Over the last week the PMs and members of the Fieldbase team have been travelling throughout Costa Rica and Nicaragua to visit all of the projects that will be undertaken over Expedition 13A. Every PM team has written a blog about their experience and I think you will be able to tell how incredibly excited we are about the projects we are going to be undertaking.
Alpha 7: Matapalo, Achuapa, Water Project
Lena, Antonio and I visited Raleigh's water project in Matapalo, a remote village which is a 45 minute bus and 6km walk from the local town Achuapa. Upon arrival we met with Brigido, the head of the Cooperativa Juan Francisco Paz Silva, who expressed how grateful he was to Raleigh for undertaking this project. After incredible Nicaraguan coffee, sesame seeds and delicious honey, all grown by the Cooperativas farmers, we met with Norberto the Vice-President. It is Norberto's village Matapalo that will be benefitting from the gravity water feed system which Alpha 7 will be installing and his home that Lena and Antonio will become a part of.
Antonio and Lena visiting the Cooperativa
Norberto and his family, alongside 4 other homes in Matapalo, don't have access to safe and clean water, at the moment Norbertos family walk down a steep hill to collect water from a river below their house 3 to 4 times a day to use for cooking, to clean, to drink, to water their crops and to give to their animals, it is such a basic human right that we don't even think about turning the facet but for the beneficiaries, this will be the first time they have had access to safe water just outside their front door. 
Gabby and Lena in the kitchen
The families hospitality was humbling, Grandma cooked beans, rice and tortilla for us and welcoming us into their home when they had one candle for light ad 3 rooms: a kitchen with a fire burning stove (which you can tell is affecting their respiratory health) then two rooms for the family of 4 children, parents, Grandma and Uncle to live in, we were really overcome by their generosity.
This project will encompass digging 3km of trenches and installing a water tank filtration system, the ground is hard and the work will be tough but working with the community leaders to install this system, educating the community on health and the benefits of safe clean water will hopefully leave an positive legacy for Matapalo.
This project will encompass digging 3km of trenches and installing a water tank filtration system, the ground is hard and the work will be tough but working with the community leaders to install this system, educating the community on health and the benefits of safe clean water will hopefully leave an positive legacy for Matapalo.
Sunset with Lena and Antonio in the river running alongside Matapalo
5am sunrise walk out of Matapalo
Guest Blogger Marie from Alpha 8: Siares, San Ramon, Pre-school
For anyone who has spent anytime in a room with child aged 3-5, you know how distracting it can be. Now imagine there are 15 alongside a younger class of pre-school children being taught in the same room, you are trying to listen to your teacher in order to pass your exams and get into secondary school. Sounds quite chaotic doesn't it?
Coffee beans farmed by the community of Siares
Well it is for this reason that Alpha 8, led by PMs Dav, Denise and Marie, will be undertaking a building project in Siares, San Ramon, Nicaragua, installing a pre-school. This small coffee producing community is part of a co-operative managed by UCA San Ramon. A stipulation of the Fairtrade agreement and the premium earned was to collectively be used to support the educational supplies for the new pre-school and the building is being built by Raleigh with funds from the Myles Robinson Trust, who are great supporters of Raleigh and work to support charities whom facilitate young British people to travel overseas to either teach children or to help develop educational facilities in the poorest of developing countries.
Meeting the community to discuss the project
It is a human right for every child to receive a primary school education, this Raleigh project is one of many focused on working towards the UN Millenium Development Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education. Over the course of this 3 phase project 45 volunteers will have the opportunity to gain leadership and management skills, improve their Spanish, gain insight into the daily community life in a remote Nicaraguan village and co-ordinate community action days to raise awareness of the importance and benefits of education and pre-school attendance; many children were pulled out of the pre-school in Siares due to the disruption by the smaller children.
Looking at the plans for the pre-school
The new pre-school is going to be 14mx6m, with a moveable dividing wall, allowing for 30 children per room. Overseen by a local maestro (foreman) and assisted by the fathers in the community, this is an extremely labour intensive and hands on project for all Raleigh volunteers. They will be very deserving of their delicious home cooked meal at the end of the day, living in the community with host families - every volunteer will get a real Nicaraguan experience, although basic standards of living.
Guest Blogger Katharine from Alpha 9 – Conte Burika Health Post
Shane, Helena and I have just returned from 2 days in the Conte Burika Indigenous Territory at the South Western tip of Costa Rica. We’re buzzing with excitement about what this project has in store – the journey there and back is an adventure in itself! Over the 3 phases of Expedition 13A we plan to assist the local community in building a Health Post – something the community have never had within easy access (the nearest medical care is currently a 6-7 hour walk, followed by a 60km bus journey).
We were greeted at the Costa Rica-Panamanian border by Patricio – a gentleman from within the Ngöbe-Buglé indigenous community – he guided us to his village, trekking 5 hours through beautiful jungle, filling our water bottles in streams along the way, stopping occasionally to enjoy a can of cold beans, some nuts & raisins – good old Raleigh staples!
Walking back to Fieldbase, sunrise at 6am
On reaching his village it felt an absolute privilege to be permitted access to such a remote, private and humble community: to sit down to dinner with Patricio’s family (a delicious combination of rice, beans and plantain); to practise our (currently limited!) Spanish; to experience a vastly different way of life; and to get excited about working with the Ngöbe-Buglé people – not only building, but also getting involved in community mapping, speaking to elders about the history of the area, and setting up Action Awareness days to promote such things as hand hygiene, waste disposal & use of the medical centre and its benefits.
The completed community centre built by Raleigh in 2007
Raleigh already have a presence in this village – our team will be sleeping in the Community Centre built by Raleigh in 2007. It is a wooden building on stilts, a structure similar to the Health Centre that we are planning to build only 100m away.
Our new home
At the end of our brief visit, Patricio led us out along a spectacular 6 hour beach trek (this will be our route in when we return with our group in 10 days time) – the bright blue Pacific Ocean to our left, black sand underfoot and dense jungle to our right. A truly unique experience. We can’t wait to take the Venturers back with us and begin work on this incredible project which we hope will make a sustained positive impact.
Sunrise beach walk
Guest Blogger Sacha from Alpha 10: Housing Project in La Arenilla, Miraflor - we be building yo!
Angie, Victoria and I travelled for 2 days from Raleigh Fieldbase in Turrialba to La Arenilla Nicaragua, a long journey which culminated in a quick jaunt along a steep, rocky stretch of country road, we finally arrived in La Arenilla. Our work here will involve building strong, sustainable houses for six families in this small Nicaraguan community. Having spent a night in the home of Davíd, the community leader, a light rain shower made it very apparent why this is such a worthwhile and needed project. The houses are very basic, made from loosely-aligned wooden planks, with corrugated iron roofs and mud floors. Lying in bed, water spritzing our faces through the walls, we realised how damaging a serious storm would be to home and health.
One of the sights for the new houses
Having met all six families, we are excited at the prospect of staying with them as we build their new homes. Most families grow their own fruit, vegetables and coffee so the meals are always delicious and the locally grown organic coffee will convert even the most vehement haters. At dawn, the nearby forest comes alive with the sound of grunting monkeys and the views of the surrounding mountains from this hilltop community will move you. We are very excited about this one.
Beneficiaries of a new house
Guest bloggers Claire, Louise and Clive will be letting you know about the Environmental projects tomorrow so check back!
