Sabana Grande

Our time at Sabana Grande was filled with getting to know our families, the community, and learnng lots of interesting information on using renewable energy. As soon as we arrived at the center, we were greeted by the ¨solar women¨ who are responsible for building the solar ovens at the center. As part of their involvement in the center they host a variety of voluenteers from all over the world who come and donate their skills and time for a 3 month stay in the community. After a round of ice breaker activites, we were off to our new homes to meet our families. With all of our belongings on our backs, we walked through the community, passed the 500 year old Ceba tree, and moved into our new homes.
For the next two weeks we met at the center and learned what we could about it´s history, its mission, and how to harness the sun´s energy. Typically, volunteers pick a project to work on that will help advance the center´s ability too bring renewable energy to the surrounding communites. We were able to see two of these projects in action during our short stay. One voluenteer from London was building a solar tester that would provide more information on the power of the sun´s rays, helping to eliminate the current practice of one individual looking at the sun to determin its strength. Two other voluenteers (one from Germany, and the other from Alaska) were in the process of building a wind turbine that would trickle charge a battery that could be used for power at the center, and providing an example of other renewable resources avaiable for the communites.
As we learned more about how solar energy can be converted to usable energy, we had the opportunity to build our own solar battery chargers for us to take back to the U.S. with us. Carefully over the next two days, we soddered the solar cells together, tested the charging capacity, build a housing frame and put it all together with lots of silicon. Our charging station for the batteries consisted of a wooden base with two fixed metal plates which we were able to adjust depending on the size of battery we wanted to charge. Before we knew it, we had the finished product in hand, ready to use! Not only do we have wonderful memories to take back home with us, but also a very practical outlet for our new understanding of renewable energy.
-Meg

Building Solar Ovens

     For our first two weeks in Nicaragua we worked on several projects at the Grupo Fenix Solar Center.  One of these projects was collaborating with women from the local community, in building two new solar ovens.  We helped them reach a total of 101 ovens that the center has produced. 

Before beginning construction we first learned the physics behind how the solar ovens concentrate heat from the sun to reach a temperature high enough, for instance, to bake cake or roast coffee.  Some of the techniques they use are lining the insides of the ovens with metal printing plates and covering it with two panes of glass to maximize insulation and absorption of the sun’s energy.  The cover of the solar oven is lined with aluminum foil to reflect more light into the oven. 

During the actual construction, we worked through our language barrier with the local women to saw pieces of wood, attach them with silicon to the solar ovens and nail everything in place.  At the end, we painted the outside blue, like the Nicaraguan flag.  During the time we were there we ate many lunches made in the solar ovens, proving to us how useful they can be.  The women use these ovens instead of firewood stoves that put them at risk of developing many diseases caused by the smoke.  We also baked cake and cookies on two separate occasions in the solar ovens.  The local women are continuing to learn and improve the current design of the solar ovens to better meet their cooking needs.  

~Alissa

Heifer Project Time (Langue, Honduras)

     Our last week in Honduras was spent with Heifer Project International and one of their partner organizations, Simiente.  We spent three eventful nights all in a home stay in the beautiful, hot, dry mountains very near the border to El Salvador.  We learned to identify trees in a small protected forest and painted signs that will soon adorn each tree with its common and scientific name, informing people of each tree’s importance.  This forest will become a source of income for the community as visitors and students come to study these trees.  It was amazing to see an area of protected forest when so much forest is lost each year for firewood and fuel.  It is good to see that people are concerned for the deforestation that is devastating much of the country. 

     One of my favorite parts of the trip was learning about t

he “passing of the gift.”  Heifer Project receives donations from anyone around the world and with that money they purch

ase a va

riety of animals to give to families in need.  The family we all stayed with had two c

ows, thanks to Heifer Project.  A family that receives a new animal will pass the gift of th

eir first-born animal to another family in their community.  Each animal that is

 passed as a gift is pregnant, symbolizing the hope and ability to share with others what they have received.

   Through receiving an animal, a family is able to feed themselves and potentially have a source of income, especially as the animal continues to produce offspring.  We had the opportunity to talk with the eight women who make up the “Circle of Friends and Neighbors.”  These women, part of the same community, work together to determine who is ready to receive the next gift of an

 animal, considering need, space and ability to keep and care for an animal.  We met pigs, goats, and cows that are

 all gifts from the Heifer Project passing of the gift. 

     Discovering our obvious monkey ancestry through banana obsessions, learning of the difficulties and rewards of sleeping in hammocks, among many other animal and insect encounters, a good time was had by all, and our unique experience was certainly appreciated.  It took a day or two to realize how unique our time was there and how lucky we all are to have been able to see and experience the life of people so far removed.  To survive the dry season so far away from additional resources must be somewhat of a trick.  They have an incredible way of life and knowledge of their surroundings.  It further proved to me how much I have to learn from this lifestyle and these people.

~Nora

   Leaving Piedras Negras was another sad goodbye. Our time  in this small village in the mountains was time well spent. Driving up the mountain I developed a preconceived notion that we would be living in a struggling community, a poor rural village. I quickly realized I was mistaken. This community was rich in so many ways, and have done so much with little material resources. To me they define what it means to live simply and sustainably, and most of all, they were happy. 

   The little things all add up, such as growing their own crops, making their own honey, raising their own meat. Most of the community used very little electricity, altering their schedule around when the sun rose and set. The houses did not have running water, but there was never a shortage from the cistern a few steps out the front door, creating deliberate and conscious usage. Families gathered in the living room or kitchens to spen

d their evenings together. These beautiful people have the smallest carbon footprint I have seen yet and I admire them for it. They work hard and enjoy life equally. In retrospect I am able to understand how much I have gained from living with them for a week. I hope to spread this knowledge back in the states when I return. 

~Amber

     Piedras Negras turned out to be so much more than simply a village of Honduran coffee farmers in the mountains. We soon learned it was also a town of conscientious and motivated entrepreneurs. Some of the people in the town had organized themselves and started a used clothing store that eventually failed, but that didn't deter them from looking for success. Next they opened a community bank. Each member was required to pay a fee to join and then invest L$500 (Limpera) each year to remain a voting member. The money still belonged to the person however this way the bank is able to increase its assets every year. The voting members then choose projects to invest in and share the profits with other members. Projects range from big community wide investments to small loans such as helping individuals buy a cow. 

     Currently, the bank's biggest project is operating a grain store. The members use the bank's capital to buy corn from town during the harvest season when prices are low and then store it in big containers for the off season when prices are high. They are able to sell their corn to the villagers slightly below the market price and still make a profit for the bank.
 The bank operates with the help of outside organizations like Trickle Up. The money from outside organizations is invested in the community improvement projects for the benefit of everybody, not just members.  Another entrepreneurial project the community is working on with the bank is producing honey. This project is only two years old and the group already has 20 hives. Their goal in the next two years is to expand their operation to 200 hives. They already have two honey extractors, and they’re building a new building to extract and store the honey. Now, Piedra

s Negras in addition to their staple crop, coffee, has diversified to produce honey, and bee’s wax as well as created a financial system that supports individuals and the whole community.  

~Will

Sustainable Harvest International

After leaving Copan, we hit the road and headed into the mountains to begin working with Sustainable Harvest International (SHI). We arrived at the training center after an interesting ride which included a van to pick-up switch that was necessary to combat the mud from 10 days of straight rain (during the dry season). Sleeping arrangements were dormitory style, and after placing our travel gear in our rooms we set out to learn about our surroundings. Acobo, the training center manager, showed us some basic uses of the property including the various foods grown there: passion fruit, avocados, bananas, plantains, beans, pineapple and others. Being 100% organic there were some differences between this farm and the others in the area. Unlike typical farms, this place did not have a monoculture of one crop, but the plants were varied, and often native. Fertilizers came from crop rotation and compost. There weren't any pesticides used, and Acobo said there was a type of plant which could be added to the soil as a form of pest control when needed. One of my favourite discoveries from the trip (and now the first of many we have seen) was a biodigester. Essentially this very simple technology uses the pig waste to produce methane gas which is then piped directly to the kitchen to fuel the cooking stove. This helps to prevent deforestation by providing an alternative to a wood burning stove. We finished our day with a presentation by Mercedes, another member of the SHI staff, explaining to us the overall goals of SHI, their local partner FUCOHSO, and how both organizations were helping to educate local communities and school groups on ways to sustainably farm the land. This was one of my favourite stops on our trip and one that will stay with me for years to come.

~Amanda

Nobody is speaking now. Aside from the light banging by the cabin, I can enjoy the sounds of the forest undisturbed. Each sound is discernible yet unimposing. I think the tranquility comes from the fact that you can hear the wind before you feel it. Beneath the trees blowing in the wind, I can hear several birds and insects making the forest sing. A lower rhythmic bird chirps in the incessant snaps from the further trees, while different higher pitches deliver little melodies closer by. Every so often, I hear a sudden caw in the distance

We take the cricket for granted; its chirp is so consistent, it might as well be part of the wind. As the sun sets to my right, the other bugs subdue their purrs, possibly asking us to recognize the infrequent solo artists that approach.To my left, I see an illuminated mountain serve as the backdrop to the nearer shadowed forest. The sunlight, barely breaking through the trees to my right, shines across the valley, providing one last glimpse of daylight as the evening approaches.

At this moment, I’m not bothered by anything. I watched a small fly walk along these pages and felt no need to swat it away. I even offered it a seat on my pen, but it respectfully declined. Nothing is sudden. The forest moves at a pace conducive to each plant and animal’s living situation. I think nature recognizes there are twenty-four plentiful hours in a day. If it moved any faster, it might get bored.

The moths are as lovely as the butterflies. One perched upon a gray tree trunk next to me shows just his silhouette. It says, “Recognize me for my simple, unobtrusive shape—not my vibrant wings, or lack there of. Besides, colors don’t need to shine to be beautiful.”

I understood John Muir, even believed him, when I read his adventures through nature. Here, I can feel him. I feel why he was not afraid to sit in a tree through a violent windstorm, why he was not afraid to stare a bear down, why he was not afraid to chart unknown lands with nothing but the clothes on his back and his faith in God. There’s no reason to be afraid of anything.

I stare here at the paradox of proximity. The grass I’m physically sitting on; the tree beside me; the hills less than a football field’s length away to my right; the mountains to my left so far they blend into the clouds, the sky thousands of miles above me. I can see how God can be ubiquitous. A skeptic asks how a being can be everywhere at once. Well, come here and see—it’s as plain as the very land I’m looking at.

~Jonathan

Class in the Trees

We all enjoyed our time in Copan, attending spanish classes and getting to know our host families. Although it took me a while to figure out my family dynamics, I soon recognized a golden opportunity for our group. Every night Fernando parked his zebra print pickup in our driveway. The side of his truck read "Copan Canopy Tours". 

What better way to learn a little forest ecology than to have class in the trees? Everyone immediately loved the idea, but for me there was just one thing standing in the way; I am terrified of heights. My mind flashed back to our first day of class where we talked about how we wanted to live together as a community. We all agreed we would seek out opportunities to stretch our individual comfort zones  and that the rest of the group would provide the support system needed. "Ok", I thought, "I'm up". Before I knew it we were in the back of the zebra truck on the way to the base camp. While being strapped into our proper safety equipment we learned that there were 14 cables we would be crossing, three of which were 1KM long, and that the final stretch crossed The River Copan. We also learned that there were places in the tour where we would be as much as 400 feet above the forest floor.  After crossing the first cable, I realized that this wasn't so bad. By the time I crossed the third (the first of the 1KM cables) it was officially the most amazing thing I had ever done!

Flying through the air with nothing but a harness, a helmet, and my brake glove on the cable we as a group moved from one platform to the next, stretching 60KM around the mountain. We studied the canopy structure, wildlife, a variety of trees, and at one point were eye level with the hawks soaring around the mountains. I was far too impressed to be afraid. 

~Meg (Program Instructor)

What a day we had here in the Mayan ruins here in Copan! Our original plans for hiring a guide fell threw, but every thing happens for a reason; we found Yobani. He started his career studying to be a guide then changed to a focus in eco-tourism. Only a few years later, he started his own company here in Copan. In working more closely with the local people, he has found that some forms of eco-tourism can disrupt and even destroy a culture. He now devotes his time to redefining eco-tourism in the area to make it more of a partnership with the local indigenous communities.
To give you an example, most eco-tourists say "don´t cut the trees for firewood!" If the villagers in this area do not cut trees for their fires a signifigant piece of their cosmology and tradition will be lost. In the spiritual sense, the smoke from their fires is a means of connecting with Spirit. No smoke means the connection with the upper world is lost. That first smoke from their morning fires is also a sing to their Spirit saying "we are here, we are still alive". Also, the smoke from the traditional open-pit fire coats their celing with black soot and in the ight, this becomes their ¨sky", a close and visible sign of the Spirit within their own homes.
Yobani's future plans include introducing a more efficient lorena-type wood stove that would reduce the amount of trees being harvested, yet also honor the local traditions. What an amazing example for us as we search for sustainability in action!
- Steve (Resident Counselor)

Home Away from Home

The cobble stone roads of Copan add to the authenticity of this home away from home. This being my first homestay experience, I was anxious to learn the typical dynamics of a local honduran family. My mother here is Orfilia, who is widow with no children of her own, but she lives with her mother, father, her sister, three nieces, and one nephew. Her sister lives in New York, and sends money home to the family here in Copan. Orfilia is the ultimate caretaker; on top of feeding her family, myself and the various relatives that wander in for a meal, she cares for four dogs, two cats, and one hampster. Over the two weeks I discovered a new pet almost daily. I have come to realize that the family dynamic is nothing shor of what I have left behind in the US. I am learning that the ultimate wealth is a community of loving people, people who help their neighbor, not because they owe someone, but simply because that is how it is; that is what they know. I feel blessed to have already become familiar with this style of kinship. It is something I hope everyone has the opportunity to see and feel in their lifetime.
-Amber

Wow 10 days in Copan and what a whirl wind tour we've had! Currently I'm sitting at a cafe eating a cookie which strongly reminds me of a childhood cereal, "cookie crisp". It is raining and I am refelcting back to on our visit to the Mayan ruins, or ruinas Maya as they say here. Our guide, Yobani, was an amazing interpreter and explained to us all about the ruins that once marked one of the greatest Mayan cities in it's prime. We were greated at the begining of the tour by several wild macaws, the national bird of Honduras, and a very simbolic bird in the Mayan culture. We learned how the Mayans respected the earth and used animal as symbols for each ruler. Their buildings were built to mimic the mountians, but also had a complex tunnel system below the earth. From sacred ball ceremonies to the discovery that one ruler was a queen, the history and belief structures were undeniably foriegn and beautiful. Visiting this rich historic place has enhanced my current understanding of the modernday town of Copan, and overall enriched our experience here in Honduras.
-Amanda

Homestay Thoughts

I have been learning a lot about myself in the first few days of this trip, and about habits I have had on and off for most of my life that I have only become really aware of now. My host family is incredibly great, but on the first night here I offended my host father Cesar, by putting my own views out there too much, and feeling that I should correct some of his. For most of my life I have been surrounded by many like-minded people - in the town I grew up in, and for the past few years at the school I’ve gone to. But now I see that I have also been surrounded by people who share my views because many times when someone expressed a view I thought was wrong or offensive, I felt that I should correct them. And through that I alienated friends who had a different view on one particular thing. I wonder now why I have ever felt that I need everyone to share the same high minded, inoffensive upturned-nosed, bland views that I hold? What do I need to “correct” someone else’s views or statements for? Even if I feel someone is really wrong and they should think differently, telling them so will rarely change thinking, it will just make them feel resentful towards me, and towards the ideas I tried to force them to accept. To anyone I have ever done this to in my life, please let me know, if you would. I'm learning should let differences in opinion and statements that make me uncomfortable pass, because they're not important. And I’m recognizing the great amount of truth in the old rules of being a good guest. My host mother Lupe is the most gracious host you could ever find, and Cesar has done his best to be gracious in spite of the fact that I have not. I’m here to be a guest, to listen and to learn, and to talk about myself and my views when people ask. I'm not here to try to change anything. If I do change anything it will be by just being myself, being interested in what I'm interested in, and being respectful.
-Dan

It hasn't been a week, and it seems we are all starting to settle comfortaly into our homes in Copan. Copan is a small town in Honduras that gets much of its business from toursits seeking the Mayan ruins, but beneath that there is a freindly neighborhood culture. I've felt nothing but weclome from my host-mother, Ana Gladis. While her husband works in the ruins during the day, Ana runs a small evening restaurant. Needless to say, the food has not been difficult to adjust to. Most of the fruit, sugar, and coffee we eat and drink, are grown right here in Copan, providing a balanced and mostly organic diet.

My most difficult adjustment thus far has been speaking another language. With only four years of highschool spanish under my belt, I am humbled becuase I am often in a situation where I can not communicate. The first night in Copan, I felt like my mouth was taped shut, struggling restlessly to convey just one or two simple ideas to a woman who was patiently attempting to understand. I felt a wave of futility completley over power me. It was horrifying, but I do not regret experiencing it. Each day has gotten easier, and I am learning through expereince how to communicate in genereal with someone who speaks a different language. Sometimes it requires simplifying your ideas to make them more accessable. Other times, it might require a small dramatic presentation while your partner shouts words like a game of charades.

It makes me feel like the first step in self-sustainabilty is self-stability. Once you can accept a challenge that forces you to completely adjust a part or several aspects of your life, you are ready to adopt a more open and creative mindset with confidence. Self-stustainabilty requires that confidence.

-Jonathan

Hello Friends and Family!

We are writing to you from a small internet cafe in Copan, Honduras. Each of us have settled into our homestay families here in the city, and are healthy and happy. Each day we attend spanish class at a school in town called Ixbalanque, where we recieve one-on-one instruction for four hours at a time. For some of us, it is a chance to converse solely in spanish and for others an opportunity to build on the basics. Tapping into the resources around us, we have been taking advantage of our location, visiting local villages, farms, and Mayan ruins. Earlier this week we all rode horses up into the hillside to observe the ancient art of Mayan weaving. We found ourselves amongst the locals, with a guide who didn't speak english, which was our first true test of our language skills. Overall, we are enjoying our time strolling the cobble stone streets, passing throught the market, and filling up on locally grown beans, rice and tortillas. Throughout our trip we will be posting more updates as often as we can; electiricty is a luxury and not always reliable here. We are thinking of you all, and carry you with us on our travels.

Warmly,

Meg and Steve

CELL Central America Semester Program in "Sustainability through Community"

On January 25, 2009, a group of eight students and two teachers are traveling to Central America as part of a three month study abroad program with the Center for Ecological Living and Learning (CELL). The program focuses on a theme of "Sustainability through Community," and the CELL group will spend time in three different countries: Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Students will receive 15 college credits while:

• Working with some of the world's most respected community sustainability organizations, including Heifer International and others.
• Immersing themselves in the rich, diverse cultures of Central America.
• Learning through service to others.
• Taking a leadership role in promoting local and global sustainability.

Please stay tuned to this blog for periodic entries on the group's adventures...