Everything looking shiny and ready for the next day
Building relationships and community is an important element of our Project. Since our arrival in February 2011, we have met many people. There are the employees of the various hardware stores, the bank managers and staff, the local mayors, the church leaders and school principals. When we took a moment to pause and look, we realized that it has become a very long list.
Some had made the 8 km trek out to Chivarabal to see what we are up to but many had only heard us talk about it and if lucky, had seen a few photos on our iPhones. It was time to organize an Open House and invite one and all!
Signs and balloons mark the way to the Village
With the wonderful help of June’s volunteers; Meggan, Brooke and Andrea we set the date, the to-do list and tasks. Saturday, June 30th was the day. 10am-12pm was the set time. Invitations were made and delivered. Signs were designed and hung. Flour, sugar and yeast purchased and transformed into sweet bread. Balloons were hung, gardens weeded, plants hung and everything was sparkling when Saturday morning arrived.
Information and signs everywhere!
Daniel and Ruben preparing sweet bread
In total about 100 people came. Including the kids, which was close to half! People were excited by what they saw. People signed up to stay in touch and to offer their time or resources to share! Daniel served hot bread from our wonderful oven and people gobbled it down. Coffee and supplies were provided by our wonderful friends at Tecpán Coffee Shop. Our workers did tours for small groups of people. They said there were many many questions. The thing that triggered the most questions was interestingly, the bamboo. People got excited to help make eco-bricks which is a really important thing for us at this time!
The oven is the place to be!
We feel that the day was a great success and it was agreed that it is something that we should do twice a year from now on. Thanks to our amazing workers, our awesome volunteers and to Nico and Dora for helping make this day so wonderful! What a team!
-Heather Alicia
p.s. Want to see more photos? Here is a link to our Facebook Album with more! Open House Album
Sounds like a perfect day! What a great way to get the locals involved with Project Somos. Way to go team Somos!
Fun! I wish I could have been there! See you next month!!!