Paradise on Hold!

So no sooner do I get their first post up, then I get a call from our wandering Bill and my caller ID says NEW YORK!! Ha! I knew he couldn't leave us so long. So I said "Bill, if you need some R&R you don't need to make up a trip to the islands, just don't answer the phone for a few days." It turns out the project hit a snag and he had to come back without even using up any of that SPF 95, but not before getting a great tour of the Island. So here's his report and some pictures that suggest he was either some place a lot warmer and bluer and greener than the holler, or he's better with photoshop than I suspected.
--CMC

Well Barb, Laredo and I did make it to the Island, toured it for several days, visited the proposed project site and were very impressed. Sometimes we walked for miles on the beach without seeing any sign of civization other than a few footprints. What a paradise!

This little beach bar has nothing on our Pollywogg Holler bar . . . except maybe the view. Wow!

Where we come from, gardening is hard work. But here the nooks and crannies in the swiss-cheese limestone are filled with some of the most fertile soil you can imagine. Just plant your seeds and stand back! No cultivating or weeding or bugs. Didn't see much garlic though. I gess nothing is perfect.
But look at them peppers!!
A week before we arrived, we were informed that there was a land ownership dispute affecting the project site but not to worry cause there was a plan "B" in place. Well we arrived to find that plan "B" was more of a dream and the details were not even close to move on, so we were on sort of a hold.

We considered finding some affordable housing and continue working at doing the necessary research but the key here was "affordable housing". But a good part of the reason we were sent for is that there is no affordable housing here because everything is imported.
One enterprising fellow thought he would solve the problem by making cement blocks from local beach sand and imported portland cement. Sadly his experiment (less than 15 years old) is already beyond repair.


Interestingly enough, there are some houses on the island over 200 years old built without cement or other imported materials. They have been largely neglected, so the roofs and woodwork are nearly gone, but the walls of native limestone plastered with a mixture of sand and burnt shells seem to be waiting as one old timer puts it "for someone to come along and breathe new life into them."
It looks like the wind and salt-resistant bamboo we want to plant go a long way toward making these places like this old church livable again without much expense. Some of the old-timers tell us a lot of these buildings used to be thatched, as the materials are plentiful and easily renewable after a "big blow".
In touring the Island we found everyone to be kind and helpful. Old-timers like this fellow seemed to hold a wealth of knowledge important to our goal of building with natural materials.

We were informed that the matter of our project would be settled in court on Jan. 15th. But with dwindling funds and knowing very well that issues don't get settled in a timely manner anywhere in the Caribbean, we made the painful decision to return home.

Not willing to sit around with our hands on our (cold) asses, we are off to visit possible project sites in Mexico, Ecuador and Chili. To all of you that were making plans to visit us on the Island, we extend our most humble apologies and hope that you haven't purchased tickets. If you have and are still going, take lots of cash. On the brighter site, the natives are wonderful people, very polite, eager with friendly greetings, helping hands and there is a very low crime rate.

Meanwhile, we are still finalizing our new plans and you can still follow our travels on our Blog. There is a place for comments, please do so. You can still continue to E-mail us and Call us here at the Holler. Everything is forwarded to this magical little Laptop, no matter where in this vast World that we may be.

And, who knows the issues on Exuma could be resolved and we will be back on Plan "A".

To all of you, we wish you the most wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year, May God Bless You. If any of you are offended by the word Christmas and God, Tough. You get wished a double wonderful Christmas and God Bless You!

With warm hearted regards, Bill, Barb and Laredo

Pollywogg Holler South?

No, Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore. Bilvis has left the building. You're looking at a picture (swiped from the internet) of Great Exuma in the Bahamas, where Bill and Barb Castle have been brought in until April as indigenous building consultants for a new eco-village. On the outlying islands, imported building materials are very expensive, and use a lot of fuel to get there. The overall effect is hard on the local economy and ecology. The plan is to re-teach local builders how to build with local materials while building a self-sustaining community. Bill will be periodically sending reports from the field, which I, Chris McClellan, the self-appointed Pollywogg Holler Minister of Technologies and Public Relations, will be editing, commenting on, and posting on the blog. I leave you with Bill's first post, describing the transition from a snow-covered, slumbering paradise to a new construction site in the warm part of the Garden of Eden. Do they make a steel toed flip-flop, Bill?
--CMC

The get away,
It is Monday, December 4, 2006, mid day at the Holler. Laredo is on top of the Buffalo weather report and it is sounding bad for a Tuesday morning departure so we make the decision cut out early and get a motel near the airport. It is now 4:pm and off we go for the 2-hour trip. Surprise, we come onto the Thruway and we are into a storm. Five lanes of traffic, bumper to bumper, roads glazed over with ice. We are stuck, every 20 minuets or so we inch ahead. With every slight rise there are tractor-trailers spinning their tires, putting a fine polish on the well-glazed road. I can’t believe there are not fender benders all around us. We conclude that these Buffalo drivers are experts with these conditions. Three, white-knuckle hours later, we arrive at the Motel. Five hours for a two-hour trip, exhausted, and very grateful to be in easy striking distance to the Airport, sleep comes easy.

The worst is behind us, the airport is partially empty, the plane half full and we are happy. The last leg from Ft Lauderdale to the Island is just we three and two others. No crowded conditions here. We step on to the Island, from the twenty-passenger plane, into the warm tropical air and walk into the customs office, smiling and heads filled with tropical visions. Next surprise, the stern customs girl, wants to know how long we are staying and what we are doing here. Volunteer work is not a valid option, it’s still work and we are not allowed to work. She plays with us and threatens us to be off the Island in a week. In the course of a few minuets she has reconsidered nd now we have 31 days and wants us to prepare a statement as to just what we are doing here.

Our ride arrives and off we go to the house on the beach where we will be staying for a while. We are assured not to worry about the 31 day thing and soon get in to the swing of the waiting BarBQue party and peaceful sleep to the soothing sound of the waves, caressing the sandy beach. The next 4 days are filled with touring this wonderful Island. There is some generalizing one can do about the Caribbean Islands but there are also striking differences. The vast majority of the population is smiling, friendly native blacks, eager with warm greeting and offers of assistance. The Island is spotless, no trash or litter anywhere. The occupied houses are painted with soft pastels of blue greens that match the sea and sky. There are quite a few little towns with names that reflect the surnames of the residents, many of whom have been there for many generations. George Town, the largest, conveys the feeling of a quaint little town, bustling with commerce, and even an occasional tourist or two. The business district is spread out with a generous amount of greenery in between. We were welcomed into the office of tourism where we bowled them over with by volunteering to be Santa and Mrs. Clause at the annual tree lighting ceremony, with word that there will be a parade with us topping one of the floats. We are excited with the whole thought and what an introduction to the community. I can only imagine being referred to as Santa for the rest of my time in this Tropical Paradise, not an unpleasant thought.

Then there is Williams Town, Rolle Town, Mt Thompson, Ramsey and Steventon. The local common construction is plastered cement block walls and low-pitched hip roofs. There is evidence that the older buildings are limestone but still plastered with well adhering lime plaster made with burned up conch shells and sand. There are many "shells" or buildings that are started, with the walls are up but no roofs. We will be looking in to the reasons for this. One suggestion is that the various owners work on them as money allows. Many appear to have been waiting for that extra money for many years. We have heard of some thatch being used for roofing but we are yet to see it. The old timers say that all the building used to be thatch and there seems to be an abundance of raw material. We vow that thatch will one day be popular again.
No pictures at this time due to some tech problems but soon to follow. This next week we will be looking closer at the proposed building sites and expanding on the various possibilities that eager await with every turn in the road. Our first impressions are very positive with the exception of pricing. Everything seems expensive when compared to our rapidly shrinking value of the good old, US Dollar.

--Bill and Barb Castle, December 10, 2006