Bella Vista

Our day begins with a 7 am wake up call and we make our way to the dining "hall" for breakfast. We eat, get into our gear ( steel toe rubber boots, hard hats, safety glasses and gloves), don sunscreen and pack water as the sun is shining and its gonna be a hot day. We carry on working at the 4 different stations, digging, building cement forms, cutting and bending rebar. Some children are around but most have left the school grounds for the day as they were there at 7 to write exams and are done for the day. Some of the younger kids are very curious about what we are doing, and over the course of the morning, they begin to join in and help in a number of ways. Conversations ensue and the group as a whole is making amazing progress with their Spanish. I however am not nearly as conversant or skilled as many of the teens are and have to keep asking " how do you say......". Thankfully they are very patient with me . A young boy about 7 takes a liking to me and the rebar cutting task and so Oscar becomes my helper and we enjoy working together for the remainder of the morning. During break time the children and the group enjoy some volleyball together and at one point our group shares a line dance demonstration which everyone enjoys.

At noon we pack up , go to the boat and head back to minga lodge for lunch . Around where the boat docks, children are jumping from trees and rocks into the river to cool off. Luckily for us, the breeze as the boat speeds up the river serves to cool us as well. It has become a tradition that as soon as we get on the boat, singing ensues for the 30 min trip home.

After lunch we head out on our jungle hike led by Roberto, a local resident and guide with the lodge. We begin by hiking uphill for 240 steps and as we reach the top we find another incredible view. The air is dense, humid and hot though the trees provide respite from the hot sun. Roberto talks to us of the different kinds of plants, the destruction of amazon rainforest, cultural uses for the various different plants and the way traditional hunting and harvesting happens in this area. He also demonstrates for us the way palms are used for shelter, basket making etc. We are taught about the shallow and poor soil composition that results in very shallow roots for most trees and vegetation . Less than 1/2 a meter and one is into a clay based composition. We learn about trees that strangle other trees and the life cycle of many of the plants in the jungle .
We hike for about 2 1/2 hours and eventually we have to descend down some very muddy and slippery paths resulting in several spills and muddy individuals by the end - including me ! The first task back at the lodge is to wash out the mud and hope the pants dry by morning, which can be a challenge in this very humid climate.

Just before supper, the storm clouds blow in and we get a wild storm of wind and rain that I can feel soaking my back as we eat supper. The food has been really quite spectacular with the use of local ingredients. Tonight we have a soup made with plantains and beans, a seveche made with palm hearts, tomatoes, onions, spices and baked plantain chips for dipping, grilled eggplant and rice.

Following supper we engage in a process of deepening our understanding of a Minga. This is a local custom where the community gathers regularly to discuss and make decisions about community priorities. A minga can last for several hours or a whole day and into the evening depending on the topic. A consensus is built over that period of time and when the decision is finally made, everyone owns the decisions and then contributes financially and with time to accomplish the goal or project set forth.

The project we are working on in Bella Vista is the result of several of these meetings with Me toWe representatives who worked with the community to achieve this kind of partnership and commitment . Their working philosophy is well thought out and respectful of the country and communities they are in and have avoided many of the traps of traditional development projects where community ownership is not created. The mission of this organization is quite clear and has parallels with what the United Church overseas partnerships and mission work seeks to accomplish as well. Meeting community identified needs while seeking to create conditions for justice to flourish .

To bed we go as another thunderstorm rolls in and it rains solid through out the night. Average rainfall in this region is 4 meters per year.