We welcome new volunteers from Europe

Estrella de Sauce is happy to welcome Axel from the Black Forest area of southern Germany.  He will be staying in Sauce for a year gaining new life experiences and helping to keep our educational project running smoothly.

Claudia is from the village of Dornach near Basel in Switzerland and will be with us for four months.  She is an experienced kindergarten teacher opening up her horizons by coming to a whole new continent and learning a whole new language.

At the same time as we welcome these new volunteers we are now in our final few weeks with our wonderful volunteers Corinna, Inti and Christina who will shortly be entering their university studies back home in Germany.  For me it feels like their year in Sauce has gone by very fast.  Many thanks to each one for helping get Estrella de Sauce moved into its permanent location and being there every school day to receive the children.

Claudia, Inti and Axel doing craft work at the Estrella de Sauce center

Woodcarving bench and tool storage at Estrella de Sauce

I have just finished building a carving workbench which will allow four students to begin classes in woodworking.  The design allows for tools to be in the center lowered area when not in use so they won't fall off the table.

I also built and installed this storage cabinet for tools and materials.

Many thanks to volunteer Bianca Cornejo, herself a keen woodworker, who donated funds to allow this work to go forward.

I plan to build another workbench so we will be able to have eight students learning this craft.

Volunteer Axel tries his hand at woodcarving.  You can also see our traditional wood-fired oven which will soon have metal doors fitted.

Construction moves forward here in Sauce

I have been working on building a third storey 'mirador', a covered viewing deck that will look out over the lake on top of our house-to-be.

I have also been supervising the construction of a two-storey lakeside cottage for US friends Dan and Donna Factor.

Maestro Simon and helper install hardwood flooring in Dan and Donna's mirador casita

Estrella de la Selva

I've decided to name our sailing catamaran 'Estrella de la Selva' or 'Star of the Jungle' rather than 'Skydancer'.  I felt it was better to have a Spanish name and the name ties in with our Estrella de Sauce educational project and future cafe which we may name 'Cafe Estrella de Sauce'.

'Estrella de la Selva' at anchor