Welcome Fulham!

On Saturday morning, Field Base welcomed the North Fulham New Deal For Communities Expedition to Costa Rica. This group of nineteen students from Fulham Cross and Henry Compton Secondary Schools are here for 9 days, and will have the opportunity to experience elements of a community, environmental and adventure project.

The group arrived at San Jose airport late on Friday night and were taken to Hostal Toruma in downtown San Jose, by Raleigh International Volunteer Managers Ellie Cottam (also an interpreter), Lucy Collier, Emma Bell and Vanessa Miles (also a Medic). The next day they left bright and early and arrived in Turrialba, Raleigh’s Costa Rican base. The day was spent preparing to deploy on the project, which involved some health & hygiene and radio training, a presentation from Julian Olivier (Country Director) and copious amounts of delicious local cuisine. Due to the time difference, everyone was sound asleep by nine o’clock and up ready for breakfast at half past four in the morning! Just as well, as the bus taking them to their project left at six.

Right now the group are destined for the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. They will pass Limon en route (site of Christopher Columbus’ fist landing in the region), before heading south towards Cahuita and then inland through banana plantations to Finca Vesta. At this point they will be met by Gabriel and Cyriel from the Tayní Indigenous Reserve, who will guide the group into their project and provide horses to carry the tools and equipment required.

About Tayní
The students will be living in an indigenous reserve for five nights, giving them an incredibly unique opportunity to experience a culture and way of life completely different to their own. Tayní is populated by Cabecar indigenous people. There are currently about 6,000 indigenous people in the reserve, living in the communities of Gavilan, Coén, Alto Coén, Boca Coén, Calveri, Xicalar, Jobay, Severe, Tay Tara, Suny and Cumoles. The reserve is 16,216 hectares in size and covers the foothills of the Talamanca mountain range on the Atlantic side. The Pacuare, Chirripo and Tayní rivers all flow through the reserve. Nearly all of the inhabitants speak Cabecar and most speak Spanish. The majority of the inhabitants are subsistence farmers crowing maize, yucca, cacao and beans. Some of the population work in the nearby banana industry in the Valle de la Estrella owned by Dole. The culture of the area is still strong and many traditions persist. The majority of the population are Christians – Catholic and Evangelical.

The Project
The Group will be working in two locations in Tayní – Boca Coen and Isla Coen. At present there is nowhere for the primary school teachers to live in Boca Coen, so the teachers need to either walk for three hours or stay in a very cramped room. The community are building them a house so that they can have teachers permanently based there, guaranteeing the continued education of their children. We will be constructing the floor and painting the building. In Isla Coen, the group will be helping with the construction and painting of a new school, as the previous one is in the flood plain so is gradually being destroyed, and of course is dangerous.

Other Activities
While in the community, the group will also have the chance to experience the cultures and pastimes of the local population. They will go fishing with them, visit the local hot springs, visit and teach in the local school, learn Cabecar (indigenous language) and play football (footwear is optional!) There will be an evening spent camping in the jungle, where they will sleep in a basha hammock that they have constructed themselves, and cook using a Trangia cooker. Upon leaving the reserve they will visit Cahuita National Park where they will see a variety of sloth and monkeys, swim in the Caribbean, stay in a beach hotel, and finally, explore the rainforest in an aerial tram.

The participants on this expedition are: Yasmin Ahmed, Zainab Ahmed, Andrew Ajagungbade, Joseph Butler, Taher Darwesh, Sharna Defreitas, Omar Dixon, Kem Ekundayo, Said Hashimi, Mohammed Homadi, Ryan Keane, Alfie Kelly, Bana Mesgina, Vanessa Miles, Rachel O’Brien, Temitope Oluwadipe, Hussein Omar, Juan Vela Garzon, Jordon Waller and Eric Wong. Teachers Stephen Powell and Shashie Harrie, and Youth Worker Jason Allick are accompanying the group.

It’s going to be incredibly busy, eye-opening and fun nine days. Log on next Friday for an update and to view lots of photos from the expedition.

07J: Week One

Hello to you all from sunny Field Base in Turrialba. The alpha groups have been on their project sites for a week now, so below is an update of what each has been up to. All six teams are safe and happy. A week of bad weather has given them an interesting start to their projects, but the sun is out now and the groups will be feeling extremely proud of themselves for rising to some of the challenges they have been confronted with. The Field Base vehicles are currently out and about, so at the moment we only have photos from Alpha 3. However, photos from all of the project sites will follow shortly. For full details of who is in each group, see the blog before last.

Alpha 1
This group have had a very demanding yet incredibly enjoyable first week, having to contend with an unusual amount of rain on top of their already challenging trek. They have had to reroute a number of times in order to negotiate their way around rivers in spate, but are thoroughly enjoying such logistical obstacles. So far they have stayed in everything from tents to farms to a school, and have been attracting attention everywhere they go - it's not everyday a Nicaraguan farmer sees 13 'cheles' covered in mud with backpacks on passing through their land! As I write this, they are walking from Santa Maria to the base of Volcan Casita, which means they will be right back on schedule - an incredible achievement considering their route changes. We are currently liaising between A1 and Bravo 1 (Raleigh Land Rover) to coordinate a food resupply. The group are having a great time, and in the next week will be experiencing incredible views of the Maribios volcano chain.

Alpha 2
Alpha 2 have also had a very wet week - in fact, some areas of Guanacaste experienced flooding. Don't worry though, not the areas that we have been trekking through - A2 experienced no more than heavy rain for a couple of days! After a wet and muddy first few days, they reached their destination of La Paz and El Pilon, where they had the chance to rest for the day in the sun, visiting waterfalls and hot springs - the perfect way to rest their aching feet. The group stayed in Pueblo Nuevo last night and will stay in Finca Armenia tonight before meeting Bravo 2 (Raleigh Land Rover) in Santa Maria tomorrow for a food resupply. Spirits in the group are very high, and they are looking forward to climbing their first volcano in a few days.

Alpha 3
For a full report on Alpha 3, read the previous blog.

Alpha 4
Alpha 4 have made their accommodation of Santa Rosa Ranger Station very comfortable indeed. This is essential, as during the day they are up to their knees in mud! On the bright side, the recent rain in this area has made digging a lot easier! Incredible progress has been made, the group having far exceeded the rangers’ estimated distance of trench dug thus far. A4 are expecting their first visit from Field Base on Tuesday, so we will bring you all the latest news on this project then.

Alpha 5
It took Alpha 5 two days to get to Wisquili (Wee-ki-lee), but it was certainly worth it for the warm welcome given by the community who had been eagerly anticipating their arrival all day. The group are living with local families in twos and threes, experiencing their humble accommodation and delicious cuisine. The group got straight to work on their water project, impressing the locals with four straight days of hard trench digging. Perhaps Alpha 5 wanted to make such a good impression early on because they were planning to head off to Achuapa on Saturday to watch the final of the Rugby World Cup! The group left early in the morning and caught a live game of baseball, the number one sport in Nicaragua. They then somehow managed to find a place in this one horse town to watch the rugby - quite an achievement! Let's not mention the result though - the cheer from Doc Lock, our one and only South African currently residing atop Volcan Turrialba, could be heard in Northern Nicaragua!

Alpha 6
Alpha 6's project definitely hasn't gone to plan thus far, but it has led to a whole series of unexpected adventures! After spending a day and a half on the bus to the community of Naranja de Fatima, they were warmly received by their hosts. The group are living with the local families in twos and threes, experiencing their humble accommodation and delicious cuisine. They were due to start work on the project site the next day, but unfortunately the truck carrying all of the tools and materials got stuck in the river it had to cross en route - yet again, the excess rain of the last week giving the groups extra challenges, and Alpha 6 rose to it! With the aid of local expertise, they dammed the river and inch by inch dug / towed the vehicle out. Since then, they have made great progress on the foundations of the school building. The group planned to visit Esteli yesterday to watch the rugby, but unfortunately (or fortunately?!) the rivers were too high, so the local direct bus wasn't running. Today the group are having a day off and spending time relaxing with the locals. This morning, they attended a special mass to bless the new building, as well as the group members for all of their help. Alpha 6 have had an incredible first week, and have witnessed how the community pulls together to help each other and solve problems in time of need. Bravo 1 (Field Base vehicle) is due to visit them this week.

Tales from the Volcano…

Two members of field base team returned today after the first few days of expedition spent with Alpha 3 on Volcan Turrialba. The project team up there (Matthew, Liam, Louis, Saskia, Rogier, Ma Lee, Christopher Orr-Williams, Victor, Wayne and Sarah), although stunned by the cold and awesome scenery, are getting used to life and work at 3,300 meters.

The first day consisted of settling into the ranger station and tents that will be their home for the next three weeks, plus a breath-taking tour around one of the dormant craters. On day two the group started work on the enormous task of clearing the path that will take tourists from the existing road track right up to a viewing platform on the summit from where it’s possible to see over the three volcanic craters (two dormant, one active) and right out to the Caribbean coast. Initial group thoughts are that 2 sleeping bags per person and woolly hats were the right decision.

All the other Alpha groups have been in touch by radio and everyone is safe and well. Another field base team is leaving for visits tomorrow so we’ll get news and photos posted here as soon as they’re in.