tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35319931730882966382024-03-13T10:51:30.696-07:00Falls Brook Dispatches from AbroadWelcome to the Falls Brook Centre's International Interns' Dispatches page!
This blog allows Falls Brook interns who are living and working overseas with one of our partner organizations to post information, stories, and pictures of their experiences. This information is free and open to the public, and can be edited by any intern who is currently working in the field.FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-32105609331800898932013-05-10T07:16:00.001-07:002013-05-10T07:22:07.401-07:00International Guests and Final Reports: wrapping things up from Anna<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It’s been a flurry of activity
with the first onset of international guests! We had an informative week with
Dr. Richard Komp building solar ovens and as my time here comes to a close, I’m
working hard to finish up a few final projects. </div>
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Visiting from Canada are Charlene
and Sally, with whom I have luckily been able to team up with to fix up a few
places and spaces. Sally and I are putting together an information board and area
map, which we hope will help provide visitors and tourists with a better idea
of Salado Barra. So far, we’ve sketched out the various canals and have spoken
with local guides about what species – both flora and fauna – we are most
likely to find in each. Given that Salado, like all systems, is both social and
ecological, we are also trying to integrate some of the lesser known aspects of
the community including historic sites such as the Casona as well as local
businesses including restaurants, the solar workshop, jewelry-making and we are
even thinking of organizing community-based homestead tours!</div>
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Alongside the information board
and area map, we’re also keeping busy getting the café up and running. While
it’s been a bit slow getting everything organized and permission to go ahead
with certain changes, I have drafted up some permaculture designs for the
garden, and slowly but surely, we are moving forward. We hope that the café
will serve as a getaway for tourists, providing a relaxing safe haven of warm
banana bread, coconut tabletas, fresh squeezed juice and a nice swing in the
hammock. We also hope that the café will offer a venue for the community’s
micro-enterprises to set up shop, selling solar cell phone chargers, jewelry,
dried fruit, and local products. Needless to say, the next month will be a
perfect bustle with which to end my stay. </div>
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As I was filling out my final
reports for FBC, I was thinking about all the many things that made this
experience as amazing as it was. There is something really cool about coming
into a totally unfamiliar space as an absolute stranger and to actually feel
the community learning about you, understanding you, trusting you, and opening
up to you. Of all the experiences I have had here, I think this is the one that
stands out the most; developing a sense of belonging, a sense of caring and
being cared for, and more than anything, a sense of being part of something
bigger. It’s not the trips around the country nor the nights out in Ceiba that
have made this experience what it is, it’s the people we share our days with.
It’s sitting in the kitchen of Dona Irma surrounded by sons and
daughter-in-laws, sisters and brothers, eating pastelitos and drinking thick
coffee. It’s building sand castles on the beach with Kenya and Edouin or
listening to the spray of water against the side of the lancha as David
navigates us through the mangroves by moonlight and stars. It’s a campfire on
the beach, a tortilla-making session, a game of hide-and-seek, a gift of fried
fish, a motorcycle lesson, a game of pool. It’s seeing real smiles on peoples’
faces, hearing real excitement in their voices, and feeling real hugs when they
greet you. It’s a sense of home. </div>
<!--EndFragment-->FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-11653851493332223302013-04-26T11:02:00.001-07:002013-04-26T11:05:12.408-07:00Bees and Bikes, Follow-Up From Sabana Grande<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-klmwsQPszn-VjA7F00PBOMqDC2BEhK2uzBXWMu5iy0EywlIsV-5P7MhP-SEdQIyyqXqaFrGVQcLzYF-7UjtiD5U1VNmj-m4f2r-eurbpY8fekyaG8jI1iLuc9H4WDjOvFAyTZxMlL8/s1600/Bees.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-klmwsQPszn-VjA7F00PBOMqDC2BEhK2uzBXWMu5iy0EywlIsV-5P7MhP-SEdQIyyqXqaFrGVQcLzYF-7UjtiD5U1VNmj-m4f2r-eurbpY8fekyaG8jI1iLuc9H4WDjOvFAyTZxMlL8/s320/Bees.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arlen and Jessie get ready to transfer two hives <br />
into the top-bar bee hive</td></tr>
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Well, this Latin American adventure certainly has proven wild and rich! Acquaintances have become close friends, a once new environment has become that familiar mountain-range, this scary new language now comes more naturally. As months pass and I grow more accustomed to this world, sometimes I have to remind myself how incredible it is—that it is not normal to be pressed between seventy Nicaraguans and two piglets on a roaring, multi-coloured, high-speed school bus.</div>
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Among so many favourite parts, I will start with my work here. </div>
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A short search for funding led me to a familiar Ottawa business, Third World Bazaar, and their generous sponsorship to start Bici-Futuro, a bicycle rental company with a local youth group Los Jovenes Pedaliando Hacia el Futuro (JPHF). Since January, we have purchased bikes and parts for repairs, formed a bicycle committee led by three Jovenes coordinators, acquired space in an new adobe building on-site for storage and store-front, gained international and local attention from online journals and American entrepreneurs, and, this February, started service with our first customers. This micro-enterprise is a first experience for me and JPHF in the business world, so it has been great training to witness the challenges we encounter—pricepoint is an important art, for example. A most notable struggle for me was combining North American business practice with socialist Nicaraguan culture. This youth group puts all profit towards tuition fees for any member who cannot afford to further their education. While I prepared to start clocking hours and wages, they were already working as a unit. And so far we have enough money to send someone to university for three months!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqn7gtCcXSVnLmzdZFKmEmAGGMxuxc0duOB3KvchMFLFS3C0sA3Outbvpua4RsvqnzCpqdEuKFlqvwpdxSK1CrctABr4d2VAt06og01zCpTG_xtLWYcKWC8vLROu5kKCO3NSdeXpVFiL4/s1600/Maria+building.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqn7gtCcXSVnLmzdZFKmEmAGGMxuxc0duOB3KvchMFLFS3C0sA3Outbvpua4RsvqnzCpqdEuKFlqvwpdxSK1CrctABr4d2VAt06og01zCpTG_xtLWYcKWC8vLROu5kKCO3NSdeXpVFiL4/s320/Maria+building.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maria Magdalena moves fifty-pound adobe bricks. <br />
This building will be the new youth centre with space for a bicycle shop.</td></tr>
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The bicycle company has become my favoured focus, but it develops alongside many other fun projects here. My herbal tea garden is flourishing, and the music classes for kids morphed into a jewelry-making club with bracelets and earrings for sale at the restaurant here. With Greg’s visit came the bees. Before they left, Ben and he built a top-bar bee hive in which Arlen, a local girl, and I are keeping African honey bees. Grupo Fenix is excited about this project and is making moves to hire Arlen as an in-house beekeeper. A trip to wonderful Mira and Anna and the Salado project exposed me to the radically different Honduran politic and what it really means to be in the tropics. I took the Salado Solar Team back with me to Sabana Grande and they had a grand time honing their skills and exchanging tortilla tips with the Mujeres. It is very interesting to see how these Hondurans and Nicaraguans learn from each other. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7u2EPl5y9q6UGch2jUAe8xahTzNyp3H3faji2jbFDX6gV6Ga0wvIcDmNgaUtDlcq3s3ZQHTnkBWhz64jbBJmtT19Oru6CPntAIPKcBfX8L084G13jW2yaIu2OT_BtagOEx9gFX9guUk/s1600/Centro+Solar+with+New+Bikes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7u2EPl5y9q6UGch2jUAe8xahTzNyp3H3faji2jbFDX6gV6Ga0wvIcDmNgaUtDlcq3s3ZQHTnkBWhz64jbBJmtT19Oru6CPntAIPKcBfX8L084G13jW2yaIu2OT_BtagOEx9gFX9guUk/s320/Centro+Solar+with+New+Bikes.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marcel, JPHF member, and Temon, a volunteer, assembling the new bikes <br />
in front of the Solar Center.</td></tr>
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I cannot believe I have only weeks left here. I do not think I have learned as much in an eight-month period as I have these last months. I am exhausted but so pleased with my experience. I will leave Nicaragua impressed with its people, inspired by the changes happening here, and of course instantly itching to return. </div>
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-36798593145185420422013-04-26T08:35:00.000-07:002013-04-26T08:45:08.937-07:00Final post from Noelle in Honduras<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimiPX9FKjaLPM1B58GSM_7uKKH2jcE6sfV2yPc0rIxDD0Y_uw39mvHj0zCNWKtKJoFHaCrPdv8ZhPq94MEP-bcEWpDI5pLx4w4GB_19dRN7CK_71hADuaXu5KdSxA8LnhyBr_EAkxA3bw/s1600/P1050074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimiPX9FKjaLPM1B58GSM_7uKKH2jcE6sfV2yPc0rIxDD0Y_uw39mvHj0zCNWKtKJoFHaCrPdv8ZhPq94MEP-bcEWpDI5pLx4w4GB_19dRN7CK_71hADuaXu5KdSxA8LnhyBr_EAkxA3bw/s320/P1050074.JPG" width="240" /></a>I can’t believe I’ve been living and working in Utila for
over one month and that I only have 3 weeks left here! While time has gone by
quickly, I feel like I’ve contributed a significant amount to the project at
IRBS, keeping busy with a diverse mix of activities. <br />
<br />
Volunteers from the IRBS including myself have continued helping with the
recycled glass bottle workshop at the local NGO Bay Islands Conservation
Association (BICA). The glasses we’ve made have been sold to several other bars
in town, showing that the recycling trend is picking up in smaller businesses
too!<br />
<br />
One of the projects I am most involved with is in Environmental Education,
where I have helped compile a manual as an informative guide on environmental
themes including ecology, anthropological impact on the environment, climate
change and sustainable tourism. After meeting with local school teachers on
March 11, we will establish a schedule for IRBS volunteers including myself to
help give presentations on these topics to the students.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Overall, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanMS;">I believe that one of my
biggest feelings of accomplishment has come from coordinating the recycling
workshop with the local children, both girls and boys. I’ve noticed a change in
attitude in the children in terms of creativity in using a wide variety of
different materials and openness to trying new things. Since my last update, we
have made </span>a “city” built on cardboard with toilet paper rolls and juice
boxes. We also hope to make a mangrove mural made out of bottle caps along the
same concrete wall where the museum that hosts the workshop every Friday
afternoon is located. <span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">During
my time here, I have also really appreciated giving tours to international
tourists about the local flora, fauna and iguana conservation issues, and to
the police to inform them of the issue of iguana poaching on the island.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Last week was
unpredictably busy due to a tragic accident that had happened the previous
weekend. A family of 3 – the driver, his wife and daughter – was on their way
home riding along the airport’s unlit road when they were hit by a drunk
18-year-old driver on another motorcycle, causing tremendous injury to himself
and to his two-year-old daughter, leading to his death and his daughter’s
deteriorated health. As a result, a raffle fundraiser was held on March 1<sup>st</sup>
for the local Jackson family in order to raise money for the costs incurred by
this terrible event. IRBS volunteers promoted the raffle event and informed
tourists about what had happened, bridging the gap between the locals, the IRBS
volunteers and tourists by showing our support within the community. We also donated
all of that week’s proceeds from the tours and movie night events held at the
station to the family. <br />
<br />
</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNGFHGAmL19YiL2crU5i4XPa0HsB356tlMhrxiOqs7WJAYSJ-8Y0JpSLmdL4S89uMVfzOOWWkdrEpyZF94pLMhniLKweaE17ZkZM640PEh42J-IKS3xxf_QEcf0nq6Rv1e_slnE0jNOU/s1600/P1050070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNGFHGAmL19YiL2crU5i4XPa0HsB356tlMhrxiOqs7WJAYSJ-8Y0JpSLmdL4S89uMVfzOOWWkdrEpyZF94pLMhniLKweaE17ZkZM640PEh42J-IKS3xxf_QEcf0nq6Rv1e_slnE0jNOU/s320/P1050070.JPG" width="197" /></a>This past week we went to the Western Path mangrove site to monitor the
Swamper iguanas. <span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Here,
we spotted 36 Swampers in an area of close to 1km</span><span style="color: black;">²</span><span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">, the
largest number recorded to date! Yesterday, a few IRBS volunteers, myself
included, helped experts in mangrove restoration that had come from Mexico and
Honduras’ mainland research in Utila’s mangroves. This group does environmental
consulting for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on a regular
basis. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">My contribution included measuring four 1m</span><span style="color: black;">²</span><span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">
transects, counting the amount of pneumatophores, small roots growing upwards to
promote the absorption of oxygen for the rest of the mangrove plant. Of the
total found in the area of study, I was required to extract 10 percent for lab
work. It wasn’t an easy task, but getting dirty in the mangroves is rewarding
if it is followed by a rinse-off in the crystal clear sea! After discussing my
internship with FBC with one of the specialists, they mentioned working on
mangrove restoration with another FBC intern in Omoa…Brittany Macgillavry! What
a small world! I am so grateful and excited to have been a part of this
project, and to have had the opportunity to gain technical experience in the
field! <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On top of promoting its
environmental education and iguana breeding and monitoring programs, t</span>he
IRBS hopes to serve as a model of sustainable living for its national and
international volunteers and as a demonstration centre for visitors, by
transforming itself into an establishment that produces minimal waste. I have
already begun working on developing a vegetable garden and improving its compost
system. I hope to see these projects through before the end of my placement. <br />
<br />
Overall, the experience I have gained from living and working in an
intercultural context such as Utila has made me aware that internships like
these are so important for recent graduates to gain hands-on experience in
their field of interest for future work and study opportunities, and to gain
new skills in the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><br />
</span><br />
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<!--EndFragment-->FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-54586212369885480292013-04-26T08:28:00.003-07:002013-04-26T08:30:43.025-07:00Update from Elisa in the Dominican Republic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIoTxHPV2lHGO4Ju4rEtr1SpE7Jjw5NNrHLYFQ5U-gr9EgNuoU6ZiUf4vqV8iLHU-LmCxkraCL-rFEsKZKHrNPOiuZQ-Emo34DOBj_41IXP32L5BEAwLyU5qij9XCCBcvsEHOfBFm5U18/s1600/STF_4563.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIoTxHPV2lHGO4Ju4rEtr1SpE7Jjw5NNrHLYFQ5U-gr9EgNuoU6ZiUf4vqV8iLHU-LmCxkraCL-rFEsKZKHrNPOiuZQ-Emo34DOBj_41IXP32L5BEAwLyU5qij9XCCBcvsEHOfBFm5U18/s320/STF_4563.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">The cool night breeze sweeps through the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">apartment bringing with it my daily dose of Bachata music. I am </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">already starting to wonder about my cultural re-integration into</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Canada where I won't have Latin music serenading me to sleep every </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">night.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Music and fiesta are a big part of Dominican culture. We are lucky to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">be just a public taxi drive away from one of the world renounded carnivals in La Vega. Every Sunday for all of February, hundreds of teams </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">participate in the parade to show off their frighteningly beautiful </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">costumes. Hoards of spectators quickly snap pictures of the event all </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">the while dodging the "vejigas" of the "diablo cojuelos". True to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">their name, these children dressed as devils, run around smacking </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">anyone who isn't watching their back. As much as it stings, you can't </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">say you have had the full the carnival experience until you have </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">unsuspectingly gotten hit! Most of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">teams participating have a "cueva" or home base where they provide their invited </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">guests with viewing spots out of danger's way. These cuevas sport </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">the colours of their team and are exclusive to the group's fans. Teams </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">spend all year preparing for this event. They must design their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">outfit, fundraise, coordinate tasks, hire private security and prepare </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">a playlist of catchy music for every weekend of February!!</span><br />
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All to say, our repertoire of Latin music and mastery of the Dominican <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Cibaeño is growing daily. It will be interesting to touch base with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">all the other interns and show off our dialects. Having the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">opportunity to work in such a large area through the Model Forest </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Network of the Dominican Republic means that we get to cover a lot of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">ground, meet a lot of people and learn all kinds of expressions! Since </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">our last blog post, we have been filling our weeks with commitments </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">at ecotourism destinations, surveying sites for reforestation </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">projects, documenting various community meetings and giving website </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">design workshops to youth.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqf6sHArc7GI_IJKOC-_EgWalR7C_YwYCOmfYvSZ3CuT6lAwBI1Hr1ugImzWuXMNGAGr1dqeqfHGOVORkR6VbdV3mCyRcxiFo4G9bkCCa5mhP6QwIK9GPWmmbWUWcQiNE1Nip4Tn6GPJ0/s1600/IMG_4341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqf6sHArc7GI_IJKOC-_EgWalR7C_YwYCOmfYvSZ3CuT6lAwBI1Hr1ugImzWuXMNGAGr1dqeqfHGOVORkR6VbdV3mCyRcxiFo4G9bkCCa5mhP6QwIK9GPWmmbWUWcQiNE1Nip4Tn6GPJ0/s320/IMG_4341.JPG" width="239" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">We have finally identified four local youth that will take over </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">updating the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://colinasbajasdom.wordpress.com/">Model Forest Colinas Bajas</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">website once we leave. These </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">highly motivated and knowledgeable youth have been participating in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">our classes and have distinguished themselves as savvy website</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">designers and reporters. The month of February has been dedicated to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">phasing them into the project and getting them familiar with their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">duties. The other students in the class are also slowly mastering </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">blogging. Only one month left until the end of the workshops!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">As some of our portfolios are smoothly coming to a close, others are </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">still bustling with tasks to finish. We continue to facilitate </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">international collaboration between ENDA-DOM and the various Peace </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Corps members in the region. Adam has been heavily involved in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">developing a sustainable management plan for a plantation project </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">with a Peace Corps volunteer from the Community Economic Development </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">sector and the Incubadora de Empresas de Cotui. Meanwhile, I am assisting with a smaller reforestation project </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">to protect a water source near Castillo and helping out with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">administrative tasks for a Peace Corps aqueduct project in the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">community of El Corozo.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"></span><br /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Even though our weeks fill up with commitments all over the region, we </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">still spend a good chunk of our time in Cotui. A little home project </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">I have been tirelessly trying to coordinate is completing a compost </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">bin for kitchen waste. What started out as a simple city friendly</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">compost bin for our organic waste turned into three months of phone </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">tag with the carpenters. Nevertheless, it's finally done!!! We are the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">proud owners of a snazzy compost bin. The apartment staff are also </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">really excited as they look forward to fertilizing their plantain </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">trees. I can finally not feel bad about all the organic waste I </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">produce from my fruit smoothies!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">One more month of fresh papaya and zapote smoothies before we </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">head North!!!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Un abrazo grande,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Elisa</span>FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-15337482228043502532013-02-26T08:49:00.000-08:002013-02-26T08:52:36.902-08:00More from Russell in Costa Rica<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Entering the latter portion of my time here, I am glad to report having come in step with the pace of work and life here. Days flitter on by, but ideas come through to reality in their time. Will their fruits be sweet? Like my newly bearing backyard tomatoes, the answer can’t be rushed, but I can throw a shovel of compost on it.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drawing up observations from our habitat field trip<br />
with kindergarteners, comparing river and forest areas.</td></tr>
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On the work front, it is a sort of shifting rotation between tasks, literally in step with the lunar cycles. The nursery is picking up steam and giving me a chance to learn tidbits of plant propagation while resting my eyes from the computer. Overseeing the nursery, I scrounge up seeds and cuttings whenever I happen upon them, trying to time cuttings with the waning moon (menguante), when their ‘energy’ is directed root-ward. Waxing moon (creciente) is time to cut the grass and mulch, slowing re-growth. The last week we played with bamboo construction, building a no-mist recovery chamber (basically a low poly tunnel) for wildlings (wild seedlings) we will gather from the montaña next week, inspired by the success of our partners in the Philippines. Working early mornings and afternoons in our yard and that of neighborhood farms is great to round and the day, and to bank hours so I can take off to go surf.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Aside from updating of our website and the slow process of getting our plant database online, my office work has become largely focused on refining the Forest Garden Product (FGP) certification standard with Eduardo, in order to meet the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements’ (IFOAM) Common Objectives and Requirements of Organic Standards (COROS) – in other words to get recognized as a solid standard by the global grand-daddy of organic standards. The complexity and novel qualities of our production requirements, a lack of support from the creators of the standard, and our total inexperience in the realm of certification has given us a good challenge, as well as an opportunity for me to unleash my eye for detail. If you didn’t get enough acronyms already in this paragraph, we are hosting a workshop next week on Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), a means to ensuring quality production practices while reducing the need to involve costly third-party certifiers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">With Jana, our new artistically-gifted (among many other gifts) intern on the team, we’ve had the chance to awaken the creative juices as we conjure up icons to bring life to the AF principles. Jana has also been a serious enabler for eating really good food. Play-wise, if our lives are rather simple (not that I have any problem with surfing, yoga, mountain hike adventures, and endless swims), at least we eat ridiculously well. Seasonal harvests of pejibaye, caimito, manzana de agua; abundant backyard oranges, so sweet with the summer sun; fresh river shrimp; curry full of local spices and seasonings… we do alright.</span></div>
FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-668516155412868422013-02-26T08:30:00.001-08:002013-02-26T09:03:45.463-08:00Update from Noelle in Utila<br />
My first two weeks on the Bay Island of Utila have far exceeded my expectations. Since starting work at the Iguana Research and Breeding Centre, I have been involved in a variety of projects and activities, some of which I have already seen the fruits of my labour, albeit relatively small.<br />
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On my first day, I participated in a recycled glass bottle workshop at the local NGO Bay Islands Conservation Association (BICA) with the other volunteers from the Centre, including a large group of biology students visiting from the capital, Tegucigalpa. During this workshop, we used a metal wire similar to what you would find in your typical oven to heat and cut the base of the bottles, and made drinking glasses out of them. These glasses were sold to a popular bar in town called Tranquila and we’ve already been served with them!<br />
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Last week we spent a total of 4 hours walking through a mangrove monitoring site to label trees we would use to set the limits for the iguana research area. Some of my responsibilities at the Centre include helping to take care of the Swamper iguana, a species endemic to the island of Utila, and whose habitat is in the mangroves. During my time here, I will provide support to the new mangrove restoration project by visiting various monitoring sites to assess the state of the mangroves in the hopes of protecting this valuable ecosystem.<br />
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I am also involved in the environmental education project, leading an “arts and crafts” workshop using recycled materials to raise children’s awareness about our current environmental issues and the need to reduce our waste while using our creativity to turn “garbage” into something useful or decorative. For instance, we made brooms out of a plastic pop bottle cut into strips, pen holders using toilet paper rolls and animals out of plastic cups.<br />
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We’ve held two of these workshops and this Friday afternoon, in honour of Wetland Day last weekend, we made a mangrove mural with bottle caps, cloth from a T-shirt and aluminum paper. We intend to continue this tradition with the support of local organizations including the Whale Shark Ocean Research Centre and BICA. With the beginning of the school year already started, I will help give presentations within the next few weeks on environmental themes including ecology, anthropological impact on the environment and climate change.<br />
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I’ve already had the opportunity to see the less-explored parts of the island, including the freshwater caves. We walked an hour to and from the caves, and lit up our way inside with candles, where swimming in the refreshing clear water paid off our hard work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2d35knlfXZ23rDFO2GSefq9YQhOQjGCRgcyXRGpl7MChLMsqyEdba1y98vhzgUBvNWtreIde5ryQ8Myr22SpPV-bLQkoeZ40xlaR2-AnwmoW45ZtUrgeEZbQsWMPinmAh1lFCJc0mUNQ/s1600/noelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2d35knlfXZ23rDFO2GSefq9YQhOQjGCRgcyXRGpl7MChLMsqyEdba1y98vhzgUBvNWtreIde5ryQ8Myr22SpPV-bLQkoeZ40xlaR2-AnwmoW45ZtUrgeEZbQsWMPinmAh1lFCJc0mUNQ/s400/noelle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Within the next few weeks we hope to organize community events such as beach cleanups to raise awareness about the current waste management challenge and to get people feeling involved and contributing to making a difference.<br />
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I’ve been enjoying gaining hands-on experience in the environmental field and I look forward to seeing the rest of our projects through, learning from and contributing to them as much as I can.<br />
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-27302618118351668712013-02-15T05:41:00.000-08:002013-02-15T05:51:40.898-08:00Update from Anna in Honduras<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Buenos Dias from Honduras!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It has been a busy few months since we last spoke and we are just finishing up, continuing to manage and beginning new projects! Rainy season is coming to an end and the sun has been out full force, unfortunately a source of envy for our fellow Canadians still in hibernation back home. That being said, we have a full month ahead of us with visitors coming from all over the Americas to lend a hand and experience the beauty that is Salado Barra.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So far the garden has come in wonderfully - well except for the iguanas who have a particular fondness for carrots - there are trees, herbs, fruits and veggies a plenty! With the onset of the hot weather, I am hoping to test out our new solar dryer so as to make teas and seasoning for the community to sell at their new - drumroll and pause for emphasis - cafe! That is right ladies and gentlemen, a new cafe! Currently Mira and I have been drafting up a revised ecotourism management plan alongside Fallsbrook Center and our partner organization La Fundacion Cuero y Salado. While a management plan for the refuge already exists in theory, it's implementation in practice has faced considerable challenges. A lack of resources, transparency, supervision, cooperation and communication has led to the deterioration of management at various levels. As a result, we are hoping to start off fresh from the bottom up, working with different price points and micro enterprises in the community, including the jewelry group, the solar panel group, the tour guides and hospitality centres and the up and coming cafe. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Given our isolation, it has been quite a task getting everything ready for this month's grand opening. Sanding and varnishing tables and chairs, refitting the kitchen, securing windows, designing menu plans that are not dependent on electricity, hooking up new plumbing, sourcing food and material suppliers, organizing staffing... We certainty have had our work set out for us but it is exactly these hands on projects that provide the practical experience you can't get in school. After spending some time chatting with fellow intern Jessie Lyon who is visiting from Nicaragua, it has been really cool to see how much freedom we have had in designing our own projects. One of the many lessons learned during this start-up as well as during our whole time down South, has been how to take initiative and to self-direct. To recognize opportunities and to act on them rather than to wait for instruction. It has been an interesting experience training myself to think simultaneously at both the macro and micro scale, to push myself creatively and to plan both short and long term. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lv_WU11ZLBKEqBuxeB0yxXz7E4wbjL1hSdZ33_71ilUeF17TEh6ovDaUHj7qXPAdlwZaO7LZIqYcDUIoFL20CSCNcFka83FhdR0SWa0rIgChDMiX4WfjMMY-SALAzE59Z0mCDSRNCYY/s1600/image-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lv_WU11ZLBKEqBuxeB0yxXz7E4wbjL1hSdZ33_71ilUeF17TEh6ovDaUHj7qXPAdlwZaO7LZIqYcDUIoFL20CSCNcFka83FhdR0SWa0rIgChDMiX4WfjMMY-SALAzE59Z0mCDSRNCYY/s200/image-2.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kites flying from boats on the water!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsk11KNOZamXBiS6mTGCdzkrDXxjJr8g-5F_nfcMKtmyPPSWLNkgXUm7KaZqlM9M_ALByPBUDof36L2G6cH3FkTKAZPSTXgmmENL23sr1HACc6ZTl3Hd3Vrsd9sDUHgm3-Y2phxHQZZgk/s1600/image-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsk11KNOZamXBiS6mTGCdzkrDXxjJr8g-5F_nfcMKtmyPPSWLNkgXUm7KaZqlM9M_ALByPBUDof36L2G6cH3FkTKAZPSTXgmmENL23sr1HACc6ZTl3Hd3Vrsd9sDUHgm3-Y2phxHQZZgk/s320/image-1.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skilled kite handing...</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">On a different note, last weekend we celebrated 'Wetland Day' which consisted of different environmental education activities, canoe races and two very full piñatas! While Mira and Jessie maintained composure amidst a shower of chiclets, bonbons, dulces and gorditas, the 12 year old in me was set loose. Confetti in our hair, dirt under our nails, sandals thrown aside, candies stuffed in every which pocket, we came together as adults and children, men and women, Canadian and Honduran in a throng of screaming laughs, celebrating the many people, places and passions of our beautiful world. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hasta la proxima vez,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Anna </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfc74HEMhN75B6Me-dOZnhq0ebAdKynfKd6zM2Kdzs5acs5u8x5-G9GzdhrKa_of1w68zpzmXo1ACkyZ5dvk41Az5PfivPpDh7ZY8RLN-OYICirrFt8Mv8ToLRs2yFJ1KOzwm6nAoiGoo/s1600/image-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfc74HEMhN75B6Me-dOZnhq0ebAdKynfKd6zM2Kdzs5acs5u8x5-G9GzdhrKa_of1w68zpzmXo1ACkyZ5dvk41Az5PfivPpDh7ZY8RLN-OYICirrFt8Mv8ToLRs2yFJ1KOzwm6nAoiGoo/s320/image-3.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna, Mira and Noelle enjoy fresh coconut milk.</td></tr>
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-34591795536153599182013-02-11T06:32:00.002-08:002013-02-11T06:37:32.500-08:00More from Cavan in Costa Rica<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Six months have passed
since I arrived in Londres de Aguirre, Costa Rica. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Currently I am working on a number of small projects
including creating an internship program, researching questions about Analog
Forestry, updating the website and various outdoor activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of the projects, the research is the
one I find the most interesting because of the subject matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Questions relate to larger land
management ones like the following: How much land in a region should be
reserved as representative intact ecosystems?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can exotic plants fulfill the same ecological function as
native plants?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This week we had a
workshop on Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basically, PGS is a way of verifying compliance with a set
of standards, but instead of a third party certifier, it uses a peer review
process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The standards can be for
anything and are often determined by the parties being certified, for example,
organic certification in Peru or wild harvested products in India.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were three experts at the
workshop and a number of other people with experience implementing PGS in
Mexico and Costa Rica.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully
the IAFN will be able to work out some guidelines for implementing PGS with its
Forest Garden Products (FGP) standard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Cavan speaking with another participant from the Participatory Group Certification Workshop</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The weather has
finally switched into the dry season after a delayed start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means that the river is low enough
to swim in and that the days are mostly sunny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the sun is nice, it makes the days warmer than during
the rainy season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After this many
months of warm weather, it hardly seems possible that the temperature in Canada
only rises above the minimum temperature here for two months of the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tourism is also more active during the
dry season, which means that everyone is busier because so many people work in
the industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So with nice weather
and interesting work, all in all things are pretty peachy.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3531993173088296638" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8-m1yq6fBk4qW4MkGxwnzHaMhPWM0-ODREjejo00aC0_DqmC1A-T5ZgLfTApTOQi0j668wIG8AbCCXwgmE1eX77CRmxfRyCEgfVqIgwSt-TnxuySt8UKbwk_rzFTFFFqx0jB5aBppPI/s1600/P1010113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8-m1yq6fBk4qW4MkGxwnzHaMhPWM0-ODREjejo00aC0_DqmC1A-T5ZgLfTApTOQi0j668wIG8AbCCXwgmE1eX77CRmxfRyCEgfVqIgwSt-TnxuySt8UKbwk_rzFTFFFqx0jB5aBppPI/s400/P1010113.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">A view from Cerronara, a town about 3 hours from where I am based.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<!--EndFragment-->FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-16600085973365724832013-02-11T06:24:00.000-08:002013-02-11T06:24:17.842-08:00Update from Greg Lynch in Nicaragua
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<div class="MsoNormal">
With just one week in, it feels like I’ve gotten myself a
bit of a rhythm here. Certainly a rhythm much different than at FBC but a rhythm
nonetheless.</div>
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I flew into Managua on Saturday night and was happily
greeted by a Carlos, a cab driver sent by our friends at Casa Candiense. He
quickly whisked me out to the Casa to get a good night sleep and to meet
Carrolle who is working as the education coordinator there. She made me feel
very at home and after a short chat we crashed.</div>
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Since I was told Monday would be best to arrive I had a day
to explore Managua. Carrole took the time out of her day to drive her giant
truck through the swarming streets. I was pleased to see that Managua has
decorated for Christmas in the classic neon purple and pink I so associate with
childhood Christmases. I mustn’t forgot the three lane roundabouts with glowing
Christmas Trees and a statue of Jesus atop the world. The market, a delicious
meal in enormous chairs and my first day in Nicaragua was soon done.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday morning I was off to Sabana Grande. I spent most of
the day on the bus, though by far one of the more comfortable bus rides I’ve
taken in a while. By late in the afternoon I had arrived and found myself
sitting at a table at the Solar Restaurant with the Mujeres chatting excitedly
about all manner of things. It became very clear these women run the show and
know how things should be done. Once again I was soon steered in a new
direction. I was brought to the home of Adelina where I will be hosted for the
next month and a half.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Within just a few minutes of arriving I was fed and welcomed
into the family very warmly. Adelina whipped up a quick meal while her three
daughters chatted with me and explained the home. With my own room, mosquito
net, plenty of food, water and the pleasant soundscape of frogs, salamanders
and dogs singing me to sleep it didn’t seem like long until I was awakened by
chickens at my door.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another great meal in the morning and I was down the path to
the Centro Solar. Arriving, I soon met up with Ben and Jessie, interns from the
first and second intakes respectively. With no time lost I soon got to know how
things worked at the Centre and with the Mujeres. For my first day I joined the
two of them on their projects and lent a hand in any way I could.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Day one at work here in Sabana Grande was a little confusing
but certainly productive. Not one to hold back, I soon found myself standing on
an adobe roof passing a stove pipe down into the kitchen to newly improved
stove. Getting the stove up and running I was soon replacing the adobe shingles
and back on the ground in no time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since day one I’ve been spending my mornings working with
Maurito. Maurito maintains the gardens and does odd jobs for the solar
restaurant. For those of you that know me I do enjoy a good chat; spending time
with Maurito has given me plenty of practice at listening as well as chatting.
It’s great to work with someone who is happy to teach about most anything from
banana cultivation, the solar powered water system to Spanish grammar and the
history of the enourmous 500 year old ceiba tree down the road from my house.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So here I am enjoying the community. Helping out with any
project I can and learning a lot along the way. The women here are very
interested in beekeeping so I’m going to see if I can get them set and ready
before I go. <a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>The Nicaragua I am seeing now from Sabana
Grande is one of warm people, strong women,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gorgeous views and an endless amount to learn.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-57925108014691288332012-12-13T06:31:00.001-08:002012-12-13T06:50:00.019-08:00More from Adam and Elisa in Dominican- Biodiversity Restoration and Community Development Facilitators<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Time flies! Work is rolling, friendships are blossoming and
the beautiful vistas</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
are leaving us jaw dropped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And to think, in a couple of weeks we will have</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
completed half of our internship abroad! Adam and I are
realizing that the more we</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
weave ourselves into all kinds of projects, the harder it’s
going to be to leave</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
come March.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our approach so far has been to take advantage of any
opportunity that comes our</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
way which means our weeks are flurries of activities running
from meetings to</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
monitorings. These past months have been taken up by
planning the big “Dia de</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Campo” event which was a celebration of the reforestation
project so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
also tirelessly put together funding proposal to develop the
forest industry in</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Republic Dominican; while I spent a lot of time studying web
design and planning</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
workshops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A goal of
ours is to ensure the continuity of the website updating</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
after we leave. So we have been offering computer training
workshops to local</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
youth to teach them how to manage a website. In a couple of
months we hope to have</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
trained a team of youth that will have a good foundation in
web design and will be</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
able to promote their own region without relying on
temporary interns.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On top of our outlined work plan, we also have been doing a
lot of networking. One</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
of these partnerships is helping maintain communication
between the Water Resource</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
PeaceCorps volunteers and ENDA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both organizations have worked together in
the</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
past, so our role is to act as the intermediary to identify
opportunities for</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
collaboration in the upcoming projects. We are also
assisting the Incubedora de</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Micro Empresas- The Incubator for Micro Enterprises<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in Cotui<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>to develop a fruit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
processing plant in a nearby community and working on
various ecotourism ventures.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The concept of ecotourism is only starting to take off in
Dominican. A number of</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
tour operating companies, including Colinas EcoTours, are
actively working on</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
redefining<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tourism in
the country. For a country rich in biodiversity minus the</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
threat of any poisonous creatures; the time has come for the
Dominican tourism</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
industry to turn its focus on the interior. A bonus from
working in the ecotourism</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
sector is that we get to visit sites such as the Ruta del
Cacao, and the wetlands</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
near Haitillo lake! Some of these tourist destinations are
outcomes of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ENDA’s</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
forest management initiative so we are also promoting them
via the website. In</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
parallel to our information gathering for the website,
CATIE, the Centro</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="ES-HN" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-HN;">Agronómico
Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza – the Model Forest organization</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
based out of Costa
Rica, is putting a 20 year legacy
documentary together</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
highlighting all the Model Forest
work that has been going on around the world. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have had the fine privilege of accompanying the film
maker to interview</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
involved members for the Dominican portion of the
movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before the holidays start, we want to tie up loose ends and
wrap up projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
do look forward to some down time and getting to see more of
the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
also the highly anticipated the bachata legend, Frank Reyes,
whose concert next</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
door at the De Melissa Car Wash has been marked in our
calendar for weeks now!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s safe to say that yes in fact, we’ve caught the
Dominican Latin Fever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Saludos,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elisa & Adam</div>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFKzGAoFHaXG6HlfIBKpFbhAbWNInjYhJ4D9n2pKBdE9PiUzIiG16FNhhDYSuiyP3E-K7OgmRsuEBDAZOlnpBrZGzUyqOhBO71aJkch0Vv9Q3Q2owzlIxcBE7r5zJVXD8G434KwWSaDQ/s1600/IMG_2519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFKzGAoFHaXG6HlfIBKpFbhAbWNInjYhJ4D9n2pKBdE9PiUzIiG16FNhhDYSuiyP3E-K7OgmRsuEBDAZOlnpBrZGzUyqOhBO71aJkch0Vv9Q3Q2owzlIxcBE7r5zJVXD8G434KwWSaDQ/s320/IMG_2519.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Adam with his vegetation sampling partner.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GO3IpRMnmK5H0059vXV64swRStyeVWIhTaxSu9d7Bw7PDXzUQUEpSUu0rDR1Ds3J56P8byPR6Kk__95T3DlES6y7wxjWr7_TwbevBdGKAsFIqeD4KEvu3b1IbIjjx0F9FLaXKnapOC0/s1600/IMG_2873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GO3IpRMnmK5H0059vXV64swRStyeVWIhTaxSu9d7Bw7PDXzUQUEpSUu0rDR1Ds3J56P8byPR6Kk__95T3DlES6y7wxjWr7_TwbevBdGKAsFIqeD4KEvu3b1IbIjjx0F9FLaXKnapOC0/s320/IMG_2873.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><pre>Sr. Ferreira showing off healthy seedlings.</pre>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<pre>Tree nursery for reforestation project.</pre>
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<br />FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-38640893694966529492012-12-03T10:24:00.001-08:002012-12-03T10:24:14.601-08:00News from Salado Barra, Honduras – Mira Maude Chouinard, Biodiversity Restoration & Community Development Facilitator<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Quite a few things happened in Salado Barra since Anna last
wrote to you! It is now the rainy season, and the workers of Falls Brook Centre’s
local project – Proyecto Mangle – have been restoring and planting in the past
few weeks. All of the plants in our nurseries have to go into the ground before
the dry season begins! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While Anna works hard in the kitchen and medicinal gardens
with the hope of improving food security in the community, my individual work
consists of monitoring and reporting the advancements and changes in the
Biological Corridor (a project with the multinational Standard Fruit/Dole) and
ensuring the success of the solar panel business that members of the community
have started. Together, Anna and I teach English and Environmental Education
classes to kids in the community, and tackle the challenging task to revamp
Salado’s ecotourism management plan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A week ago, we were extremely lucky to have Dr. Ranil
Senanayake, a systems ecologist and founder of the Analog Forestry restoration
system, visiting us from Sri Lanka. Dr. Senanayake has been involved in this
project for a few years. His visit consisted of evaluating the progress of the
Biological Corridor, the demonstration and restoration sites. He also made sure
to collect epiphytes from El Cacao (where Falls Brook Centre holds other
projects), taught us how to put them back on trees to ensure their reproduction
and proliferation. Dr. Senanayake is an incredible source of information, and
gave us the honor to evaluate one of our analog forestry designs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Members of our project also held a reunion between workers
of Salado Barra, Omoa and El Cacao, with the intent to share, learn and
evaluate each project’s successes, challenges and lessons learned. Anna and I
were pleased to see Brittany, the Falls Brook Centre intern working in Omoa,
and to learn from her project. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a leisurely note, we celebrated the Proyecto Mangle’s one
year anniversary this past Friday. We played games, organized a talent show,
and were treated to a real feast composed of a freshly bought and killed pig,
rice and beans, yuca, tortillas, and chimol. Community members danced until the
wee hours of the morning, celebrating one year of hard restoration work! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Que le vaya bien, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mira + Anna</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Mira loving the jungle</div>
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Environmental Education with some of the kids</div>
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Beautiful mangroves</div>
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-64348106495889974132012-12-03T10:15:00.000-08:002012-12-03T10:15:00.299-08:00Brittany MacGillivray - Community Development Facilitator in Honduras<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">After a long day of traveling,
I arrived late in the day Sunday to San
Pedro Sula, Honduras
on October 14th. I was promptly greeted by a smiling and helpful compañero, who
much like myself was eager to get out of the busy, loud, and smelly city, and
head to the coast. Jumping right into things the next morning, most of my first
week was spent being oriented to the office and all of the people involved with
the project. Much to my devastation however, when you drive into the Barras
communities along the beach, you are shown a reality that exist here that is a
major problem: the garbage! Due to the ocean currents and the geography of the
coast, garbage is constantly being washed up onto the, what would otherwise be
beautiful beaches. As is indicated in the picture, one of the many problems
that exist with this is the sanitary nature of the things (i.e., the discarded
medical jar) that sit on the shores where people are living, where food is
caught, and where children are playing. Roger assures me that in January we
will attempt to clean some of this garbage up, and hopefully start a trend
where beach clean-up becomes a regular occurrence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Week two and three for me were
spent in Copan Ruinas at a Spanish language school, which was a helpful and
necessary venture. Following my language training, the first work day back in
Cuyamel, another reality sets in: we are faced with a lot of hardships here
before the restoration work can even begin. Specifically, due to the rain the
night before, the office had been flooded, and soon after discovering this, the
electricity went out for the remainder of the day due to a tree falling onto a
power line several kilometers up the road. This will continue to be a constant
battle for us throughout the next couple of months while rainy season is upon
us. </span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Throughout the weeks to follow,
many of the same problems were faced again, with issues regarding electricity,
but more so with the rain. The road to the Barras gets washed out, which prevents
us from getting into the communities and conducting our restoration work.
Finally, toward the end of week five we were able to get into the communities.
Thursday and Friday we had visitors from other projects in Honduras with
us to help conduct a workshop with some of the women from Barra Motagua, and to
begin an initiative regarding the exchanging of knowledge between projects. A
local artist showed everyone how to make jewelry and other useful things, such
as long-lasting candles and purses out of the garbage that they have on the
beach. Teaching these skills to the members of the community is useful because
it gives them the opportunity to participate in their own economic venture,
making and selling the things that they are able to produce from the trash that
cost them nothing to acquire and use. </span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">The following week, I spent a
day being introduced to the nursery that is being constructed in Cuyamel. It
will be largely beneficial to the project to have the nursery in town, close to
the office to help increase the protection and care of the juvenile plants,
along with the already established nurseries at the schools in the two
communities. The next day was a long day spent making our way into Cuero y
Salado on a knowledge-exchange venture with the project in Barra Salado. The sharing
of knowledge is a beneficial opportunity for our project, as it is not as well
established as the project in Cuero y Salado. Specifically, it will aid us in
our initiatives by allowing us to observe the progress and successes made in a
similar project. These methods can then be implemented here, allowing us to
further help those who live in these vulnerable Barra communities, and to
further protect and restore the environment that exists there as well. On our
drive back to Cuyamel we also stopped to visit the mangrove restoration project
in Cacao, spending some time there being shown some of their ideas and efforts,
as well as getting to see their very large, very diverse nursery. </span></div>
<div class="Default">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Hopefully over the next couple
of weeks the rain will allow us to get back into the communities so we can
spend time applying our new knowledge, getting some trees into the ground, and
doing some monitoring of the restoration sites. </span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ansi-language: ES-HN;">Por ahora, eso es todo de Cuyamel. </span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Hasta pronto, </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Brittany</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-9601178449582049342012-11-26T10:32:00.001-08:002012-11-26T10:35:33.930-08:00Jessie Lyon - Appropriate Technology Technician in Nicaragua<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I write you from La Casita Solar, the restaurant of
the Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa. The dining room is spacious and breezy, and
in the kitchen Doña Adelina squeezes fresh oranges for lunchtime. Mauro, the
only man of this twenty person cooperative, hoes the vegetable garden beside
the restaurant. Nimia, the cooperative’s administrator, hosts a meeting in the
gazebo by my table. This is where I work and this is who I work for.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I
arrived in Sabana Grande after two weeks of Spanish immersion in El Lagartillo,
a thirty-family community southwest of here. Four hours of Spanish grammar
everyday quickly gave me the skeleton for a new language. Soon I was squawking
away with my teacher Rosa, and the other students at the school. El Lagartillo
is an exceptional place, grinning with pride for their school, a solar-powered
library, a children’s drama program, stunning landscapes, a strong socialist
history and their community band, Los Rusticos.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Five
hours across the rural Nicaraguan badlands took me and my backpack to the side
of the Pan-American highway. After great
confusion I found Sabana Grande and my host family and new roommates, a
grandmother and her two grandchildren. I fit so comfortably in this girly
house, and before I knew it I had a rhythm to my days and a whole new life.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Working
for the cooperative takes the schedule and pace of typical Nicaragua—relaxed,
calm yet meaningful and demanding. I contribute half my time to current
projects started by the Mujeres and their partner NGO Grupo Fenix, and the other
half to my own initiatives. With fellow intern Benjamin Pedro, I build and
install bottle lights and work to improve <i>los fogones mejorados</i>, a
project in which three solar women sell wood-efficient stoves. Last week I
helped a group of students install a solar system in a local house and built a
solar cooker with Reina and Rumalda, two members of the cooperative’s
construction committee. I am in the process of putting pictures and biographies
of each member on their website, and organizing English and music classes for
kids during their Christmas holiday in December and January. Today I prepared
plans and rootings for a medicinal herb garden. My favourite project promotes
local micro-enterprises for a youth group here. I am applying for a small grant
to start a bicycle rental company for volunteers and tourists. Entering the
world of funding has been an incredible and inspiring challenge.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So, life is grand, and I feel exceptionally lucky to
be a Falls Brook intern. Between work days, my friends and I travel to canyons,
waterfalls and beaches. We snack on fresh guava fruits and tiny bananas. We
follow the ups and downs of Sabana Grande’s baseball team. Nicaragua remains
generous and warm. I am so looking forward to what is to unfold in the chapters
ahead.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eoOUllALTaVGJp5M_D3DUF358O-kfNvUJPW9b2qxUsqhzRgwZxFjcHAIJkWH5K0NDijiYwTzHQOgjwjOOcIkCxo6pCY4ZdDbbzUPYy2ezbxnK4ORmXptZFf0Nyw9soyFeuu09kd3pcQ/s1600/Romalda.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eoOUllALTaVGJp5M_D3DUF358O-kfNvUJPW9b2qxUsqhzRgwZxFjcHAIJkWH5K0NDijiYwTzHQOgjwjOOcIkCxo6pCY4ZdDbbzUPYy2ezbxnK4ORmXptZFf0Nyw9soyFeuu09kd3pcQ/s320/Romalda.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><pre><span style="color: maroon;">Romalda drills the frame for a solar cooker. </span></pre>
<pre><span style="color: maroon;"> </span></pre>
<pre><span style="color: maroon;"> </span></pre>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFnX401pkGDxlrMKbdXOSWdcg1sL1t320KUKuLT8S0f3_KNsqn3NkXBJf7Riy-8SyymXUuKYued44Zii-qTJ4XMpsyXtrG7zydn78ZQAJ5gfosOkrdoh2WO24sN7MY23virxfwBAM4nE/s1600/PB210121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxFnX401pkGDxlrMKbdXOSWdcg1sL1t320KUKuLT8S0f3_KNsqn3NkXBJf7Riy-8SyymXUuKYued44Zii-qTJ4XMpsyXtrG7zydn78ZQAJ5gfosOkrdoh2WO24sN7MY23virxfwBAM4nE/s320/PB210121.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><pre><span style="color: maroon;">Jessie helps Grupo Fenix volunteer Alex, improve his design for a new solar
cooker.</span></pre>
<pre><span style="color: maroon;"> </span><span style="color: maroon;"> </span></pre>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPW8Yjh_OPZWshZaMNUXKT6kfyC4wSQDZBqdbpd6FY-b8rmpNsihy6ibzlxlTZ0S9gsfyj01lWZEXffET7yd__lgFxHSkWKWgNHM7HDOUbU97Kf0QXeP9S-ZgDMbHyKlFlRlFwQyxq8qg/s1600/PB071630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPW8Yjh_OPZWshZaMNUXKT6kfyC4wSQDZBqdbpd6FY-b8rmpNsihy6ibzlxlTZ0S9gsfyj01lWZEXffET7yd__lgFxHSkWKWgNHM7HDOUbU97Kf0QXeP9S-ZgDMbHyKlFlRlFwQyxq8qg/s320/PB071630.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><pre><span style="color: maroon;">Ben, Jessie and workshop attendees install a solar system into a local home.</span></pre>
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-74299474475982199042012-11-26T07:22:00.001-08:002012-11-26T10:03:31.129-08:00Update from Chelsea Scheske - Organic Agriculture Facilitator in Cuba¡Saludos desde
Cuba!<br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I arrived in Pinar del
Río a month ago and already I’ve seen, done, and learned so much. In a typical
week, Lina and I spend two days working in the office on tasks like data
analysis for the diagnostic we’ve been doing for the project. During the
remaining three days, we bike out to the farms and work with our farmers. I love that
we have the freedom to pedal around the Cuban countryside, it’s a great balance
for those days spent with our heads down in the office. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Lina and I have been
hard at work implementing a medicinal plant project with the support of Professor
Suarez from the University of Pinar del Río, Cuba. This project is part of a
larger program under the banner of PIAL (</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Programa de Innovación Agropecuaria Local</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">). The mission of this program is, in summary,
to foster decentralized decision making in order to incorporate farmer knowledge and
experience into agricultural innovation. As most of you probably know,
decentralized decision making is a huge part of food sovereignty, so as a food
sovereignty enthusiast this is an AWESOME program for me to be a part of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s really been great to have Lina here with
me. As she’s done her masters and will soon be doing her Ph. D on Cuban
agriculture. She’s accumulated a LOT of knowledge on the subject. Cuban
agriculture is organized much differently than Canadian agriculture, and with
its numerous different cooperative structures it can seem a bit complicated at
first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Believe me, I’m taking full
advantage of her conocimientos!</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Right now we’re
working with several local farmers to develop medicinal plant propagation on
their farms. This is pretty cool: in Cuba, every province has a specific farm
dedicated to the production of medicinal plants. </span><span lang="ES">Here it’s
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Finca de Plantas Medicinales de Pinar
del Río. </i></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">This farm
supplies medicinal plants to the provincial medicinal plant factory</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, which in turn processes the plants for
distribution among the population. This includes isolating the medicinal
element and expressing it in forms like tinctures, pills, ointments, etc. The
project we’re working on is in place to help supply the provincial medicinal
plant factory with certain plants that are in high demand, and are not being
supplied in great enough quantities by the provincial medicinal plant farm. I
think it’s so interesting that Cuba has a whole sector dedicated to the
production and distribution of medicinal plants. It’s cheaper than producing
pharmaceuticals, many would say healthier, and it’s helping to keep traditional
medicinal knowledge alive. I’ve learned so much about “traditional medicines”
since arriving. In contrast to Canada,
the majority of the Cubans I’ve met have at least some kind of knowledge of
medicinal plants, and most grow them in their houses. It’s pretty inspiring. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Working in Cuba is
much different than working in Canada. Because of the difficulty in getting certain
supplies, sometimes it takes a LOT of creativity to get simple tasks done. But
the people here have responded to the challenge. It’s seriously amazing to see
what kinds of innovations these farmers have come up with! Along with them I’m
being forced to “think outside the box”, and in terms of personal development
it’s been great for my problem solving skills. For example: Need to cut the
grass? Here’s a machete! Need a toothpick? Use this machete! Want a haircut?
Machete! You get the idea. By the time I’m done this internship I’ll be able to
use a machete for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">absolutely everything</i>,
including shaving my legs. It’s going on my CV, count on it. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Not only are we able
to work with local farmers and medicinal plants, we’re using Permaculture and
Analogue Forestry principles on all the farms! For example, on Tony’s farm
we’re implementing a permaculture design based on medicinal plants to
demonstrate the benefits of using permaculture principles to grow medicinals,
which are notoriously sensitive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re
using mostly tires and rocks, which Cuba has in abundance, to make things like
raised beds, mandalas, and herb-spirals. We think it looks pretty great (check
out the picture!). Tony is a Boccachi expert, and also an avid
“lombriculturalist” (worm-culturist)… so yeah, we get along! Lina and I are
also trying a “mini-lombricultura” bin in our place with the worms they use in
Cuba (California Reds). We’ve had to be creative about finding supplies and
constructing the bin, but so far it’s been a success, although the dueños of
the casa where we’re staying aren’t quite sure what to make of it… they’ll come
around! Lombricultura is mostly used here to process manure in large quantities
for application as fertilizer in agriculture. Composting and recycling food waste
are not popular, so if we can get this vermi-compost system working with the
California Reds we’re thinking about creating a workshop to give at the farms
or in the schools. You know… changing the world, one worm at a time! I’ll keep
you posted.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Tony and Chelsea with the finished Mandala design. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">On Sely’s farm
(another farmer in our project) we explained the benefits of sowing with the
contours as opposed to down the slope and put our mad A-Frame skills into
practice, mapping out the contours on a particular field with a very steep
gradient. He planted his tobacco y frijoles there last week using this
technique, and we’re hoping he’ll see an improvement in his yields. We’re also
using the living fence concept in this field as another way to reduce erosion
and run off of nutrients, soil and water. As well, we’re in the process of
designing an Analogue Forestry Corridor on his farm using medicinal plants,
fruit trees, forage, and root crops. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I could go on, but
I’ve got to save something for next time! In summary, I’ve so far had the
opportunity to meet and work with some amazing people who have already taught
me so much about organic agriculture, creativity, and resilience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m looking forward to 4.5 more months of it!
So I bid you adios. Learn lots and have fun! And of course, toil hard.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Nos vemos,</span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Chelsea</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48Rbeb5qVfPvpabMLOhykMdTKaw8wiIeT-qEch1Q9ugDhAFMixT9OrwyDdtTKoWVOnHu1x-FrDkDa4IMile_PIe7iZtv79bQQ9vjzhdVJweNUbb-5lJ893NgP6JMmojq3DvUVLn972jY/s1600/lina_tires.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48Rbeb5qVfPvpabMLOhykMdTKaw8wiIeT-qEch1Q9ugDhAFMixT9OrwyDdtTKoWVOnHu1x-FrDkDa4IMile_PIe7iZtv79bQQ9vjzhdVJweNUbb-5lJ893NgP6JMmojq3DvUVLn972jY/s320/lina_tires.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><pre>Cutting tires to be used to make raised beds in permaculture design.</pre>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><pre>Frame built using farm resources, and used to measure slope to facilitate contour
plowing. </pre>
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-60255197235306238062012-11-26T06:35:00.002-08:002012-11-26T07:31:21.140-08:00Russell Vinegar - Biodiversity Restoration Facilitator in Costa Rica<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px;">A month into my time here at International Analog Forestry Network HQ in Londres, Costa Rica, and the internship is going well. The IAFN secretariat is not directed to work in the community, but rather to help coordinate, support, and share information between analog forestry efforts worldwide, and that is what most of my time has been spent working on, via the wonders of technology. Nevertheless, we’ve been putting effort into developing positive relationships with the people here and hope that Londres can grow as a nucleus of AF activity, which means we’ve also been ‘washing our hands in the soil’ on a regular basis.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px;">Our office location here is relatively new, so we are still getting some key elements in place. We built a swank compost shed, and have been gradually working away at a nursery (for plants, though there are plenty of babies in town), placing posts, putting in support cables, tensioning it all up, flattening the beds, fixing the shade cloth, and now stocking it up with plants. It hasn’t quite been an exercise in natural building, as we have been working with concrete supports, metal posts, and plastic shade cloth, but hopefully we have created a more permanent and <i>impressive </i>structure than bamboo and palms would have afford us. It is intended to serve as a communal nursery to support increasing the number and diversity of trees in the community, filling public spaces, home gardens, farms and fincas. We are lined up to design some of the landscaping for the high school once it moves to its new site, and I have started the communication ball rolling to get the staff and students involved in the process. At a meeting at the elementary school this morning I found many eager collaborators do outdoor environmental education! They have a lot of great stuff going on there already (veggie garden, hydroponics, young fruit trees, budding butterfly garden, awesome murals) which I am eager to learn more about. I am doing my best to keep collaboration and continuity in mind as we go.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">After a good sweat outside in the morning, I have taken to jotting over to the stream where some fallen trees have made a pleasant waist deep swimming hole. Laying back in the water, I do my best to relax and stay calm, but can’t help but constantly anticipating the nibbles of fish. Gazing up, a huge dead tree stands leafless overhead and reminds me of winter and Canada and senescence in the fondest of ways. Rain usually begins trickling about this time and so I hustle back to the office for lunch.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Carrying on with work inside in the afternoon, a few projects have been on the go. We are preparing the structure for a huge plant database we will be hosting online to serve as a resource for designers, somewhat along the lines of <a href="http://pfaf.org/user/default.aspx">Plants for a Future</a> but inclusive of the tropics and tailored for easy AF application. At this point it is more of a head scratching, detail fixin task, but the grunt work of entering the data lies ahead. Updating Wikipedia pages, and assorted website and translation work round out the gig. Research I’ve done into carbon markets, accounting, and ecosystem service payment for some potential projects has been mostly puzzling and disconcerting, but is relevant given the rapidly growing forest carbon sector. That’s all for now.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DUieY5rEX0G81hNmrODS1YOW98TkaA5iBSEoW6dW-PbbLSQaRCpv54NkOmxzvR3rWZcjh0fV9g8NK5T_DA5kayWwkVKC9DTljzYjXmVrG15ZZB7W75Dfkcmy9om9uzycHpLIiB7VYFQ/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0DUieY5rEX0G81hNmrODS1YOW98TkaA5iBSEoW6dW-PbbLSQaRCpv54NkOmxzvR3rWZcjh0fV9g8NK5T_DA5kayWwkVKC9DTljzYjXmVrG15ZZB7W75Dfkcmy9om9uzycHpLIiB7VYFQ/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: maroon;">Nursery and growing plant collection - what up!?</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrr2HTOjU_vHSwa16Filmqwc12wDcW4VQ9jcLUERU9xGpfGm7zZxHqxZClPie4gAVADsm-rOaXAOejGFDT4-Nu74rP50xwnLM-TrCfH4TPKN2WOE2SKrpaBYJT3g3nLTyVcoUXoeG9OI/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrr2HTOjU_vHSwa16Filmqwc12wDcW4VQ9jcLUERU9xGpfGm7zZxHqxZClPie4gAVADsm-rOaXAOejGFDT4-Nu74rP50xwnLM-TrCfH4TPKN2WOE2SKrpaBYJT3g3nLTyVcoUXoeG9OI/s320/2.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: maroon;">A snippet of Milo's land, AF in action.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr align="center"><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWY2qZpAf1UB8nKJ1WMwGzMyw-pspt1l1tplccBGft_s2Y63HzQqQNEPTUb5pTsoNCzqpfWCP4jSxxrLvru4qHz5tBq5-ZS7Vd6ruyqqLKbQDB16n7iwbRNXZfiCNSJj5HQWaVQwUB9ek/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWY2qZpAf1UB8nKJ1WMwGzMyw-pspt1l1tplccBGft_s2Y63HzQqQNEPTUb5pTsoNCzqpfWCP4jSxxrLvru4qHz5tBq5-ZS7Vd6ruyqqLKbQDB16n7iwbRNXZfiCNSJj5HQWaVQwUB9ek/s320/3.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="color: maroon;">Suriname cherries - just another roadside attraction.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: maroon;"> </span></div>
FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-51378563602632220102012-11-16T06:32:00.000-08:002012-12-07T06:23:15.797-08:00Update from Anna Hushlak in Honduras<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It is 4:45 in the morning, still
dark out and the sun is just beginning to creep up over Pico Bonito. The ocean
is a steady rolling roar and as I reach out my arms to stretch, I can hear the
Howler monkeys out the window doing the same. So begins another day in
paradise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Mira and I are working alongside
the Fundación Cuero y Salado (FUCSA) where we live in the Refugio de Vida
Silvestre. While our days may begin with a quiet – well noisy if you consider
the toucans outside – wake up, they are filled with a healthy bustle of
projects and to-dos. So far, I’ve had my hands full with mangrove restoration,
seed collection, gathering local knowledge on medicinal plants, sourcing out
herbs for planting a demonstrative medicinal garden, employing the philosophies
of permaculture to kitchen gardens, juggling environmental education and
English classes, and of course making sure Sundays are dedicated to cheering on
Salado’s soccer team (and by cheering I mean eating Eda’s pasteles).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The projects in Salado are especially
interesting given the community’s historic, cultural, and economic diversity.
Formerly owned by Standard Fruit (now Dole) the surrounding area is being transformed
from coconut monoculture to a biological corridor based on the principals of
Analog Forestry. As the sun comes up, Mira is already out in the fields working
hard, taking measurements, mapping, digging holes, and planting a mix of fruit
trees. The legacy of agriculture in the area also drew in various different
communities, leaving Salado home to a mix of Garífuna and Latino cultures.
Given the isolation of the reserve – a bumpy hour and a half chicken bus ride
from La Ceiba, followed by a grumbling 15 minute mototaxi, and ending with a 45
minute ‘train’ ride into the reserve – the community faces substantial economic
development challenges. Still, within the community, Doña Irma and Doña Fatima
offer tasty lunches of balleadas and fried fish, little pulperías sell eggs and
juice, Jairo busily carves jewelry in the joyería, Martiza and Indio put
together solar panels and the fishermen head out every morning in their wooden
Cayucos. </div>
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Upon our arrival, we were treated
to an amazing ride up the mangroves into ‘Monkey Channel’ where we shared a
tree of viscoyol fruit with a white faced monkey. We then headed back down the
estuary and out to sea where we watched the sun set while rocking on the
Caribbean. The community has been wonderfully welcoming and have invited us
into their gardens and homes, taught us how to make tortillas (shaping them
didn’t go so well), showing us how to properly place a fishing hook through the
eyes of a fish, and a few of the young girls have even given me lessons on
properly combing and pulling back my hair. Looking forward to the month to
come, we are getting ready to host the community parcela kitchen garden
competition, work with FUCSA to train local guides for improved eco-tourism,
and of course eager to welcom Dr. Ranil Senanayake later this month. Enough for
now, time to get back to work!</div>
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Que le vaya bien!</div>
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Anna + Mira<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRkbm77HYb8S4D3yhy5f5trUvU225l9BnRV8qxHhPnFWI756TKgnclniqgnVRwZxbdaavzAANizxzUYBQiidREPqtQ9WAMwJkVF-HQ5EWGT-OExq0_eUutMD2Q3V7cal5rznMr1k4tro/s1600/Cayucos.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRkbm77HYb8S4D3yhy5f5trUvU225l9BnRV8qxHhPnFWI756TKgnclniqgnVRwZxbdaavzAANizxzUYBQiidREPqtQ9WAMwJkVF-HQ5EWGT-OExq0_eUutMD2Q3V7cal5rznMr1k4tro/s320/Cayucos.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkAcOlihk9pUNmVQjl9EPnnvbX1pE8cUVord71v5eig7ECqE9odEhLtKoTfmvUm701OZOYT6k-HY8rfTMgWiMJ9VUh5ldTDlLeAe6Z16VjtdL3ju7SwegjvyWb0qEeI9aoCpfeHDgS-Q/s1600/Ladies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkAcOlihk9pUNmVQjl9EPnnvbX1pE8cUVord71v5eig7ECqE9odEhLtKoTfmvUm701OZOYT6k-HY8rfTMgWiMJ9VUh5ldTDlLeAe6Z16VjtdL3ju7SwegjvyWb0qEeI9aoCpfeHDgS-Q/s320/Ladies.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-38593348985626783512012-11-05T10:55:00.001-08:002012-11-05T11:02:10.482-08:00Update from Adam Dickinson & Elisa Bernier from Dominican Republic<div class="ecx">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1945050184" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPotzc3KBTBH7bub4z1x2zkTYLEI_RWVAHNOm4KBtbZJ9RilhWaXTigkOIWJEUVIQyrgTK4CQtxmtnUPmvKxkOTBAqOf7fpZqoM3sBozbI1USTtCPwtzaWFhAXAnLyC4y5ZwGSPH_ElM/s200/Adam+&+Elisa+Logo.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.endadom.org.do/">http://www.endadom.org.do/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-CA">Well, it’s been a little over three weeks
since we landed in the Dominican Republic, and plenty has been happening! Here
in the Dominican Republic, we’re working for an organization called
ENDA-Dominicana (ENDA stands for Environment and Development Action, and is an
international NGO based out of Senegal). After landing in the country, we spent
the first couple of days reviewing the documentation of the projects to get a
better sense of what we would like to do. There was a lot to go through, and it
still feels like there are tons to learn. ENDA-Dom has been active in
environmental and community development projects for over thirty years, so it’s
no surprise that only a handful of people are aware of the full scope of their
involvement throughout Dominican Republic. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="ecx">
<span lang="EN-CA">We also spent a good portion of the first
two weeks figuring out our living situation. Since our internships are based
around the town of Cotuí, we’re primarily living at the apartment that our
director rents there. The apartment, we should add, is a palace compared to our
modest digs at Falls Brook. It is huge, has all the amenities one could want,
and is in a brand new building. It is also right next to one of the most
happening nightclubs in Cotuí, the De Melissa Car Wash – so named because it
is, in fact, a car wash during the day. Many nightspots are similarly
repurposed during the work day, which helps to explain why a town of 17 000
people has three massive car washing establishments. Multi-functional landscape
elements: THIS is permaculture. We’re also renting a (far more humble) room in
Santo Domingo because our work requires us to spend a day or two every week in
the capital at ENDA’s main office. The lady of the house has rented to interns
before, so she knows what to expect from us. </span><br />
<br />
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div class="ecx">
<span lang="EN-CA">The main ENDA project that we’re working
with is both super interesting, and very controversial. ENDA has partnered with
a large Canadian mining company, Barrick Gold, to carry out a reforestation and
community development project in the area around the Barrick mine, near Cotuí.
The project itself is pretty extensive, as the area stretches from the Pueblo
Viejo mine all the way to Los Haitises National Park, on the eastern coast. The
idea is to encourage landowners to plant trees on their land for the purpose of
either having managed woodlots or agroforestry systems. This would allow people
to obtain an economic yield from the trees they plant, either from timber
harvesting or the sale of fruits such as cocoa, plantain, or citrus. Naturally,
since the major corporate partner is a giant mining company, controversy has
followed – there are protests against the mine every so often, and we’ve been
told to keep a low profile when those occur.</span><span lang="EN-CA"> We’ve also been shown around some of the
other ENDA projects in the area – they’ve been supporting a bunch of small
woodworking businesses and sawmills, with the goal of increasing local
production. While the Dominican Republic has incredible forest resources and an
advanced management system, it still imports something like 90% of its lumber
because the local industry has not been able to match demand. Many of the
difficulties that local industries face is due to the extremely stringent laws
surrounding the right to cut down trees for lumber, which have been in place
for over 50 years, since the Trujillo dictatorship. Ironically, the result of
these environmental protection laws is that lumber is imported from countries
that suffer from overharvesting, such as Honduras and Brazil. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA"> </span></div>
<div class="ecx">
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div class="ecx">
<span lang="EN-CA">Over the last week or so, we’ve been
figuring out where we interns fit into all of this. Our boss in Santo Domingo
has urged us to get to work on spreading the word about the project, since
there has not been a lot of publicity since the planting started last year, and
the project staff have not had time to publicize their results. In addition to
the promotion/website work, we’ve been accompanying the technical staff of the
project into the field to help with surveys and follow-up with project
partners. These visits allow us to interview involved members in order to
improve dialogue between stakeholders and gather information to relay results
publicly. We’re also realizing there are lot of opportunities for collaboration
through the network of interns in the area who are working on similar
projects. To make sure our outreach
efforts continue after we leave in March, we are working on youth capacity
building programs to teach them how to carry on with website updating and project
promotion. </span><br />
<br />
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div class="ecx">
<span lang="EN-CA">And that’s not all! We’ve also been meeting
amazing people. Our co-workers in the Cotuí and Santo Domingo offices have been
amazing friends and supports over the last weeks. We had two very memorable
couchsurfing experiences with wonderful, generous hosts while we were finding
places to stay and becoming acquainted with the Dominican life. The project
partners that we have met in the villages around Cotuí have been incredible and
welcomed us into their homes from the beginning. We’ve also met some
international interns from Canada and Korea, and have heard of others from
Japan and the United States in the area. All in all, I think we’re in for a really
wonderful few months!</span></div>
<div class="ecx">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisi9R7U6WvsSB6kqjcyCE4SK2gQJmKdVcam5m2sGruwgMtOqZ9l74STej8q9VAIJLTwD3AThqIrj0mep_ygR5oQa1X9-Q_15Of6QrT4jlT9dNZ2ERAGAj8eMLhgHXqipxCD1lPIxrYmoI/s1600/Adam+&+Elisa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisi9R7U6WvsSB6kqjcyCE4SK2gQJmKdVcam5m2sGruwgMtOqZ9l74STej8q9VAIJLTwD3AThqIrj0mep_ygR5oQa1X9-Q_15Of6QrT4jlT9dNZ2ERAGAj8eMLhgHXqipxCD1lPIxrYmoI/s320/Adam+&+Elisa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-36567247368021201702012-11-05T10:14:00.000-08:002012-11-05T10:14:43.543-08:00Naomi Krucker – Organic Agriculture Facilitator in Mexico
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After about 2 months in Mexico the fruits of my labour are really
starting to blossom! Upon arriving in Mexico I was put in charge of a preexisting
‘garden’ that had been let go. ‘Let go’ was a bit of an understatement, however
the jungle I had been gifted is now a lush Garden of Eden, full of a variety of
different fruits and vegetables. Conquering the many obstacles along the way
has made the fruit we are now enjoying even more delicious!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzvAP0cgce8SzloULWtO8Nfi2Z1VUwVJZW3IK6yh0keUPLY4fXR5Laj_KIn-Cc_zk-dkKcORI_ra7JIPdo-Bc6Ms2Q-AmjnF1jPj1MENbw1Re1OhnNH3G53p62j20J5mxkn3rDPFYRkw/s1600/kibbutz+community.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzvAP0cgce8SzloULWtO8Nfi2Z1VUwVJZW3IK6yh0keUPLY4fXR5Laj_KIn-Cc_zk-dkKcORI_ra7JIPdo-Bc6Ms2Q-AmjnF1jPj1MENbw1Re1OhnNH3G53p62j20J5mxkn3rDPFYRkw/s320/kibbutz+community.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The community I am part of is called the Kibbutz, located
near the town of Queretaro. We are aiming to be a sustainable community and a
big part of that is growing all our own food. This is the first time they are
growing organically here, so this process is very new for the community and
sometimes challenging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Climate
differences, compost, and insects are some of the challenges I have been
battling over the last 2 months, but I think I am coming out on top! I work
right now with one other member of the community in the gardens, but have begun
promoting an internship/ volunteer program here. I should mention the Kibbutz
is also a religious space that host events, and welcome volunteers from all
over the world to be a part of the community. The 30 hectares is covered in
beautiful fields, architecture, and orchards of all the fruits you can think
of. I feel very privileged to be a part of this ‘utopia’, as we call it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoupK9QzzDVRi6J7bnoM1jeV3COp5v4vQ6zI37EP7xhwlo2BlgOVLH4s0Zp8j708jLxFM3JFOXxNx5iLxZhvaLFyeJJWHB5ZMoOnY-T50MRtfuQJFJTnlR1Ywx_tcWNAPLLdsLUGv72a4/s1600/club+agricola!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoupK9QzzDVRi6J7bnoM1jeV3COp5v4vQ6zI37EP7xhwlo2BlgOVLH4s0Zp8j708jLxFM3JFOXxNx5iLxZhvaLFyeJJWHB5ZMoOnY-T50MRtfuQJFJTnlR1Ywx_tcWNAPLLdsLUGv72a4/s320/club+agricola!.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My main goals here are: 1) grow enough food to sustain the
community and visitors 2) Also grow enough food for 25 other families a month
that will receive baskets of vegetable, this project is called ‘Club Agricola’
3) Host a series of workshops centered around agriculture (chicken raising,
organic pest management, permaculture,… and more to come!) 4) Eventually sell
produce at an organic market in a nearby city .</div>
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More recently I have become involved in the promotion of
volunteers with the emphasis on growing organic food. I would like to take
interested students under my wing as interns for the remainder of my time here
to have them grow and learn to farm organically! I have also been putting a lot
of the permaculture skills I developed at FBC into practise here at the
Kibbutz! I think an intern/ volunteer program focused on the gardens is a good
way to ensure that the gardens continue after my time here is done.</div>
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Apart from work, I have made some incredible friends who
have made it their job to expose me to every Mexican thing they possibly can. I
have already travelled to many different cities, participated in some wild
traditions and holidays, and eaten some things I didn’t even know could exist.
I very much feel like a part of the community I live in and can’t imagine
leaving in a few months!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnPGdXnfaDzR_VHVtbF4_StnMwND2tC5XLGotPcxnT99NhStKDSgdHFoeWlACKlXT6Ii_g6_HZ2pz3eR9CMY6WobakM-4slVpjrlu1nnCOlabpLKeOA7WelCu2hgWl7j3Lh_MYTnn0mI/s1600/Torrito.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnPGdXnfaDzR_VHVtbF4_StnMwND2tC5XLGotPcxnT99NhStKDSgdHFoeWlACKlXT6Ii_g6_HZ2pz3eR9CMY6WobakM-4slVpjrlu1nnCOlabpLKeOA7WelCu2hgWl7j3Lh_MYTnn0mI/s320/Torrito.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-88090771823135931732012-10-10T08:00:00.003-07:002012-10-10T08:03:05.100-07:00Ian Thompson - Environmental Educator in Honduras<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-N5PpL14ij1cLQ_mPDbrpldgQUkhHMdf0urd3V2Zl5N2zvSYI-Fws5B4gt54wmmXgSa9jlh8_9IdaPWRFTnuEXDEWSwZvLtPt8zPXwz4Rck2_KwmKiR4HpVgy98yXyFnlwq5eSWOGNoY/s1600/800px-Pico_Bonito_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-N5PpL14ij1cLQ_mPDbrpldgQUkhHMdf0urd3V2Zl5N2zvSYI-Fws5B4gt54wmmXgSa9jlh8_9IdaPWRFTnuEXDEWSwZvLtPt8zPXwz4Rck2_KwmKiR4HpVgy98yXyFnlwq5eSWOGNoY/s320/800px-Pico_Bonito_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Working at the Regional Centre for Environmental Documentation and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Interpretation (CREDIA) in La Ceiba Honduras is very different from </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">working at the Falls Brook Centre. Instead of waking up every morning </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">to a fresh, crisp morning for farmwork amidst a swarm of hungry </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">blackflies I wake up much earlier with the heat of the day already </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">spilling treacle-like through my window. I then set off for the CREDIA </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">office where I do the majority of my work on translating documents, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">helping with attracting envrionmental and scientific tourism, or </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">writing proposals for projects. So far I have worked on designing a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">greenhouse made out of plastic water bottles and a strategy for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">getting more young volunteers involved here at CREDIA. There have also </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">been opportunities to meet NGOs from all over Latin America at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">international conferences hosted by CREDIA. It is very interesting to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">see the various perspectives on environmental issues and how different </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">places choose to address these issues.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-99HqRybIz9J233NC4UnFMqSomuIiA-hDdNnS7zBuZWlUZUoUQuJVOiu4HLvvy1eg6D6D3WnaNDee6RVwMzJa7g48VN5u_6myTILpANVPn7NVIFbWfi_ZNvW75sbBLmfGU5lqho0C_k/s1600/IMG_0879%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-99HqRybIz9J233NC4UnFMqSomuIiA-hDdNnS7zBuZWlUZUoUQuJVOiu4HLvvy1eg6D6D3WnaNDee6RVwMzJa7g48VN5u_6myTILpANVPn7NVIFbWfi_ZNvW75sbBLmfGU5lqho0C_k/s1600/IMG_0879%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">I also help with tours of the botanical gardens for school kids who </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">come for a visit where they can learn more about the natural world </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">that many city dwellers never see. Creating these links between people </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">and their environment is very rewarding. Also, on a few occasions I </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">have had the opportunity to help with puppet shows about protecting </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">the wetlands. These have been performed in smaller communities for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">kids and we've been overwhelmed by the positive reactions we've </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">received. One group even started their own environmental puppet team </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">right after we left and have already begun producing shows!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXr_jsIatnbNqzK_bN7HH35ihPERMiHzTmftHB2Olt4bLQrU7Q8caB_kygDTLVgvzDAurOGT3aiJc74nv-DCbA6XayeqwUn0ZZYok_AS_xNIQWVn3GB_Ooja7k3vw8DrIgBY_3uhs_PU/s1600/DSC02782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXr_jsIatnbNqzK_bN7HH35ihPERMiHzTmftHB2Olt4bLQrU7Q8caB_kygDTLVgvzDAurOGT3aiJc74nv-DCbA6XayeqwUn0ZZYok_AS_xNIQWVn3GB_Ooja7k3vw8DrIgBY_3uhs_PU/s320/DSC02782.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-91027194986912826252012-10-02T06:30:00.000-07:002012-10-02T06:30:35.834-07:00Waheema Asghar - Biodiversity Restoration Facilitator in Costa Rica<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Turrialba
is treating me very, very kindly. Where to begin? Ive
written down a few headings that I think have been the most important for me.
Here goes…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj43W9C90Z-8Svkv2F4wteG3m2vnDfr5GaCaK7EAE5dbFsLyd4H44o6NNk0Pk-QGiEDgrDMVBFdgpwO_J5TyYNjqD_QKXNya6M65ZSFeyNHIo371_3qEXFFc8gDAHxsjwGe14isDb57hs/s1600/IMG_7112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj43W9C90Z-8Svkv2F4wteG3m2vnDfr5GaCaK7EAE5dbFsLyd4H44o6NNk0Pk-QGiEDgrDMVBFdgpwO_J5TyYNjqD_QKXNya6M65ZSFeyNHIo371_3qEXFFc8gDAHxsjwGe14isDb57hs/s320/IMG_7112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Location:</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Turrialba<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">Turrialba is a wonderful small all around Tico
town. Ive met some foreign tour guides and they like to call Turrialba
their home. Its peaceful, friendly, kind, gentle and is surrounded by
mountains and the view of Turrialba volcano that shows off its white plume of
smoke daily. Its an hours drive to San Jose, and people head down to the
capital over weekends very easily and cheaply. Its 2.5 hours away to the
closest beach on the Pacific coast. Theres an ancient ruin nearby, Guyabo
national park that many tourists don’t know about. </span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Weather:</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Perfect<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">At
first I was wishing I were closer to the shore, but the weather is absolutely
perfect here. Its more rainy and humid closer to the shore. The
weather in Turrialba is mosty sunny and warm around 25C-27C. Its
supposedly monsoon season but there hasn’t been any inconveniences for
me. I would equate it to Canadas normal rainy days. Except here,
during the afternoon you may have some days with heavy rain that lasts 10
minutes and then the clouds soon flutter away. The rains are great, cools
everything off, and are fun to watch. The mist they create between the
mountains are spectacular, worth taking shots of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Work:</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Work
in CATIE is wonderful, I most enjoy seeing the diversity of work that goes on
around me. That’s the advantage of working within a university.
There are students who are doing their phds and conversations with them are
intriguing. Then there are those working in Climate Change, The Bosques
Program, seed banks, research and so many other neat departments. I have
been working with Felicia Granados who is consultant for CATIE who is helping
CATIE receive Blue Flag distinction which is a nationally recognized program. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 15.0pt;">This internship so far has been largely a
learning experience. I have learned a lot already in my twenty two days about
the local culture, customs, ways of work and lifestyle. Establishing
relationships is very, very key and was something that was mentioned to me by
Felicia early on. To work with others, earning and maintaining trust
first is more important that tackling anything else. This is what I have
been working on. I will be heading out to the farms on my own and meeting
the worker (98% of which only speak in Spanish) and become a familiar and
trusted face by the workers. To receive the Blue Flag distinction, the
workers need to diligently enter in data about daily water use, diesel/gas use,
electricity etc. Because this data is of no use to the workers in their
duties (and is added work), it often gets neglected making it difficult to
prove the environmental initiatives that the farms are in fact taking.
Being a face for the program allows the workers to be conscientious of what
needs to be done, and be done regularly. Though being present on a farm
does not seem like much work, it is very important in maintaining the bridge
and motivating the team to continue with their good work in helping with record
keeping. Slowly it will become standard protocol, but the program is new
and so is the additional record keeping. Beyond that, I manipulate,
extract the data received and take whats needed to input into the final report
to the Blue Flag program.</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoy that my work
involves being on the farm (which is beautiful), botanical garden (which is
breathtaking) and indoor work, it’s the perfect balance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></span><br />
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<!--EndFragment-->FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-42978555518335998022012-09-18T08:36:00.003-07:002012-09-18T08:46:48.876-07:00Lina Johnston - Organic Agriculture Facilitator, Pinar del Rio, Cuba<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">I arrived in Pinar del Rio just over 3 weeks
ago, and it has been a truly eye-opening adjustment period! The first phase of
our pilot project to develop organic farms devoted to producing medicinal and
culinary herbs involves interviewing many farmers. Most of my time has been
spent biking out of the city centre to sub-urban farms, meeting many
extraordinary farmers, and observing their farming practices. Not only has it
been great to explore the incredibly green and lush sub-urban areas of Cuba,
but it has also been inspiring to witness the commitment to organic agriculture
and community development among farmers here. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Greater production of medicinal
plants, or what Cubans call “green medicine,” is not only a commercial
endeavour for these farmers</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3531993173088296638" name="_GoBack"></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">, but also, and more
importantly, a way to support community needs for medicine. </span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">In addition to this
project, I will be working with a farmer to develop his property using
Permaculture design principles to cultivate medicinal plants, and will be helping
to design a local community garden in a nearby neighbourhood.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: windowtext;">Oxen-- animal traction (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Los bueyes-- la tracción animal</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: windowtext;">Worm Humus (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lombricultura</i>) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-74812253714219769242012-09-05T06:46:00.000-07:002012-09-18T09:00:31.791-07:00Cavan Gates – Biodiversity Restoration Facilitator in Costa Rica<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Londres, Costa Rica, is a town of about 1000
people inland fifiteen kilometers from Quepos, a larger town on the coast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The predominant tourist attraction of
the area is Manuel Antonio Park which is a twenty minute/</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">₵</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">50 bus
ride from Quepos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The road there
is lined with restaurants, hotels, hostels and houses, all very expensive for
the area and relatively expensive in the Canadian context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A double room in a hostel might cost
$40 and a hotel room $80, a burger $5-10 and a beer $2-3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is somewhat more expensive than
the rest of the region, but in Quepos a double room at a hostel might cost $20
and a burger more towards $5 than $10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is all supported by a well developed tourist industry which means
that most shop keepers speak some English, take US Dollars and that there are
many North Americans and Europeans walking around town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Food is diverse with restaurants
ranging from “Comida Típica” to Mexican or Sushi restaurants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Londres, on the other hand, does not see many
tourists and does not have the same tourist infrastructure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For one thing, while it is only fifteen
kilometers from Quepos, the road is unpaved and it takes about forty-five
minutes to get there by car or bus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The two main tourist attractions are horse back tours and rafting down
the Rio Naranjo back down to Quepos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even with these, tourists do not normally explore the town or stay in town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result, less people speak English,
food is a little cheaper and there are less of the negative consequences of
tourism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of people in town
either work in Quepos or on the palm oil plantations that are endemic in the
province.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an elementary
school and a high school, although the elementary school has many more students
and some high schoolers are bused to a different school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, the area is pretty laid back
and the people are friendly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">My work so far has been mainly computer work,
updating the website, translating and editing, but there is some field work
with mapping an Analog Forestry plot and setting up a tree nursery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Learning about Analog Forestry is great because it fits in
so well with permaculture and organic agriculture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gist of it is to restore forests to the same form and
ecological function as native climax forests while allowing some changes in
species composition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This allows
more mainstream anthropocentric plants to be grown in an ecologically
functional system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course,
staple carbohydrates like rice or wheat still require an open canopy system,
but that can be incorporated into the AF or permaculture design of the
farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, it is a great
system for restoring areas that strikes a balance between human and natural requirements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
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El Rio Naranjo is the main river that runs through the town </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
down to Quepos. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Milo's Analog Forestry plots planted 18 months ago</td></tr>
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<!--EndFragment-->FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-67937520165641132412012-08-27T11:45:00.000-07:002012-08-27T11:45:13.783-07:00Ben Stehr - Appropriate Technology Technician in Nicaragua<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Checking in from Leon after five fast weeks…</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I spent my first week in Nicaragua at a language school called “Hijos Del Maiz”. It is located in a small, tightly-knit community called El Lagartillo, about a thirty minute bus-ride through the mountains from the city of Esteli. All in all, it was a fantastic place to begin my adaptation to a new language, a new culture, and essentially to a new world. In addition to learning more Spanish, some of my highlights included playing baseball and music with kids in the community, as well as venturing to a beautiful waterfall before my departure.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">After my week of language immersion, I traveled further north to Sabana Grande where Grupo Fenix is located. I am living with a host family in a neighbouring community called Santo Domingo. My family consists of Terencio,Mayra, and their two children Adaly and Graciela. I couldn’t have asked for a better family to live with, right from the beginning I have felt at home. In my spare time I am usually playing baseball with the Sabana Grande team or playing music with my host family and the neighbours.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">I have been working on two main projects over the past four weeks. One project involves working with a group of three solar women who have a business of selling wood efficient “eco-stoves”. These stoves (“fogones”) reduce the amount of wood necessary to cook as well as the amount of smoke produced during the cooking process. This is very important for the region because deforestation and lung disease particularly in women and children are prominent issues. The second project involves constructing and installing plastic bottle lights for people in Sabana Grande that do not have electricity or adequate lighting in their homes. </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3531993173088296638" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That is all for now, tomorrow I will be tobogganing down a volcano called Cerro Negro at 50 km/hr!!</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until next time,</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ben</span></span></span></div>
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FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-25917494067375957882012-08-24T06:24:00.000-07:002012-08-24T06:28:14.590-07:00Hannah Reid - Organic Agriculture Facilitator in Mexico<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Week 5 in San Cristobal de Las Casas! Today, like most days, it has </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">poured rain for many hours (I am now thoroughly convinced there is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">world-wide conspiracy to falsely advertise Mexico as being warm).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Here in San Cris, I am working with an organization called Comida Sana </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">y Cercana, which works to promote the production and sale of organic </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">products. As an intern, my main responsibility is to conduct an </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">investigative market study aimed at identifying the weak points of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Comida Sana y Cercana’s weekly farmer’s market (here called a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tianguis). To do this, I have repeatedly taken to the streets (rain or </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">shine) with pen in hand to interview current or potential customers.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">The results have been often informative, sometimes hilarious!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">When I am not doing interviews, compiling data or helping promote the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Tianguis, I can often be found scaling the side of ArcoTeTe (or other </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">mountains) with the San Cristobal rock-climbing group! Here in San </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Cristobal, I have the best of both worlds: a gorgeous colonial city </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">bustling with music, entertainment and local activities (last night I </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">went to see American activists ‘The Yes Men’ speak) surrounded by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">unbelievably beautiful natural landscapes! I couldn’t ask for more!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">That’s all for now! Saludos a todos!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">- Hannah</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3531993173088296638.post-4311696859188559612012-08-07T10:39:00.002-07:002012-08-07T10:39:30.721-07:00Erica Nickles – Biodiversity Restoration and Community Development Facilitator in Honduras<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">It's my third day in the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">office at CCO, and so far so good! I worked on Sunday with Sandra, the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">coordinator of the women's group to help prepare a float for a parade </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">tomorrow. They have funding from a Spanish organizations to start a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">women's micro-empresa to collect recyclables and sell them to a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">company in San Pedro Sula as well as make and sell artisinal products </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">from "garbage". You wouldn't believe the stuff they're making! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">There's no garbage pick up in Cuyamel, so not only </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">are they addressing a serious public health and environmental problem, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">they're also providing income generating opportunities for some of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">poorest families in the community. I'm hoping to get some of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">women involved in the kitchen gardens that Holly and Rad were working </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">on.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> Anuar will be here at the beginning of</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">August to help us with some ecological monitoring around the birds in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">the area.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Holly and Rad did incredible work here, but as you can imagine there's </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">still much to be done. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"> My priority this fall will be </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">training and supporting community members to lead the kitchen garden </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">and environmental education work, as well as carrying on the coastal </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">monitoring and mapping work. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">I'm staying in a giant house that has lots of space, not much furniture. This weekend<br />involved lots of cleaning and some up close and personal encounters with the local bat and bee populations, but the house is definitely starting to grow on me. Especially the giant yard with huge mango and avocado trees. My aim's getting better - by the time I leave here<br />I'll be able to knock down a mango with an avocado from 30 feet at least!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Take care,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Erica</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>FBC Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16076782438339371012noreply@blogger.com0