The Lake Project
Today ends a ten day work project on the Telathrion mountain lake. Around twenty people have participated in preparing the site for the waterhole to come. The hole it self was dug under the early years of Free and Real's existence at the high slopes, and it has been a conscious decision to leave the hole open over the years. Creating a lake is a complicated endevour, that is dependent on many factors and that will affect a whole bunch of other factors. The main reason to leave it open has been to see how to soil responds naturally to holding water, it turned out the ground is to soft for turning the area into a natural lake, which has led to the second alternative of covering the bottom with a water proof cover. Thus the ten days of reinforced labour. I would at this point like to direct gratitude to Fouad Saccal for some splendid pictures!
The first task at hand was to clear the inside of the lake and surrounding area of overgrowth, stones and debris. Once the lines were clear, we needed to smoothen out the different stages that had been initially dug, this in order to easen the covering of the bottom area. Leading to many fine hours spent with the pickaxe.
Beside the work on the lake we also took the opportunity to plant this years addition of trees to the mountain project.
Since the soil were quite impoverished upon the buying on the land seven years ago, mainly due to it having been a goat pen for the previous fifteen years, it has been a slow process to transform it. Every year trees are planted, many die, but those who make it are adapted to the climate and will help enriching the soil.
Returning to the lake, step three was the trench. In order for the tarp to get secured in its place a 50 centimeter deep and wide trench was needed around the perimeter. First measured and marked by me and Spyros, then excavated by happy diggers.
Meanwhile I found my very own hole at the deep bottom of the lake. Having rinsed it from weeds, I plugged in my earphones and readied my pickaxe - to the readings of H.P. Lovecraft I hew and hammered the lakebed, with some inexplainable hope of uncovering a Shoggoth.
The days passed in the relaxed pace of volunteering workers. And ten days later there lay a sleekish lake foundation, 100+ trees stood planted and there had even been time for a day of late season olive gathering.
Today we rest, over the coming days the visiting workers and friends will leave, knowing they've written Free and Real history.
