Entre Arboles is a small Paradise
situated in Mallin, 18 km
from El Bolsón. As soon as I enter the gate I know that these two weeks will
mean something special to me. Entre Arboles means in between the trees. I love
trees. There is the house of Lali and Vero where I will work; behind some trees
the round house of Gloria and Seba, Vero’s brother. Graziela lives there too,
she has decided to follow her children, Vero and Seba in their different choice
of life. Luis’ house is a bit further down the path and Juan’s behind some
other trees. There is a very special atmosphere here, of peace and serenity.
People live in harmony with nature and respecting each other. There are some
unwritten rules: nobody can alter nature more than what is necessary to build a
house and there are no fences. Most of the inhabitants are vegetarian. Twice a
year they buy the food they need in bulk and everyone has a little garden with
vegetables and fruit for their own consumption. Life at Entre Arboles is
determined by the seasons. In summer, people work a lot, on their houses, on
producing jam and conserves for the winter, which can be very cold, and earning
money by selling things they produce at the Feria (local market) in El Bolsón.
In winter, people stay more inside and some days the snow is so thick that they
can only go somewhere by foot.
As soon as I arrive Lali greets me with a giant smile. She
is like a sunflower and whenever she smiles her warmth spreads around making
other people want to smile too. Lali is a musician, she plays the guitar and
sings, but she loves all instruments. You can find her on Youtube, Lali
Estivill. She shows me around: the houses, her studio, the dry toilet, the cats.
Three other volunteers are there too but only for a couple of days more. They
help me get settled and give me advice on how to light the fire and where to
find everything. I already feel at home here.
Vero has traveled the world for six years before returning
to Entre Arboles, where she bought the property 18 years ago. She loves hard
work and has done almost everything herself in her house, together with Lali.
When I was there, they built an oven, Estufa Rusa, with refractory bricks to
keep the heat for hours after the wood has gone out. She also makes clothes
that she sells at the Feria, mostly pants and skirts. Graziela paints the
clothes with Mandalas and prints similar to those of Cueva de las Manos where I
went before. They are lovely and I get to help Vero to sew them!
The first week I either sew with Vero or I help Lali with
various works on and around the house, always with breaks and Mate of course.
Then Janet arrives. Remember Janet from London ?
She was woofing near Lago Puelo cracking nuts and when she heard about this
place she decided to change immediately. How much more fun to be two! I am so
happy that she decided to come. The second week we get to do more work on the
house, learning all the different construction and decoration techniques
As you can see from the photos, the houses are in wood with
some walls of Adobe. In the Adobe they have incorporated colored bottles and
plates. When the sun shines through them, the whole house becomes like a
rainbow of different colors. I am totally charmed… First, we plant some nails
in the wood and stretch a metal string between them. Then, we make a mixture of
straw and liquid clay and we soak the straw in the mixture. This is the
isolation and goes directly in the wall, pressed together by two wooden walls
that will be taken down once the straw is dry. The second and third layers are
made of clay, sand and cut straw. We mix it until it is the right consistency
and sticks to the wall. It is called revoque grueso. We use two layers of this.
The last layer is called revoque fino and is another mixture, finer and
smoother than the others, and we mix in different colors to decorate the house,
inside and outside. It is so beautiful but hard work as we need to smooth it
out with a spatula several times before we are satisfied with the result.
One day the girls decide to go to the national park near
Lago Puelo to collect nuts. We are lucky, not only do we find nuts, but also
some of the best apples I have ever tasted, only waiting for us to pick them.
On our way back we find a little kitten alone in the night. We decide to take it
in until the next day when we can bring it back to its owner. Many dangers lure
between the trees at night, especially for a helpless little kitten. I don’t
sleep that night, the baby doesn’t stop walking on my head and trying to put
its head in my mouth... Another day, Seba and Gloria have caught a rat but as
they don’t want to kill it, we drive it to the entrance of Mallin, far enough
so it will hopefully not return. This is also what I love with Entre Arboles,
every day is different and often nature decides to surprise us.
After two weeks here, I am so sad to leave. You know when
you say goodbye to family or good friends and your eyes start to get wet? I
hope you will read this Lali and Vero and again thank you from the bottom of my
heart for these two wonderful weeks. Also thank you Janet for sharing this
experience with me, I will never forget all the laughs we had! The snow has fallen on the mountains during the last night, winter is approaching here...
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