Abundance Farm

Center for Ecology and Humanity

Para español, aqui.

February 2007 Tour of Finca La Abundancia:

New Infrastructure: The Well and Guesthouse

After two months of work, the well was ten meters deep - dug mostly through solid rock. There was no water yet at the bottom, but Peter wanted to build a stone ring at the top in the soil layer to prevent the walls from caving in. He had spent two months researching and planning how to best build the ring to be as strong as possible in the event of an earthquake.

Peter and Yasmina arranged to have over 300 stones especially quarried to size from a local quarry.

Peter and Yasmina had to shape each stone to fit perfectly in the well.

Peter lowered the stones into the well with rope and pulley, and put them in place to test their sizes and shapes.

Here is a neighbor, Bayardo, who helped mix concrete during the placing of stones in the well.

Bayardo lowered the cement mix down with the rope and pulley to Peter, who did the masonry work below.

Peter poured the mortar mix.

Then he applied the mortar mix where the stones would go.

Finally he put the rock in place.

After two weeks of putting two rows of rocks in per day, the ring of the well was finished.

When the well was finished, Peter quickly finished putting up the walls of the new guesthouse as well.