Brigada Verde

This past December I participated in a workshop by the name Brigada Verde. So much happened, it was a lot of fun and I have TON of pictures, but in the interest of working smarter not harder, I'm going to leave you with an article I wrote for the Aldea newsletter. Enjoy!

“What we take for granted might not be here for our children”- Al Gore, Inconvenient Truth

That poignant idea was the overall theme of the first annual “Brigada Verde” hosted by Peace Corps Ecuador. Peace Corps is an organization of the United States that provides assistance in different technical fields such as, Natural Resources, Health and Social Work with Youth through the work and the help of several volunteers.

The eager group of participants consisted of 18 Peace Corps Volunteers and 20 youth leaders from various communities in Ecuador. The objective of the “Brigada Verde” Workshop was to capacitate the volunteers and their youth leaders with the information necessary to bring back the awareness of the serious issues of the

environment to their respective cities. During the week long workshop the participants learned, how to form an EcoClub, the environment issues that plague Ecuador’s different regions, how to make crafts out of recycled trash and how to plant trees to reforest barren areas.

This was not your typical conference where you simply sit and listen to an expert speak. This event was full of hands on activities and a lot of participation. The youth were challenged to create 3-D maps of their area using clay, water bottle tops, wooden sticks, balloons and anything else they could find. Everyday the youth were given opportunities to speak in front of the group over their ideas on how to make positive changes in their communities. The learning didn’t just happen in the conference room, participants were outside getting their hands dirty planting trees, roots and other plants as well.

One of the favored participants Thai from La Aldea Infantil SOS de Esmeraldas says she enjoyed most “ learning to make crafts out trash.", about the event. She is planning on starting an EcoClub in her community in February when the youth are on vacation and have plenty of time to dedicate to the various possible projects such as mingas, recycled art and reforestation.

While the days were filled with hard work there was also time to get to know one another and have fun! The youth were given time to run around, play together, eat together and watch movies at night, such as the analytical documentary “Inconvenient Truth” and the light hearted cartoon film, “Rio”. Before departing on the final day participants were awarded certificates for their hard work. Brigadas Verdes was a huge success and great experience for all who participated.

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After the event myself and another volunteer took our jovenes to the Mitad del Mundo. So much fun!