One man's trash is our new school

“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good." ~ Dr. Seuss

Since my last post we have been "on fire", so to speak. We have finished putting all 7,892 bottles in place, finished plastering the cement on the inside of both classrooms, hosted visitors from seven different towns interested in doing a project like ours, had two television specials shot and articles written by both national newspapers, convinced the entire municipality of Salamá to start recycling their bottles, and turned in a proposal to build a second, even larger building for the middle school students. It has been a fun couple of weeks!

First let me just say that we had a blast putting all those bottles in place. I had a core crew of about 6 community members there every day working full-time and then countless kids stopping by to lend a hand. To be honest, if it weren't for all the fun we were having and all the people that were passing through to check it out and hear all about the project, we probably could have gotten it finished in half the time.

Once the bottles were in place the masons came in. The whole idea was brand new to them, and I think even they were a little skeptical at first, but after the first day they fell right into the groove. Don Nyo, the head of the crew, is one of the nicest guys I have ever met, and is doing an amazing job; couldn't have asked for anyone better.

I have been contacted by volunteers and community leaders from all over the country who have heard about the success of our project and want to try one themselves. Almost every day we have hosted a group of people who are excited to learn about how to build with "eco-bricks". Furthermore, the press has gotten wind of it and yours truly has appeared in front of a couple cameras. I am loving this, because an idea this good deserves to be spread.

Just to repeat, because it can't be said enough, with this one project we are cleaning up an entire community, teaching the youth and their families about recycling and caring for their environment, and building high quality classrooms at a fraction (about 1/3) of the cost of conventional building methods. EVERYBODY WINS!

Because of this good press, and the efforts of my counterpart Don Bacilio, the entire municipality is excited about the idea, and they are including the recycling of bottles into the school curriculum. The idea being that we will not only clean the city up too, but also create a stockpile of "eco-bricks" to have on hand so that we can repeat the project. With that in mind we have started to think about how to build another building for the middle-schoolers. Anyone interested in helping should check out the Hug it Forward website: www.hugitforward.com. They, along with the community tourism association of the town, have sponsored this project. Working with them has truly been a pleasure and an enormous success.

Finally, we have set the date for the inauguration: August 20th. And we are making an event out of it! I have been working really hard to design a community tourism guidebook for the sites of my region, and we are planning to roll it out together with the inauguration of the school. This project was a direct benefit of community tourism, and our alliance, Vivient Verapaz, will be putting together a tourism fair which will be held in Chilascó the day of the inauguration. We want to show people a real example of the benefits that can come from visiting these hidden treasure communities. We are expecting people from all over Guatemala to come, as well as some international celebrities... namely, my Dad!!!

Cheers to pushing the envelope!

.....seven eight hundred and seventy eight, seven thousand eight hundred and seventy nine......

Don Tono getting interviewed by a Guatemalan news station about the success of this project.

You don't have to be a marketing expert to see the possibilities of this one...

We figured, since they are responsible for making the mess they should help to clean it up. So, this week we turned in a proposal to Coca-Cola to help us pay for the next building.

Eric Alberto has been my number one helper. He will be attending the school next year!

Don Tono giving the "can you believe it?" shrug for the camera.

Don Efraín putting the last few bottles into place.

Don Nyo and his crew applying the cement to the bottles. Three layers will be put on: first a rough, dry layer, second a smoother layer, and finally a third layer with lime.

A close up of the first layer in the plastering process.

Bottle School Project Update

"Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!" ~ Dr. Seuss

Today capped off a great week for the project here in Chilascó. After a brief vacation, mid-year for the kids and 4th of July for me, we got rolling on the placement of the bottles. It took a couple of days to feel out the process, but slowly we figured out the methods that work best for us and fell into our groove; we "caught the wave" as they say here.

Day after day more people are showing up to see what the town is now calling "the famous wall of bottles". As more bottles get put into place and the school takes form the people are slowly starting to believe that it's going to work. In fact, invariably they pull me aside to ask if I think they can rebuild their house (usually made of cut trees for the frame, wooden boards for the walls, and tin roofs) out of bottles. "You better keep recycling," is what I tell them.

All of the kids are eager to pitch in a hand, or at the very least stand as close as possible and watch every movement we make; their curiosity and excitement makes this project so much fun to work on. The funniest is when they stand there pointing to bottles and tell me which are the ones they filled. To entertain the kids and visitors, Don Bacilio and I will launch into impromptu lectures on recycling, protecting the environment, or the importance of thinking creatively. And at least once a day we will hop in on a schoolyard soccer match!

We have also been championing the cause in other communities. This project has a certain irresistible appeal to poor communities with trash management issues, and I have already been approached by several other towns about the possibility of helping them build their own"bottle school." I tell them all to start recycling and I will see what we can do. Furthermore, to push the envelope even further, we obtained a half hour television spot on one of the local channels, and Don Bacilio went to work educating the entire department on the magic of bottle schools. People from all over are embracing the idea, and it looks like schools across the department will soon be requiring their students to recycle in their homes, perform community clean-ups, and bring their bottles into class. These bottles are to be shared, with the idea being to expand recycling and make it possible for even small communities to gather enough materials to build new infrastructure.

Our best estimate for finishing this project is for the middle of August. We have agreed as a group that we are not going to rush through the process; that, rather than rush, we will work at a healthy pace and assure that everything is done to the best of our ability. I am all for this approach, not only because it will yield higher quality work, but also, because it affords us more opportunity to educate and inspire.

Cheers to education and inspiration,

Don Tono

Meet Luis, one of the best bottle stuffers in town.

Juan and Bacilio tying bottles to the chicken wire while Doña Rosa looks on.

Orlanca and her son washing bottles to be put in the wall. I have never seen this kid without his sombrero on.

Efraín and me tightening the chicken wire to the frame. This stuff is frustrating and dangerous to work with. After a week my hands are covered in cuts and scratches, but that chicken wire sure is on there tight!

Don Bacilio with a group of kids after one of our impromptu lectures on thinking outside of the box.

Don Efraín with some curious onlookers.

The team after a hard day's work.

Wall #1 DONE!

A couple of proud little helpers and 1,128 bottles stuffed with inorganic garbage.