veghippy heroes / November

Kyle and Jolene !

It's been a while, but the "veghippy hero" segment is back! This month, we have two incredible individuals with a vision to create an eco-village in Guatemala. I was lucky enough to meet them at Earthship Academy before they headed south on their journey across Mexico. I became very curious about their story when I found out they were driving a mini bus named"Lewis" that runs on vegetable oil... Check out our interview below!

Sunshine: So! Kyle and Jolene, can you tell us a little bit about your trip and what you're doing here?

Jolene: Well, basically, we're trying to transition into renewable and sustainably harvested energy. So driving our veg-oil bus is part of this transition. As you know, waste veg-oil is a way we can move around the country without using fossil fuel, and that's the biggest thing - no more fossil fuels for us. I went to the tar sands last year, and did a healing walk around one "tailing lake." It was huge, it took us 7 hours just to walk around one. I saw people dying and animals dying. I was like, this is just not a sustainable way of living, this is not right. We can't be taking something from the earth and killing people and animals. So that is how it started. Kyle and I have had a dream of traveling together for a while, and then this year we got a bus gifted to us from a friend.

Kyle: We've had a property in Guatemala for a couple of years and we've always wanted to get back to the land and live sustainably, support ourselves and grow our own food, so this trip has been a while in the making. We'd been planning to drive down with veg-oil and now it's finally happening! We're making a documentary about our trip too and we're stopping to visit different sustainable communities, and Earthship Academy was a big part of that. We're documenting what we're learning about and we're gonna try to put all these ideas into practice when we get to Guatemala.

(Photo by Kyle)

Jolene: We are looking to build an educational and healing center with Earthship principles as well as permaculture principles. The idea is that people can come and learn different healing modalities and find what suits them best to do their own healing, as well as learn to connect with the Earth again and build in a way that is not harmful - but in a kind way. We want to be able to teach people that and share that wisdom. One of the really big things that I'd like to do when we get there is if the locals are interested, show and share with them how to treat their own waste water so there's less pollution. Also, how to collect rainwater in an efficient way.

Sunshine: Amazing. That's a beautiful goal you both have! Now, you said your bus has a name... can you tell us about that??

Jolene: [laughter] Yes! His name is Lewis! He came with that name, and the people that converted him kept the name, because he was a bus from Lewis county. That's how he got his name and we decided to keep it going forward. We love it.

(Photo by Jolene)

Kyle: In fact, our whole project is called "Lewis and the Fireflies." Lewis is the bus and we are the fireflies! He's an old school bus that someone else converted. They "camperized" him into an RV and put the veg-oil system in. We inherited all that and we've just been learning how it works as we go. 

Sunshine: You've been on quite a long journey already! Where did you start? Where have you gone? And eventually you're headed to Guatemala right?

Jolene: Well, it started in Vancouver, in British Columbia. And that's where we kind of created the plan and got ready to take off. We had a fundraiser, we did an indiegogo as well as fundraising event - which was a lot of work but that's another story! [And then went across the border this April. We left him in storage all summer, then we went through Bellingham, different places in Washington, down through Oregon and California. We took some time to visit friends, or people who we'd like to refer to as family - family that you create...

Kyle: By the time we hit Northern California we had to go inland to make it to New Mexico for Earthship Academy so then we drove across a bunch of places we've never been before! Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Utah, Colorada, and eventually New Mexico.

And from here...well, where are we going from here?

(Photo by Jolene)

Jolene: We are heading to Arizona down to Mexico. When we're in Mexico we're hoping to stop at some sustainable communities to learn a little bit more. We want to see what people are doing to live off the grid, and to live in a better way, a kinder and gentler way with the Earth and all beings. We want to learn from them and capture that footage to share with others. Then we are headed to Belize for the winter. I will be teaching yoga and Kyle will be teaching sea kayaking for an eco-tour company. After that we have an opportunity to go to Jamaica as volunteers at a retreat center. The owner offered to teach me what I need to know about running a successful healing and retreat center which is our dream in Guatemala.

Kyle: Now, Lewis is not an aquatic bus yet...[Sunshine's laughter] When we head to Jamaica there's a pretty big ocean crossing there so we will leave him in Belize with some friends, but when we come back we'll get back on the road and head to Guatemala! [Jolene cheers] Lewis will be the first structure that we live in while we build other things on our land and farm.

Jolene: I think we're gonna have a workshop in May to start up the tire foundation and an adobe hut...

Kyle: Just down the road from us in Guatemala, is this place where they teach green building and they do super adobe and earth bags. They are doing all kinds of crazy stuff, like building temples out of earth bags! So we're gonna get in touch with them and we're gonna partner up and run workshops together.

Sunshine: Kyle and Jolene, can you share with us how the bus runs on veg-oil?

Kyle: Sure. Well, you have to have a diesel vehicle. Then, you get a veg-oil kit to convert it. You have a separate tank for the veg-oil, so the system becomes a hybrid where it runs on both diesel and veg-oil. When we start the car, we use diesel to warm up the engine to the right temperature, then we switch over to veg. It goes through a filter and the are lines connected to the engine. The mileage is about the same as diesel (about 9mpg with Lewis) and it is cleaner burning. Of course, with veg-oil you are not using "new" fuel, you are using up "waste."

Jolene: The process is a little tricky at first. When you collect "waste" vegetable oil, you have to filter it. You can get it from people who filter it for you too, and they usually charge but it's great to support people who are doing that.

To be honest, having a veg-oil vehicle is a clean way of traveling - but it's a messy ordeal! You get grease over EVERYTHING...

Kyle: If you think about restaurants and deep fried foods, and when you get that stuff on you...well veg-oil is that concentrated grease. So you just have all these buckets full of grease around you all the time. Thankfully we haven't spilled anything in Lewis yet, but it gets pretty messy.

We pour the grease from these buckets into our filter tank through a funnel on the back of our bus every few hours when we need to refuel. It could run on all different kinds of veg-oil. Some people have supplied us with soy bean oil and canola oil. Any kind of vegetable oil is compatible as long as it gets filtered so the water content evaporates.

Sunshine: How does it feel not to have to spend money on fossil fuel?

Jolene: VERY GOOD. When we are running on veg-oil it is very freeing. It's inspiring and empowering knowing that you don't have to use fossil fuel, knowing that you can live another way. Just like with Earthships, you don't have to go in just one direction.

Kyle: Yeah it's the same thing with Earthships. It's like, you realize, "Hey, I don't need fossil fuels to heat and run my home, I can do it in other ways!" Passive solar heating for example. 

Jolene: I definitely will say that I don't think running on veg-oil is the answer because there is just not enough waste vegetable oil in the world to power all the vehicles we have. But I think it's a great way to begin the transition into a more sustainable culture.

Kyle: We're not perfect but we're exploring fuel alternatives and just having fun along the way. We're trying to approach it with an open mind, and patience, and good humour. 'Cause stuff happens along the way and we'l be like "Shit! Well...cool!" We've been learning a heeeeck of a lot. Every time something goes wrong, it's a new opportunity to learn something. 

Sunshine: Have you had some ups and downs while on the road?

Jolene: Yes. Poor wiring is one...the electrician that worked on our bus originally miswired the switch board so we've had to deal with that! And then Lewis has broken down a couple times throughout our trip too.

Kyle: It's interesting, he's got a personality! He's held together with love and duct tape and whatever but...[Sunshine's laughter] Actually, the people who converted Lewis originally, they traveled aruond the country and made a documentary about urban farming. So Lewis has experience with documentary filmmakers. He's kinda guiding the process in some ways. 

Jolene: We're starting to say this motto: "Lewis always knows." 

Kyle: Lewis seems to know when we need to slow down or stop. For some reason he'll break down - for some "weird" reason. But then we'll end up meeting someone that we wouldn't have met otherwise who gives us another "piece to the puzzle." We'll run into someone who'll say "hey come stay here" and we get another adventure or lesson for our travels. Most of the time when he's broken down for a couple of hours have been the times when we needed to meet someone. So, Lewis has wisdom in that.

Jolene: He's part of the Divine plan!!! Sometimes I forget the Divine plan, and I get really frustrated and yell "LEWIS!!!" But then an hour later I'm like, "okay, that's why he did that..." [laughter]

Sunshine: I'm really excited for you both. The things you two are doing here with this veg-oil bus is just a great example of the kind of sustainable future we can all have. Do you have any inspirational words or recommendations for our audience before we finish?

Jolene: Believe in the beauty of your dreams, cause nothing is impossible. We ARE the change! Which means that making the change in yourself will lead to the change in the world around us.

Kyle: Sometimes it takes a leap of faith but when you get to the other side, it's totally worth it. And I just want to say thank you, Sunshine. It's been so good to share lessons and building with you for the last month.

Sunshine: [cheers and glows] Yaaay.

Love you two!! Be well and be safe.

To follow Kyle and Jolene on their epic journey to Guatemala...you can check out their website [here] or "LIKE" their facebook page.

Cheers to new friends/family =)

-PEACE*~!