A half-hour north of Cali, Colombia, in the agricultural village of El Bolo, a sizeable group of women have been laboring for 6 years to create an eco-village on the grounds of a former finca. It's a "sweat-equity" project for single Moms whose great dream is to own their own home. The project was initiated by Angela Dolmetsch de Cuevas, a local lawyer and activist who also started ASOMUCAF, a non-profit that helps women within Cali. ASOMUCAF offers a store where they sell lovely handmade art papers from recycled materials.
During 2009 and 2010 I was invited to participate at Nashira under the auspices of a sub-project, La Vida es Teatro, directed by Veronica Wiman, an independent curator from Sweden, who now makes her home in Cali. An ardent champion of women's rights, Veronica invites various artists, designers and architects to contribute to the childrens' area at Nashira. In 2009 we were able to design and finance the construction of a play structure that gives the children a wonderful, shaded and elevated "place of their own". It is made from guadua, the local timber bamboo, an economical and entirely ecological material. Eco-Bamboo in La Candelaria was a tremendous resource, lending tools and expertise to the project.
In 2010 we had less funding and a more modest goal: to make an educational garden in the field next to the play structure. We created a small garden in the shape of a butterfly and planted it with a wide variety of perennials that should attract even more insects. The plants were provided by Plantas Selectas, the compost came from Nashira's quail pens, and the border was made from locally felled eucalyptus trucks. With care, more rain and luck (always), there should be a lovely garden next year so the children can study, write and draw the phases in butterfly growth.
No comments:
Post a Comment