Since last writing there has been lots of activity with the youth group and the near completion of the Agro-Forestry charla series. The youth have been continuing full steam and we are entering the home stretch of a planning process for our first large fundraiser. Through smaller fundraisers like the bingo events and selling of food and refreshments, we have successfully raised enough money to bring in a well known DJ for a "campo fiesta". This is pretty big news in the community and it looks like the date we picked is a good one because there are no other parties happening in nearby towns that would draw away attendees.
The funds that the youth group has raised are not only going to the throwing of parties for generating more funds. Since we have started working together, the community has seen the completion of the new chapel. Started over two years ago the recent completion of the roof and walls, just in time for Easter, were made possible solely by the support of the youth group which paid for labor and a few materials. This project was one of the old and continuing projects of the youth group that was under the chapel before I began to work with them.
As for the where the youth will next set their sights in the community, it is still undetermined and will more than likely be decided by a vote after the party. Possisble project candidates are in the sectors of agriculture and health and sex education.
Continueing with small secondary projects I will begin to teach english classes next weekend. There will be two english classes per week, one saturday and one sunday. I am really looking forward to this although I must admit it is a very daunting task and I am quite nervous about the first few classes. Also I have began teaching basic computation skills to the professors at the local elementary school. The school recently recieved two computers from the municipality and no one knows how to effectively use them. My hope is to get the teachers into using microsoft excel to plan their classes and educational calendars, as well as keep records of students and scores.
Unfortunately I do not have any pictures to share with this post but I am sure that a few of my PC colleagues will be coming out to my site for the fiesta so I will have to ask them for some photos.
-Cheerio
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Youthful Times
Starting at the end of February I began working with the Potrero Garay Youth Group. A group that is also tied to the small catholic church in the community. I wanted to become involved in working with youth for a few reasons. First, I hoped that I could have at least a small part in making a youth group experience as meaningful for the yout in my community as youth groups were for me. Secondly, I saw an opportunity to facilitate projects and events within the community.
The goal of the group is to work together to do small things around the community that improve the overall quality of life for a family or the community as a whole. With this objective we applied to be recognized as an official community group by the municipality which would open several doors and opportunities, most importantly funding.
About two weeks ago we recieved the recognition and have since been working on our first fundraiser, bingo after church this Sunday. As a part of the meetings I usually try to bring some sort of materials or have some sort of project planned ahead of time to continue to build mental stiulation and help keep the youth focused. There have been two such exercises that have been quite successful.
The frst was a mapping excersice. I brought reading materials about community trash and sanitation projects as well as pens and paper. I gave them a choice and most everyone said they would rather draw. But when I told them what it was they had to draw, a map of their property and the inputs and outputs of their family, most chose to read. Regardless, everyone was required to finish the drawing exercise and then present their work to the group. This was an eyeopening experience and I felt like I could actually see the creativity of many youth growing by the second. Many had said that they had never in their lives been asked to do something like this.
For the second exercise I did some culture sharing and nutritional education. I made deviled eggs with greeen onions and garlic and talked to the group about the nutritional value of the intrgedients. It was a big success as we also made desert tortillas.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Ag-Forestry: A Stab at Economic Planning
So much for a February post... Lots of stuff went down as well as the beginning of a charla series on the secondary projects side. I found, in late February, a need amongst the community for technical information and assistance on Agro-Forestry and the integration on AF practices into small scale farming systems or income generating projects.
Much like the Garden Charla series that I was simultaneosly conducting at the same time. This set of four meetings came with the incentive of receiving plantitas and tree seeds at the completion of the fourth meeting. Not surprisingly the members of this series are many of the same members of the garden series.
The truth of the matter is that this set of charlas has been a bit more frustrating for a couple of reasons that I can surmise. One, I simply do not know nearly as much about the topic of AF. Secondly, while I was focusing on a general glance of how AF can play a roll in even the simplest of agricultural systems the majority of the attendees were waiting for me to gtet to the subject of "viveros" (tree nurseries).
Viveros appeal to impoverished people and families in the countryside because their value is realized much sooner, they require very little space and relatively little labor in comparison to the ammount that a farmer family stands to pull in with the sale of a thousand tree starts.
The discovery of this group interest did not come until the last meeting and I believe that the manner in which it came up is a testiment to the importance of informal and community based development. The thing is, I had no idea what-so-ever I was going to talk about in referance to AF for my third charla. I could't think of anything new, anything that wouldn't just be pounding in more information. So I called up and buddy in the AF program with PC and asked him to save my ass. Together we devised a plan that would be the next step for a person or family if I were working on an individual basis. I decided (also based on the success of this similar activity with the youth group) that I would draw an illustration of how my family incorporated sustainable AF practices at Taproot prior to the meeting and then use it as an example for what I wanted each of them to do during the meeting. The idea was to create a map of the farm or property and come to a realization about where AF approaches would fit in into the existing system.
This was a huge hit, like nothing I had every imagined. The señoras took to the illustrating and discussion with much more self-confidence that the youth group. They even went as far to present, between dirty jokes and plenty of laughter, their drawings to one another. I was completely blown away! As we came to the end of the hour a theme had clearly imerged amond the groups. Almost every señora put their desired trees and tree starts in their gardens or nearby and explained to me that the first thing they wanted to do was have a vivero.
I want to emphasize that while conversations and personal visits with community members over the course of my first 2-3 months in site showed an interest in AF, it was only through this very personal and informal method of sharing information and encouraging input on behalf of the community members that the true need and desire was brought to light.
The next meeting is slated for the 1st of April and I will be conducting a 3-4 hour workshop with my AF friend. We are going to focus specifically on all phases of a vivero project that is productive specifically for the small scale farmer or señora.
We will see....
Much like the Garden Charla series that I was simultaneosly conducting at the same time. This set of four meetings came with the incentive of receiving plantitas and tree seeds at the completion of the fourth meeting. Not surprisingly the members of this series are many of the same members of the garden series.
The truth of the matter is that this set of charlas has been a bit more frustrating for a couple of reasons that I can surmise. One, I simply do not know nearly as much about the topic of AF. Secondly, while I was focusing on a general glance of how AF can play a roll in even the simplest of agricultural systems the majority of the attendees were waiting for me to gtet to the subject of "viveros" (tree nurseries).
Viveros appeal to impoverished people and families in the countryside because their value is realized much sooner, they require very little space and relatively little labor in comparison to the ammount that a farmer family stands to pull in with the sale of a thousand tree starts.
The discovery of this group interest did not come until the last meeting and I believe that the manner in which it came up is a testiment to the importance of informal and community based development. The thing is, I had no idea what-so-ever I was going to talk about in referance to AF for my third charla. I could't think of anything new, anything that wouldn't just be pounding in more information. So I called up and buddy in the AF program with PC and asked him to save my ass. Together we devised a plan that would be the next step for a person or family if I were working on an individual basis. I decided (also based on the success of this similar activity with the youth group) that I would draw an illustration of how my family incorporated sustainable AF practices at Taproot prior to the meeting and then use it as an example for what I wanted each of them to do during the meeting. The idea was to create a map of the farm or property and come to a realization about where AF approaches would fit in into the existing system.
This was a huge hit, like nothing I had every imagined. The señoras took to the illustrating and discussion with much more self-confidence that the youth group. They even went as far to present, between dirty jokes and plenty of laughter, their drawings to one another. I was completely blown away! As we came to the end of the hour a theme had clearly imerged amond the groups. Almost every señora put their desired trees and tree starts in their gardens or nearby and explained to me that the first thing they wanted to do was have a vivero.
I want to emphasize that while conversations and personal visits with community members over the course of my first 2-3 months in site showed an interest in AF, it was only through this very personal and informal method of sharing information and encouraging input on behalf of the community members that the true need and desire was brought to light.
The next meeting is slated for the 1st of April and I will be conducting a 3-4 hour workshop with my AF friend. We are going to focus specifically on all phases of a vivero project that is productive specifically for the small scale farmer or señora.
We will see....
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Building for Bees
Over the course of the last week I have worked on some small scale projects with a couple of farmers at and around the house in which I have been living. The hitch is that I can't actually work the bees with the farmers because of my potential allergic reaction. Entonces, what I have found to be very effective is working with a visiting beekeeping volunteer. I am very lucky to have fellow volunteer Lara close by and together we built a smoker with one family and a Batea (hive for africanized "killer" bees) with another. 
In these two pictures I am working with Don Kicho (Key-show) to attatch the rubber that will become the bellows. The smoker was made out of an old moto tire tube, some extra wood, a little bit of tin roofing, some thick gauge fencing wire, two strips of cow hide, and an old dehydrated milk can. It was a great project to do and a great way to spend the afternoon with a family.
This is the Batea, right away the differences between this and the tradition Langstroth hive are apparent. This hive is not meant to have another box (alsa) on top of it, for this reason there is no space between the bars that will eventually have the honey comb attached to it. It is very important that the box is as sealed as possible with the exception of the entry so that the bees always know how to orient themselves and to combat other bugs that molest the hive. There are twenty bars and after about one year of maintenace a healthy hive could produce and much as ten or twelve liters of honey with this box.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Summer Camp in La Colmena
The middle of January brought a round of Peace Corps summer camps put on my PCVs through out Paraguay. I traveled into my nearest town to help out fellow G28er and Environmental Ed. volunteer Kevin. We were also joined by nearby volunteers Beth and Sarah. This was the first day of camp where we recieved a great turnout of kids from ages 8-14. We started off the day with a fun name game in the courtyard of the school as seen in the picture below. 
After that we went back inside the school and sang a few songs about the environment we went outside to the park across the street. In the park we played a couple of fun games having to do with tree identification and understaning the benefits of having trees in the surrounding environment. You can see different aspects of these activities in the pictures as well as Sarah conducting a little question and answer with the kids as we all enjoy a good snack! 
To end the activities in the park we did a little leaf collection and brought them back to the classroom where we did leaf etching. This was a really great activity and the kids loved it. It was really graet to see their creativity growing as they experimented with colors and designs.
After that we went back inside the school and sang a few songs about the environment we went outside to the park across the street. In the park we played a couple of fun games having to do with tree identification and understaning the benefits of having trees in the surrounding environment. You can see different aspects of these activities in the pictures as well as Sarah conducting a little question and answer with the kids as we all enjoy a good snack! To end the activities in the park we did a little leaf collection and brought them back to the classroom where we did leaf etching. This was a really great activity and the kids loved it. It was really graet to see their creativity growing as they experimented with colors and designs.Monday, January 5, 2009
Holiday Fogon Construction
Welcome to the first post of this Secondary Projects Blog!
On the 28th and 29th of December I, Kai Milanio, and a community Mason, constructed a fogon in the new kicthen of Kai Milanio's house. We built it off of combined experience and knowledge of fogons as well as a book that I had been given by Ricardo, a Peace Corps Trainer. (Sorry I never gave it back Ricardo, I will at the three month check in!)
The style of fogon is common for interior cement floor fogons. You might ask 'Aren't all fogons inside?' Yes technically they are but may are inside thin walled wooden structures with thatch roofs and dirst floors making this style impractical. The reason for this is that with a level floor one can build the storage compartments in the base rather than build a solid base like most fogons in Paraguay.
With the help of the Mason, Kai Milanio and I were able to discuss the desing of the fogon as he whipped through the actually construction. It was truly a dream team. My hope are that the news of the construction of this fogon and its successful inauguration will spread around the community given that the Señora of the house is a member of the Women's Committee.
Fogons commonly have two compartments, the stove and the oven. As you can see in the photos the oven of this fogon in set below the level of the stove. This was done to compensate in the dimensional differences between the oven and the stovetop. The firewood is intserted on the left and the smoke and heat is drawn through to the right and out the wall on the side. It is this heat tha in turn heats the oven and a damper that was also installed will help to regulated the flow of the heat while the oven is in use.
To finish the fogon completely a layer of fine mortart will be applied to the oustide of the fogon and depending on the cost, tile will be put on top of that. Fogons, when built and installed correctly, are the best way to reduce in-home air pollution which is a prevelant problem enywhere that materials other than natural gas or electricity are used as cooking fuel.
On the 28th and 29th of December I, Kai Milanio, and a community Mason, constructed a fogon in the new kicthen of Kai Milanio's house. We built it off of combined experience and knowledge of fogons as well as a book that I had been given by Ricardo, a Peace Corps Trainer. (Sorry I never gave it back Ricardo, I will at the three month check in!)
The style of fogon is common for interior cement floor fogons. You might ask 'Aren't all fogons inside?' Yes technically they are but may are inside thin walled wooden structures with thatch roofs and dirst floors making this style impractical. The reason for this is that with a level floor one can build the storage compartments in the base rather than build a solid base like most fogons in Paraguay.
With the help of the Mason, Kai Milanio and I were able to discuss the desing of the fogon as he whipped through the actually construction. It was truly a dream team. My hope are that the news of the construction of this fogon and its successful inauguration will spread around the community given that the Señora of the house is a member of the Women's Committee.
Fogons commonly have two compartments, the stove and the oven. As you can see in the photos the oven of this fogon in set below the level of the stove. This was done to compensate in the dimensional differences between the oven and the stovetop. The firewood is intserted on the left and the smoke and heat is drawn through to the right and out the wall on the side. It is this heat tha in turn heats the oven and a damper that was also installed will help to regulated the flow of the heat while the oven is in use.
To finish the fogon completely a layer of fine mortart will be applied to the oustide of the fogon and depending on the cost, tile will be put on top of that. Fogons, when built and installed correctly, are the best way to reduce in-home air pollution which is a prevelant problem enywhere that materials other than natural gas or electricity are used as cooking fuel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
