Archive for the ‘Volunteering’ Category

Ulaa Update!

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Here at Enchanting Challenge we wanted to provide volunteer opportunities for people interested in pursuing their challenges.  The objective of Enchanting Challenge is to challenge yourself, your neighbors, and other people aroudn the world to take action…to change the world.  It can be very small actions, or very big ones.   The site is taking shape with personal challenges like “To save energy, I will hang dry my clothes instead of using a drying machine,” or “I will plant a garden in my backyard,”  or bigger actions like “Bone Marrow Donation Registry,” and also developing a longterm Philanthropy Plan to figure out how you can donate your time.  Any challenge is a good challenge, don’t be shy, don’t think that small actions don’t add up to big changes.

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Enchanting Challenge wanted to provide a destination for people interested in taking a personal challenge.  Ulaa is an organic farm located in Patagonia, Chile.  It lies on the border with Argentina, overlooking a beautiful lake.  On the organic farm, Ulaa grows a lot of food: apples, nuts, berries, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, carrots, beans, basil, oregano, plums, and more.  A few months ago the organic farm at Ulaa needed a lot of work.  Martin, Ulaa’s caretaker and farmer, had a lot of work that he couldn’t keep up with.  We decided to try to attract volunteers to come and stay at Ulaa, free of charge, in exchange for their work.  We sent out notice for volunteers, and the response was overwhelming.  Dozens of people from various countries inquired about spending time at Ulaa.  We currently have 6 volunteers at Ulaa from Brazil, USA, Croatia, England, and Australia.  We have other volunteers coming soon from India, Mexico, and France. 

It’s been an overwhelming success for both sides.  The volunteers have loved their experience at Ulaa, getting close to  nature, learning about living simply, growing their own food, eating and living in a healthy and sustainable way.  And, Martin is pleased with all the help he has received.  The farm is growing, developing, and expanding because of all the help from the volunteers. He has been able to undertake bigger projects because of the manpower he now has. 

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Below are a few words from one of our volunteers about his experience at Ulaa.  Geff was separated from his brother for over 15 years and only recently reunited with him.  They wanted to change their lifestyles, and wanted to get closer to nature and really enjoy life:

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My experience with Ulaa Patagonia has been magical and wonderful.  I haven´t never being so in touch with nature and myself as I have being in this new experience of life.  After living apart from my only brother for 15 years Ulaa has being helping us get to know each other in a such great way with a clear state of mind and spirit, in my opinion the way life should be is the way. We are living at Ulla down-to-earth with fascinated new experiences everyday meeting new people with different cultures and countries and not to mention the natives so called (lugareños).
 
I have being volunteering here with my brother for 2 weeks now and I would love to help Sr. Martin to achieve all the goal and ideas to this wonderful place called Ulaa.
Volunteer at Ulaa Patagonia
Geff Alves

 

And his brother, Zaca, agreed.  His experience getting to know his brother again, in a place like Ulaa, has been wonderful.  His words are in Portuguese:

Estava passando por um mau momento, meu unico irmao que nao conviviamos por mais de 10 anos retornou ao Brasil.
Para mudar a rotina, comecamos a buscar uma maneira de vivermos juntos com mais tranquilidade.
Atraves do WOOF descobrimos Ulla e decidimos nos voluntariar.
Fomos muito bem recebidos pelo Sr Martin e um voluntario da Espanha chamado Chavier.
Noutro dia fomos colher batatas e foi muito divertido, conheci um nativo que vive em Ulla chamado Charlo muito gente boa tambem.
Martin nos disse sobre a intencao de mudar o conceito para Ulla Tribe, explicou-nes certinho e achei muito interessante.
E para mim viver em Ulaa esta sendo muito bom, estou aprendendo muitas coisas e para mim sera excelente fazer parte desta nova etapa.

Zaca

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And this is what taking personal challenges is all about.  These people decided to take a risk to improve their lives, lend a helping hand to someone else, and learn from the process.  The volunteers have learned how to farm organically, live off of local resources, and live in a environmentally sustainable way.  They have also met really fun people from different countries, and share laughs together.  And their volunteer committment has been a huge help to Martin in developing and expanding the organic farm. 

 Check out Ulaa’s Facebook fanpage!

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Community Gardens and Eating Locally

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Yesterday, I talked about the danger of Swine Flu and its relation to the industrial food chain.  Raising animals in dirty conditions will cause those animals to become diseased, and the antibiotics given them end up in the food we eat.  And every now and then certain bacterias will mutate and become immune to the antibiotics and create new disease outbreaks.  This is, of course, simplifying the whole idea, but you get the point.  You could eat all your food from these industrial sources if you like, and you may never suffer from any food-borne illnesses.  But that is a risk that is up to you.  One way of decreasing the odds that you are exposed to such illnesses is by buying and eating locally. 

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There are tons of reasons to eat local food.  First and foremost, you are keeping your money within your own community.  Your neighbors will appreciate you shopping at their establishments and supporting local operations helps your community prosper.  In addition, eating locally cuts down on greenhouse gases.  Typical food travels thousands of miles to get to your plate, releasing pollution into the atmosphere.  Every piece of produce you get from some far away place means more pollution into the atmosphere.  Furthermore, and maybe the point that is the most relevant considering the recent news, eating locally ensures healthier food.  If you are eating food from a small farm in your town or state, there are better chances that the food has not been injected with hormones, pesticides, or antibiotics.  Of course, you may have to do some homework to confirm that, but a typical farmer’s market will be organic food.

Now, who has time to do that?  Who has time to drive around to farms just so that they can eat locally, especially when Safeway has everything you need?  There are plenty of ways that you can eat locally.  First of all, as I said, you can find a local farmer’s market in your area.  And that’s really easy.  Log on to Local Harvest and just simply type in your ZIP code and that’s it, it will bring up a list of farmer’s markets in your area.  You can also filter for eco-friendly restaurants, farms, and co-0ps in your area.  It’s easy and a great way to eat fresh local food and support your community. 

One huge obstacle to eating locally is the change of seasons.  How do I eat fruit in the middle of winter?  Well, I admit, this is difficult, and I often can’t follow this rule myself.  But, if you can commit to eating just some of your meals using local, seasonal ingredients, then you can make some progress.  That means strawberries and tomatoes in summer, pumpkins in fall, and potatoes and in winter.  It’s tough to do, but it also exposes you to different types of fruits and vegetables that you might not have previously known about.  Once again, this might seem like a lot of work, but a great way to facilitate this practice is joining a CSA.  What’s a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture is a system in which you pay a farmer a certain amount of money up front, and then you get a certain amount of produce incrementally throughout the year.  The advantages of this are allowing you to eat fresh, seasonal food throughout the year.  CSAs are also good systems for urban-dwelling foodies.  If you live in a city, chances are farms are not very close.  CSAs allow you to get this fresh, local produce, without the hassle.  It also provides the farmer with capital to work with, and a secure market in which to sell his crops.  Win-Win.vegetables

Home gardens and community gardens are another great way to eat locally.  It has been reported that home gardens are on the rise across the country for a variety of reasons:  save money on food, environmental concerns, and food security concerns.  If you can turn that useless plot of grass in your backyard into a home garden, you can grow your own produce (free and renewable), cut down on pollution (less driving to the store, less mileage on your produce), and your food will be healthy (no pesticides).  Some may think that’s a lot of work, but some might find it fun to see something through from start to finish.  Community gardens are also increasing in popularity.  Unused grassy plots of land within the city limits can be converted into gardens.  There are countless positives that come with community gardens.  The ones I listed before (fresh, eco-friendly, healthy food), but also education.  Teaching people about eating healthy, providing education and work opportunities, and teaching children about ecology and biology.  I just read about the 7th Street Garden in Washington DC, a community garden in the Shaw Neighborhood.  They turned a closed down school into a garden, growing all sorts of fruits and vegetables.  They have gone through 2 growing seasons and produced 70 bags of fresh produce to disadvantaged DC residents, while teaching over 250 local children about gardening and nutrition.  Pretty cool way to use an abandoned plot of land.

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7th Street Garden in Washinton DC

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Business Profile: Casita Linda

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Throughout the economic crisis we talk about all the unfortunate people who face debt, home forclosures, job losses, and so on.  And while these developments are surely awful, what never gets talked about is the people who have almost no options at all.  The people who have been chronically homeless and never lucky enough to be blessed with jobs, money, or good life options. 

The small town of San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico is one such town where there are people who have fallen through the cracks.  Antonio and his wife Maria lived in a makeshift house with walls made of cardboard and a roof made of tin.  He had tried to find work in the United States but was not successful, his illegal immigrant status keeping him from finding consistent work.  They spent a year in this makeshift house, with little hope for the future.  That was until Casita Linda, a Mexican non-profit offered to build them a home.  Antonio and Maria now do not have to live in a shack with a leaky roof that can’t protect them from being exposed to brutal weather. 

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So far, there are 22 other amazing stories from people who have been helped by Casita Linda. It began in 2001 when stonemason Jeffrey Brown and consultant Irma Rosado founded Casita Linda with a small monetary donation. They began building concrete houses for the desperately poor in San Miguel de Allende.  They enjoyed relative success, building 13 homes for an average price of $1,500 to $2,000.  Their design received a makeover in 2008 with the help of architecture students from Rhode Island School of Design.  Casita Linda decided to redesign how they built their homes to make them more aesthetically pleasing, healthier, and thermally beneficial for the families.  They now build houses out of adobe, a natural building material made of sand, clay, and water.  Houses in Mexico have been built with adobe for hundreds of years, but its use is beginning to disappear.  But, adobe is toxic-free, natural, and it is perfect for insulating heat during winter and keeping the house cool during summer.  It’s perfect for building small homes for families in need. casitalinda012

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Casita Linda consults with local organizations in San Miguel de Allende to decide who are the residents most in need of homes.  They make timelines for the homes to be built and employ local volunteers, paid Mexican laborers, and visiting volunteers to construct the cozy adobe houses.  Mattresses are made from recycled plastic bags that are covered in fabrics.  Furthermore, solar panels are used to supply electricity.  These unique homes can now be constructed for about $4,500 to $6,500. 

Little by little, Casita Linda is allowing people to live their lives with dignity, in their own homes.  And along the way, they are rebuilding the idea of communities.  Now in homes, families can stay together, and neighbors can live amongst one another. 

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However, Casita Linda is severely short on funding.  They rely entirely on donations and with the current economic crisis, the donation pipeline is drying up.  Since each new home is not extremely expensive to build, every little bit helps.  Donate today to Casita Linda and help the desperately poor improve their lives. 

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Volunteering During a Crisis

Friday, March 27th, 2009

The current economic crisis has slowly but surely spread its wrath across the world, leaving very few unaffected.  Unemployment, salary reductions, debt, and home forclosures have forced everyone to save, struggle, and cut back.  Normal citizens who only go about their business have been crushed by the weight of greed by a select few.  There are millions of victims across the world.  From all the bleak headlines you see in the newspaper everyday, you would think there would be little reason for hope.  Such dark times would breed dark moods and dark outlooks from the general population. 

I would think that people would close off and fend for themselves.  That the newly unemployed would focus on themselves, and spend their time looking for new jobs.  But, I came across an interesting article

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Eryka Teisch volunteering (NY Times Photo)

 in The New York Times, on March 15th, that made me pause.  Instead of isolating themselves and playing “every man for himself”, these people have turned to volunteering.  Volunteering has seen a huge increase in the past couple of months, mostly from people who have lost their jobs. 

Among a few of the examples are Lisa Traina, who was recently organizing private parties at a sleek art gallery.  She lost her job and is now volunteering 10 hours a week trying to guide homeless men and women to shelter. 

Nina Duh is a volunteer at an elementary school and a finance workshop….she worked for Lehman Brothers in September before its collapse. 

Eryka Teisch worked for a financial technology firm but she was layed off.  Now she volunteers for a company that delivers food to the homes of the ill. 

The flow of volunteers has been so sudden and so large that many of the small companies can’t handle them.  Decreased funding to the volunteer organizations themselves have prompted cutbacks on projects, forcing them to turn away many of these new volunteers. 

That’s an interesting problem to have though - too many volunteers.  These people would have all the reason in the world to have a gloomy outlook.  Bitterness and anger would be understandable feelings after having been kicked to the curb.  But they are using their newly discovered free time to lend a helping hand.  And they are really enjoying their time at their new volunteer gigs.  For many of them, losing their job was the perfect opportunity to try something new; to see how much they enjoyed service.  They wish that their volunteer positions could be full time jobs.  And when the economy recovers and these volunteer organizations and non-profits are able to build and expand again, some of these volunteers might still be around to be hired. 

By picking up the newspaper everyday and looking at the headlines, it would be enough to make anyone a cynic.  But with news stories such as this one, it makes me optimistic.  Think about it…an economic downturn leads to an increase in volunteering.  The newly unemployed, who now need jobs, want to help other people.  The saying goes, “a crisis is a horrible thing to waste.”  And that rings true in this case.  After spending a lifetime at an office job they might not like, these people are trying their hands at something new.  So, while the economic crisis may continue to wreak havoc on the world’s economies, there’s reason for optimism.  It’s forcing us to reorganize our lives and our societies for a better future.

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Ecotourism

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

Continuing with the theme of conservation, and relating to last weeks posts about agri-tourism, today I wanted to talk about Ecotourism. With rapid deforestation, and the equally rapid loss of plant, animal, and marine life worldwide, it is more important than ever to step up preservation and conservation efforts. Some of the richest areas in biodiversity are under threat from pollution, climate change, and human interference. Trying to keep people away from these sites as much as possible may seem like the logical solution, but that will remain a losing battle. By responsibly allowing rain forests, coral reefs, mountain ranges, and tropical islands to become tourist destinations, we can not only protect these threatened habitats, but provide incentives to permanently preserve them.

*Conservation International Photo

*Conservation International Photo

As Sarah talked about in her blog on March 10, in 2008 the human race has officially become predominantly an urban people. For thousands of years the majority of people have lived in rural areas, growing food, living off the land. But no more. Megalopolises are springing up at an ever faster pace. To keep up with satisfying the needs of our mega cities, more and more of the Earth’s resources are being plundered. More and more trees are being cut down for timber; more and more forests are being cleared by property developers; more and more fish are being extracted to feed the world’s growing population. Quenching the thirst of our crowded planet comes at the expense of our most valuable habitats. Conservation International, a leading international NGO specializing in biodiversity preservation, estimates that one species goes extinct every twenty minutes.

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Conservation International Photo

Ecotourism is one way to help preserve these habitats. Tourism is a massive industry will only grow in the future. The idea behind ecotourism is to encourage responsible travel, educate people on the value of our ecosystems, protect these ecosystems, and provide income for the local populations – and thereby creating incentives to preserve these ecosystems. Governments can prohibit deforestation all they want, but if the local population will earn more money by chopping down trees than they would by leaving them untouched, then laws will do nothing. Preaching about the environment to the poor who live in Brazil’s rain forest, for example, will do absolutely nothing unless they are provided with an alternative livelihood. Ecotourism can create these alternatives.

According to Conservation International, ecotourism has provided income, management, and care for more than 33,000 protected areas. They are actively creating opportunities for local populations and preserving areas across Africa, Central America, and South America. One such project is the Chalalán Ecolodge located in Bolivia’s Amazon Rain Forest. Logging and hunting was destroying parts of the rain forest there and the local populations wanted an alternative. With the help of Conservation International, they built an ecolodge, made out of local materials and owned by the local population. Tourists can visit the forest, and participate in activities like birdwatching, canoeing, hiking, swimming, and more. They receive about 1,000 tourists a year and it provides income to more than 70 local families. Logging and the destruction of the forest has not continued in this area.

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In an effort to promote my latest experience in Ulaa, Chile, I wanted to talk about the Alerces. Located in the rainforests of Chile, the Alerces are trees that resemble sequoias. ulaa-010They are some of the tallest and oldest trees on Earth, often over 5,000 years old. Historically, in Chile these trees were chopped down and used for wood, and because the wood was of high quality, it was often used to build houses. But, the Chilean government outlawed the cutting down the Alerces. Ulaa is located near these trees and it provides a unique opportunity to visit them.  For volunteers on the farm (read the post about volunteering in Ulaa), you can visit the Alerces by horseback, upon the completion of your volunteering experience. It is a day long horseback trip, with stunning views of the forest and the mountains that you ride through. Since these trees are often 5,000 years old, it is truly a virgin forest, having never been touched by man or even forest fire.  Preserving the Alerces is historically and environmentally important.  By attracting tourists to see and learn about the Alerces, Ulaa hopes to raise awareness for this cause. 
For those who are interested in conservation and biodiversity, you can find a wealth of information at www.conservation.org. For those who wish to volunteer on an organic farm, Ulaa is the place. Not only can you volunteer on an organic farm, but you can do so in the beauty of Chilean Patagonia AND you have the opportunity to travel, by horse, to visit some of the oldest trees on Earth.

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