Aldea Feliz

ALDEA FELIZ

Aldea Feliz is an ecoaldea located in the forests of the Andes in San Francisco, Colombia. Founded 4 years ago by a dozen people looking to find a place to start a sustainable community.

The Ecovillage has 35,000 m2 of land, with coffee, orange, banana, fruit trees, herbs, bamboos, medicinal plants, vegetables and native trees. The boundary of the ecovillage is the San Miguel river with waterfalls and beautiful tropical landscapes.

I spent my time here camping, enjoying the river, doing yoga and working on various projects. I got to pick coffee beans, collect oranges, lemons, and bananas, learn about making wine from oranges, along with daily tasks. I also helped set up for a big event by macheting the paths clear and setting up dry bathrooms. I helped in the garden where the system of agriculture they follow similar to the biodynamic method it follows a calandar: Virachocha. They sell natural products here made from orange wine, massage oils, granola and, soaps.

Related sites
http://www.ecoaldeasdecolombia.org/
http://www.colombiaenhechos.com/

ARCHITECTURE

I happened to arrive the same day as one of the architects Juan Carlos. He showed us his elegant minimalist bamboo construction. Bamboo is a more fragile wood so a diagonal beam needs to be placed in each square wall. Instead of covering this Juan Carlos chose to emphasize the triangle and make it a unique design feature. I think it´s really beautiful. The construction is not done and many neat features remain including two types of toilets, a dry toilet and one connected to a three chambered cistern that helps convert waste to water for plants.

The bamboo ceiling is made by scoring the bamboo so it can be rolled flat to make panels.

This is the house of another architect Carlos Rojas.

Outdoor bathroom with dry composting toilets and outdoor tub.

San Miguel Rio

Helping in the cocina

I was lucky enough to be there for the first annual NazCua event held to raise money for Aldea Feliz and the Tambora Foundation , a foundation that is dedicated to preserving the art and ancient wisdom to the children in the Colombian Atlantic.

NazCua is a Sacred Wisdom gathering with elders from different indiginous tribes in Colombia, artists, singers, OSHO and Tatanka mediation, afro-Ethnica dance, drum cirles, Mayan calendar readings, ancient indiginous ceremonies and arts.

This event was very special to me and I learned so much about ancient traditions as well as just being open to the generosity and warmth of other people that here was of a quality especialy rare in most places.

The Maloca: Cusmuy
Maloca is an ancestral house used by the natives of the Amazon esp in Brazil and Colombia

A traditional indiginous ceremony following the Mayan calendar making prayers and giving offerings to the gods.

A lot of time around the fire playing instruments and singing hindu hymns

A lot of dancing

Art time!
A mural for the kids to participate in

Making the Ojo de Dios, a ritualistic symbol of the power of seeing and understanding that which is unkown and unknowable. Thought to have originated with the Huichol Indians of Jalisco, Mexico.

Melted candels after a singing workshop with Colombian singer, Mariposa.

And the best for last ..
The first Colombian boy I fell in love with,
Matteus.