Let´s get this project started!
Our group is almost complete and we are ready to get going! Over the past week we have been arriving, myself and Chris being the first to come last Thursday/basically Friday. We were welcomed to this strange place in the warmest of fashions. Alicia, the founder of our partner non-proft "Triple Salto" and Tachi, her sister and our project leader, were standing in the entrance with a big sign and even bigger smiles.
Even after months of planning and preparation, it is hard to believe that our project is about to begin. We have been talking about what we need to do at each site, learning the city and the routes of buses we will need take to our sites, but it hadn´t felt like we were here for more than tourism until yesterday.
Alicia, Renata and myself woke at 6:30 to start the day. We took the trolley to the South side of the city. Even the bus and trolley system astounds me. They pack the them so full of people that there is a person whose job it is at some stops to squish the people in and slam the doors shut! after an hour of travel, we arrived at "ConQuito" headquarters. Conquito is a government funded program that is partnering with us on our project. With ConQuito, Alicia and others have done hundreds of projects similar to ours in various parts of the city, but predominantly in the poorer South side of Quito.
At ConQuito, we met our experienced partner, Luis, or Luchito as Alicia calls him because everyone here has nickname. After introducing ourselves, we were off to our first stop, the lunber yard. For the greenhouses we will be building, we are not using steel frames but are instead constructing them out of wood. This serves many important purposes. The wood is inexpensive and although it has to be changed every 4 years or so, it is durable. The metal frames that are often used for these types of structures have to be specially ordered, and if there are problems with the structure it is a much more difficult process to repair. After over an hour of negociating with Gonzalo, the owner of the lumber yard, to get the supplies needed for both of our project sites, we had bought our wood. One really interesting relationship that was born from our meeting Gonzal was a mutual understanding for the importance of conservation. As the owner of a lumber yard, Gonzalo could be c0nsidered by some to be furthering the problems of deforestation and overall pollution, but as long as their is a demand for wood (which as far as I can see there always will be) someone will need to provide it. He is a lumber yard owner by trade, but a conservationist at heart. With out even a grade school education, he has grown to know his trade and the terrain of his land. On his property that is about an hour from Quito, Gonzalo has trees that are over 300 years old. Although he has to cut the trees he sells as lumber, he refuses to even consider cutting these ancient trees because although he would profit in the short run, it will take another 300 years and many generations of people who care for the environment to preserve them. Out of this relationship we may possibly take part in a small project with Gonzalo on his property plating more native trees to nourish the soil and aid in the re-growth of Quito´s agriculture.
After buying the lumber, we went to the hardware store to buy our tools and other supplies for the project. It is scary how fast the money we have spent the last 8 to 10 months raising is spent! Once we has walked at least 2 miles up and down and up and down and up and down the isles of the store, we were off to check out our work sites.
The site of our first greenhouse and garden project is a colegio, or high school. We were shocked by the progress the school has already made to begin their garden, but there is a lot of work to be done. The land designated for our project is as long as a football field and has some structure and plant beds in place but is in no way being utlized for its potential. It is also very unwelcoming. There is a barbed wire fence and very little color or personal touches that invite the students to enter, work and learn in the area. We have lots of ideas for ways to engage the kids, brighten up their garden and inspire them to eat right and take care of their bodies and their land.
Our second site is in a neighborhood and is run by an 80 year old man, but supported by 4 or 5 other neighbors. This site was very well cultivated for the resources that the people have. Like the school, this site has so much potential. We will be putting in a much needed drip irrigation system, building a greenhouse and planting native plants in the upper part of the garden that is completely untouched.
It is always hard to come in and initiate projects because most people do not accept change with open arms. I think that the nature of our project, giving the people not only what they want and need but also giving it to them under their terms, will really help to break those barriers. Also, the manner that our projects operate is not charity. We are not simply giving these gardens and greenhouses to people that have requested and need them. We are working together with the recipients to build their gardens their way, to share the labor and to share in meals with them using the products of theirs and our hard work.
I have so much more to say, but I can´t make Adrian wait any longer for me at the cybercafe! We´ll add pictures soon from our work sites and adventures thus far. We all miss our friends and families at home so much, but our family we are building here in Quito is so wonderful and loving that it is impossible to get too home sick!
