a new year at BALVIDA
- cece
- Jan 5
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 6
3 developments to wrap up 2025 and bring in 2026 that i'm excited about
balvida broke ground and the (living) walls are going up
balvida officially broke ground and went into physical development in august 2025 (blog here). and in some of the last days in 2025, i was able to walk the floors of-- for the first time--the physical manifestation of the very-rough sketch i sent to the architects over a year ago. being able to walk thru the now very-rough foundations, the bare bones of that drawing now in front of, surrounding me-- was really fucking cool, to say the least. i was also able to "help" build the walls which started going up this week, altho it was definitely more a symbolic gesture of building than actually helping. i decided i would be most helpful staying out of the professionals way and not "symbolically" doing a bunch of work that had to be "actually" fixed lol.
the walls are being constructed using a technique called "bahareque", which is an indigenous technique of combining mud/clay, sand, and straw and applying it over frames. traditionally, wood or bamboo frames are used, and we're utilizing that alongside sturdier metal framing as well, too. in balvida's case, we're able to reuse the dirt from the land itself to make these walls. so not only did i get to help literally build balvida with my own two hands, but i got to do so using the land beneath my feet. its so headass i can hardly stand it.
what i lacked in actually helping the construction crew, i made up for in learning a lot, building on the experience i got over the summer when juanpa hosted me up at the home he and amayanda are building using a version of the same technique. that time, i did get my hands much dirtier and did enough to where i actually broke a sweat, which to me means im now like.. energetically-invested in their beautiful home. sweat equity. and while my contribution to their home pales in comparison to what theyre contributing to BALVIDA, i do like the idea that i helped, even in a tiny way, to build the home of somebody who is helping to build my (and many other women's) home, too.
while i was headassly manifesting my dreams from the dirt with my bare hands, i also learned a lot from daniela at aguila contructora. not only is bahareque an earth-friendlier method, but turns out it's earthquake-friendlier too, which is fortunate because one of the few "natural" disasters to worry about in this area is indeed earthquakes. another benefit of this method for constructing walls is that no mold or insects can ever live in those walls. these materials create porous walls-- meaning that air can pass and circulate thru the walls. this leads to a good amount of vapor exchange, natural heat & humidity regulation and air filtration occurring, creating organically-cooled spaces with living walls that are constantly "breathing" fresh air into the space. i also learned that the permaculture designer amayanda has planned a lot of aromatic things for this area, so knowing that future guests of balvida will be surrounded by walls that are not only breathing in fresh air, but specifically vetiver-scented air is again-- so headass that i can hardly stand it.
i am constantly in amazement and awe at how well the elements are coming together, and i feel so lucky to be working with other people who care about those kinds of things, too.
the permaculture system has broken ground, too
during this last visit, i was also there for the initiation of the permaculture system, which is starting with the installation of "swales". swales are basically intentionally-placed ditches that collect water, making a reservoir for plants and other growth to take root in.
the permaculture aspect of balvida continues to be one of the aspects im most excited by, so being there for the physical initiation of it was really cool, too. keeping in line with the theme of me getting my own hands dirty, i also got my knees dirty too scrambling up a hillside thru dense, towering-over-my-head brush behind juanpa and his machete. this is an experience ive had like 4 times now, and continues to be harrowing for me every time because in addition to being surrounded by grass taller than me, i know inevitably one of these days he's going to come across a snake. and there's the fact that juanpa wants to come across snakes and actually proactively looks for them, which i feel like is putting extra snake-attraction energy over us as a team out there and i dont necessarily share his enthusiasm at the thought of coming across a potentially-poisonous (and startled) snake. but, i have indeed followed behind him and his machete a handful of times now, and this time was particularly harrowing cuz this happens to be a particularly steep slope, hence me having to get my knees dirty, too. but i did it and juanpa was able to show me exactly where the first swales are going-- in that treacherous hillside, where we need the support of more plants and roots ASAP to stabilize the hill and the very sexy infinity edge pool hanging off the side of it. land that has a lot of roots growing in it tends to shift less, so encouraging new growth is one way to help reinforce the hillside. creating environments to help plants be happy and thrive and root so that they can in turn help support the weight of our human needs and even wants (like a sexy infinity edge pool) is yet another instance of why i love permaculture design so much. permaculture promotes working with the land as it is instead of fighting it to conform to uses beyond it's capacity, making humans responsible stewards of the land instead of dominating masters. this particular piece of land happens to have been deforested for cattle-grazing, and so a lot of the permaculture team's work has been figuring out how we are going to actually replant and intentionally-reforest these areas. the swales are a first step in that direction.
in 2025, balvida sponsored 3 women to attend a 2-week permaculture design course at rancho mastatal, a sustainability education center + farm in costa rica. hoping to send more women there in 2026 and so you can access more info and the application link here until Feb 15. i havent had a chance to attend the course myself yet but its come highly-recommended by amanda and juanpa, and the women who went this year said the experience was really good. you can read about one of the women's experience in a blog she wrote here
the site has been updated and volume 1 of the BALVIDA book is now available
so this last "development" is actually two, and two of the main things ive been working on. i redesigned the BALVIDA site and created a first volume of info, a "book", about it.
the site now has a lot more visuals, including a mix of the architect's blueprints, my own digital sketches of the spaces, and more details about them— what they are, how they’ll be used, and why they’re an important part. you can visit the homepage and click on any of the twinkling stars to bring up info specific to that element. i’ll update periodically, but its a good way to start getting an idea of what balvida will actually look like and see the progress.
in addition to the site, i made volume 1 of “the balvida book” , which includes even more info about the spaces, some short essays on the ideological components of balvida like matriarchy and sustainability, and anecdotes that i just wanted to share. i think the book is so cool and i plan on using it to start asking even more people to be my co-creators in this. its like a magazine to sell not only balvida as a concept, but women-centered, matriarchal structures as a whole. im not the best orator—i had a lover make fun of my literal lack of breath control bc im so not used to talking a lot, and when i get excited about something and talk fast i would just.. run out of breath lol. i often find myself getting overwhelmed when trying to explain exactly what the fuck all this is and encompasses and there’s so many elements to it. so im hoping the book will be another way for me to get ppl the info without running out of breath, or realizing 4 hours later when im laying in bed that i never actually answered the person's original question
you can check out the updated site and get a link to the most current version of the book at BALVIDA.ONLINE
i wont be keeping this post updated, but the first official version of the book is also below
i also spent a good 2 weeks dedicated to figuring out how the hell to get a book printed specifically so i could physically-put something in ppls hands. learning the basics of CYMK and paper weights has me feeling like a bonafide coworker at “the office” in the nerdiest way possible, but i guess it’s cool that i know the difference between 80-lb laser and 110-lb stock now, definitey gained a new appreciation for the tactile experience of what goes into making “a book” which im hoping to share, along with a million other things, per usual, sometime in the ever-nebulous “soon”.
the print order is officially on the way so if you’re somebody who is interested in being a co-creator or want to share the vision for balvida with other ppl, contact me to arrange getting a (free) copy of the book.
i hope everybody's 2026 is filled with new energy and progress towards the dreams we all see for ourselves.
interested in learning more about what "modern matriarchy" is? visit www.modernmatriarchy.online to access free resources and tools on matriarchy
