Our Mission - Nuestra Mision

Our Mission

Our Family Farm Hostel, on the rural/urban fringe of Buenos Aires city, is part of the Wellbeing Organic Network, www.wonfamily.net, and is affiliated with the River Lujan Basin Smallholders Association. At Family Farm Hostel we are focused on developing sustainable family-based lifestyles by providing our guests with a rich environment to enjoy nature, learn languages, exchange cultures and experience sustainable living through “ecovoluntourism”. In an educative home-away homestay experience, we cooperate to form examples of sustainable living by building natural constructions, keeping animals for dairy and draught power, cultivating the land organically and eating tasty healthy home-grown food. In an environment conducive to learning and experiencing new (and old) ways of living, we offer a Spanish/English Language School and a Sustainability School with people highly qualified in languages, natural construction methods, agro-ecology and permaculture. By choosing an ecotourist, ecovolunteer or language or sustainability student option, you choose how many hours you’d like to help out around the farm and what courses and activities you’d like to do. Regardless of how much you contribute, you will have the opportunity to share your ideas to better the project.

Nuestra Misión

Nuestro Hostal Rural Familiar esta basado en el desarrollo de comunidades sustentables centrados en la familia, o grupos familiares. Estamos afiliados con Los Pequeños Agriculturas Familiares de la Cuenca del Rio de Lujan y el Red Orgánica del Bienestar. En nuestro Hostal Rural Familiar, estamos interesados en dar a todos nuestros huéspedes la posibilidad de gozar de la naturaleza, aprender idiomas, intercambiar culturas y experimentar la vida sustentable a través del ecovoluntarismo. Vivimos juntos y cooperamos en cultivar la tierra, construir con adobe y materiales naturales locales y practicar la vida sustentable. Intentamos crecer orgánicamente a movernos hacia la autosuficiencia y a formar una Academia de Idiomas y Sustentabilidad. Nuestros huéspedes eligen ser principalmente turistas, voluntarios o alumnos de idiomas o la sustentabilidad en elegir cuantas horas de ayuda quieren hacer y que tipos de cursos o actividades. No importa con cuanto contribuyes, tendrás la oportunidad de compartir tus ideas para hacer este proyecto mejor.

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Today it rained. and the most peaceful cloud set over the hostel. We all stayed indoors today. Sol and Ian made a bed for the two oxen, and at night I could see them all, Jay, Bijay and the four dogs, nestled together on the big mass of hay.

As for the humans, we sat together in the family room and read, talked, worked on the computer, listened to music, and basically did our own things, enjoying our own solitude, in each other's presence. I drew a portrait of Sol and Seba today, and those will be up soon, hopefully along with more portraits of the whole family.

The other day I made lunch! And it amazed me how easy and fulfilling and fun it was to cook in the kitchen. This kitchen has not the best equipped. The pans are old and dented and humble. There is no stainless steel. There are no fancy appliances and top-grade silver ware. The fridge is not stocked, and neither is there an abundance of food. Also, the counters are never truly clean because we live in a rural house without air conditioning and good cleaners.

BUT

I've never cooked a better meal. It seems all new-agey to say this, but this is a kitchen of love. Even though the pans were old, they cooked the food so well, and they didn't stick! Even though the counters were not perfectly sanitized, I could wipe them down and use them as a cutting board (we didn't have a cutting board). Things fell together so easily, the way they should, and I made a meal of sushi wih marinated mushrooms and rice, vegetable pasta, and herbed potatoes.


We have been doing much work in the past few days: laying out the deck, finishing more cane walls.






But the most amazing thing happened on Saturday, when we had a dance party until 2:30 in the morning. Seba had his friends over for the night, and the boys, four in total, set up a bonfire in the yard. They lugged out the television along with some music discs and played spanish dance songs all through the night. Sol, Ian and I went outside and danced for three hours. The fire was huge at times when we added enough branches with leaves. It was a full moon, and watching the sparks fly up into the night was simply sublime. It's too bad I didn't get photos of us dancing. At one point I was so happy that I danced on top of the pile of decking  boards, and then jumped into the tree. Mind you, this was all in a state on non-intoxication. :)



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