Argentina Part II (wwoofing in Catamarca May 23 - June 5)

From Chilecito, we arrived at 'El Portezuelo' with an overnight stay at the hot springs in Santa Teresina, a village with a few hundred inhabitants in the province of Catamarca. In the last house of the village at the end of a dusty road, we found the driveway of our future 'Wwoofing family'. Wwoofing stands for world wide organic farms and works on the principle that you are accommodated on an organic farm, receive accommodation and meals, and in return help out on the farm. In our case, there was no farm in the conventional sense, our 'farm' consisted of a family of dropouts with two children (Leon 2 1/2 and Kiara 12), who had built their house with organic materials in the desert-like area of Catamarca and were building a second small house according to the same principle on their property with the help of Wwoofers. At the same time as us, there were four other Wwoofers there: Maria and Ariel from Argentina, as well as Élodie and Hervé from France. We had chosen the farm mainly because we hoped that Leon, who was two years old, would have a playmate for Vincent. Unfortunately, this idea completely backfired. Not only did Leon have no interest in making any kind of contact with Vincent, let alone sharing his toys, he was visibly annoyed that there was now a baby in his home. For example, when Vincent started babbling happily in the kitchen in the morning, a cry of 'Waaaa' came from the bedroom where Leon was still in bed. So most of the time we stayed with Vincent elsewhere or only used the living room (and the toys) when Leon was not around. However, he was not only hostile towards Vincent. He spent the whole day walking around with his arms crossed, sulking or screaming. So Leons standard phrases 'No quiero' (I don't want to), or 'es mio' (it's mine) became a running joke among us Wwoofers. During walks, he followed with a machete and destroyed the plants, and at home, he made life difficult for the dog and the cats. Fortunately, the parents were big Reiki practitioners. The top rule of Reiki states that you should treat your environment: every living being, every plant, every stone, and even every other object like your car, etc., with pure love. So far, however, the parents apparently did not see a need to impart this wisdom to their son. His aggressions towards everything and everyone were tolerated and accepted, even though other people, animals, and plants suffered as a result.

If you leave Leon aside for a moment, we spent two enriching weeks in which we learned a lot. In the first week, Dennis built a wall from barro. This mass, which is made from soil, clay, water, straw, and a lot of horse manure, is stacked between stacked stones, wooden pallets, or even glass such as wine bottles, and is considered as an adhesive and building substance. In this first week, I mostly took care of Vincent. To also do something for the community, I also took care of lunch. Not such an easy task for ten people. But more difficult than the unfamiliar quantity was mainly the creativity that was required for this activity because it was about conjuring up something delicious from the available ingredients (mostly lots of vegetables + rice or lentils, optionally + eggs, sometimes even some cheese), without making the same thing every day. In addition to a few stressful mornings, I also had to realize that I enjoyed cooking. Occasionally, I was also surprised at what flavor emerges when you combine countless vegetables.

At the beginning of the second week, Dennis and I wanted to exchange tasks. I got the task of applying the 'reboque' (the facade/outer layer) to the wall made of barro. To make this, you sieve soil and mix it with water and lime. This paste is then applied to the dried barro and can then be painted in any color or left in its natural/stone color. Unfortunately, I was not so skilled in this task, and Vincent always wanted to be on my arm, and Dennis was not really interested in cooking lunch, so we switched back after a morning.

The second week of work was then overshadowed by a big event that we only found out about shortly before: 'Six amigos are coming on Tuesday and ten people from a commune in Buenos Aires are coming on Wednesday'. The reason for all the hustle and bustle: 'the shaman from Brazil is coming and a purification ceremony will be performed'. Aha! To accommodate the whole bunch on the small property, we Wwoofers had to give up our sleeping places. Maria and Ariel took the opportunity to travel around the area a bit and disappeared for three days, Élodie and Hervé moved from the guesthouse to a tent, and we moved from the caravan to our cozy camper. We were, of course, also invited to participate in the ceremony but we all declined. In the end, the amigos + the people from the capital all arrived on the same day. Some only stayed for one night, others until the weekend. Music was played, conversations were held, and everything that the rainforest has to offer was consumed. On the first day, the ceremony took place at night, everyone gathered in the dark a few meters behind the house, between the cacti and a few bushes. Drums were played, we could hear that much. The ceremony lasted until the next morning. The whole inner process was supported by a plant mix of hallucinogenic lianas.

The next morning, half of the group left. The shaman and his assistants stayed with the rest. The following day was dedicated to rest and preparation for the next day. So the purification ceremony was not over yet. Again, everything was mixed and ground as if there was no tomorrow, and a mescaline-containing drink was prepared from the dried cacti, which grow here in abundance. This second purification ceremony was only intended for the initiated who had been dealing with self-discovery and meditation for a long time and possessed mental strength. It took place during the day in the garden, and we could observe everything well from our camper. In addition to the cactus, frog poisons were applied to the skin. Tobacco smoke, which the shaman blew into the face with a pipe, rounded everything off. The assistants were given coca leaves to chew on so that they could endure the three days of work.

All in all, it was an eventful two weeks in which we spoke a lot of Spanish, gathered many impressions, and met nice people. Above all, the community with the other Wwoofers enriched us greatly, and of course, we also learned a lot about bio-construction and other crazy things. For example, how to make toothpaste from clay or dishwashing liquid from ash, or how to fold small storage boxes from empty Coca-Cola bottles. Although Vincent didn't have a playmate during this time, he was not particularly impressed by Leon either. We spent a lot of time with him in the garden, and he had a lot of fun with the dog and the cats. By the way, his second tooth appeared: the lower left incisor.

For the onward journey, the two French people who we had met here joined us, and with Kalle, we continued towards the north with five people on board. However, we didn't miss the opportunity to leave without taking a Reiki introductory class. It is said that if we practice on ourselves for 21 days, we will then have the first level to apply Reiki to others and heal everything and everyone by means of the energy of the universe. Volunteers first ;)