CATHARSIS
-Survival in Style deep in the Argentine Patagonia
CATHARSIS
offers two semesters each year. The Spring course begins 1 October and
finishes 15 December. The summer course begins 15 January and finishes
1 April. We urge candidates to consider doing the two courses sequentially
as we feel, and have found, that extended time in these climes greatly
benefits the participant as the messages of deep Natural peace pervade,
gently displacing challenging conditionings, leaving us with new found
energies and feelings of rightness.
CATHARSIS
starts with an Permaculture Design Certificate Course - 1st. October 2006
December
is building and training month,
in addition to the ongoing Estancia chores and projects. Working alongside
the gauchos, we will labor with adobe and timbers from the land, build
trails, eradicate invasive plants, tend livestock, do gardening and
orcharding. Fitness comes naturally at Ranquilco: chopping wood, climbing
hills, working with rocks and timbers and shovels, swimming in the river
etc. There is also a running trail through river pines, a squash court,
and volleyball court for more organized exercise. Yoga and stretching
exercises will be available and encouraged. We greatly encourage physical
fitness and will offer organized runs and workouts as well as the natural
labor on the lands.
Brett
Lovelace, from Humboldt State University, and T. A. Carrithers, a master
teacher from BOSS (Boulder Outdoor
Survivor School), will be conducting a two week
Wilderness Adaptation and Awareness Course, which includes a
ten-day excursion into the High Andes, the end of November. Participants
will hike "free", as pack horses will be utilized, to better
study botany and related subjects with Brett who led a 9 week, Sierra
Institute 15 student trans Andes course in 2005. Brett has achieved
some very interesting pioneer work in canopy biology and has climbed
the highest tree in the world. T.A. will teach his understandings of
both survival techniques and mentations designed to better enjoy the
experience of Nature. Both will be sharing their learnings of our Place
in Nature and on the Earth.
There
will be a vacation from 15 December to 15 January
so that some other parts of nearby South America may be experienced;
Chile, Tierra del Fuego etc.
February
is Equestrian Inmersion month.
Horses have been, and still are, a way of life in the cordillera, and
we appreciate, honor, and enjoy our equine friends. Alejandro Solanet
will teach his adaptation of the "soft touch" method, using
the round corral to start new colts and finish off the starts from last
year. Alejandro, a young and personable Argentine, is the grandson of
Emilio Solanet who is credited with developing Argentina´s sturdy
and universal breed, the Criollo. Alejandro will also be giving classes
in scientific shoeing, and, in the evenings, leatherwork. Sky Carrithers
will be assisting and translating and adding in perspective from her
own experience and communication with horses.
See
Equestrian Immersion month
The
second and third weeks are Ranquilco´s Patagonia
Survival Course. Wilderness survival courses will be taught by
either T.A. Carrithers or Jonas Berg both masters of B.O.S.S. (Boulder
Outdoor Survival School). Participants will learn how to make a fire
kit from natural materials, identify edibles, prepare traps for wildlife,
catch fish, orientate and navigate, manage extreme temperatures and
basically survive in whatever conditions. After a three-day indoctrination
course, there will be a ten-day, very real, survival trip up into the
high mountains, simulating a plane crash extraction. The last day will
be a feast back at the estancia, for those that are left (just kidding).
Survival in Style.
CATHARSIS
FOR PARENTS
As
Ranquilco is so very remote we are often asked what to do in case of
an emergency. We do have a short wave radio at the estancia HQ as well
as our funky email system. There is a track into the estancia which
is used by the draft horses to bring in a wagon with supplies. An ambulance
with four-wheel drive, which can be called from El Huecu, can utilize
that same track. Many of our facilitators are trained first responders
and we maintain a medical kit at the estancia.
So
a normal emergency would be handled by a quick ride to the cell phone
mountain, 30 minutes, and a call to the hospital in El Huecu. The ambulance
could get to the HQ in approximately two hours with trained doctors.
There is also a small landing strip on the place which gives us the
other option of calling in a plane from Neuquen, a one-hour plus flight.
Ranquilco doesn´t seem to allow many injuries - in 25 years we
have broken an ankle, a collar bone and seen a few cuts, plus the patron
took a mule kick to the head which opened his third eye - all of which
we treated at the place except for the ankle break. But should a serious
accident happen, be assured that we are capable of dealing with it.
There
are no poisonous snakes at Ranquilco, no mosquitoes or other pesky things
except for bees and wasps. Persons allergic to stings should bring the
requisite shots or treatments.
We
offer a visitor´s program for parents or friends who would like
to come to experience what the participants are enjoying. We have separate
quarters set aside for these visits and provide you with meals and a
horse. This costs $70 a day and is for a minimum of one week.
