Community and work at Finca Alamo

Weeks 46 and 47 in 2025

On Friday 14.11.25, many workaholics arrived on the plane from Torp, ready for work and society. They landed at 14:40 and were in work clothes before the sun went down. Sunday 16.11.25 the last ones arrived and together we were now 46 volunteers.

Finca Alamo was more than full, and what a fantastic work ethic and enthusiasm for work. One thing is for sure, the 60+ have not forgotten what it’s like to work.

We also had a number of professionals from the 60s with us and we are extremely grateful and happy that they are willing to contribute.

Great meals and extra valuable community!

The 2025 fall volunteering event is well over, and we think everyone agrees that there has never been a larger volunteering event there in such a short time. The whole place was like an anthill, a business and zeal that you don’t find in many places.

There was breakfast at 8:00, lunch at 13:00 and dinner at 19:00. The meals were a feast – not just because of the food – it’s a feast to be together. We look forward every day to the good conversations over a cup of coffee and at mealtimes.

In the kitchen, 5 people were working and large pots of food were made for each meal.

Many thanks to everyone who participated.

“In the evenings, there was a lot of communal singing and good conversations. It was fantastic to be a part of this, a real vitamin pill to take in.

Society and brotherhood are becoming more and more precious. Let’s make sure we are always part of it!

The swimming pool

The biggest job these weeks was upgrading the swimming pool.

Anyone who has used the pool in the past year will have noticed that the tiles had started to come loose in several places.

It was time for a proper upgrade.

Week 46 started with a small group, and prior to that week the pool had been emptied of water. Now all the old tiles had to be removed, and they set about the heavy work with gusto. There weren’t many breaks, because this had to be completed before the tiling started in week 47.

In the midst of all this, there was a rainstorm that even the people of Bergen would have respected… it really poured down. But did they let that stop them? No! An impressive effort was then made to find tarpaulins and old tents to create a roof over the entire pool.

What a team and what an effort – and they finished.

The pool now looks inviting with new blue tiles. Handrails and other safety measures will also be installed before the season starts again.

VVS

The plumbing group is a pleasant and extra valuable resource that did a great job:

Underground installation of a 12 m3 collecting basin for wastewater, with pumps that pump this into the treatment plant.
Old wastewater spreading ditches were dug up and new pipes and gravel were laid. 2 excavators were in full swing all week.
Technical room in the main building cleaned and labeling of pipes and valves for various heating and cooling.

All new bathrooms were updated for leakage control.
All tools and piping materials were checked and new workshop/storage facilities established.
Miscellaneous installation – kitchen sink, dishwasher and washing machine.

Electrical

Our electricians are a bunch of benevolent and skilled professionals. They had many important tasks on this project:

In the pool, the lighting was checked and a control cabinet for the pool was checked and deviations rectified.
Extensive mapping and labeling of fuse circuits in the main building was carried out. All sockets and switches are now labeled with which cabinet and circuit they belong to.
In the new apartment on the second floor of the multi-storey building, new lighting was installed and new fuse circuits were added to the new kitchen.
New fuse boxes were installed in the yellow pump houses by the road and by the dam.
The old supply cable between the pump houses was defective and new cables were laid between these and the new treatment plant. About 150 m of cable trenches were dug.
Gate 2 (lower gate) has always been dark. This week, a sensor-controlled light fixture was installed to make garbage disposal easier.

Outdoor and cleanup

A group of skilled, happy and willing workers did a great job with outdoor areas and tidying up.

Tall vegetation was cleared and sawed down. A powerful wood chipper was hired to grind twigs and logs into small wood chips. Our neighbor was very grateful for exactly that. He asked if he could have some sawdust, and when he got a few wheelbarrow loads he was very pleased.

The park around Finca Alamo is starting to look really nice. After the trees have been taken down, you can actually sit inside the living room and see the Mediterranean.

All the stables and booths downstairs at the conference building were cleared and cleaned. All disciplines now have their own storage facilities for their tools and equipment.

Carpenters

Our skilled carpenters also had more than enough to do on the job.

A major project was initiated to separate parts of the second floor of the conference building into a separate apartment.

The result is a nice living unit with a living room, bedroom, en-suite bathroom, new kitchen and a good office space that was built partly over the staircase – and which has a great view of the sea. A great job and fantastic effort!

Two new ovens were also installed in the kitchen of the main house.