Ecuador: Saraswati Ahimsa Vana

We were dropped off at “the monkey,” the sign for the farm Saraswati Ahimsa Vana, Thursday, October 10th, in the afternoon around 2. We had already eaten a highly suspicious Menu del Dia before we left Tena, a last taste of questionable meat before we took on the vegetarian diet. When we arrived lunch, or Prasadam, was about to start and we were invited to sit down on woven straw mats to eat our second lunch in a circle on the ground with the community. There were a quite a few volunteers, some more permanent than others, from Venezuala, Colombia, Argentina, Germany, Iceland and the U.S.. We got to meet them all as they trickled in throughout the day from various activities around the farm and in town.

Prasadam

That night we made Melcocha, taffy made out of sugarcane they had harvested and squeezed that morning. The sugarcane is cooked until it is hot and liquidy, then it is taken off the oven and cooled only a little before you start a long process of massaging and pulling the taffy until it turns from dark brown to white and is hard, stretchy, and, well, the consistency of a harder taffy. Ryan’s somehow became more liquidy, no one knew how.

Every night before dinner and morning before breakfast there was Bhatki Yoga, mantra chanting as a way of meditation, and then someone read from the Bhagavad Gita and spoke about its meaning for them and led a discussion or gave a lesson. Cooking was also a way of meditation, and so cooks did not taste the food as they made it, and before dinner was served an offering of the best parts of each course of the meal was put in a cupboard as the offerer rang a bell and recited mantras. It was extremely interesting learning this practice and getting to share with this community. Not all the community participated in the practices, but all were respectful and interested in learning and sharing who they were.

Each morning we awoke to the chanting of the mantras, Bhatki Yoga, at 5:30. Latecomers’ footsteps could be heard above and around us as they awoke and joined in the chanting on the deck above the hammocks.

Yoga Deck

It was a beautiful natural alarm clock that inspired a final set of dreams before we got up for Hatha Yoga around 6:30. By then the sun was barely up, the temperature was welcoming, and the birds sang for us while we stretched with their own unique chants. On especially lucky mornings when Gopal would bake, the smell of fresh bread would waft up to us.

After Yoga, breakfast was served-usually some kind of homemade yogurt, lots of fruits, and a starch, as well as hot mystery tea- and we learned what kind of work we would be doing for the day. The work varied, from cooking lunch for everyone, spreading compost around the plants, clearing leaves off the paths or collecting and then distributing sawdust on the trails. Ryan spent two days mixing and spreading a delicate mixture of caca de vaca, sand, clay and yucca paste on the walls of Bhaga’s house on the property. I had an opportunity to do a little poop spreading, and it was actually pretty fun, despite the fact that your hands smell for the rest of the day, no matter how many times your scrub them with soap and water. “La casa de mis suenos es hecha de mierda” got stuck in my head after only an hour on the job.

the dining room and volunteer hang-out space

Saraswati was just starting a project with the school in Talag to bring in volunteers for an hour a day, two days a week, primarily to teach students about recycling and secondarily to get them at least a little acquainted with the English language and foreigners. I was able to go on Wednesday with Varsana and Belen. We talked about biodegradable materials, why we recycle, and I taught the students how to say “worm,” “plant,” “dog” and “bottle” in English. Once we handed out worksheets and the kids had colored pencils in their hands the class became unruly, but we had a lot of fun and I think they may have learned something.

All told it was a wonderful week full of inspiring spiritual conversation, great food, fun people from all over the world, and the most immersion in Spanish than we’ve had yet!

The view on the way to Wisdom Forest