure water, the freshness of life cleanse us and recharge us. Feel this- the water of life, within ourselves and rushing all around us.  We are free.

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Here is a video of week 1. 2 more videos to come

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgwp5Be2lR0&feature=bf_play&list=WLC82BBF7508EEE469&index=1

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