...Aquaponics update/ May 15th...

Visitor the other day who knew more about aquaponics than us (Easy! ) and he says we have too much fish waste in the water -creating algae growth on the roots and we need to increase our flow rate for more oxygen. He gave us a drawing of a simple filter so that we can separate the solids and feed them to our worms. So we should have a better growth rate. (Thanks Jose..) Like so much else in our world today its a matter of finding balance. Nature does it so easy..We have to work at it..

We did find out that two lobina (carnivorous bass) had been mistakenly mixed in with our tilapia. Early on we spotted several schools of very small fish, but had not seen them for awhile. Seems as if the lobina found them. 

We offered our work crew $10 bucks to get rid of the lobina, and the next day one of the guys showed up in the morning with a casting net. Since he was working on the tiles on one of the patios, he kept an eye out and upon spotting our carnivorous misfits he literally jumped into the pond and netted them. Said with a smile that they made a nice lunch!

...Spring green...April 12th

Late afternoon shot from the lower ponds on April 12, 2013. We never tire of the beauty that is provided for us by Nature. Our weather is great - mostly high 80 days/high 40's at night. A lot has happened in the last two months.

Tiles on the patios that were designed without posts or stepdowns, so that the whole area flows together. The concertina folding doors allow the whole width of 17'6" to be enjoyed.

We love the view from the dining room / community center to the pond and river beyond. The tiling has  been completed on the patio in front of the sala. The framework to support the bamboo awning has been done so that the shade can be added to or taken away as we need it.

With all of the floor tiles in the six condos done, we mainly have kitchen and bathroom tiles to finish up and we'll have a couple of places liveable.

Recent changes to immigration  have made living here in some ways easier and in other ways more difficult. Easier in that everyone automatically gets a 6 month tourist visa. More difficult in that everyone must establish  a certain monthly income in order to become a temporary or permanent resident. All in all, however, it's still much easier than trying to enter into the US.

...the Face of Mexico...

This old man claimed to have been a bugle boy in the Mexican Revolution. He seemed to be very poor- but rich in spirit-and always in good humour. It's so sad that those that create the 'News' in the US insist on painting such a negative picture of Mexicans and Mexico. I've lived and painted here for over 20 years now and hate it when they trot out the stereotypes- most of which are  just not true. The loving human spirit is alive and well and we feel so fortunate to live here among these people- who have a lot to teach us about sustainable living and other important aspects of life.

We often get emails saying 'We like the looks of what you are doing at laSenda but are afraid of living in Mexico.' All we can say to them is please don't judge the people or the country based on what the powers that be tell the media to produce. The overall 'picture' they produce of Mexico  is  not true.

There is a lot of beauty here- the people, the culture, the family life, the environment -and many from the North who come here for a visit often within days are planning how they can manage to live here and enjoy what this country has to offer- such as the beauty of the girl-and the flowers- in this painting .

As an artist- and a lover of beauty- I am very happy with what Mexico- and laSenda- has to offer. And the only way anyone will ever know if that is true is to come have a look for themselves. 

Three cheers for us !!!!!

Half a football field long, all south facing, with the large central patio in the middle and the dining room and kitchen set back - we are almost done with the construction stage. We will be working on the plumbing for the aquaponics trays in the greenhouse this week, and we had a backhoe double-dig a large contour-shaped in-ground growing area to the east of the living units last week. So... food production will be happening shortly.

We have looked hard at our costs and are able to offer a real bargain in terms of solar energy, food production, great climate and comfort -- all the "mod cons" for sustainable living. We will all have a very low monthly cost of living, once the living units are occupied and the buy-ins are a done deal.

This is the view from  the southfacing patios  looking to the southeast.  The water from this pond is solar pumped  up the hill to holding tanks  and from there gravity fed thru the greenhouse aquaponics system  where  the plants absorb the fish nutrients and the falling water oxygenates itself before it goes back to the fishpond thus completing a closed cycle with little or no waste.

...Aquaponics / Fish Farming = Sustainability ...

Here is our 'high tech' state-of-the-art aquaponics greenhouse, which we have nicknamed the 'Hanging Gardens of El Batan.' (The area we live in is called El Batan.)

Aquaponics has been an exciting development for us. We believe that as vegetarians, vegans and pescatarians we can come close to 100% sustainability using this system.  We are solar pumping the nutrient-laden water from our new lined 105'x43' fishpond, which is filled with pond water from our natural flow lower fish ponds, up to this aquaponics growing area. The water will cycle through the trays, and then clean aerated water will be gravity-fed back to the fish - a win/win situation. In the photo above, a few of the blue trays can be seen in the last row. 

We now have the capacity for almost a 100 of the blue trays. With 8 butter lettuces per tray, that's 800 lettuces growing. Our intention is to grow many other greens in the trays, but local restaurants are eager to buy good salad greens at this time, and we intend to consume quite a few ourselves.

The protected south-facing bank of growing trays within the greenhouse situation allows the plants to grow much faster than normal. Each tray has an adjustable water level, so plants can have nutrients with roots in water and partially exposed to oxygen. Each tray also has a small venturi on the outlet that feeds to the tray below. From the bottom tray, the water gravity feeds back to the main fishpond.

The large body of water in the fishpond also provides cooler air during the warmer months of April/May/June and is a delightful addition to the view from the patios. Lots of landscaping to do and color to add to both the surrounding area and the pond, which will have water lilies to provide shade for the fish.

With the solar pump and panel paid for, the whole system runs itself at little cost to us. People who have put this system to work on their land have found they can grow ten times the produce of a normal garden area with almost no labor except for planting - at waist height - no bending, stooping, crawling on hands and knees, weeding, etc.

And nice to know that if we need them for our diet, we will have clean fish available.

...Living here and loving it...

We are in!! All systems go. Loving it. Really enjoying being here. Stepped out onto the patio to check out the full moon - clouds hiding it - stepped back into the living room area and snapped this of the kitchen.

As Barbara said, "This place is more like a very nice Boutique Hotel than a ecovillage.." Internet guy installed a very fancy dish for satellite so we have good internet service out here in the canyon.

Decided to go for the classy look in the shower and toilet area. We are quite pleased with how it has come out.

This is how the large closet area between the living room and bathroom has worked out. In the daytime the bed rolls into the bottom of the closet and becomes a nice sofa. Rolled out at night, the room becomes a bedroom - saving a lot of space that is often wasted.

If sustainable community is beginning to sound good to you, we are looking for a few of the right 'fit' folks that can see our potential for 'living the good life'. In light of recent disturbing economic and environmental news, consider laSenda as a possible new direction for your future. A sustainable future. With all the mod cons.

...the Essence of Our Community...

All of laSenda's ceilings will be organic bamboo on natural round vigas (beams). The bamboo grows on our land along the river. This particular section of the roofs has high south-facing windows, which allow light and air into the kitchen. It's both organic and beautiful.

The south-facing portion of the roof is at a 22-degree slope and will hold our 10 Photovoltaic solar panels. These panels will produce electrical power that can be 'net metered,' as Mexico now has a law allowing excess electricity produced to be sent to the grid in the daytime and used by the producers at night. We will have a near-zero cost of power, provided that our usage is equal to the excess that we produce. In effect, the grid functions as our battery bank, saving us the high cost and relatively short life of batteries at this time.

When we look up to these beautiful ceilings, we feel that they, indeed, provide a physical protection to shelter us, but they also encourage us to "look up" in a spiritual sense as well. We all want to think positively about the future - and we believe that sustainable community offers us a better way of living. But as Eckhart Tolle says in his book, "The New Earth," without higher awareness of the realities, we will never be able to create that New Earth, nor will we simply inherit it.

We believe Tolle is correct when he says: "... those who have awakened to their essential true nature as consciousness and recognize that essence in all 'others', all life-forms" will be able to "live in the surrendered state and so feel their oneness with the whole and the Source. They embody the awakened consciousness that is changing all aspects of life on our planet..."

We believe that awakened higher consciousness will prove to be an important element of the essence of our community.

...laSenda - the 'path' or the 'way'...

Mild climate and high solar hours, a year-round supply of fresh water, and ample area to grow food are the most important factors for sustainable community.

The 6000' high central Mexican plateau at 21-degree latitude offers a mild year-round growing climate for organic food and very high solar hours (about 325 days per year of 8 hours or more usually).

LaSenda Ecovilla is located along the banks of the Rio Laja in Canyon de Allende, where it widens out into a pleasant valley. The popular city of San Miguel de Allende is only 20 minutes away.

With 6 acres of beautiful gently sloping land, complete with 220 yards of underground-fed ponds with clear flowing water, a lush bamboo forest along the edge of the river, and expansive flat land perfect for growing organic vegetables and fruit trees, this land is prime for the integration of sustainable living units that can develop into a fully functional ecovillage.

…LaSenda Ecovilla - the vision...

(Click to enlarge)

This scale drawing of laSenda shows three different elevations: the road that skirts the top of the land; the large flat area just below which will have organic gardens and fruit trees, the Community Center/Dining Terrace, Kitchen and the 6 Living Units: the lower portion of the land with additional food growing area, and the aquaculture ponds, which are on the same level as the river.

From the lower ponds we are solar pumping nutrient laden water to the upper pond and to the three lower tanks on the hill- from there it will gravity feed to the growing trays and then return to the upper pond cleaned and oxygenated. This is the beauty of Aquaponics- a closed loop system whereby the fish produce the nutrients and the plants use them-in the process cleaning the water- which is then returned to the fish.

...the 'Heart' of laSenda...

(Click to enlarge)

This is how the 'Heart' of laSenda is developing... The fish/lily pond is 36'x98' and because it is not a thru flow pond like the others we will be able to better control it in terms of nutrient levels and fish population leading to a better aquaponics growing situation.  From there, the water will be circulated through the greenhouse, the aquaponics trays, and shade-cloth intensive growing areas. Since the intensive growing area is south facing and will be protected, we will also be experimenting with papaya and other tropicals, which we have found do quite well in our micro-climate.

...the Structure of the Community...

An investment in laSenda equals a full share, which includes: 

- A beautiful 870 sq ft organic living area - cut stone walls, bamboo ceilings - with tiled bathroom and kitchen, large studio/2nd bedroom, 17' south-facing all glass opening onto patio looking to a 90' water lily fish pond 'a la Monet'...

- An equal share of the main kitchen, large dining/ patio/ community center area, storerooms, etc...

- Infrastructure which includes solar: hot water, PV panels for power, green houses for aquaponics and in-ground food production, food dehydrators, protected well for clean water source w/ pumps and storage tanks...

- An equal share of the over 5 acres of land, which includes 200 yards of fish ponds in a park-like area...

All of this is included in a one-time buy-in price; very low cost of living payments will be your only on-going expense - until we can figure out such things as TP & soap etc.

Once part of the community, a member's block of shares can be sold to someone else, but to protect the community, it must be offered to qualified persons.

Members may own more than one living unit, but they have only one vote per person as owners. Community decision-making entails establishing the facts, and then using consultation among all owners, with all decisions based on either a unanimous conclusion or a majority vote.

If this vision captures your imagination and you would like to be involved in sustainable living at laSenda,  contact us at ric9welland@gmail.com.

...the first LaSenda...

Fifteen years ago, Rick designed and built the first LaSenda, which incorporated most of the important permaculture concepts. All water was recycled with grey water diverted to the garden areas and black water to a methane digester with constructed wetlands. Solar heaters supplied the living units with hot water. A solar-powered pump supplied water for the roof tanks, which then gravity-fed through the complex.

Although there was much creative energy over the years, the right combination of 'fit' and the ability to 'buy-in' didn't happen. When the opportunity came to sell the condos, he decided to keep 6 acres by the river for later development as an ecovillage, and spent the next year visiting intentional communities in various parts of the world.

Rick found that one of the biggest problems in most of the communities he visited was their structure. He came to realize that how to live together as a community was indeed an essential part of humanity's development toward sustainable living in the future.

...San Miguel de Allende…

Founded over 400 years ago, the picturesque city of San Miguel de Allende has historical charm and a vibrant cosmopolitan atmosphere. After becoming a World Heritage Site in 2008, the city was named the fourth most popular tourist destination in North America.

In terms of art and culture, it's hard to beat with music festivals, good theater, a vibrant community of artists, and over 100 NGO service organizations at last count. There's something for just about everybody, including fireworks, parades, excellent restaurants, and lots of fiestas.

Within a day’s drive from southern Texas and with an international airport just over an hour away (Leon/Bajio), the city is relatively easy to get to. Mexico City is a few hours to the south by excellent first-class bus service, with its marvelous museums, ancient pyramids, and other wonders of the old and modern world.

Thousands of us in the expat community who choose to make Mexico our home  can testify to the loving  spirit of the vast majority of the  people of Mexico. Nothing resembling the US media version of Mexico exists in this part of the country.