Finca La Florida

Road construction
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Went to volunteer at this Finca as it has a very interesting background.

A group of campesinos at a neighbouring farm grew tired of working for little or no money and decided to occupy La Florida as it had been abandoned for 8 years (the previous owners had gone bankrupt).  A long battle ensued with the government (they are not very sympathetic to campesino rights and have taken much of their land from them).  They finally won the right to buy the finca for $800,000 and have 8 years to pay the loan back.  They have put a lot of work into cleaning up the land as much of it was overgrown (it's in the middle of a rain forest so the vegetation is rampant).  They have just started an eco tourism project as a way of supporting themselves (none of the families earn a salary).

Weaving
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I spend a very eventful week and a bit there.  I helped build a road (hacking the ground with a big hoe and carting it away in a wheelbarrow - no bulldozers here).  I herded goat / sheep things called Pelibueys.  I milked a cow.  I made drinking chocolate from cacao seeds.  I hacked at weeds with a machete.  I helped with a sewing class and an english class.

It was a very humbling experience to see how poor these people are.  The kids run around in tatty clothes and no shoes.  The staple diet is maize and more maize with the odd few beans thrown in (they have to live off what they grow as they can't afford to buy anything - they can't even afford to pay the pickup fare to the nearest town).

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The volunteers eat with one of the families so you really get to see how they live.  Volunteer accomodation is in the big house which the previous owners occupied.  It´s not as grand as it sounds as it´s very run down and is home to numerous creatures - cockroaches, bats, rats and lovely orange birds that give you a wake up call by tapping on the window.

If you want to know more about the finca the website is www.websamba.com/laflorida