Imagine you saw your future house in a dream. Not only that – imagine you saw your future house in a dream and decided to build it. This is exactly what Maria Ponce, an elderly lady living near Usulután, El Salvador, did in 2005.

If there’s something I absolutely love it’s creating things with my hands and giving new purposes to old things. I’m the youngest of seven children, so you can take a wild guess on how much new stuff I used to receive as a child. The answer is slim to none and I’m grateful for it, because it has taught me to appreciate everything second-hand and recycled. When cycling long-distance, it’s quite heavy to carry handicraft supplies with you, so you often need to search for things to do with whatever is around. Here’s the DIY ideas I’ve come up with in Paraguay. Enjoy!