Volunteer Perspective: Working on the Ruins of "Casa da Marli"

We arrived in Murineli on April 16th, 2025 and were warmly welcomed by Florian and Andreia the locals at the Rainforest Club.

After spending a couple days at the Pousada (as they call a bed & breakfast in Brazil) where we learned about country life in Brazil, we headed out to the higher altitude of the Rainforest Club to get some work done! Approximately 100 meters in altitude difference brought us to a beautiful long driveway. I was not sure what to expect.

Situated in a valley-like area, surrounded by hills and lush greenery, stood the remains of what was once a home with several rooms. The entirety of the house was overgrown, and trees- meters tall- were growing out of the roofless structure. The ruins were home to the former owner of the land and was the place where she grew up. The restored house should carry her name: Casa da Marli.

Ruins of Casa da Marli

Our first step was removing the overgrown grass around the house to have better access. Then we fought through the overgrown jungle-like vegetation in the rooms. We sorted the debris, branches, and other materials into several piles. Our tools were simple: axes, shovels and rakes.

Restoring Casa da Marli

We collected the loose bricks laying around to reuse them later, aligning with principle of the Rainforest Club in sustaining as much resources as possible. A very hot day made the work especially tough. Some of the walls were clearly unstable, which made us question whether it might be wiser to tear the whole ruin down. But since the goal is to preserve as much of the history as possible, we kept going.

Removing the large palm tree that had grown in the center of the ruin was a major milestone. In the next room, we came across a beehive and took some time to discuss how to proceed.

In the end, we decided to call it the day. A few hours of hard work had felt like an entire day.

I'm proud to be a part of thethe Rainforest Club project and very curious to see the next stages and how this beautiful place transforms over time!

Till next time,

Adrian