Suzie and Brie are two amazing women who came to us from Minnesota. They are great friends, and both of them helped out so much, so it seems appropriate to spotlight them together.
Suzie was our fourth volunteer, and helped us develop and start our resident volunteer program. She was our first resident volunteer, and had patience with us as we learned together how to make long-term volunteers happy and helpful at the Bosque. She made our first batch of homemade peanut butter, started our connection with CouchSurfing, and helped develop our paper-making studio. She also created lots of art that people can find in the studio, in the trees, and on the walls in different buildings. Suzie is responsible for painting at least a third of our amazing totem pole.
Brie was our first volunteer with a kitchen focus. She worked in the kitchen about every other day, and helped start a food system that is continuing to develop as we host more people. Brie was also critical to starting up our paper-making studio. She wrote up directions and guidelines (keep it clean!) and kept organized records with various different tests of natural and recycled materials. Along with Dominik and Ben, Brie helped construct our first Tiny-Ass-Hut-Thing (TAHT); a small hut that we made as part of our experimentation to create warm, dry places for visitors to sleep.
Besides the work they contributed, Suzie and Brie were fun to be around. Lots of laughing, very goofy, and energetic. We invited them back for a short visit before they left Mexico. During their stay they made tons of amazing journals using handmade paper for the covers. They were inspiration to learn how to bind books and are the reason we now have a book binding class to offer visitors and volunteers.
Thanks to you both, and come visit again!
Suzie and Brie with their books:
Brie making paper:
Suzie hanging up her art:
Brie with TAHT:
Suzie making peanut butter:
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