Pachamama is another ecovillage near Armenia very close to the other ecoaldeas Anthakarana and Mama Lulu. They have a Guadua factory where they treat Guadua (a type of bamboo) with a borax solution that is nontoxic and makes the wood last a long time. Guadua is an amazing building material that is local, readily available and grows so fast you can almost watch it. It is also incredibly prolific and has 3 ways of reproducing: through its roots, its stems and seeds. They cut the Guadua when the moon is at its smallest. This is when the water retreates most from the trunk so the insects won't eat it and the wood lasts longer.
They have a biodigester that takes animal waste solids and creates biogas for thier stoves. The people here are very lovely and welcoming. Molina, the head woman of the house, made wonderful home cooked meals with local organic rice and vegetabeles and fruits from thier garden.
The Guadua treatment factory made, of course, out of Guadua.
The guadua are pushed down under a liquid solution of
Borax and boric acid to preserve the wood
Borax and boric acid to preserve the wood
A young guadua can grow 30 cm a day to its full height of in 3-4 months. 
Guadua growing near thier rainwater reserve.
Gardens
Hello, my name is Federico and I'm writing a book that I will upload for free online about some Southamerican ecovillages and Pachamama is one of them. Unfurtunately I don't have good pictures of my visit and I saw you have some good ones. I want it to ask you if it would be possibble to used one or two of them for this book. Thank you very much. My email is hipolitof@gmail.com. I will let you know when the book is finished and send you a copy. Thank you very much
ReplyDeleteHi would love to help but the email does not seem to work!
Delete