Transformations

Update #4

Hello all, I have a lot of catching up to do! Since my last blog post I broke ANOTHER camera/phone... this time it was borrowed (that makes 3 in total). Christina has replaced it with a local iPad called a "Tupad" and I have mostly kept my hands off of it since we can't afford to break anything else :/

I want to talk about the theme that seems to be playing out currently in my life and that's transformation. It is coming in the form of realizing that what I used to write off as unimportant or trash is not at all what I thought it was. Much like the scientists mapping the human genome wrote off 97% of it as "junk DNA", I too am discovering the many uses for the things that currently get thrown away.

First (and also my favorite) is that my roommate put me in touch with a guy who creates pure virgin coconut oil. His product is of the highest quality and his price point reflects that. By-product that is created by making it is a coconut mash and up until now he's been throwing it away. He dried a large amount of it out for us and delivered about 10lbs of it. This by-product has SO many uses and one of the first things we did was create fresh coconut milk, it far surpassed in flavor any of the coconut milk we've ever purchased at home! Not only that but were just touching the surface of what we can use this dried material for. It's currently the consistency of sawdust and can be used for any food stuffs as a base (like flour is to bread) or as a healthy additive.



Second is very similar but with a different product its called Sacha Inchi (a type of wild peanut) and is another super food. It's sold locally as whole/ground nuts or a powder but I was informed that in reverse to what's happening with the coconut oil, the manufacturers are throwing away the essential oil as by-product when they're making the powder! the oil from this nut contains omega 3-6-9 fats and is also a solid source of protein, as somebody who has a background in health this is like a double home run when we get essential fats and protein in one product!

All my work out here seems to revolve around taking what others consider "trash" and learning first hand that there is NO SUCH THING!  

We literally have a use for everything out here...even the plastic waste get used by shoving the plastic wrappers and bags into the bottles until the bottle becomes as hard as a brick and then...it gets used as a brick. The school here teaches the local children things like this and they just eat it up! If I'm going to be honest the kids here learn it much faster than I do and they take joy in bringing trash from outside and stuffing it in the bottles (while I sometimes shove a piece of plastic where I'm not supposed to when nobody is looking) Haha! I'm a work in progress... but the message is being understood loud and clear and I can see with my own eyes how this type of thinking is creating a healthier, sustainable planet. 

I had my first Ayahuasca ceremony out here (truly there isn't much to write about that experience), the cup was half a coconut shells worth and it was the most I have ever drank in one go. The taste is exactly as I remembered and I have developed a gag reflex to it. Getting it all down was a tremendous effort, that being said, the effects were the weakest I have ever experienced (with no visuals or inner journeys). I did however experience the cleansing aspect... as Mr. Gump likes to say "that's about all I have to say about that".

A caterpillar made it's way into our room last week and I was amazed as it had a forked tail like a snakes tongue and the brightest orange colored head. A couple of days ago I noticed some commotion in the aquaponics area so I poked my head in and that same caterpillar has now cocooned. I guess it's a ball of mush in there right now but I look forward to seeing what emerges. In the meantime please keep yourself entertained with pictures of my furry housemates!