Life at Durga's Den

Gabrielle Reese seems to be really embracing a new life and way of being that is "sustainable."

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This is day 8 in Jamaica. We arrived at Durga’s Den, a sustainable living community in Ocho Rios, the morning of our second day. I was so excited to be immersed in this community, to experience even for a short while the type of lifestyle that I want so desperately to live. At Durga’s Den they are completely off the grid. Their electricity is supplied through solar panels that are placed on the roof of our main meeting spot- the stone house. In order to conserve water, especially during the current dry spell, they have installed composting toilets*, use 3 gallon buckets in the shower, the “pi-pi” room is flush free, and buckets are used in the kitchen dish washing sinks.

For those of you unfamiliar with composting toilets, they basically collect the human waste instead of flushing it down using many gallons of water to be treated by a water treatment facility. Here at Durga’s Den, you are to cover your waste with sawdust in order to mask the smell. The waste is then used as compost in the forest and for some fruit trees. Although to some this might seem unpleasant and strange, I have embraced these toilets as they are a necessary step in sustainable living.

The two owners of the compound are Lyse and Michael Charron. Along with these two there are a handful of workers who help out daily in the various aspects of development- from grey water systems and compost to building construction and cooking. All but two are Jamaicans; those two are from Mexico. We have been waking up every morning at 5:45 am to start meditation and yoga at 6:00. Lyse is our instructor. This has been a wonderful experience for me as I actively practice yoga, and have been yearning to begin meditating. Starting my day early is also nice. I believe yoga and meditation fit nicely into sustainability, as one must be able to sustain themselves- especially their mind- in order to sustain the world around them.

Making seed balls. Picture by Melissa Peterson.

We are joined by four other students here at Durga’s Den. Laura and Mark are from Canada and are Lyse’s grand niece and nephew. Javon and Shinque are from Jamaica. We are all working through Lyse’s sustainability workshop. So far in this workshop we have begun studying permaculture, we were introduced to the permaculture principles, and identified which principles applied to which of the various projects around the compound. We have also begun discussing the major environmental issues that plague the world community today, such as fertile soil erosion and water scarcity. We have begun understanding sustainability by working hands on, on various projects such as a grey water system (to filter water) and a compost pile.

This past weekend we traveled to Portland to see other farms. Mr. Donaldson’s farm is one of the other handful of demonstration sites in collaboration with the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). These sites are not all technically certified organic, however all and practicing some form of organic or sustainable farming. We visited two other farms, which were local community farms, as well in the area. We will be traveling to visit other farms in the coming weeks. We are to observe the various practices of these various farms and challenge ourselves to identify which farms are actually sustainable. It is not always easy to identify who or what is sustainable. However, I am hoping that through these experiences I will be able to better identify this. 

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We've had a few entries now involving the composting toilet. Some of you might thing, "A what?" You get the toilet. Maybe you know what composting is. But a toilet that composts? Basically, it's a toilet people use to create fertile soil. In a permacultural or Biodynamic farming system (see Gabrielle's next entry for a small preview of Biodynamic farming). To get a basic idea, though, on a composting toilet, watch this video of Penn State professor Madhu Suri Prakash and George Ann Clark talking about composting toilets, soil care, postmodern peasantry, and sustainable communities in Mexico.

In some circles, people refer to composting toilets as "appropriate technology." What is appropriate about it? How does it conflict with your ideas of civilization? How does it resonate with you?