Café del Canasto

In my last post I mentioned that I learnt how to make coffee, from the plant to the cup, on the farm I was staying at. Here's a sneak peak into the coffee-making process.

The coffee plant

First we picked the beans. The basket (canasto in Spanish), you see below, inspired the name of the coffee produced and packaged on Finca Bella Vista. Café del Canasto has been around for 20 years and is a family business which sells organic coffee. 

The yellow, orange and red beans are ripe

After skinning the beans and soaking them in water, the ones which stay on the bottom are ready for the next step!

The beans need to dry for 10 days.

Alexis explaining the coffee process 

Beans drying

Once they've dried, the beans are de-shelled. The shells are used as compost on our farm, but on other coffee farms they bag it and sell it. It could be used to make paper and bags (see below).

Then you roast the beans for 60min and grind the finished product, if you desire.

Here you can see Alexis manually roasting the beans

Roasted beans

Alexis takes so much pride in making his coffee, from picking the beans to sticking the labels perfectly onto the bags. You can certainly taste the love! 

Que Bonita Es la Vida

When you wake up singing "Que Bonita es la Vida" (How beautiful is life), you know you must have had a good few days. And how could you not when you get to wake up to watermelon smiley faces?

Today is my last day at Finca Bella Vista, a farm which uses an integrated system, which means that everything is recycled and there's almost no waste. Even the cow poop is collected and put into a biodigester - a contraption which converts it into methane gas, that runs through a pipe directly to the stove in the kitchen.

On our first day on the farm, we felt like we were on a reality TV show: four city-slickers thrown into farm-life, getting stuck in muddy fields, herding cows (and losing one) and being chased by chickens. We've come a long way since then, with help from a lovely couple, Hilda and Alexis, and a little granny.    

Herding  cows

                                       

When Alexis tried to tell us that the neighbour's cow had fallen into a ravine and broken its leg, it was one of those lost in translation moments, where we weren't quite sure who had the broken leg (the neighbour or the cow). Nevertheless, we followed behind like sheep, bringing another cow with us to guide the injured one, who had pretty much given up, out of the ravine. We managed to save the cow, much to our own surprise! 

In four days, I also managed to conquer my fear of horse-riding, and to ride one by myself. I actually thought that Alexis was on the horse with me, and was talking to him, but when he didn't respond, I peered over my shoulder and realised that I was alone.

New skills to add to my CV include milking cows, making cheese, compost and coffee from bean to cup. Compost is literally a "steaming pile of shit" (excuse my French!) when you move it around, because of the energy created by the microorganisms in the soil.

Living on a farm is hard work and there is always something to do, mix, feed or clean. I'm not sure whether it's the life for me, but I'm really going to miss this place - the quiet, the endless games of rummy and bottomless cups of homemade coffee.

Life is beautiful!

Finca Bella Vista 

¿Que lo que?

"¿Que lo que?" is a greeting used by the Dominicans, and is similar to the South African "Howzit?". It's normally followed by "tranquilo" - "it's calm", "chilled", or "no worries", kind of like "hakuna matata".  I learnt this and other Dominican peculiarities, during the last few days of community service in Manabao, when we were working side by side with the locals (see my post). 

Our worksite in Manabao 

Although my Spanish is coming along in leaps and bounds, it's sometimes quite difficult to understand what people are saying here, because Dominicans like to drop the "s" from certain words. So, they say "¿cómo tu ta?", for how are you, instead of "¿cómo estas tu?" And, depending on where you live on the island, random i's, l's or r's can also be added in.

One afternoon, near the end of our service session, it started raining. An elderly woman started scolding a boy from our group, who continued to work, instead of taking cover. She was worried that he would get sick, going from hot to cold temperatures so quickly. (So, our cold showers the last 10 days would have been a big no-no!) I've heard that in other Latin American countries, like Nicaragua, they believe you must avoid the cold, even water and ice, if you are hot. If you're cooking, you cannot fetch anything in the fridge or freezer. You have to ask someone else to get it for you. And don't even think about walking around barefoot!

Samo seeds: if you have diabetes and keep them
in your back pocket, they'll  keep your blood sugar low. 

Another thing that is very important here, is showing respect by dressing conservatively. Even when it is 1000°C outside and you're sweating out of all of your pores, us girls have to wear long pants and T-shirts to community service. But otherwise, all is "tranquilo".

Mountain views on the way down

Sorry for the big gap in posts - we haven't had Wi-Fi. More soon, I promise!

A Letter Home

Hola Mamita! 

I hope that you're having a great week. It was really lovely to speak to you and hear all about the matric dance. I feel like we could have spoken for much longer, if only we had the time! I feel more settled this week and I haven't been feeling as homesick as before. Now just to get my sleeping patterns in check!

I've taken your advice and have been putting my feet up in between our morning and afternoon community service sessions. Yesterday, after lunch, we were all so exhausted that we just collapsed on the floor of the balcony and most of us fell asleep. It looked like we were doing one of our First Aid drills - eight corpses spread out on the floor, face down, waiting for the rescuers.

Wilderness First Aid Training

WFA Training: V giving a thumbs up
 after saving her patient

I do have cashews in my snack bag. So, will start eating those for protein. One of the big problems with the food here is that the Dominicans love to fry it. So, for breakfast three of the mornings we've been here, they've served us a tray of french fries and a 2 litre bottle of Coke! (Insert emoji of monkey covering his eyes!) ¡Que malo! Fortunately, I've been able to stick to the fried eggs and tropical fruit: delicious, juicy pineapple, watermelon and mango. 

We're off to explore some caves tomorrow and then off to the beach - it's a much needed break! Today I put in my 5th concrete floor and started building a latrine...

Mixing cement for a concrete floor

Abrazos y besos

Tu Hija

Ps. Check out this sunset!

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, it's off to work we go!

After driving for one hour up the mountain, on an open-top truck, the clouds which threatened to burst at every turn, did so when we got to Manabao on our first day of community service. Soaking wet, we managed to take a quick tour of our work-site for the next few days. Our job is to dig trenches and lay down pipes to give fresh water to the village of Manabao. However, thunder and lightning drove us back down the mountain!

On the way down from the mountain

When we got back to the ranch, naturally, there was a long line for the girls' showers and people calling dibs for shower number two (apparently, the one with the best pressure). As I said in my last blog, you're lucky if you can get hot water.

Manabao

The next day, we were welcomed by the mayor and a few members of the community. At first, we were a bit confused about where to go and how to help the locals we would be working with, but we soon slotted into place, side by side, like Snow White's seven dwarfs.

After day one, followed by white water rafting, I can feel muscles popping up where I forgot I had any! Got to go...more later!

Who needs hot water when you have Wi-Fi?

I'm currently in la Republica Dominica doing community service and Spanish immersion (see my last blog post).

The streets of Santa Domingo

On arrival in the DR, we were told two things: we cannot drink the tap water and our toilet paper goes in the bin, and not in the toilet bowel, so that we don't clog the toilets. This last one has been quite an adjustment.

Rooftop view of Santo Domingo

Other changes for me have included sharing a room with 12 girls and sleeping on a bunk bed. There are only 4 showers, so, we have to fight over hot water, but at least we have Wi-Fi! In fact, I think that having internet access, while everything else around us has changed, has helped us to ease into things.

Here are a few pictures of our home, Rancho Baiguate, for the next week.

There are horses, cows, Shetland 
ponies and a butterfly house.

My view on the way to Spanish class.

Spot the horse!

Trading in my Purple Carry-on

So, today I traded in my purple pull-along for a pair of purple sneakers, and my matte red lipstick is tucked away in my backpack. I won't be having much use for them where I'm going.

I am about to embark on a three-month-long adventure to Central and South America (Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Peru), where I will be teaching English in schools, learning about sustainable farming, how to surf, and building toilets - to name a few of the many activities.

Thailand 2010

If you've read my previous blog, Saving the World Two Tanks at a Time, you'll know that I spent a month in the north of Thailand, when I was 17 years old, mixing concrete and building water storage tanks... generally roughing it. Well, after reading this programme itinerary, I think this trip is going to be like Thailand on steroids! 

I am doing this trip through, Rustic Pathways, an organisation which specialises in gap year programmes. You choose the countries you want to go to and the type of activities you want to do there, and they do the rest. My programme is aimed at young people who are interested in community service and Spanish immersion. I am excited and looking forward to getting fit, strong, tanned, useful... and, of course, dirty! I also hope to come back home speaking Spanish like a native.

The Rustic Pathways Starter-Kit

Hasta pronto!