Establishing a Recycling Centre in Mexico

Dear Supporter, 

The Pez Maya community project is principally located in the community of Javier Rojo Gomez -better known as Punta Allen- approximately 25km to the South of Pez Maya.

Every Monday GVI travels to Punta Allen to teach English classes for kids and adults, but we also organize different workshops explaining environmental issues important in the local area and other activities. On this occasion we decided to break with routine and invite the kids from the Ignacio Ramirez Primary school to come to Pez Maya and participate in a whole day of activities on our expedition base.

Some activities were related to environmental issues, some related to just having fun, but all were related to learning a bit more English and becoming comfortable in the language that will become so important for them as they grow up and seek to develop the town of Punta Allen as a centre for Eco-tourism activities within the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.

First off the kids took part in the treasure hunt, during which they remembered and learned new things about the animals found in the reserve. Off they then went to the Recycling workshop where they were taught how to make colourful baskets from PET bottles and string, to then move on to the slightly less relaxing than you might imagine, sand castle and painting competition. Somewhere in there, the kids also found time to decorate cookies that we, in true Blue Peter style, had made earlier- who could have thought we would need quite so much icing!

Whilst the volunteers were with the Punta Allen children, their parents took part in two different activities with the staff.

Firstly, the Emergency First Responder course - considered very important as Punta Allen is well over an hour away from professional medical assistance - that showcased, and allowed practice of, lots of useful skills used to respond to medical emergencies in the school or the home. And secondly, a very interesting recycling workshop showcasing the ability to re-use empty PET bottles filled with water and re-purpose them as light bulbs in the home. Punta Allen as a rule doesn’t have artificial light except during the hours of 1900 - 2200 as they depend on a generator for all of their electrical needs. Using these plastic bottles filled with water to refract sunlight can illuminate their darker spaces with the power of a 60 watt bulb. 

A fantastic day all round, everybody enjoyed themselves, people got to teach that never would have tried it otherwise (and loved it). Hopefully, Punta Allen has by now some recycled 60 Watt light bulbs and the parting words from most were “Cuándo podemos regresar?” (when can we come back?) Who could ask for more?

All the best

GVI Mexico

Links:

• http://www.gvi.org

Dear Supporter,

The Pez Maya community work main objectives are to raise awareness on different key environmental issues as well as to build capacities among the community. As a part of this project, the staff and volunteers from Pez Maya were taken on four different eco-tours organized by the new women cooperative in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve “Las Orquídeas de Sian Ka’an”. This activity was very important not only to reinforce our relationship with the community but to contribute to women empowerment in Punta Allen fishing village.

The Sian Ka’an Orquids Cooperative (Orquídeas de Sian Ka’an) was created about two years ago by a group of outstanding women from Punta Allen that wanted to offer a different product in the Reserve, diversify the tourist options and support the family economy. They have been working and training very hard for two years to become an ecotourism cooperative in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve and have faced - and overcome - many difficulties to achieve their dream. They have proved as unfounded the skepticism of other people from the same community and established the project at the same time as taking care of their homes, teaching or cooking, etc.

Their project has been supported by different institutions like the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), Amigos de Sian Ka’an, the Compact UN program and the WWF.

We had the privilege to participate, as tourists, in the hiking, history, kayaking and cycling tours, guided by the members of this cooperative. The objectives of this activity were to provide willing, interested bodies for the ladies to practice their performance on the different tours; to tell them our opinions and also to provide them with a guide of the English vocabulary and phrases they will need to learn to offer a better service to international customers.

All the tours generated different opinions and lots of feedback, but in general it was a beautiful experience and it was very rewarding to see these women happy, following their dreams and sharing their knowledge and experiences with us.

Thank you for continuing to support this community.

All the best

GVI Mexico

Links:

• http://www.gvi.org