"You know why I don't pick flowers anymore mummy? Because the bees need them." Edith proudly announces to me as she helps me in the garden.  My fingers and legs are scratched and raw, but the sun is beaming down on us as we admire our progress. 

We are staying with a family, and in return for free food and board, we help them work the land for a few hours each morning.  Nothing is wasted and everything natural is used in order to create a sustainable life - man, animal and plants.  
The kids have revelled in the jobs at hand, Edith helping to place brush on the paths in between the gardens, Axel using a knife to cut the grass at the edges and lay over the soil to keep it moist and nutritious. They've even had a go at using the saw to cut some wood down to size for the stove in the house. 
We introduced a couple of ducks to the luscious handmade pond last week, who seem to have settled in well, apart from a small tussle today over food.  Whether they are here just to keep the weeds in check, or to deliver eggs, or to be eaten further down the line, we wait and see.
The other daily wildlife we encounter during our day are the large lizards that saunter up the path, or hide in the garden, slithering away with great speed whenever someone comes near them.  
The neighbourhood are all very friendly.  A gathering at the house where people come to drink beer and sell or swap their wares happens every Thursday, and where we can practice our limited Spanish vocabulary. 
From our first gathering, the children were invited to a birthday party at one of the neighbours houses, which they were very excited about. We were dropped at the end of their dirt track and made the long trek up past a massive lake, taking in the views around us.
The house was situated on about 80 acres of land, built next to a large building that, in the future, will be used as a teaching centre for permaculture.  The surrounding area is an array of kitchen gardens, vegetable gardens and edible forests.  It really makes our host families garden look quite humble.
Lettuces, herbs, kiwi trees, lemon trees and everything in between is grown here and the space is breathtaking. 
As with all children's parties, there are games outside in the sunshine, pizza and cake to eat with the obligatory Happy Birthday song, wine for the parents, but the one noticeable difference is the lack of presents.  Small gestures like colouring pencils instead are given, as the girl (just turned 11) loves to draw.  Nothing plastic and outrageous is delivered, she's just happy people are there to celebrate. 
The boys we are staying with have returned to school this week in their new school that has just been finished. Uruguayan workers don't have timescales, they sit and chat, do some work, eat long lunches. The work will be finished when it's finished. The school uses play as a big part of their education, wooden toys, they don't learn to read or write until 7yrs old and they don't have homework.  The boys were so excited to be going back.  
We were recruited to help with the finishing touches, wash Windows, clear floors so the wooden flooring could be laid, paint chairs, clear out the builders equipment.  It was Friday, school was opening on Monday, and it seemed nobody worked at the weekends, regardless if it was voluntary and needed. 

The bees buzz happily next to us pollinating the flowers, Edith decides it's too hot and skips off with Axel to play in their den they've found in the woods.  The call for our morning break and a nice cup of Earl Grey is announced from the house, and I lay down tools and make my way up.