Hi there, friends! Just a few weeks ago, Bo and I set out on an adventure in Tramonti, a village situated above the Amalfi coast of Italy, as part of Acarbio’s “Roots and Roofs 4” project for renovating an eco center in a local chestnut forest. And I’m here to tell you all about it! While Bo has more experience volunteering, for me this was a first. And let me tell you that coming into it, I didn’t really know what to expect. To be fair, my entire participation was a string of fate or just really good luck, as thanks to Mihaela from Green School Village, I was able to join last minute to fill the spot of someone who was no longer joining. So in the rush of planning all my travels just four days before the departure date, I hardly had time to anticipate what could go right or wrong. And as you might guess from me writing this post, everything went smoother than expected and this adventure turned into one of my most cherished experiences to date — filled with wonderful people, fun moments and a lot of hard work with very gratifying results as you can see below. I’m especially grateful to the members and volunteers at Acarbio, as without their hospitality and support, nothing would have been the same. So sit back, relax and let me tell you about all of the amazing things we did during this 2-week adventure.
As this was a volunteer project for natural building, the tasks included finalising the outdoor kitchen, refreshing the interior of the hobbit house, working on the tree house and making sure it’s all ready to stand the test of time. So, after a day of cleaning, the team spread out to perform the various renovation tasks. While some built the roof and others worked on the bathroom or the treehouse, Bo, Lou and I were given the responsibility for plastering the outdoor kitchen — making sure it looks as good as it functions. Our role was important, because once we finished plastering and painting outside, we would then go on and do the same inside the house too. What I loved about this project, and working with the experts from Cob, was that a team would get instructed on a particular natural building technique and then become responsible for training others in doing the same. That was also true for plastering, which meant that Bo and I got time to master the task before training others. Yes, this means that all the other techniques we used were also taught to us by other participants. Calling ourselves the “Master Plasters” we kept our spirits up, progressing slowly but surely to the next phase of building.
And the next phase was a fun one that helped test our patience and grow our precision even further. Can you guess it? Well, it was the task of applying tadelakt and evening-out the oven. So as Bo, Lou and Beni (two of our other peers) took to tadelakt-ing the kitchen wall, I took it upon myself to iron out the final details of the pizza oven. It wasn’t easy, but neither was applying tadelakt. One smooth stroke after the other, I tried to make sure it’s as even and aesthetically pleasing as possible, while at the same time retaining its natural qualities and the look and feel of being made by hand. Once that was done (and the tadelakt team was hard at work), I continued with the preparation for painting the kitchen with the help of Costas, our master builder, and Tavi — the hands behind the beautifully refreshed hobbit house exterior. Together, we made a mixture of bright yellow that perfectly complements the wooden elements and the deep red of the tadelakt. The paint we used was a mixture of lime, water, wood impregnant and pigments derived from metals which turned out amazing once we achieved the right combination. I was ready to get down to business and once the paint dried, the results turned out incredibly satisfying — much like those from the tadelakt.
In the final few days, things got a little heated and not only because the sun blessed us with its rays consistently for the first time after more than a week of near-daily rain. It was also due to all the work we did in order to make sure the house is properly refreshed from the inside-out. And while the outdoor kitchen was done, the plaster team moved indoors, armed with the responsibility to improve the indoor lighting. And so we did! After applying a fresh new layer of plaster to the most important spots, we then moved to paint the walls white. But our fellow volunteer Vera held the most important job of all — to repaint the tree that sits above the Roman fireplace. Needless to say, she did a spectacular job, making it beautifully realistic. But even though we were now inside, the work outside didn’t stop for a second. From cleaning to digging, crafting fences to planting flowers, everyone on the “Roots and Roofs 4” team was eager to leave something nice behind. “To leave something nice for the generations”, as Costas said in his opening speech on our first day. Now, looking back at all the work that we had done, it’s really thrilling to perceive that WE did all that. Our team of volunteers! To be frank, I was a bit unsure about how all the work will play out in the beginning, but little by little it all came in place. Still, the amount of work doesn’t seize to amaze me and thinking back at it, I’m so incredibly proud of our team and all that we were able to achieve by working together — each on our little task.
But from all that I’ve written, you’d probably think that everything was just about “work, work, work”. Well, far from it! Not only did we do a lot of team bonding over the cozy fire or listening to music outside, we also got to travel around the Amalfi region and eat a lot of delicious food at the hands of the Acarbio team (special shoutout to ‘Chef’ Francesco 😉). We even got a wonderful social permaculture group session led by Bo, which was not only incredibly interesting but also quite thought provoking, as it sparked my passion for permaculture even further. And while most of the volunteers went out to explore the region on all three of our days off, I chose to be a little bit lazy and stay behind in Tramonti — soaking in the views, bird chirps and sun rays instead. Luckily enough, I got to help out in the kitchen, doing mis-en-place for the Chef himself. On the next day, we also celebrated Easter with our fellow Orthodox folks. But what’s resting around without a final day of adventure? After almost a week of work to finalise the project, Bo and I hopped on a bus down to Maiori to get a well-deserved dip in the sea, followed by a seaside picnic. And as the sun stated setting, we took a trip back up the mountain to the beautiful Valico di Chiunzi, where we got to witness our last sunset in Tramonti over Mt. Vesuvius.
All in all, how does life get any better? Great work, great food and amazing people is all I need to be happy. And as we hopped on the shuttle bus on our return travel day, we got to see the very region we had been in from another perspective. That’s when it hit me and I now know, deep in my heart, that I’m incredibly grateful for this entire experience.
In full honesty, I had never done anything as thorough as this renovation before joining the “Roots and Roofs 4” team, let alone with natural materials. Now, almost two weeks after the experience I feel ever more excited to get my hands dirty again and pass on my knowledge to others. Needless to say, I would highly recommend volunteering with the European Solidarity Corps to anyone interested.
Thank you for reading! ❤️
