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Carachi-Composters

22/3/2014

Our school (Carachipampa)
has been working
on incorporating an annual school-wide theme into its curriculum and
this year’s is environmentalism.
This practice is in
line with the Bolivian philosophy of education which attempts to address social issues by

having students of all ages work together and consult with community members on specific topics. To this end, grades 5 & 6 have been studying the science behind composting and are now launching a school wide composting project. It’s been great working with them as they figure out all of the logistics and prepping them to present their project to high schoolers. This past week we had a local agriculture expert come in to talk with the kids and help them start the project using all of the organic materials they’ve collected. Education can be a messy business.

"Earth knows no desolation.
She smells regeneration in the moist breath of decay."

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Carnaval

9/3/2014

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Picture four loaded up 7 year olds chasing a pack of teenagers down a street. This is what Bolivians call Carnaval. Four days of street bands, sporadic small group parades, and massive city wide water fights. We’d asked our students what we should expect for this past carnaval weekend but they fell drastically short from describing what we saw. Every ten feet on any main street there would be a family selling water balloons. Groups of about 25 people would walk the streets, some playing brass or percussion while others enthusiastically led in dance. These parades would constantly cross paths, virtually shutting down the city centers. Oh, and did we mention there was water? So much water. Balloons coming from roof tops, cars, corner stores, front doors, and all along the streets. Major roads were lined with people throwing water across at cars and pedestrians, while groups in the back of 1 tons dished it right back. Needless to say we were well pruned by the end of the fourth day.

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Carachi-Composters

Carnaval

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