Soy Pedro.

Okay folks, this post is EXTRA special. “Why is that?” you ask…well it’s because I am writing it. And, who am I? Pedro, of course! My name is Pete (AKA Pedro), and I have been volunteering with Kyle and Nea on La Finca Los Perezosos, and I’d consider myself the seasoned veteran of the bunch (One and a half months and still going, baby!) But enough about me, and onto the important stuff. (Sorry for the absurd length of this post, but bear with me because its really cool stuff!)

Pedro y Marcelino

Over the past few days, Kyle and I have helped Marcelino in building what the campesinos call a “bollo” (pronounced “Boy-O”, a type of “house” made only from materials available in the lush forest that surrounds us.) Originally, the average campesino family would use this type of construction. A bollo provides cool shade and ventilation during the hot days, and stays relatively warm during the cooler nights. To avoid attacks from tigers, the entire family would sleep in a loft area (about 8 ft above the ground) just below the roof of the bollo. They would use dry, hollowed-out gourds for taking care of “potty business” during the nights, ensuring that there was no reason to descend to ground level during the dangerous tiger-infested evenings. 

The bollo that Me, Kyle, and mostly Marcelino built was for a different kind of “family”. This “family” I speak of consists of 28 hens and 1 lucky rooster, all of whom desperately needed a new home. After harvesting a myriad of trees of different species, lengths, and girths, we were ready to commence construction. So…we began with 4 posts (simple enough, right?). These posts, along with the majority of the other wood that we collected, Marcelino explains, are specific species of woods that are especially resistant to termites and are very durable. Then, four lintels are used to connect the four posts and are nailed into place (Marcelino explains that most campesinos use fiber from tree bark in place of a hammer and nails, as they don’t have access to such tools). We then place two temporary posts into the ground, each with a “Y” at the top, to hold the beam that will eventually become the peak of the roof. Using only a hammer, nails, and of course our machetes, we construct a basic framework for the bollo using our menagerie of harvested woods. 

The structure is taking form

The frame is almost done.

“What now?” Kyle and I are thinking. Well, Marcelino has already climbed a Royal Palm and chopped down a sufficient amount of palm fronds, which will be used to construct the roof. The only catch is, the fronds are a far cry from the construction zone, and so we much carry them from the jungle to the chicken coop. You may be thinking, “Carrying palm fronds can’t be that difficult” but allow me to let you in on a little secret…it is that difficult. Carrying a good-sized Royal palm frond is no easy task; and carrying two to three of them at a time (or five, if you are Marcelino) makes it that much harder. After dragging them to the desired location, you must slice each leaflet of the palm frond right at the “bone” of the frond, and then bend both sides of leaflets to that they dangle downwards, and then they are ready to become roofing “shingles” (if you will). 

The fronds are then laid on the framework, one at a time, and are secured into place in three different places using fiber from the bark of a specific tree. The fronds are layered similar to shingled siding, each frond overlapping upon the next. Each side of the roof required about 15 overlapping fronds, cut in such a way that the roof has a subtle taper (wider at the bottom and just a bit narrower at the top).  

The roof is not finished, however. The sharp-angled roof still leaves the sides open. The sides of the bollo are finished in a similar way, with palm fronds secured in three places, but they require a much sharper taper to follow the angle of the roof. 

We tied the whole thing together with a tin-covered awning, assembled from miscellaneous bits of tin used for other building projects in the past. Inside of the bollo, about 6+ feet overhead, we created a roosting area for the chickens by placing long skinny sticks in various directions and heights across the lintels, with one big branch acting as an access ladder. And that’s how to build a bollo.

 Another volunteer, Emmanuel, built a wonderful set of “chicken-boxes” where the hens can relax and lay eggs in a comfortable private environment. This place is like a 5-star hotel for chickens!

So, I hope I didn’t get too carried away with talking, and kept your attention to the best of my abilities. But more so, I hope my hens are happy so I can enjoy dozens of fresh eggs for breakfast every week. Lynea and Kyle (AKA Lynyle) give their best, as do I. Hope you enjoy the photos and videos!

Pedro Picapiedras