The House that the World Built!
The Caribbean sea and snow make Santa Marta a difficult place to forget. The city is located on the shores of the Bay of Santa Marta on the Caribbean Sea, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, whose peaks can be seen on clear days from the beach. The capital of the department of Magdalena, which was founded in 1525, is one of the oldest cities in South America, but if you are looking to go off the beaten path just a little further up the coast you will find Rio Ancho, where Rebekah Nicholson is living her dream to build Casa Brujula.
Casa Brujula (or Compass House) is a project that has years in the making. Rebekah was looking for a way to combine my love of travel with a way to earn an income and inspire people. After a long grueling year of working double overtime to pay off college, she decided to take a backpack tour of Colombia South America, where she found magic on the Caribbean coast north of Santa Marta, miles of virgin seashore to adventurous travelers.
With small Colombian towns rich with seafood, salsa, and natural untouched wilderness just steps away from the birthplace of the Andes, theSierra Nevada of Santa Marta. Four incredible months later Rebekah returned to the states to work again, this time to save for her dream of building and operating a small hostel on the coast of the department of the Guajira Colombia.
Rebekah returned to South America in January 2017 and since then have made the purchase of a small lot of riverfront land in Rio Ancho. While traveling to the interior of the country to the department of Antioquia to purchase the best quality bamboo she happened upon Dario Suarez, a builder with 20 years’ experience of harvesting and constructing in Bamboo from Eje Cafetero, also known as the Coffee Triangle in Colombia. With the help of Dario, they have laid the foundation and will be raising Bamboo columns in the next week.
Casa Brujula is being built by volunteers from all over the globe through an exchange of labor for food and boarding. The ultimate goal of Casa Brujlua is to create a safe place where adventurers of any age can find a safe place to rest, immerse in local culture and scenery and most of all expand their minds and become inspired towards a better world. Eco-friendly and sustainable, they will be focusing on what is best for the planet in our building and daily life. Integrating into the local community and respecting the indigenous that inhabit the region are important for them and they are opening market channels for organic food directly from the Sierras.
So much of this dream of Casa Brujula has been funded by Rebekah, and knowing many of her friends would gladly offer a hand if they were closer. If you feel free to support a financial gift toward the completion of Casa Brujula. You can also pay towards a future visit to Casa Brujula. 90% of funds generated will be used specifically for building materials and landscaping to complete the project. 10% will be donated to the Rio Ancho city parks and recreation for the children of the community. Books will be open and if you would like your funds to go towards a specific investment I am developing a list of what still needs to be purchased.
Rebekah Nicholson on Vertikal LIVE Radio
Casa Brujula’s mission is to inspire through example and workshops how innovation can help us to adapt to a sustainable life. Workshops on life skills, survival skills, sustainable living and cultural skills will be offered to travelers as well as locals. The two-story bamboo cabin will feature a large dormitory, hammock areas, common areas and an adult jungle gym. On the back of the lot, we will have a fireplace as well as a natural spring-fed pool.
The front balcony of the cabin will feature a view of not only the river which flows directly past the front of the house, it will also provide a spectacular view of the closest two snowcaps of the Sierra Nevada. Part of some of the activities we will have will be rafting and kayaking tours on the river as well as provide trips to Cabo de la Vella and Punta Gallina. Hiking, biking, and moto tours, as well as rock climbing, kite surfing, and parasailing, are all options for extreme sports fanatics.
The House that the World Built!
Donate now to this very worthy cause!
You can contact Rebekah Nicholson at Facebook or at Contact Casa Brujula
