I received an email from Howard and Sarah today. They have made it through their first week and are back in Leticia for resupply. Here is part of the message:
"All is very well with us in the pueblo. We are being looked after well by Gustavo and his family, the volunteer accommodation and facilities are comfortable, and we have been made to feel welcome by the villagers. And importantly, no health issues so far!
We had a useful couple of days with Enrique the translator who helped us get a good understanding of life in the village and helped us collect a good bit of data and general information on the problems faced by the villagers. We also met with the chief and spoke with a number of other villagers. This has helped us form a view on the current priorities that the Amazon Pueblo project should be focusing on - we can feed back more to you later on this.
English classes started on Sunday (4 so far) and are well attended by 20-30 children for 2 hours each day. We have also been giving additional one-on-one lessons to adults and additional time with Gustavo´s family. 5 more classes are planned before we head back on 7th July
We feel there is definite capacity to increase the eco-tourism potential of the village and have also developed some thoughts along these lines. Re the biofuels, Gustavo`s eye`s lit up when we discussed this idea, but it is complex and will require some planning. Some other ideas were also discussed which we can feed back to you on."
Thanks Howard and Sarah!
In other news we now are registered with Wiser Earth, an online social network for sustainability. Here is a link to our page on the website, Wiser Earth Amazon Pueblo.
And in two weeks from tonight I will give my first public presentation about the Amazon Pueblo project. It will be held at 6:30pm at the Rockland Public Library.
Great Post!
ReplyDeleteVery exciting news on the Amazon Pueblo Project Ben. Your vision, passion and commitment to this village is without a doubt, the most amazing thing you've ever started and I just know it will be a huge success. I am very proud of you ! Can't wait to see the next update.......
ReplyDeleteThanks Dana!
ReplyDelete