Aggregating Mistakes

We knew we would make many mistakes when we began this project. Today's mistakes are the seeds for tomorrow's successes, and we prefer to leave this project having made most of our grand mistakes in natural building. For your edification and amusement, here are some of the errors of our ways.

1. We'll just strap the baby on our backs and work together.

This one doesn't mind.

The baby, as it turns out, has plenty to say about that. Half of us is occupied with childcare in easy times, and on other days we abandon work on the natural house to cook, clean and nap. Parenting is a much harder job than natural building.

2. That looks fine, let's just go ahead and build.

We try to accommodate many different priorities here, sometimes leading us in a tricky balancing act with no right choice and many wrong ones. After digging and filling the foundation trench for the first attempt we realised we hadn't put enough thought into the design. The result was several awkwardly large rooms that had no flow. This and several other "mistakes" filled us with such regret we decided to scrap the first attempt, relocate the site, and begin again from scratch.

3. We'll organise the site later.

Chaos.

Order

When the schedule is placed before all else, quality of work is sure to suffer. Organisational lapses accumulate and boulders end up on the wrong side of a foundation trench. Piles of excavated earth block the work area, until they are haphazardly relocated to make way for a wheelbarrow. On an un-level site, just carting around 80kg of rock is a challenge. Alternatively, a site with even a minimum of forethought put into organisation is delightfully satisfying to work on and, personally, much more aesthetically pleasing. Sand, stones and earth handy where you need them; always a clear and level path for the wheelbarrow; safe for children to work and play in and around. They must mind the scorpions, of course.

4. Never trust Zapata.

More on this later.

5. Trust in ourselves and our vision.

(alternatively, Just Say No!)

There will always be someone who thinks they know better than us how to accomplish our dreams. Sometimes they do know better than us about the practicalities of getting there. But if we relinquish decision making to this person, at that point our dream ceases to be ours and becomes theirs -- and that is in the lucky case. Much more likely is that our dream becomes their side-project or resumé-padder, and we are pointed in the "right" direction and left on our own at the first difficulty. We cannot trust our intuition once we begin down this road because the project no longer comes from us, is no longer tied to our standards, nor to our aesthetic and technical vision. No matter how much more than us someone knows about a specific subject or way of doing something, we will stand firm in our decisions. Working to educate yourself without a teacher can be stressful and frightening. The final form of your work remains cloudy and the path to achievement is unclear. This project has been full of these experiences: learning to cement, learning to plaster, learning to build a dry toilet and grey water system, learning to build a stone foundation. I can say that ultimately, walking our own path is much more satisfying and, for me, has been much more edifying than following someone else. Even if it means restarting from scratch a couple of times.

Our intuitive interpretation of dry-stacked stone foundation. Taken before we applied mortar.

There are no strings on me!

We knew the big challenge when Oscar left would be to work on the house while caring for Ainoa. At nine months of age she revolts against overlong rides in the baby carrier. Her crawling skills have improved to where leaving her sitting on the foam play-mat is out of the question as well. Our temporary solution is that Sandra has been taking care of Ainoa while I work on the house, though we try to switch roles and relieve each other during easily rotatable activities like painting.

Chirimoyal - Main room with netting tent

For some work rotation is simply not an option. When we have a task requiring us to combine our efforts and leave Ainoa alone for a short time we place her in a travel crib and try to focus on our work over her cries of frustration. Just two days ago she learned to pull herself up on the crib side and watch us work through the open doorway. This discovery and mastery of equilibrium has provided for a much calmer co-working time. We also have begun more keenly than before to feel the need for a large playpen which should give Ainoa sufficient space to exercise her burgeoning crawling and walking skills.

Chirimoyal - Painting the interior bedroom

On Wednesday we visited the elusive carpenter Juan and gave him measurements and descriptions for the playpen, using one piece of a set he had crafted for Valentin as a model. The 155 cm by 125 cm size will fit around the foam play-mat and the price, US $150, was in the range of 1 m^2 playpens we had inquired about at the Santa Clara market in Quito.

Once the interior bedroom has been completed, which may be as soon as July 6, we will move Ainoa in along with her new furniture and current anti-fly enclosure. We will continue to use the crib for positioning her around the house while we finish the interior.

For future outdoor work we have yet to develop a method, having however the outlines of a plan in mind. The basics of this plan are:

1. Choose a visible location near or around the site and clear the ground. May involve levelling terrain.
2. Install the bug-net equipped 3 m^2 tent on this location.
3. Place the play-mat in the playpen under the tent.

Of course we shall have to evaluate the practicality of this plan once we begin construction of the dry toilet, our first big outdoor project. The final solution may keep us working at a slower pace, as does the current arrangement, but enjoying Ainoa’s ever more alert and active presence the day through is, for now, a welcome exchange.