We Built Here Now
Simone Butler - San Diego, CA

Time has passed since over 100 people converged at the Lama Foundation in northern New Mexico for a fabulous week-long experiment in natural building and living. Can I write about "Build Here Now!" with any objectivity now that I'm back in my gas-guzzling, water-wasting, noise-polluted environment? Probably not.

What stands out most for me are memories of the people who gave so freely of their time and spirit: Sun Ray Kelley "surfing" a log as it's hoisted into place to form the roof of the solar residence; Tom Watson talking excitedly, if unappetizingly, of human waste disposal at breakfast; Lama resident and yoga teacher Miyabi Gladstein leading a "salutation to the sun" in the light-filled octagonal dome; Bert Lopez miming the construction of a basic water cistern out of carpet, remesh and sheet plastic, with everyone participating in total silence; Albert Bates telling of the early days of The Farm, when hippie commune members baked cookies to win over their neighbors; herbalist Susan Garrett leading us up into the forest, to learn how to commune with plants and divine their secrets; musician Tim Wiedenkeller perched on the highest bale, serenading straw-bale builders with his banjo; Carole Crews stomping around in the mud with the rest of us, making plaster for the Econest; Ron Sutcliffe positioning people in a circle according to their astrological sign, to illustrate the subtleties of archaeo-astronomy; Vishu Magee holding everyone spellbound as he described diving deeply into his personal archetypes to create his "dream" house; Jann Rucquoi measuring the position of her earthbags with a home-made compass, showing us all how easy it is to build one's own dome.

They and many others came together at this first major convergence of natural builders and permaculturists. They joined with participants from all over - the East Coast, the Northwest, and as far away as Brazil - who were eager to absorb as much information as they could about all aspects of sustainable living.

Surrounded by the natural beauty of Lama mountain, they also came to help rebuild the Foundation, which lost many structures in a devastating 1996 fire. An intentional spiritual community, Lama is best known as the site where Ram Dass wrote his seminal book, Be Here Now in the early 70s (hence the play on words). "Build Here Now!" was a joint project of The Last Straw, the Lama Foundation, and the Permaculture Drylands Institute. It was a resounding success. The vegetarian food was exceptional, the weather was beautiful, and there were more than enough workshops to choose from. It was a wonderful balance of mental, physical and spiritual activity.

Best of all, much progress was made towards the restoration of Lama: the Econest (built earlier in a workshop by Robert LaPorte) was plastered inside and out and covered with whimsical bas relief sculptures; a new composting toilet was nearly finished; as was the straw-bale residence (Harvey Day's crew stayed behind to complete the project); and a greywater pumice wick was built for the wash house. The poly feed bags didn't arrive until late in the week, so we were only able to start on the 8-foot earthbag meditation dome; it will be completed by Lama residents.

By the end of the week, a palpable sense of family was present. It was hard to say goodbye to those with whom we had danced, gotten muddy and sweaty, and shared our hopes and dreams. One participant wrote in the latest edition of the Permaculture Drylands Journal that the hands-on work "taught me far more than I could have ever learned from a book," and resulted in his falling in love with the act of natural is when work and play are the same thing. Said a third, "I believe it is the first of a new type of convergence where the gifts of permaculture, natural building, and the sacred interaction of human beings with the planet Earth will be shared and celebrated." Indeed.

 Simone Butler is a freelance arts writer currently based in San Diego, where she is a monthly contributor to KPBS On Air Magazine. Simone's dream is to bring together like-minded creative people to build an intentional community of solar adobe dwellings. Ph 619-291-6596; Email <simoneb@compuserve.com>

This article appeared in the Fall 1999 issue of The Last Straw