Viva la Vida

Tunuyán is an interesting town. You won´t find it in any of the lonely planet travel books because it´s not a common tourist destination, but it´s still incredibly beautiful; tucked into the foothills on the eastern (rainshadow) side of the andes, about an hour south of Mendoza. We were blown away to learn that 40,000 people live here, because it has the feel of a much smaller town (like Parras de la Fuente for all you gringos out there that were in that program with us). It´s the apple capital of Argentina, however there seems to be a solid niche for other forms of agriculture. Which, is where we fit in, as we´re here for over two weeks of WWOOFing (world wide opportunities in organic farming).

It´s now been over a week since we´ve arrived at Madre Tierra, and while we´ve fallen into a general routine, everything is still slightly choatic. The farm is run haphazardly, at least from a western, production standpoint. Many plants are burried under chest deep weeds and the food coming from the over 20 acres isn´t enough to feed the family of four and their volunteers. A young orchard is in place, but they will be waiting between 5-7 years for the produce to emerge. In addition, there´s 80 chickens, but only half of them laying eggs at this point. The main income for the family right now is the mom, Azucena´s weekly local cooking TV show in Mendoza.

A geneal weekday on the farm starts around 6:30 with a light breakfast in the cabaña with the other voluntarios (which has ranged from 4-7 people, mostly from the states but also France). After a quick stop off at the baño seco, we´re in the field by 7:15 hacking away at weeds and mulching the plants with cardboard. This is a highly effictive technique if done throughly, but Jorge only expects us to clear around the crops and then simply walk over the weeds inbetween. This is the number one reason that the farm is destined for perpetual toil, as the malas hierbas continue to rebound througout the year and drop seeds for next year´s laborers.

By 11am we´re back in the cabaña to relax until lunch. Azucena, a strict vegetarian, usually whips up some amazing dishes using an horno de barro (earthen oven) and amazing cooking skills. There is no doubt that we´re eating some of the most delicious and healthy food we´ve ever incountered. Before arriving, we´d heard horror stories about WWOOFers being underfed, however the opposite has been our experience.

The siesta continues until 4pm after a group maté, when we shake off the lethargy and head out for another project. Usually we´re not in the fields for the afternoon. One of the best afternoon projects we´ve worked on so far is building onto the baño seco and other structures using a fermented clay mixed with horse crap. While it smells a little foul, the clay is strong and drys solid. The original structure is made of intertwined alder branches, so it´s basically a waddle-and-dobb style of natural building (for all you appropriate tech geeks).

As these projects wind down we turn our attention to getting the chickens in, feeding them, moving the horse and giving her water (she´s expected to give birth this week, so that could be crazy) and other farm chores. We usually don´t finish working until after 8pm, where, at that point we begin lighting a fire for hot showers and sometimes walking to the kiosko for a cold drink (non alcoholic, cuz it´s not allowed on the farm) and maybe something sugary. Dinner might not be served until 10pm, which is typical in the Argentinian culture, and could easily last for an hour. Because Jorge and Azucena (in addition to their children Nacho, 5 and Paloma, 10) only speak spanish, that is what is spoken around the dinner table.

After dinner, it´s just the volunteers in the cabaña. The other volunteers all bring a unique and interesting dynamic to the group and we have definetly stumbled across some lifelong friends. After reflecting on the day, everyone is pretty much spent. We head out to our tents and crash out before starting the whole process over again in the morning.

While the methodologies seem strange and counter-intuative to us, what the farm lacks in overall food production it makes up for in natural beauty and tranquility. Jorge is a Yogi and brings a calming approach to life and his practice. There is no doubt that we´ve encountered an amazing place, but due to it´s lack of agricultural direction and ability to teach us new skills and practices, we´ve decided to take our servies next door this week to another WWOOF farm: Huerta de Vida (Vida´s Field).

We´d actually been in contact with Vida regarding WWOOFing, but had initially decided on Madre Tierra because of the family dynamic. Since the two farms are literally 3 or 4 frisbee throws from eachother, we´ve had the opportunty to see how she conducts business and know that it´s a better fit for us right now. Her farm is much smaller (maybe only an acre or two) and is only in it´s first year of operation. However, her systems are thoroughly thought out and maximize the space in a sustainable, multi faceted way. In addition, a house is being built on sight for her mom, Margo, who also lives on the farm. It´s an amazing structure shaped like a conch shell. The skeleton is made of wood, with caña bamboo and alder incorporated in all non load-bearing areas. These will mostly be covered in barro. We´ll share the details once we have a better idea of the process and product.

Any ways, we´ll be here for at least another week. After that we´re headed back through Mendoza and then to spend Christmas with some american ex-pats in San Martin de los Andes. Random, but it should be a blast.