seed saving

Seed saveing and collecting is one of the more enjoyable things that we do here. On this day we walked around looking for seeds to collect and found much adventure along the way.

Including and man and his chickens

a lady and her vicious gaurd dog

And Trespassing. There was a gap in the fence just big enough for us to squeeze through. Here we gathered about 8 pounds of Pachiche beneath a gigantic tree. This was on some property only a few blocks from the apartment.

They kind of look like black cherries but taste way different.

We had a short Break but I was feeling extra motivated so i put in a few reps.

Here we have 1 of two very large bags of Jaboncilla pods. The tree produces a very waxy seed pod that contains a perfect sphere of a seed. The pods can be used to clean clothing.

The process took a while and our knives and fingers got very sticky.

I struggled to remove the shells getting very discouraged at times.

while Orlando and ashley became expert seed removers in no time flat.

After a short time of painstaking labor we were left with a giant bag of black marble like seeds ready for sowing.

These tricyles are a major part of commerce in the city of bahia. There are everywhere and used for all types of functions. If only they had a derailer and a few gears life would be so much easier.

While searching for more seeds to harvest this guy on his tricycle attracted our attention with a great catch. We couldnt help but to grab a few fish for the grill later on.

Damn, dropped a quarter in the gutter again. luckily I found it and we could buy our dinner.

And here we have just one more of the many uses for a tricycle. Transporting two 10 meter bamboo poles down the avenue.
























Wow!. well that it for this Edition. All is well in Ecuador. We are planting like crazy and having all sorts of fun.

Punta Gorda and Planetdrum land

Ramon is a fellow planet drummer and teacher in bahia. On two different weekends we went to his cabin on the beach. We drove down the beach for about 20 minutes untill the point which was just passable by foot at low tide.

the cabin is a bit of a climb up the hill but worth it.

Below is a picture of portion of a reef that is exposed during very low tides that occur about once a month. At this point we were able to harvest about 40 fairly large Oysters fresh off the rocks. Yum!

A splash of lime is all you need!

Bag -o- Oysters

We removed the rest of the oysters from their shells and made a Cevieche with avacado, tomato and onions. Along with bag of chifle ( Fried green plantian chips ) it was a delightful sunday lunch.

On one of the weekends I brought a surf board that I rented and everyone got to give it a shot. Surfing is not as easy as they make it look on TV.

Closer view of the cabin made from wood beams with bamboo and plaster walls

here is the grill beneath the cabin. we got lucky one morning and wistled some fisherman into shore. They were able to sell us 3 lobsters and a few small fish.. ! Awesome

A snail

Bird colony

Clam colony

Feet

the walk back
One time we were able to catch a passing truck for a ride which was great. the other time we had to walk the whole way. with the tide rising rapidly it was a bit of a race to make it home.

Here is another bit of the day to day at work here with Planet Drum.

We are packing up some gear and materielas to make a water catchment for the covered sistern out on some property owned by the organization. The property is about 25 minutes out of town then about an hour walk down a muddy two track. it was nice to get out and see some new things.

On our way to the land we passed by this lady who look as though she has somthing very important to do.

mango tree

gutter

Ashley was volunteered to crawl in to the water tank to help install a valve

It was a bit of a struggle to get out but it all worked out in the end.

The Ciebo tree

The Ceibo tree. This tree seems to have a way of anticipating the rains and begins to bud and turn green well before all of the other vegitation. This tree gets very large and has spikes surrounding every inch of its green fleshy bark. The seed pods have a fiberous material similar to goose down and it is hypoalergenic. People use it to stuff there pillows here. The trees root systems reach deep within the earth and provide great stabalization for the soil.





Soil stability a major issue and one that Planet Drum is working to support. Below is the greenhouse. Nurtured here is nearly 3000 trees of around ten varieties.The past three weeks we have been digging holes and paparing sites for planting, now, it was time to put trees in the ground. The rainy season has begun in line with the New Moon. This timing will give the trees an advantage as they take to their new homes. Biodynamic

We were able to fit about 240 trees in the back of the pick up. Not a bad hual.

We packed it as full as possible and clinched to the parts of the truck that were avialible. It was off the the first site through the light rain with our bounty of saplings ready to be accepted by Pachamama!

This is a Pachiche sapling. We have collected sevaral kilo´s of the friut from the mature tree in order to preserve the seed for spouting later. And as a side we are making wine out of the fruit that is much like a cheery but sweeter with no tartness.. Cheers!

2010's trees are marked with blue paint. this vegitation gets very thick. The stakes help to located the tree for further monitoring over years.

some of the leaves on that tree are birds Woah!

Happy new year from bahia

Above is the city that is to be our home until march or so.. On the left is the Pacific Ocean and in the right is the estuary of the Chone river


On the right is me getting icecream on the side of the road while we wait for the airconditioner to be fixed on the bus. This location is nearly 24 hours into what was a 30 hour bus ride. We are just south of the Ecuadorean border.













This is a little open air place to get some good fish and soup for a great price. It is looking over the river and very close to the apartment.

Below is a huge X-mas dinner with all the fixens. We ate left overs for like three day after





























After dinner everyone from Planet drum dressed up and we did the nativity scene. I was one of the three kings as you can see from the pic below

























Here are some paper sculptures. They had these things up all over town on the days leading up to New years eve.


















And here is dinner for New years eve... some fresh fish from the market less than a block away..
we also had some grilled potatos, onions, and very ripe plantains.

Mmmmmmm...!

Machete´s make for great grilling utensils









here I am buying a head for the character that we made to burn later on


















And here is Carlos. whom we will beat and burn to rid the new year of burden.

















Ashley beating Carlos!

















And Carlos along with all of the other paper figures being burned in the streets of Bahia.

















Happy New Years!












Breakfast new years day... Mimosas with Freash squeezed Oranges and all the rest to make for a great start to the first day of the year. we really enjoyed the holidays here in Bahia. we´ll be here for a few more months so we will have lots more to share.