New Web Site

Hello,

Thank you for your continued support and interest. Please join us at our new site.

www.shamballapermaculture.com

Namaste

Shamballa

Finding a sense of surplus....

It's easy to grasp the wisdom in the first two of permaculture's three ethical principles. The benefits of "care for the earth" and "care for people," are obvious, and it's not a difficult step to put those principles into practice. But then comes that third, more challenging principle, "share the surplus." That's where some of us waver a bit. How large a pile do we need to store up before some of it spills over into the category of surplus? What if we give the surplus away and then badly need it tomorrow?

"Because they were connected with spirit, archaic people felt full, so they didn't need to hoard. We hoard because we feel empty, and have nothing to fill our emptiness except material things. Modern people feel this emptiness so acutely because we are too clever to believe in the divine. We have bludgeoned God to death with the tools of science, logic, and philosophy. Only what we see and measure is real, and consciousness is merely an epiphenomenon of brain chemistry, not a link to the Creator. The scarcity ethic has its true roots in the immaterial, in our disconnection from spirit and the resulting sense of loss that our corporeal existence forces on us. Since this spiritual emptiness can no longer be filled with spirit, we look for completion to the only things we believe in: goods, endless activity, and most of all, money."

Toby Hemenway, author of "gaia's garden" a guide to home scale permaculture...

Read the full article at

http://patternliteracy.com/surplus.html

More Photos

The days have been beautiful and hot, clear skys and lots of sun. The project is moving foward, thanks to a lot of sweat and some great help from Juan and Sunny. Here are some more photos... Working on mulching the garden, the stone founation for the house, the outdoor kitchen, mixing cob for a wood stove, and Buddha, our newest member of the family...

Back to work...

We are back to building, after the break it is great to be sweating under the sun. We have some wonderful help, and will post some more pictures soon. We would like to thank Ben for his generosity, he has enabled us to get a real internet connection, and keep us connected to the ones we love and share our experience with you.

Bill Mollison....

." I teach self-reliance, the world's most subversive practice. I teach people how to grow their own food, which is shockingly subversive. So, yes, it’s seditious. But it’s peaceful sedition."

Bill Mollison, Permaculture....

The New Tribes.....

According to Margaret Mead, the world-renowned cultural anthropologist, for 99% of human history, humans have lived in tribes, extended families and small villages. Given this fact, how can we continue to live in the fast-paced world of modern civilization and recreate a sense of village life that is both sustainable for ourselves and our environment?

Fractal Nature

Nature got it right. It has no centralized systems. Everything is fractal & decentralized. If one part goes, everything doesn't go. In nature, trillions of tiny, independent systems work symbiotically to create larger systems, which in turn keep combining upward and eventually form a marvelous, living planet.

Ruby, the horse, is been recovering....here is a recent picture of her....she seems happier and stronger!

Namaste

Hello,

   Here are a few more pictures...  Thank you to all the wonderful people who have assisted us.  We are taking a short break from construction due to some unforeseen circumstances.  We hope to be back at it in a couple of weeks.  We are currently working with an injured starving horse, “Ruby.”   She has been receiving lots of love and food from us and has been improving.  When we brought her home she could barely stand, after several days of feeding her while she was lying down, she became strong enough to get and join the other horses.  We hope with more time she will recover completely.  Thank you all for you support. 

Namaste

Nate & Andrea

Our First Harvests

HI again. Life is good. We had our first harvests. Wild grown, organic, cedron(lemon balm), and olives. We dried the cedron and it makes a wonderful tea. The olives are soaking in brine. It was great fun to pick the olives; we even got a little help from goji the cat. We are moving ahead on the house, shed, and gardens.  Lots of hard work and fun.  We are lucky to be blessed with assistance from wonderful people.  Namaste

Hello,

   Things are going good.  We have started several structures, and things are coming together.   The wall around the well is finished and the beginning of a shed for our tools.  The roof of the house is complete and we are starting on the foundation next.  We are grateful for the help that we have received, and are learning a lot.  Working together with others is fun as well as challenging at times.   So far there has been a lot of hard working gathering materials, stones, and sand, but it is wonderful to be working outside, using the body, and building our future home.   We are looking to start several projects in the coming weeks, one to help some local malnourished horses, and the other to help preserve organic and wild foraging bee colonies.  More information on these things soon.   Thankfully, we have been joined by mostly great volunteers and it has been a pleasure working and sharing together.  Here are a few more pictures.  Anyone interested in contributing, physically or monetarily, please feel free to contact us.

Namaste

Nate & Andrea

The begining...

 

Hello from Argentina, 

          Looking for a change?  Want to explore a new country and culture?  We have a lot of work to do and are looking for interested individuals for a work exchange.   This is a new permaculture project, just started; we have a well and a lot of raw untouched land.  Our current projects are building dry toilets, shower house, sleeping quarters, organic gardens, chicken house, temazcal, mud oven... All buildings are to be built using natural materials where possible, adobe, thatch, bamboo, cob, wood, and stone.  We are located next to seasonal river and enjoy a warm climate all year around.  We are looking to open our hearts and home to motivated individuals who want to help us in return and create a new way of sustainable living close to nature.  We are open-minded people and we like to have fun and enjoy life...  We have a small house with room for five people, and two tipis for up to four more people.  Outdoor bathrooms and showers with hot water.  Our meals will be prepared and eaten together, mostly vegetarian. Andrea is a chef and we enjoy making bread, sprouts, and raw food... We are a couple from California and Argentina, recently moved here looking for a more relaxed and self-sufficient life. We are both artists, and spent many years exploring the world before deciding on settling down and buying land in Argentina. We receive friends and people from around the world and we enjoy celebrating and dancing under the full moon when possible.  We are open all year around, please come and visit, we ask that you plan to stay with us for at least two weeks.  We like to get to know those who are helping us. 
  We are open to meet people that want to stay with us long term and be part of the project... creating a beautiful environment.  We see this as an opportunity to learn together with other people interested in learning the skills to live closer to the land, in the words of the times a more "sustainable" lifestyle.   We are located in the town of San Marcos Sierra, in the province of Cordoba, Argentina and are joined by three cats and two horses.  It is one of three G.M.O. free zones in the country.  Almost all of our food comes from local sources, including our produce, cheese, fresh milk, yogurt, eggs, bread, honey, even the organic wheat and the small mill to grind it are close by... Our soda water comes in old glass bottles delivered by a man riding a horse and cart.  The weather is warn or hot most of the year, rainy season in the summer and there is one small river in the middle of town, and a large one 4 km away.  The town is small, established in the early 1700,s it is a mix of gauchos, hippies, foreigners and indigenous descendants, quiet and relaxed all year except the summer and 3day weekends when people from the city take their vacations in paradise.  Anyone interested in joining please send us an email, and we can give you more info, pics, local sights...   In addition to the work exchange we offer normal accommodation for those interested in staying and not working; hostel style, or tipi.  This is a great little town and a great place to unwind from a busy life.  We hope to see you all soon.   Please pass this on to anyone who should have it.   Love and Peace

 

Andrea & Nate

 

the road to paradise....