Participating / Cuba
The Pogolotti forest sows hope
Iluminada is sharing her world with us. A small kitchen knife in her hand, she picks mariposa flowers for the next Santería, before continuing her walk through the Pogolotti woods. She appreciates the woods greatly, having supervised their reforestation. For decades, this area of the Pogolotti-Finlay-Belen-Husillo popular council was just an open dump. “You used to find dead dogs in the middle of the rubbish or skeletons of cars”, says Iluminada, co-founder of the project to restore the woods. Around the blocks of flats where dozens of Havanian families are still crammed together, the air was barely breathable due to the toxic fumes which had been released by a local building materials factory for years. These fumes eventually caused a large number of respiratory diseases among people living in the area, especially children and old people. Read this article.

Demonstrating / Bolivia
A citizen’s forum for sustainable tourism
And Number Four! Organized by Tusoco, the 4th forum for community and solidarity-based tourism took place from November 26 to November 28 in San Ignacio de Velasco, a small town with a majority of local natives located in the Chiquitania region in eastern Bolivia. This forum is the first to be completely organized by civil activists and is based on the idea that local communities can initiate new economic activities by offering a new form of tourism. All those involved in tourism in Bolivia were invited: administrative authorities (municipalities, prefectures, government) but also representatives from the private sector, universities and even representatives from international cooperation organisations. The forum aimed to present the true situation of community tourism in Bolivia and to organize debates leading to constructive ideas for real projects in 2008. Read this article.

Training / Brazil
Acef gives technical skills to the youth of favelas
In the suburbs of Salvador de Bahia in north-eastern Brazil, many disadvantaged families are crowded together; this is where Acef operates. Unemployment, prostitution, failure at school, street children, this is what life is like in this country of glaring economic disparities. It is in Alto de Santa Terezinha, one of the poor districts, that Acef is planning technical courses (engineering or public construction for instance) with theoretical as well as practical classes. The training sessions accommodate up to sixty young people who often have a difficult school or home situation. They are given the opportunity to gain professional knowledge and experience which will help them get a job. Acef was created in 1980 to help families and young children, and at first the association concentrated its activities on the education for children (day care centres and support at school). Over the years, this action moved towards a real project to professionalize young people in difficulty. Read this article.

Cooperating / Bolivia
The Cochabamba farming communities’s new living quarters and community centre
The aim of the Planta d’Apote regeneration project is to construct new premises to provide housing and a training centre for the Cochabamba farming communities. Planta d’Apote is the name given to what remains an artisanal factory where raw materials are transformed into products for the market. The factory is managed by Coraca-Protal, a financial association of the Mayqa Monte, San Julian, Qori Mayu and Carmen Pampa farming communities. For almost ten years now, the members of the association have been processing and marketing honey and chilli powder. These communities, all of which are located in the Cochabamba department, transport their raw materials to Planta d’Apote, where Coraca Protal now intends to provide premises where they can work and be housed. Read this article.

Informing / Brazil
The Landless Workers Movement trains its members to achieve a better communication policy
Today, in order to have its action better known to the public, the Landless Workers Movement (MST) trains its members in audiovisual skills. In fact, the only way for such a popular movement to raise public awareness on their stated causes is to provide efficient media coverage. The main goal is to strengthen the involvement of their members, raise funds, bring necessary attention to their causes, and foster the changes expected. For a long period of time, the production of audiovisual documents (reports, exhibitions, interviews…) about the MST was made by supporters and friends of the movement. Even though these documents turned out to be reliable, they did not always convey the ideas, values and images that the movement wishes to promote. Read this article.

Testimony / Peru
An exposition to popularize potatoes
Promoting the “papas nativas” against the competition of non-traditional cultivation: this the goal of the first potatoes’ trade fair held in Tarma, Peru. Last May more than 30 exhibitors, individual farmers or groups of producers presented their products and exhibited their gourmet dishes. Read this article.

Portrait/ Mexico
Arturo helps rural communities make new objects from salvaged materials
Since 1998, Arturo Buenrostro has traveled throughout Mexico to defend the environment. Arturo works on ecotechnologies and on traditional energy in the realm of Bio, the NGO he created. They organize courses and workshops to promote the sale of objects made from recycled materials. Read this article.