Work on our current house continued, with freshly painted walls and a new floor in our snug basement lounge. Steve and our returning volunteer Joao started and finished the decking, outside the lounge, which is the perfect spot for relaxing and enjoying the view. Although it still looks like a mud bath, until the diggers come back to fill in and reshape the top terraces on that side of the village.
Nelson’s hard working team finished the retaining wall for our new terrace. Both of the new houses are now fully insulated with hempcrete and successfully connected to the new septic tank. It looks like a building site outside, but inside the houses are really starting to look like homes. We even got some walls, doors, tiles in the bathrooms and the first fixings of the plumbing and electrics.
We got to escape Chumbaria, for our Christmas outing and thoroughly enjoyed Cirque du Soleil in Lisbon. Christmas was lovely with friends and family and we ended the year on a positive note. We’ve faced some major challenges in 2023, but sheer grit and determination means we’ve overcome all hurdles, on a personal and restoration project level! We’ve had lots of family, friends and volunteers to help us on the land and we have achieved a lot. Definitely a busy year at Chumbaria.
