From my last entry here, I thought for sure that my next post would be in late December of April 2012... but here I am, back from an incredible experience in Indonesia. I hesitate to say that it is Bali, because I never once experienced what 90% of the world thinks Bali is. Let's just say that Hawaii is a heavenly paradise compared to Bali.
I barely saw the ocean twice for a scant 5 minutes driving to and from the airport in Denpasar. What i did see was the sad effect that 'eat, pray, love' has had on Ubud. I was lucky enough to spend 7 magical days in the highlands of central Bali with the local villagers and one world-famous retired American author.
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I learned so much about what WinSol3 means and why I spent the last 10 years rebuilding and living here. Being away give me new perspective.
Today, my 3rd day back, I am breathing hard and feel my lungs really marginalized from breathing continual diesel and motorbike fumes - even in the remote village of Pentahan.
Thankfully i had a 'green' drink and tropical fruit galore each morning, but the lack of exercise and actually doing anything physical has taken its toll.
I found myself breathing harder than ever walking up from WinSol3's zen deck, with a load of HUGE mushrooms I spotted... so now the house is filled with eight+ big trays of wonderful sliced mushrooms. The altitude and my lungs will take a while to transition.
WinSol3 stood up well to the first winter storms and first snowfall. It was my first experience putting WinSol3 'on ice' so to speak. The feral cats were all doing wonderfully, and the vegetable garden actually had beautiful things still growing - bigger pumpkins, potatoes, spinach, lettuce, etc. All the vines and grapes have since died away and oak leaves and pine needles cover the expanded courtyard.
So my new project, and to regain some physical stamina and muscle tone, will be working on the greenhouse. I keep thinking how some people go to a gym to work their muscles - and what a sad waste that is, when there is so much more enriching work that could be done on soil and useful things, instead of putting it into a steel machine.
One of my other big learnings about WinSol3 is that I live an enchanted life compared to expatriates and the other 80% in 3rd world countries. But i decided in Nepal 7 years ago, that i would work from within the 1st world to undo part of the damage our western technologies have done... and WinSol3 is just the start. The Indonesia project has really Kick-started my next chapter with CMGs and shown me how powerful this concept and learning center will become.
In attending a bamboo workshop in Ubud with a friend (Chakra), and the excitement I felt in realizing that WinSol3 was light years ahead of the sustainable compound (and green school)... well I am inspired!
Stay tuned to a new program involving WinSol3 in the coming years as a true international learning center.
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