2.24.2012

.Home sweet home.




At the beginning of February, many returned Peace Corps volunteers from 1962 forward came down to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps DR . Above is a video I made to present for part of the Appropriate Technology sector presentation at the celebration at the beginning of February. It gives a good idea of what the construction of the project entails.



I am back at my apartment after a week and a half stretch on the road (and the sea you could say) to help other volunteers with composting latrines. I trained 2 masons in Las Galeras on the construction of Peace Corps DR circular composting latrine. Now..that is not to say that didn't come with some stressful moments and problems that made me wonder if I should be training on construction without my mason from Dajabon. I knew it was at least something I had to attempt before I left. To the left is a picture of one of the bases we built while finishing the stairs. Soy ingeniera YA! =)



We had a little fiesta at the end of the week and Gaby, the volunteer in Las Galeras, surprised her masons with cake and certificates. They went home and cleaned up after we had finished our 2nd latrine and came back looking sharp. Muy Dominicano.

Next stop, Isla Saona, in a small touristy Dominican village Mano Juan. An environment volunteer, Colleen, used a mixture of community fundraisers (selling Empanadas and movie nights) and a grant funded by Water Charity to plan for the construction of 2 ecological bathrooms at the school. Below are the materials being loaded up in Bayahibe.


After traveling to Isla Saona from the capital with a 20 pound toilet bowl fiber glass mold and arriving soaking wet, a few destroyed items (my phone!!) that were completely swimming with water, we were exhausted. Some community members showed up soon after our arrival and helped to carry the materials to the school. Students whom had volunteered to carry materials ran hiding so that they could get out of the work they had promised. That was our first red flag to stopping the construction this past week. The community showed little to no support in the construction of the bathrooms. Before my arrival, Colleen had made a schedule of volunteers for the week. After no one showing up to work on the first day of the project, the teacher tried to pay a Haitian to help us with the construction. He ended up bringing us sand that looked like dirt and then he said he would not bring any more because the teacher had only paid him for what he had done. We told the community that they had to send us a list of the volunteers (who really would show up) for the week so that we would be ensured that we would not have to stop mid-construction. This could be partially because it is for a school and not for an individual, but in all reality--why would parents not want a bathroom for their kids at the school? Why would they not fight for changing the sanitation and habits of the youth in the community? Beats me. I was pretty bummed that we couldn't build, but I know we made the right decision to not dump a bunch of resources on a community that just wasn't ready. If they were not willing to work, how can we be sure that they will remove compost from the toilets in a few years and keep the bathrooms clean?(Below: picture of the school).

(side note: I found it very weird that tourists go through here in their bikinis and look through the windows..I would find that a bit distracting if I were trying to learn...)

Although trying to be a volunteer on this isla "atrasada" is somewhat impossible, it is still paradise. I felt grateful to be able to make it out there before I close my service in April.