My home is unlike any other, it spans 270 acres of fertile land in the mountains located north of Caracas, Venezuela. I lived in a community of 300 people, united by a shared commitment to self-sufficiency.
The entrance to our farm
This is me herding cows on horseback
Our harvest field in the mountain
The view from our terrace
A joyful moment of my younger self enjoying the company of cows
The park where I used to play
Although we harvested our own food and stitched our own clothing, we lacked the resources to deal with medical emergencies. Our little farmhouse clinic, an adapted horse stable, was not equipped to deal with surgeries or advanced medical procedures.
My dad, a physician volunteered in this clinic. I shadowed him and did volunteer work myself for over 5 years. Despite the clinic’s size, I saw their team handle fractures, transfusions, and vaginal deliveries. There, in the Venezuelan countryside, I learned about the beginning of life, its end, and the conditions that impact the quality of life in between.
