Hi again!
We have just wrapped up our week at Pun Pun Organic Farm, which is located around an hour outside of Chiang Mai. Overall we all had a wonderful time. The farm itself was beautiful. It was green and lush, and in the distance massive haze-covered mountains stretched as far as the eye could see. Living conditions were rustic but comfortable; the students all were living in a treehouse-like building above a pond.
We were lucky enough to participate in a range of activities at the farm. We helped out with some manual labor, demolishing old buildings and creating a new path between the town and Pun Pun. Different members of the farm also held workshops on a number of important issues. We learned about seed saving and the corruption of the Mosanto Company. Most of us knew very little about this topic, so it was particularly interesting. The founder of the farm taught us how to make adoboe bricks, and explained in detail just how easy it is to build houses out of materials such as tires, hay, tapioca and clay. All the buildings in Pun Pun were crafted in this fashion, so we were able to see first hand the finished product of houses built in this fashion. Another favorite activity of the group was when we participated in a natural healing session involving cuasa. Cuasa is a long, deep massage with a minty oil and the use of tools such as wooden spoons. Its purpose is to force ‘bad’ toxins out of the body. Some of us were slightly skeptical at first, but after we massaged one another vivid red marks appeared on all of our backs where the toxins were exiting. These marks remained for days, so clearly cuasa does something!
Some other highlights at Pun Pun included the celebrations of Greg and Brooke’s birthdays and the strong connections we formed wth both the Pun Pun staff and other volunteers.
Group Photo before leaving Pun Pun
Greg’s cake!
Blake hard at work 
We are about to head off on our trek! More later.
Love,
Katie
S/O to Mardon! Miss you guys