The Tarahumara (Raramuri) People of Northern Mexico have a culture more than 300 years old. At one time, they thrived sustainably off of the abundant natural gifts of northern Mexico. Now, they are literally starving to death in the highest altitudes of the Sierra.
The Spanish and the exploitive economic system that followed them drove the Tarahumara into the mountains. Here, only the flat, inhospitable mesas are where they can make their homes. There is NO FOOD, EXTREME TEMPERATURES, the people have to hike 3 Kilometers (in Altitude, not distance!!!) to the bottom of the Barranca FOR A BUCKET OF WATER, not to mention that it HASN’T RAINED IN 5 YEARS. Children are dying from malnutrition, and the elderly are freezing to death in the night.
a Tarahumara woman returns from her day journey to the bottom of the Barranca for a pale of water
Four days ago we had the opportunity to go to Inapuchi, a Tarahumara pueblo of approximately 150 people high in the Sierra with officials from SEDESOL (Mexico’s Federal Social Development Department). We visited homes, and a school (currently a goat corral). We were crushed to have nothing to offer for immediate relief. At the request of the Federal Government, we have submitted a proposal for a prototype home that is highly replicable. But the fact is that these people are still up there, waiting for their natural human rights, in their own homeland, and we have no idea when there will be funds to offer relief for them.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT THIS AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU. WE FEEL COMPELLED TO ACT IMMEDIATELY. One more day without acting is another day that they starve. We have an obligation to build another structure in just a few weeks, so we are going to go build this prototype now while we have the free time.
Miguel and Rosalba, leader of the Tarahumara women
El Tata
Inapuchi
The School
4Walls International and Plan Mexico Hambre Cero are now planning an EMERGENCY FLASH BUILD for the people of Inapuchi. We will be building a prototype home designed to empower the people with the skills needed to build a better and sustainable life.
The home will be a 20 square meter sandbag and stone structure with a faro-cement domed roof. It will have a cooling tube underground to manage the temperature naturally, not to mention condensate water from thin air. This water will be used to wash hands and faces, then placed into a simple PVC Biointensive hydroponics system where it will recycle over and over along with liquid compost to grow nutritious organic heirloom vegetables. We are building a solar toilet for quick turn-over of human waste as well as a dry toilet for long-term soil restoration of the mesa (it is currently nothing but bone-dry dust). Additionally, we will build a solar oven for preparing food. We are currently doing a food-drive here in Chihuahua so that we are able to offer temporary hunger-relief, and energize the people in order that they may help build and learn. Click here to watch Rosalba, leader of the Tarahumara women tell the government that her people are ready to WORK.
an inside look at the elements of the structure
Design: Arq. Mayagoitia y Arq. Reyes
We cannot do this WITHOUT YOU and we need to move AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!!! Please join us in standing up to injustice and DONATE NOW (Top of the page)!!! We have an obligation to start our build in Santa Isabel this month, so we are sounding the horn to raise $4,500 IN JUST ONE WEEK!!! If we raise more, we can build bigger. If you feel this in your heart, PLEASE DONATE NOW at the top of the page!!!
This is where your money will go, immediately:
$1000 – Materials for the Rammed-Earth Structure
$500 – Closed-Cycle Hydroponic Greywater System
$2000 – Logistics and Transportation of Supplies
$1,000 – Dry and Solar Toilet
HELP PUT HUMAN ENERGY INTO ACTION, AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!
Starting to get the ball rolling down here in Santa Isabel… We are participating in a project to build 2 Centros de Capacitacion initiated by Proyecto Ollinyotl. They have been doing Grow Biointensive Agriculture in the Deserts of Chihuahua over the last 20 years, and have perfected how to maximize food production with the least amount of land and water possible. This is a harsh climate, so Gaspar Mayagoitia knows what he is doing…
Miguel and Steve have been in Santa for the last 2 weeks planning logistics… Since a picture is worth a thousand, I’ll just start putting up pics and hopefully the video works too… Much love and light from Santa Isabel!
William De Brule from Florida via Idaho. He is our self proclaimed photographer/driver and director of finances. His Duramax Chevy has served not only as his bedroom but also as our boardroom. Will has a taste for purple beats, Far East Movement (“Like a G-6”), and guns. If ever a zombie apocalypse, Will would be one of the survivors. Welcome to the crew Will.
Luis Miguel Mayagoitia Medina comes to us from San Ysabel Chihuahua Mexico. Steve, Waylon, and I met this Mexican Indian while on a build with Earthship Biotecture in Southern Baja. We told him about our plans in Tijuana and Migs showed up a week later. He is our architect as well as cultural guide; he enjoys his drum, tobacco “its sacred”, and cactus. El carnalito se anda con un sonrisa diabilto por el camino real. Has a different way of doing things and might leave you a bit soggy. Thats why he is our Migs. Bienviendos carnal a nuestro crew!
Floating in our sweat made it difficult for us to sleep last night. The rumor of this looming heat finally came true. Being in the sombra (shade) is one of our favorite retreats and the ocean breeze brings a sticky sweat if one ventures into the sun. August is here in Mexico and with it came the heat. Mid-day the wind softens and the moscas (flys) can also become a nuisance . Two days ago our Vecinos , neighbors, Tom and Mary Jane left us in charge of their house and dog, Chase. Chase is a 17 year old Border Collie mix and sleeps most of the day. Other cool features include a bed and a FRIGE! We are pumped to escape the sun blast with refreshing beverages, chunks of watermelon, and have the ability to freeze things. Fish anyone??? Steve roped one in the other day, said “it was this big”. We ate well that night. Spot on SteveO.
Part casa (house) part caja (box) the Cajita has been an upgrade to our lives. The Cajita resembles a box because of the lack of windows but this orange Cajita has made our group more comfortable. The Cajita is equipped with out door kitchen, shower,
la cocina
non-flushing toilet (no submarines), and perfect hammock trees with plenty of sombra (shade). Also an ocean view from most hammock spots as well as the largest fichus tree any of us have ever seen. We are stoked to be a 5-minute walk to the beach but the dog is seems to be a lot more amped. I have just been told there are bigger fichus trees in La Paz but these two gueros are use to Home Depot garden section fichus.
one of the hammocks, with an ocean view
With the change in our location also came an adaption to our new neighbors. Sundays are definitely fun-days in Pescadero with one of our neighbors blasting Cumbia from 10 in the morning till 10 at night. The best part has been the singing, which comes about after they have finished a few ballenas (40 ounce beers). Our favorite neighbors are two desert iguanas that live in the 700 year old Cardones on the property. We have named them Search and Destroy and they could probably teach us a few things about living in this desert.
inside la cajita
Last night we taught Aihibed how to play our favorite card game, Killer, beneath our Christmas lights, which light our out door dinning area. One thing that we really enjoy is the ability to have most things outside. Only in the tropics can we take advantage of such things. We are planning the build and will be soon posting volunteer opportunities… Now who is ready to come down, work hard, and enjoy tropical drinks??? Hey we’re in the tropics!
When people hear the words “digging a whole” and “a hose” in the same sentence they might think that you are planting a tree or some other type of gardening. Well to the 4 Walls crew those two phrases are the sh*tter and the shower. For the past 2 months Steve has been doing just that for his facilities. Digging a hole and using the hose. Not the most glamourous of facilities but they do function. When I showed up about month ago we were still using the hose and hole method. Recently we have moved from our campsite in Todos Santos to a different campsite in Pescadero. The new campsite or the Cajita (check back for Cajita story) as we like to call it has been an improvement in life style. A toliet and a shower, sounds simple, but to these gringos something which back in the states we have taken forgranted. Having the two Shs again is a great feeling. Though our toliet does not flush proper, (bucket method) it is great to have a throne sit upon as well as a shower to properly clean ourselves. Couple of experiences which we had while in our new throne room. Steve while taking a mid-afternoon shower nearly scolded himself and I was nearly carried away by 100 roaches while needing to use the sh*tter after dark. Two rules came about no mid-day showers and use the toliet at your own risk after dark.
We’ve thought about these thingies for a while now… to some, they’re the anti-christ, others get the shakes when they’ve misplaced them. To us, possible salvation.
As of now, reliable internet is a 15 minute drive into town. But, we have a way better idea! There is plenty of 3G service here, and the rates are comparable to rates back in the states. Sweet thing here is that we can bring down some phones picked up off of craigslist, get the service, and plug in. If we had them we could get internet anywhere, and that would be huge.
We’re new to the social networking game, but it would be awesome to be able to post pictures from wherever we are, post blogs, or do the whole tweeting thing (though neither of us get it yet).
Pretty sure we would need some durable cases and dust proof them some how…
It’s weird. A week feels like a month and a month feels like a week. Some thoughts…
Steve:
Working hard, lining up land, and figuring out how to turn this recycling center into something that lasts for a long time… they’ve tried recycling in Pescadero before, but it’s just easier for people to just throw it on the ground. Gotta figure out how to put a dollar amount on helping the environment and helping people. Gotta make it happen. Really excited for the Stomp For The Cause Fundraiser coming up in September and lining up some other stuff back home. Really pumped to be presenting at a conference at the University of San Diego as well. Got some surf the other day at the east cape which was some great check-out time.
Cree:
Lots of Computer work ahead of us. Steve and I are coming up with more ideas to help us raise funds. We are open to any ideas and would love for any help in these areas. Stomp for a Cause is happening this September at my parents house. Those of you who do not know we will be harvesting the grapes from my parents Vineyard and making some wine. It is a great opportunity to to be part of the wine making experience. No set dates because the sugar has to be right before the harvest. Should be the second or third week of September.
The adventure in Mexico continues. It is hectically slow but has been super fun. The past two weeks we have been staying/camping on a lot in Pescadero where we planning our build. Steve and I had to dig a 50 meter trench 16 inches deep so we could get power. I was stoked to be doing some physical work and have the ocean near by to cool off afterwards. Time is different and the surf the past week was fun too!
the hog learns how to stand in water - la ballandra
Christian has made it down, the project is coming together, and soon it’ll be time to raid the dumps and get to work. Above are documents that have been put together by Presidenta Carmen, an amazing leader here in Pescadero. At the end of the month, we should have clear legal status to build.
These are some pictures from a meeting we had in La Paz with our architect LuLu, and officials that we met at the green conference where Hesed spoke. They are interested in the project, want to help, and want to make it happen on a large scale. The universe conspires!
“The thing about living in paradise is there’s always a catch. In the case of Bermuda, where This Old House has been filming the renovation of a 200-year-old Georgian house, hurricanes hit the small mid-Atlantic island summer and fall, toppling trees, rattling shuttered windows, and peeling off roofs. Oh, and then there’s the absence of any fresh water source on the island. As a result, Bermuda’s roofs have evolved over four centuries to do two things: protect houses against gale-force winds and funnel whatever the heavens rain down into large cisterns that feed household taps. By law, every house must collect 80 percent of the water that falls on its roof.
To build a traditional Bermudian roof, masons mortar rectangular slabs, or “slates,” of local limestone to each other over a hip-roof frame. Then they apply more mortar over the top and edges of the slates, filling the joints and giving the roof its traditional stepped shape. Along the lower edges of the roof, they sculpt a long concrete trough for a gutter, which directs rainwater to a pipe that filters it and funnels it into a cistern buried alongside the house. Then they give the whole roof structure a thin wash of cement. Finally, to keep rainwater as clean as possible on its way to the cistern, they paint the roofs with special nontoxic paint (a modern replacement for traditional lime wash), which must be reapplied every two to three years.
The result is a strong, nearly self-supporting structure that holds its own against the weather while sending clean water into the tank. It’s the best and cheapest way to supply fresh water — up to 30 gallons per person are needed per day — to the 60,000-plus residents of this tiny island nation. It’s also what accounts for Bermuda’s signature white rooftops, perfectly placed amid the palms and set off by the pastel houses for which the island is famous.”
SO, WE ARE IN SOUTHERN BAJA, A REGION THAT GETS PELTED WITH HURRICANES, AND HAPPENS TO BE A DESERT. GOOD FIT NO? WE DON’T HAVE SLABS OF STONE, NOR COULD WE AFFORD THEM, BUT…
WE DO HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF DIRT… SOME LOCALS HERE HAVE HELPED BUILD A STRUCTURE VERY SIMILAR TO THESE IN LOS CERRITOS, AND IT IS FULLY POSSIBLE TO BUILD TIRE WALLS, SANDBAG DOME ROOFS, AND HAVE THEM BE STEPPED LIKE THE BERMUDA ROOF TO INCREASE SURFACE AREA AND MAXIMIZE WATER COLLECTION!
William De Brule from Florida via Idaho. He is our self proclaimed photographer/driver and director of finances. His Duramax Chevy has served not only as his bedroom but also as our boardroom. Will has a taste for purple beats, Far East Movement (“Like a G-6”), and guns. If ever a zombie apocalypse, Will would be one 
of the survivors. Welcome to the crew Will.
