Curious

The shortage of landfill space across the globe has made waste an important issue that every nation has to deal with. In Canada, recycling is promoted as way to reduce waste and contribute to a greener planet. I’ve always been a fan of recycling; it even became second nature to me. When I have garbage, I’m used to sorting it and placing it in the recycling box. But to my surprise, my apartment here in Ecuador didn't have one. When I asked my roommate why he didn't recycle, his answer was “nobody recycles at home Cassie, that's something some people do at work.” I convinced myself that his opinion could be the exception, and decided to ask more people.

By reading my blogs one may gather that I'm a very curious person. I like to know why, things are the way that they are, and am never scared to ask. That's one of the reasons I chose international development as a field of work, because I learned some reasons “why” the world was the way that it was, and I wanted to be part of the “however-it-is-slowly-changing-for-the-better. . .” part. My mom has always encouraged my curiosity, and never got annoyed with me and my endless questions. (okay.... maybe sometimes. But not as
much as she could have.)

"Curiosity may have killed a cat, but that almost never happens. Be curious anyways, because many good things come through the discovery of newness."

I noticed that there were recycling boxes at the Cerro Blanco protected forest area where I worked.

I then decided to do what I hoped many other Ecuadorians did. I kept my water bottles, and other recyclables in a bag that I took to work to  recycle them. One thing that everyone at work has in common, is a love for nature. However, when I asked my fellow employees at work whether they recycled at home or not, I was shocked that none of them did.

“There isn’t a national recycling government policy in Guayaquil. Recycling companies are privately owned here. In my opinion, things should be different, but that’s out of my control.” – Ana Cristina Onofre, work employee and friend.

Recycling isn’t exactly a new way of science that just surfaced. People have been recycling in Canada since the mid-seventies, and over 80 million tons a year at that! It simply didn't make sense to me that Ecuador didn't recycle, especially since they're the first country who gave rights to nature in their new constitution as mentioned in my Progress blog.

My curiosity officially had the best of me; I needed to know how such a green country lacked environmental policy.  Thats when I spoke to my friend and in-country mentor, Sonja Janousek. She's been mentioned several times in my blog posts for good reasons, and here I go again. . .

Sonja showed me the silver lining in this whole "no recycling" thing.  Though there's no official recycling policy or guidelines in Guayaquil, there are many organizations working towards changes through the promotion and implementation of different recycling projects. I learned that Sonja was involved in this very type of project. The name of the project was “Organizational strengthening” and was set in the Jardines del Salado community. The project began in November 2009, however the environmental management component of the project was added the following year.  

Night picture of entrance

 Sonja was hired to implement the enviroemental component of the Organizational Strengthening project. The mission had two components; the first one was community strengthening.This component included developing environmental knowledge among adults. The second one was environmental management. This component included performing a diagnosis of the environmental problems within the community, creating an environmental club, and running two recycling campaigns.   

“In community development it's important to be honest, give them skills and resources to “do it themselves” rather than having to depend on others.” –Sonja Janousek

The Eco-club, in school recycling contests, and community cleanups were great successes achieved with the project implementation within the community. They reached their Mission and Objectives in a big way.

Clean streets

I was invited to the project closing open-house event because of the dynamic activity that did with the children of the community in August. I was happy that the children remembered me, and showered me with hugs upon my arrival to the location of the celebration.

Their shirts say : Ecological club for a better world. It has a pictures of kids, mangroves and birds. It aslo has the reduce, reuse and recycle symbol around the image.

The event was held in an open space  right by the mangroves of the community.

It provided information to the community members, showcasing activities that were done by the kids in the Eco-club through posters and games.

Posters and collages of activities

Parents admiring pictures

I personally learned a lot about the Jardines del Salado Eco-club activities. (I just knew the part that I was involved with)

Some of the things that were done with the childrens Ecological club were: 

-       Workshops on how to advocate for nature through picture videography. These videos were presented to everybody during the ceremony. It was cute to see the little creators react so enthousiastically to their movie directing debut. 

We were presented with games that they played.

A game entitled "water guardians" created by Isabel

 Arts and crafts displayed made by the kids:

There was also a Garbage fashion show: Participants designed clothing from garbage and other reusable materials. I was amazed by the results! We did this at Niagara College last year, and these designers  could have competed against us... and won.

They went on several trips and excursions to surrounding natural areas (How I got to know them)

And much much more.

“A great success factor was consistency with the kids. Not only being there once a month but on a weekly basis. It wasn't easy keeping them busy and interested however it was a very rewarding thing to achieve. I especially loved when I began to see them understanding the importance of the environment and actually getting excited about it.” - Sonja Janousek

The celebration also had : Face painting, clowns on stilts, dance choreography performances,  prizes for the winners of the school recycling contests, as well as the Garbage fashion contest. 

What's a community gathering without food? It also had healthy food being promoted in a nutrition booth with the recipes included. 

Lentil Tortillas

Delicious may I add

Enjoying the food

And finally, certificates were given to the Eco leaders. 

“In community development its important to be honest, give them skills and resources to “do it themselves” rather than depend on others.”

The schools that participated in the recycling contest received certificates as well.  The ones that recycled the most plastic bottles and paper, won books about the environment for the library and classrooms. 

Sonja presenting teachers with certificates

Everybody learned something from the project in the Jardines del Salado community. The facilitators of the project learned that it would have been better if the project that was planned for the adults of the community focused on a smaller group of leaders, rather than the unrealistic number of 200+ adults of the community. 

"The community learned how and what to recycle, let’s hope that they continue to do so even after the project is finished. This project may have just been baby steps, however it got the students involved and the community working together towards an ecologically sustainable goal (litter free streets, and nature)." - Sonja Janousek

I personally learned about a project that contributed the the improvement of Ecuador's waste management. This was just one of several great examples of dedicated organizations looking to make an ecological change in Ecuador through education and individual recycling programs. I would have never known about Ecuador's lack of policy when it came to recycling if it wasn't for my thirsty curiosity. Now that I better understand the situation, I can continue to contribute to the growing trend of recycling programs for the remainder of my stay.
It's so very simple to me:
Curiosity + Information = Discovery & Understanding = Opportunity to help make a change

My wonderful friend, and fellow CIDA intern in Fortaleza Brazil, Amber Tallman shared the following quote with me.

``The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.``
 

-Albert Einstein