Living in Playóna

The beginning of February marked moving into my own house.  There was a lot of back and forth in the community about building a new house or taking on an existing house and renovating it.  I pushed for moving into the existing house simply because it would mean cutting down less trees of the rainforest.  I moved into a house that was built for a teacher who is no longer working in the town.  The roof needs to be fixed and we are going to make the living room bigger. 

My djaba Bansi and I went into the jungle to cut penca leaves for the roof, which was a lot of fun, but really tough.  We walked around looking for the leaves, cutting them down with machetes, folding them up and walking a wrapped pile back to the village.  Some of the leaves are hard to reach and required Bansi to climb the trees to chop them down.  After Bansi climbed the tree, I stuck his machete on a large stick to hoist it up to him.  He cut and I organized the pile.  Walking out of the jungle with 20 penca leaves on your back is heavy. 

I also learned how to use a chainsaw.  Harder than it looks, but I'm practicing.

Can you find Bansi up in the tree?

Tieing penca leaves into a 'bulta', Emberá style

After having such a good time with my host families in December and January, I almost stayed with them for the rest of my service.  Although that would have been great, it would have detracted from my work and personal experience.  The more people I talk to and create relationships with, helps me in the Environmental Health work I’m trying to do.  Continuing to live with host families for 2 years would have isolated me from the community.  I’m always at their houses anyway - as they insist on continuing to feed me, I insist on eating.

Personally, life is simply more real in Alto Playón living alone. I cook, clean, do my dishes, and carry water from the river (I have a lot of respect for the women who carry 5 gallons of water (40 lbs.) on their head for 4 times a day everyday).  It’s unusual to not get gifted some platano, rice, or ñame from someone’s farm.  I’m on my own schedule as well.  I’m usually up at 5:30, bathe, meditate, cook breakfast, and start the day.  Having my own house makes me more of a community member and not just a guest.

There’s still a lot of work to do:  fixing the roof, building a latrine, working on the extension, rainwater catchment, and connecting to the aqueduct.  Life moves at a different pace in Playona, but it’s good to be living there.

My house during sunset.  We're opening it up

View from behind my house.  Chucunaque River in the background.