We wanted to report in on our second and extremely successful work week in Valle Grande.
We focused on our primary project of completing the greenhouse at the Escuela de Alternancia, No. 1, and spent the week collecting posts and logs native to the area. After hauling these logs back to our worksite, we debarked them, cut them down to size, and cemented them into the ground to serve as the skeleton of the soon-to-be-finished invernadero.
¨The group really came together this week to help finish the framework for the greenhouse,¨ said Sarah Gibson of Dallas, Texas. ¨The work was sometimes challenging, but the group persevered. By Friday morning, we were done with the posts. We made great progress this week and can´t wait to finish the greenhouse this coming week.¨
The work looks great so far and the students and community of Valle Grande are looking forward to the finished product.
Meanwhile, students have also begun working on exciting independent projects--learning to play regional songs on the guitar, organizing soccer tournaments with their counterparts in the community, and tackling tough subjects of reforestation, a constant source of concern here in the ecologically unique yungas region.
We´ve also been filling our time with some fun evening activities. This past week students pioneered a complicated game of charades, told ghost stories around an indoor ¨campfire,¨ and held Valle Grande´s First Annual Coffee House where students shared their talents for writing, reading, singing, and hamming it up.
¨The Coffee House was great because it gave us a chance to relax from a tough work day and a chance to get to know everyone a bit better,¨ said Olivia Bercow of Miami, Florida. ¨We heard goofy poems, rad raps, serious stories, and even had a sing-a-long. Not to mention that we got to enjoy té while watching. I hope we do the coffee house again this week.¨
Indeed, plans are in the works for another installment of the fun Coffee House and students are already preparing new acts that will top the recitations and duets of last week´s performances.
We´ve just returned back from a weekend of trekking through the region and are looking forward to sharing more stories and photos from our travels soon.
Un abrazo,
Brenna and Zach
