Baño Seco, Lejía, and What I´ve learned at the farm

SO, I will get to the more serious stuff ... but I wanted to start by telling you details about Baño Seco and ¨lejía.¨ Be warned that we will be dealing with excrement.

Baño Seco. Yes, ¨dry toilet.¨ This is the toilet we use at the farm, and its name comes from the simple fact that it doesn´t use water. From the outside it is very colorful. A small cylindrical building painted in yellow, with similar construction as we have been working on for the new kiosk (which includes using bottles as a part of the wall... which allows colorful light to shine into the facility). The toilet has two openings. One towards the front is for pee, and the other towards the back is for poop.

To use baño seco: Open the door, step up, turn around, and sit down! To your left, next to your feet is a bucket of ash collected from the wood ovens. To your right is the toilet paper. Depending on what you need to excrete, you aim towards the front, or the back. You pee goes into a funnel which channels through a short tube to a plastic container. Your poop falls directly into a large tin bin. After pooping, you cover your excrement with ash to avoid a smelly baño seco.

When the pee receptacle is full, it is replaced with a new one. The pee is combined with water to create a wonderful natural furtilizer for non-eatable plants. The poop is composted for two years, and used to plant non-eatable plants and trees!

Now, on to Lejía. Lejía is the water that we use for cleaning. It is created by putting 1/3 part ash, and 2/3 parts water in a bucket. Wait until the ash settles to the bottom of the bucket, and the water remaining on the top is lejía. It has properties of soap and disinfectant. Ash is apparently the most sanitary substance, and can be used in this way to create a fluid for cleaning. It has been one of the things that has been a challenge for me since being here at the farm. I have been challenged to analyze my previous experience... and often times felt judgemental. For example, a lot of the utensils, bowls, etc that we use have stains from dirt on them. I often compare it to camping. When you are camping you don´t lose sleep over the fact that the dishes didn´t get completely clean after any given meal. That is kindof how it is here. So, I think, what is my definition of ¨clean?¨ Do I trust all the soaps at home to completely clean my plates without leaving a trace? Even if my soaps do accomplish this... perhaps remnants of the soap are left on my plate to be digested at the next meal... and is this a good thing? Another example is hygene. What if Maria goes from baño seco to the kitchen to prepare a meal without using soap to wash her hands. Has she taken enough precaution by just washing her hands in the river that runs by the baño?

HOWEVER... in comparison to the culture I´m used to, everything is much more healthy here. We are active all day in the field or working on construction, we eat all natural food, most of which is organic fruits and veggies harvested 30 minutes before eating, we use natural herbal remedies instead of chemical filled medications. In most ways it is a ¨clean,¨ pure way of living.

Lots to think about! I learn more every day... and my preconceptions are broken down daily and reconfigured to create a Linnea with less and less prejudice. I´m living what my education taught me... which is to be a critical thinker. Which in my definition includes walking in the shoes of others before forming my opinion. And I´m also realizing that even if I leave the farm with differing opinions from the family, I won´t be able to leave telling them that they are in the ¨wrong¨with things such as this. In the end... the only thing that matters is that they are living a life that makes them happy, and that gives others the ability to feed their bodies healthy foods. An accomplishment I hope to actualize in my life in some way, shape, or form.

SO... to finish this blog... I just need to let ya´all know that I will be leaving the farm this weekend. I´ve decided to pamper myself in the Lakes District. I´ve learned a lot at the farm. Did you know that asparagus grows really well under apple trees? And that the soil underneath apple trees can be extracted and transported to any area where you want to grow plants like broccoli from seed... its super nutritious because of the apples that have decomposed below the tree! Did you know its really silly that we remove weeds and throw them away... why not pull them out and leave them next to the plant to become mulch! Did you know you can build your next house with all natural materials like sand, cactus juice, and clay? And why not give glass bottles a second life as ¨stained glass.¨ Working on an art project with paint?... don´t run out to the store to buy a brush. Grab a stick off the ground, cut a little hair off the dog, and attach it with a little wire! Did you know you can make a delicious ¨chocolate¨with avocados, rehydrated plums, and raisins thrown into a food processor?

The farm is all about being creative with what you already have. I came thinking I´d learn a lot about farming... but I learned a lot about LIFE! There is much more to be said that can´t be conveyed in a blog...so I await the day when I can tell you in person.

And now... on to more adventures!