Friday was a very busy day! We started our day with Adobe stoves. We had 2 families to work with for the day. Michelle, Andrea, Kayla and I got to work with Joe and his family who live in this little town called Succotz. They have 2 kids, a boy and a girl, and are so excited to finally have a place to cook. We weren't real familiar with how the stoves should be built but we could start it until more help came.
We started off leveling the ground where the stove would go, then we dug a trench where the cinderblock foundation would be, then mixed cement for the actual foundation and poured it in the trench...sounds simple but let me tell ya it wasn't easy. Joe's cute wife then made us homemade lime juice from their Jamaican lime tree which was seriously unreal good! It is truly amazing to me how little these people have but are so willing to share and give to others. It was so fun to meet this cute family and play with their youngest girl Amy. After working on the stoves for a while, we then had to head out to our next project. We have a lot more work ahead of us but we got a lot done!
Yes we did fit 14 people in a chrysler minivan
our future stove
mixing cement....its harder then it looks
Amy- the cutest little girl ever...she was right there wanting to help us the whole morning. She loved having us there...we had so much fun with her!
In case you were worried, its lime juice...we just really appreciated the beer cups.
After working with the stoves, a group of us headed off to Georgeville to meet with an organization called Harzoc Falla. We may have gotten lost and wandered around Georgeville for a while but we eventually found it. This place was started by a local family who wanted to give to the community. They decided to start a transition home for girls who are kicked out of orphanages at 16. Most of these girls come from horrible situations and haven't been taught how to survive on their own so when they are kicked out of orphanages they have nowhere to go. So this transition home will be for them to live until they can make it on their own. They want to build these huts that are made out of dirt/cement that have solar powered water for showers. They also have outdoor ovens and stoves and outhouses that they use this cedar compost to break down the waste AND it didn't even smell?! I don't know how it worked exactly but there seriously was no funky odor! I was very impressed.
The whole goal of their housing and living accommodations is to use no electricity. Which really was incredible after looking at the one hut they already had made. They also had a garden where they had normal crops found in Belize as well as plants they are experimenting with that aren't Belize's normal crops. This place was seriously awesome...I couldn't believe how thought out everything was. We'll find out soon what exactly we'll be helping with but it will definitely keep us busy for the week...I can't wait to get started with this project!
dome huts where the girls will be staying....AKA flinstone homes. They were legit.
outhouses and oven where they will cook...
Saturday was another great one...we got some breakfast at Greedys, bought some things at the huge market they have every saturday, then Andrea, Kayla, Brenna, Shelbi, and I left for our great adventure of the day. We left around 1 to go to these falls we had heard were pretty cool so we got on this bus not really knowing where to stop, but the busdriver knew where to drop us off so we were ok. As he drops us off he tells us to just walk down a road and we'd see a sign for the walls. So we start walking...deeper and deeper into the forest and the rain starts. Not just a little sprinkle but POURING down rain. We also never see a sign but we just kept walking hoping we'll see something promising...we soon find a trail and ask someone along the way if we were headed the right direction and he told us the falls were just a little bit further. Soon we finally come to a clearing...we see a rope swing, a little pool, and the glorious "falls" which probably should have been called showers. It was a pretty spot but definitely not the falls I was picturing! But we hiked around a little more and just enjoyed being outside.
Then after realizing the bus wouldn't be back for another 2 and a half hours we decided to start walking towards a little town called Cristo Re. This place was so cute! It was just so quaint and small and the people were so friendly! We were fans of the tender place but since it was so small we could only do so much so we started out walking towards San Ignacio hoping another bus would pick us up on the way. And we soon decided if we saw a truck coming we would definitely hitchhike our way back to the city and ask to just ride in the back. I mean its something I had ALWAYS wanted to do....a normal bucket list wish I feel. Soon enough we saw a truck and one by one we stuck our thumbs out and got a ride. That was definitely a high point of my life. The truck may have been a little rickety and the bed felt like it was going to fall off at any moment but it was great! The thing is I have felt more safe asking for a ride in Belize then I would at home. So don't worry mom and dad! The family that drove us were so nice and didn't even let us pay them for the ride. I wish I could take more kind people like that back to the states...
Cristo Re....cutest town
i just really appreciate these bump signs ha
our hike...
the beautiful falls...
Anyways these last couple days have been amazing! Sorry for the beast of a post but I just have so much to say! I'll try and update what happened today, tomorrow. This place is amazing...i've loved every minute!! AND of course...Happy Fathers Day!!
Peace and Love...
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