Newsletter: ¡Greener Pastures, Brighter Futures!
- Joshua Holmes
- Mar 31, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 8
The following is an El Terreno newsletter published on 31st March 2023
Since the start of the year, it feels like we have turned a corner - now our biggest challenges is how to manage the influx of amazing opportunities and projects!
It's very exciting for everyone here that the hard work of the last 2 years is beginning to pay off, much of it down to you as supporters and collaborators. ¡THANK YOU!
Joshua Holmes
Founder, El Terreno
Back to the Old School
Due to previous government schemes to centralise education, the school in Atandahua has been left abandoned for more than 10 years. Over the past 18 months, the community has been campaigning for it to be reopened and we finally have been given the opportunity to breathe new life into the dilapidated infrastructure.
Thanks to a new collaboration with EcuaExplora, El Terreno will be receiving a group of 26 UK students and teachers to participate in a renovation project on a local house.
Instead of paying for a hostel to accommodate the volunteers, we were granted permission from both the community and the ministry of education to renovate the school!
We've only had 3 weeks to do it, but with help from 20 local people during a 'Minga' community work day, as well as over 100 volunteer hours, we are ready to rock! This investment will be used for future volunteer groups. nursery and of course, a school.
A massive thank you for everyone who has helped us pull this off - look out for next month's newsletter to hear how we got on.
If you have the building skills to create infrastructure for future community and tourism activities, consider volunteering with us.
Leaving a Legacy
We're constantly looking for new ways to disseminate the learning that our interns uncover during their time with us. Interns are also now creating recorded presentations of their work, so that future visitors can continue to build on top of their learning.
Here are some of the example of the interns who have left El Terreno in the last month.
WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
With an estimated 35-45% teenage pregnancy rate in the local area, largely due to lack of education and a cultural taboo on the issue, it's essential that young women are more adequately informed about the subject and the choices available to them.
Julia Spiegel (22, from New York USA) led 10 sex education workshops with teenage girls in the San Juan school. Many of these girls had never had any formal education on the subject and so her work could make a big impact in preventing unwanted pregnancies - something essential in a country where abortion is still illegal.
Watch Julia's presentation on her internship below:
"I have nothing negative to say about my experience at El Terreno. The medicine and public health internship allowed me to get a close up look at how a healthcare system runs in rural Ecuador and I was able to make meaningful connections with the community members we served"
- Julia Spiegel, USA
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
Isabela Valencia (USA) joined us for 6 weeks on her round-the-world trip to explore the effects of climate change on agriculture, and how rural farmers can adapt to a rapidly changing world.
As well as helping significantly with the school garden (see next section), she did an in-depth analysis into other models and practices in the region. Watch the video below to find out what she discovered about sustainable development and climate resilience.
You can also follow her blog
"One of the best parts of this experience was having the best of both worlds culturally: on one hand, you’re able to live in a less-touristy part of Ecuador and immerse yourself in Ecuadorian culture, but on the other hand, you don’t feel completely like a fish out of water.
By the end of internship, I felt that I had made a meaningful contribution. The community of volunteers and interns has also found a special place in my heart. Being here is a really good way to meet people from all ages who are on a somewhat similar wavelength.
"Whatever your reason for looking into El Terreno—everyone comes for different reasons—it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. I'm very grateful the universe had led me there."
- Isabela Valencia, USA
COMMUNITY WATER MAPPING & SUPPLY IMPROVEMENTS
Water safety and security is one of the biggest challenges faced in Atandahua - largely due to the deforestation of the native forest where the water is harvested, to make way for agriculture.
Community college maths professor, Chris Imm (USA), spend 4 weeks at El Terreno with the support of Ecuadorian engineer, Cristian Vargas, to map the community water system. As this technical work had never been done before and by presenting to the community it helps create a clearer picture of the challenges and possible solutions.
Find out for yourself through his recorded presentation.
If you want to make a difference through a hands-on project, while developing your professional skills alongside trained professionals, get in touch to arrange what an personalised internship might look like for you.
School Garden Programme Begins in Bramadero Chico
After the success of our organic garden on El Terreno and the local interest it has generated. We asked Sebastián Araya, our Sustainable Agriculture specialist, to create a community garden with a local school for the low-income community of Bramadero Chico. To help build it, all the parents came to join in with a 'minga' to prepare the space.
But the garden is only part of the story! Sebastián and our intern Isabela have created lesson plans based around the school curriculum, so that classes are a practical source of learning, as well as healthy, low-cost, organic food.
This project is made possible through the generosity of donors from around the world. But there is still a long way to go - we want to run more of these activities to benefit more lives in the rural Ecuadorian Andes.
Please consider becoming a monthly supporter.
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