23 May 2006
Reflections by the lake
Posted by Luke, GFRS volunteer
There's water lapping at my toes. Here on the end of our bamboo jetty trying desperatlely to take in my last full day in Paradise from sunrise to sunset. The vibe here at Campe Kewe is extremely chill after the excitement of the past few days.
Just a quick rundown: Leave at dawn two days ago to head to the walkabout sawmill with filmcrew in tow to document and assist in the first shipment of ecotimber in Lake Muray. In the proccess I find myself visiting a village in the dark and getting swarmed by hundreds of little hands all pressing gifts of sugarcane and occari nuts into my overwhelmed palms.
I got soaked under a sky filled with every star in the heavens while on an overloaded canoe. I made a banner (how Greenpeace, right) and tapped the resin of a rosewood tree to paint it with. I later carved a necklace for my boyfriend from a branch off the first tree felled for export. It was an emotional sight, to watch this giant tower of the forest come crashing down. Sad, but beautiful, because it's the start of great things for this community ...
It all culminated in the transport of this eco-timber to Baboa on a barge decorated in blowing palm fronds with me of course on top, dancing in the sunlight. Whew!
It's good to be back and just sitting over the water. I think the serenity has just ended however, if the whooping and screaming coming floating across the lake from the hunting camp is any clue. I'm sure they have caught something quite large, to generate this much sudden excitement.
Oh well, I'm gonna sit here, sip my bitter, black coffee and continue to simply be. There is even more to fit in to our last day before Kewe winds down for good tomorrow. Things like a women's resource meeting ( super important for this place I believe ) that Cally has thrown together and the launch of Sep's thirty foot canoe. It's been four weeks but it feels like four lifetimes.
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