Living the good (sustainable) life at Mama Roja

Ever since our time at Pun Pun, we’ve been on this sustainable/natural building/organic agriculture kick. Who knew a pair of city kids would evolve into a couple of hippies? When we arrived in Argentina, we knew we wanted to spend serious time at Mama Roja – a sustainable living center founded by two past Pun Pun interns. Kimberly and Marcelo are a married American/Argentine couple who bought some land, had a dream and have been working on making it a reality for the past 2 years.

Marcelo and TD plucking the chicken14-Nov-2010 11:57, Canon Canon PowerShot S90, 4.0, 6.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 160 View at Picasa

Baking the daily bread08-Nov-2010 13:35, Canon Canon PowerShot S90, 2.0, 6.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 160 View at Picasa

Their land is absolutely stunning, located in a subtropical climate with old growth jungle and dark red earth. Most importantly, Mama Roja has streams flowing through it from which they can drink, cook, wash and water the gardens with. There were a few projects that we were needed on: building a shade structure to protect the gardens from the harsh sun, pouring a concrete floor and applying a final mud coat to the cosmic cottage and plastering and painting the kitchen wall. Additionally, we tended to the gardens by planted squash and beans, weeding the dreaded “asshole” grass, transplanting tomatoes and chicory and harvesting wheat. Some of my favorite times were spent in the kitchen, baking bread in the mornings, chatting while preparing lunch on the wood-fire stove, or making a mouthwatering butternut squash pie for Thanksgiving. Working with Kimberly and Marcelo and the other volunteers was a shining example of cooperative living – if there was a task that needed to be done, like watering the garden or emptying out the toilet bucket into the compost, you just did it.

But it wasn’t all work and no play! We went on bushwacking adventures through the jungle, practiced yoga and meditation, read, worked on arts and crafts, cooled off in the rivers, barbecued and got into heated philosophical/political discussions. There were also three ridiculously cute kittens (born to Amanita, the farm cat) that we all obsessed over on a daily basis. Not to mention the two dogs, Lulu (who thought she was still a puppy) and Rambo (whose tongue always hung out because he had no teeth). Kimberly and Marcelo and treasure troves of knowledge and shared so much with us – from natural building and gardening to explaining the hardships and rewards that accompany a life like this.

Our time at Mama Roja proved many of the ideas we’ve read and talked about…that making a simple and sustainable life for yourself in this increasingly consumer driven world is not just a pipe dream, but totally possible. It’s easy to tell when you’re on the right path when your mind is blown everyday, turning all preconceived notions of what is imported upside down, and you wake up wanting more.