Our Journey In Photos
Rob spent five weeks hitchhiking around El Salvador in search of land before deciding on a beautiful three-acre property just 2 km from the beach. In November 2023, he and his friends sent 1.5 Bitcoin to secure the title to the property.
Rob spent the next two weeks camping on-site with his trusty hammock, sharing the space with some bovine friends. During that brief time, he joined the local football team, helped an elderly lady with literacy classes, attended a neighbor's funeral, and was invited to a high school graduation dinner—all before returning to Ireland for the Christmas period.
Brothers Edd and Rob returned to a much drier site in April 2024. Their first tasks involved building a retaining wall, an electrical outpost, installing a provisional septic tank, and leveling a patch of land for their HQ.
We managed to get our electrical shed connected to the national grid, which drastically improved our quality of life. We made the most of the limited shade on-site with our temporary camping setup. Meanwhile, we contracted our neighbour to help build a proper shelter in preparation for the imminent rainy season.
We got a roof over our heads just in time before the torrential rain descended upon us. A couple of streams run through the site when it rains particularly heavy. Former Mayo GAA star Fionn McDonagh paid us a visit, making a cameo appearance with the football team—a performance that some of the locals still talk about to this day.
Having birthday lunch with our neighbours was a joyous occasion, but carrying bricks up from the entrance was less enjoyable—definitely deserving of a pineapple break. We also learned how to metalwork in order to lay the foundation for our shed walls.
We hired our neighbour and now amigo, Chato, to help lay the brick wall perimeter around our shed. This was a major relief, as it protected us from flooding during heavy showers. We also upgraded our tent to something more glamorous. There's a persistent local horse that always finds his way in for a feed of grass.
Charlie making business phone calls from the hammock has become our new biweekly arrangement. We also adopted two little havoc merchants—Salmon and Buzz. Meanwhile, Rob is representing the project on the community football team in the Christmas league.
Some friends from home reached out and came by to lend a hand. We made the most of it, diving into the construction of our new toilet block with our freshly acquired bricklaying skills. We’re not quite masters yet, but it’s good enough! Shoutout to Luke from Australia that stuck around for a while despite still not having running water. We also installed fiber optic broadband, which has made life a bit easier.
Joe arrives at the project for the first time, diving straight into bamboo harvesting to finish the frame for our toilet block. Our neighbor is giving it away for free, as long as we put in the effort to cut it. The sporadic presence of farm animals on-site is giving us a hankering to get some of our own…
