Just as I was getting settled into life in Granada, Gerard and I packed our bags and took a few different buses to Costa Rica to get to renowned sustainability educational center, Rancho Mastatal, to spend ten days taking their Timber Framing course. The instructors, Skip and Liz, have been coming to Mastatal to teach for over 15 years, and their timber framing legacy is visible on many buildings across the ranch. Our goal for the course was to assemble the frame of a house for two Rancho Mastatal core team members, Nic and Ally.
We learned to handle the chisels and other tools, to carefully shape the mortise and tenon pieces so the joints would fit tightly, all while enjoying the beauty of Mastatal, the camaraderie with the other participants and staff, and the healthy and delicious meals we shared in the community kitchen. By the end of the course, we achieved the goal of raising the structure for the new house.
Once finished with our workshop, Gerard and I met up with Brett to spend a few days relaxing by the beach in Costa Rica’s beautiful Montezuma and visiting two more permaculture projects. Our main highlight was Cirenas where friend and permaculture designer/ instructor, Sam Kenworthy, has designed and installed an impressive landscape system over a large area that was previously degraded cattle grazing land. We also visited Rancho Delicioso, an eco-lodge featuring a burgeoning food forest dotted with fantastical structures and outdoor spaces.
After seeing the impressive permaculture properties in Costa Rica, Brett, Gerard, and I came back to ViVerde bursting with ideas on how to improve on the measures already taken to store water, build soil, and encourage diversity.
With wood to spare and projects galore, there is no shortage of applications for timber framing at ViVerde in the future. Now equipped with a chainsaw mill, the sky is the limit for processing a variety of different tree species on site. The first project will be the above-ground structure for the composting toilets. I am looking forward to testing out my new skills when I return to Nicaragua in the not-too-distant future.
