Last week was a massive undertaking, physically and mentally, and as such the week before that was quite intense with the preparations. Now that we are done, this week has been super busy finalizing everything and starting to get caught up on things we had put off. We have been talking about it being a success, could we do more of these? Yes, but I don't think more than once per month would be practical with groups like this.
We received 13 students and 3 professors from the Middlebury Institue of International Studies, in the name of Quinta Esencia Taller (@quintaesencia), which is our local, environmental NGO, founded in 2012.
We still have a bit of work to do, going through pictures and compiling feedback, but it was a success, and a big one. The weather was great, the academic content was on point, the students were engaged and interested, the professors were impressed - and all signs point to there possibly being another one next year.
Its funny to think about, its hard to notice change when you are in the middle of it, but a thought came to mind that there are not many people that do what we do, at the level that we are doing it. Its almost easy to forget that just a few days prior we were rushing to get everything ready.
But get everything ready we did, despite quite a few unforseen and unimaginable set backs, we prepared and delivered. The full set of positive results from this experience are still to be seen.
Midweek, we took the group up the mountain, 2.5 miles above sea level to explore the Paramo ecosystem and visit a thermal vent. This resulted in some of the most impactful photographs, but was also a bit taxing on the students themselves. They enjoyed it, and gave good feedback, but I wonder if in such a short trip we will continue to be able to include this high altitude expedition.
They got to pick coffee, and get inside the process as they compared their results to that of actual day laborers on El Pensar farm. Socially and Economically, this was an eye opening experience for them, and it was culminated with a 'catacion de cafe', a testing of several different coffees that was a hit among the group.
To cap off the experience, we took the students into the real world of mitigation through an erosion control implementation workshop, installing biological material that they had collected earlier in the week on Buena Vista Farm.
Installing the trees and cuttings are important, but thanks to Middlebury's visit we could fund the instalation of the more complicated and difficult part, the bamboo 'trinchos', which you can see in this video.
We ended the night with live, local music - including sounds from around Colombia, Andean, and Kumbia, among others. Its safe to say that we have some of the best local partners to work with. Especially the Andean music section, with a showing and explanation of Andean instruments, was a bit hit.
You can read more of the overarching experience and what it meant on @arangoaqet's most recent post, both in english and in spanish: Exploring Interculturality through Coffee and Ecological Restoration: An Experience in Colombia.
For my part, we are eager to continue this work, which revolves around sustainable development of all types; engaging the three points of environmental, social and economic development. One thing that has made some progress with our attention since the group has gone is our Pyrolytic reactor, more on this coming soon.
We have a lot going on, sure, and from an outside perspective it may seem to appear a tangled web of unrelated projects. But the reality, one which is coming into view, is that everything we do is related to a single thread, and we are making great progress across the board.
I hope to continue to document this progress throughout 2024, and show how these things increasingly relate, both in theory and ever more in practice.
If you have ever wondered how our Buena Vista Farm, @quintaesencia, ECOBANK and a dozen other things I do fit together, stay tuned because I hope to keep tying the threads together for you.
