It has been weeks since I’ve written and I apologize to all the faithful and wonderful readers who have been checking the site in hopes of a new post. I loved the ranch so much that I convinced Jacq to meet me in Mastatal so I could extend my stay through Christmas and celebrate the holidays with him and all the new, wonderful friends I had made. Unfortunately, there was no internet available to update the blog and let everyone know where we had disappeared to.
Mastatal is the most naturally beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. The town is located in the heart of a virtually untouched rainforest. It’s situated about 1000 feet above sea level, has no paved roads and no downtown area to speak of.
The ranch itself is a small oasis in a large jungle that, at times, feels it could easily eat you alive. Robin and Tim, the owners of the ranch, bought about 300 acres of property with the hopes of creating a completely sustainable farm. They’ve been working on their land for over 5-years now and in that time have single handedly made an dynamic and incredibly positive impact on the local environment and the community.
Right now the main focus at the ranch is sustainable building. There are currently four completed houses and two other standing buildings (which are current projects awaiting completion). Eleven full-time, local employees work year round with the volunteers to complete the foundational and structural work on all new construction at the ranch. Once a building is structurally secure, Tim, Robin and the volunteer staff use natural substances to complete the inter-workings of the structures (ie: the interior and exterior walls, the floors, the furniture, etc). The buildings are structured with bamboo and the walls are made from a mixture of bamboo and cob and are finished off with a limestone wash. The process is really interesting. During my stay at the ranch I was able to take part in some of the natural building work. I spent a day grating clay and mixing the fine pieces into fresh cow manure to create cob. Yes, I danced in cow poo and it was awesome! Using that mixture, some of the other volunteers schmeared the cob onto a bamboo-wicker wall structure through a process called wattle and daub. A layer is applied to each side of the bamboo-wicker wall, set to dry and eventually will be finished with a limestone wash to protect it from the rain.
On top of the construction work, volunteers are encouraged to delve into other projects on the ranch as well. In my short time there I contributed to all sorts of activities: I helped clear a waterfall on the property (Eric and I swam upstream with saws in our hands, climbed the rock formation on the side of the fall and sawed off some huge pieces of debris that had been lodged in the waterfall, obstructing the water flow – afterward we jumped off the rocks into a deep, cool swimming hole.), grated clay and danced in manure (which I mentioned above), composted the gardens, harvested papayas and bananas, made bread from scratch and baked it in the cob oven (that was awesome!), chartered virtually untouched areas of the rainforest, mapping paths as we went so Tim and Robin could have maps of paths on their property (we found another huge, awesome waterfall with an great swim hole below), built a rock pathway and watched Nate and Mike make benches in the wood shop. The ranch makes all their own furniture, as well as their own soap and mead – two projects I didn’t have an opportunity to experience first hand.
Each volunteer is also assigned kitchen shifts: two on breakfast, one on lunch and three on dinner. Everyday (except Sunday), breakfast is at 7am and morning meetings are at 8am. After the meeting the volunteers split up to work on different projects until lunch (12:30ish). After lunch, work stopped and play began. Every afternoon there were group games: horse shoes, ultimate frisbee, basketball, ping pong, etc. The early evenings were spent laying in hammocks, playing cards and dominos or reading. Dinners were almost always at 7:30 and almost everyone was in bed by 10:00. The exception was Sundays which were ultimate Sunday Fundays – no work, all play.
During my two week stay I spent a lot of time outdoors. In the afternoons I took a few opportunities to walk to the nearby town of San Miguel to call my mother and check in. The walks were long and hot but the wildlife and scenery were definitely a fair trade off. A group of us also spent an entire day venturing out on a waterfall trip. The trip involved a long hike down to the river and small hot springs and a hour and a half tube ride through rapids to an enormous – at least 100 ft – waterfall with a crystal clear swimming hole.
During my stay I got to see horses, cows, bulls, toucans, parrots, armadillos, spiders, vine snakes, poison dart frogs, toads, lizards and all sorts of small insects … including lots of cockroaches.
My experience at the ranch was like nothing I can really describe. I was moved by the kindness and patience of the community, blown away by the warmth Tim and Robin exuded and touched by the acceptance of the other volunteers. In just two short weeks I made amazing connections with people and hope to continue the new friendships I created.
Rancho Mastatal has a charitable foundation that I encourage everyone to donate to. The ranch is literally changing an entire community: pushing education, employing men and women, helping the schools, building self esteem and teaching about rain forest conservation, among so many other things. If you’re interested in learning more about Rancho Mastatal, or donating to their non-profit organization, please click on the link on the right blog roll titled “On The Road”.
Many thanks to Tim, Robin, Cattia, Lily, Junior, Ania, Ian, Liz, Kaleb, Ericka, Susan, Eric, Guy, Paul, Nate, Mike, Erin, Michael, Sue, Sparky, Seth, Dickie, Larissa, Kathy and the entire town of Mastatal for an incredible experience that I’ll never forget!
And Then There Was One ... 