Los Fabulosos Cadillacs!!!

Becca and I had so much fun at the Los Fabulosos concert in December that we decided to go again when they came to La Plata last Sunday. This time, we were in the Campo jumping up and down with the other crazy Argentines instead of being in the nosebleed section - waaaaaay more fun!


Some "meh"-quality videos that I took:


Basta


Vasos Vacios

Burning Trash

A major environmental and health problem here is the burning of trash in poor neighborhoods - which includes the neighborhood, where I live. Every night riding my bike home, leaving the city and heading into my neighborhood, I can smell the burning plastic, wood and trash. Trash collection doesn't exist in the poorer neighborhoods and the piles are mountainous, even with the burning. The trash accumulation problem irks Horacio the most out of all the environmental problems in La Plata, so he is trying to focus more projects at Biosfera on addressing this issue. We'll see if the government gets involved with this and if anything changes...

Libros en Español

To further update you on my Spanish progress, I finished my first Spanish book 2 weeks ago! It was a huge success for me and the challenge was fun. I read "El Principito" (The Little Prince), which was my first time reading it. I was able to understand all of the sentence structures, but needed to look up a good amount of the vocabulary. Now, I have moved on to Horacio Quiroga, who is a famous Uruguayan author. His book "Cuentos de La Selva" (Stories of the Forest) is short stories about animals for children (or beginners to Español like me). He has a number of other short-story books, which are much darker, similar to Edgar Allen Poe's style. We read one in my language school in Buenos Aires about a woman dying from an animal that lived in her pillow and was sucking her blood nightly. Strange stuff.

Feeling Pretty Good!

This morning, I went to a language school to start Spanish classes. Even though my Spanish has improved a lot by living with my family and working at the Fundacion. I still struggle with comprehension and want to improve my vocabulary. So, I decided to sign up for some more classes. The class is through the University of La Plata at La Escuela de Lenguas. I went 2 weeks ago for an interview and was placed into an intermediate class. I was also told that there were be no more than 4 people in my class. However, when I arrived today, the class was packed with 8 people of all different levels. I am the only American, which I found amusing - 3 French students, 3 Brazilian, 1 German, 1 Malaysian. I unfortunately arrived late and therefore, had to present myself to the class. I was happy though because I wasn't nervous at all. It is nice to know that I have reached the level of basic conversation. During my presentation, most of the other students had no idea what I had said (I guess also a good sign) and so I received lots of questions (Que es un ONG? NGO Que significa medio-ambiente? environment). For the rest of class, we went over extremely basic material. I talked to the teacher after class and she said that she is going to evaluate all of the students after the class next week, so hopefully, I can move up. Otherwise, I probably won't continue. But hey, it felt pretty awesome understanding everything for a change :)

Sabado a Trabajo

Yes, it´s Saturday and I am at work. I just dropped off the tank for soldering and went on an adventure to put in an order for wood. We ordered 8 pieces of 2x4 at 3 meters each for a total cost of $152 pesos ($41 USD). This wood is for the box frame. I still need to buy the thinner wood to cover the frame. I am learning that in order for things to get accomplished I need to be very flexible about my schedule - feriados, weekends, it doesn´t matter. This week is the big construction week, but with Thursday and Friday as holidays for Easter, we will see how much actually gets done. We are going to be buliding a wall at the comedor to support a second tank to provide the pressure by gravity to the collector, build the wooden frame, test the tank for pressure as well as sand and paint the tank black. I´ll update with pictures as the progress moves along. Thank goodness things are coming together, I was getting worried!

Pan Mulitcereal

Last Saturday, before heading out to Punta Lara, I realized that I didn't have any monedas (major problem) for the bus. So, I headed into a dietetica (health food store that sells dried fruit, grains, nuts, etc.) and bought a scrumptious-looking loaf of multi-cereal bread with sesame, sunflower and flax seeds. We munched on the bread all day at the beach and I brought the rest of it home, where my family asked me why I bought bread for diabetics. I wasn't really sure what they meant, but they pointed out the sticker on the side of the bag that explicitly states: "mulitcereal apto diabeticos"
Oh, the Argentines and their "nutritional" beliefs...

Feriados

Yesterday was another holiday here - Dia de Malvinas - to remember the fallen soldiers from the Malvinas War (aka the Falkland Islands). A big mess of a war that was a mistake from the start and the subject is taboo in conversation as most Argentines are a wee bit bitter about the whole experience. Anyway, I enjoyed my holiday, but did come into the office for a couple of hours. With this holiday and the upcoming Easter holiday, I am getting antsy about finishing my project.

After the office, I headed over to a friend's house and 6 of us watched Milk, which I bought boot-leg at the Feria in Plaza Italia. Boot-leg videos are the way to go here, everybody buys them for movies and TV shows (Lost is absurdly popular here). Anyway, Milk was a great movie and after we had a good discussion about Gay Rights, Machismo in Latin American, and relationships in general. For dinner, we ordered in empanadas (a first for me!). They were delicious! They had about 30 different types either cooked in the oven or fried (hello heart attack!). I stuck to the oven type and got a queso y choclo (cheese and corn, my favorite), queso y cebolla (cheese and onion), and carne (the classic). The yumminess of the empanadas certainly made up for the lack of popcorn. I love movie nights :)

Punta Lara

Saturday, we decided to test out the notoriously bad La Plata beaches. And well, they lived up to their reputation. We ventured out to Punta Lara (about an hour by bus from the center of the city).

Completely empty even though it was in the 80s and sunny.

The beaches are a bit dirty and there is absolutely no way I would ever go into the water, but we had a lovely day walking around and hanging out. We wandered over to the reserva and I snapped this lovely photo:

There were a number of cute little restaurants along the way serving the typical Argentine cuisine: carne y chori.

choripan y chimichurri sauce

the obligatory mate

Post lunch, we found a nice grassy spot (not on the dirty beach), had some mate, hung out, went for a walk and took pictures.

It was lovely :)

El Principio del Fin

Friday brought the first departure of a FSD intern from my group. I can't believe that 2 months have already gone by in La Plata. I feel as if I am just starting my project. From now until I live, we will be having a going-away celebration every week for an FSD intern. Time is flying. Anyway, we celebrated the going-away of our dear friend, Charlotte, on Friday.

It started with making some going-away granola.

my lovely Colombian chica

my best "Martha Stewart" pose
This was a super yummy, tropical batch with lots of shredded coconut, chocolate chips, dried pears, dried peaches, prunes, raisins and nuts. Yummy!

That night, we headed to Charlotte's host family's house for a FEAST! Her host mom had been cooking for 3 days and it is a pity that I didn't get a shot of the spread. It was a very Argentine assortment of food - pizza, breads, random things with ham and cheese (Argentine classic). The desserts were off-the-wall - we are talking dulce de leche to the extreme! Square bars with coconut and dulce de leche, chocolate mousse cake with dulce de leche topping and vanilla cake layered with dulce de leche. I couldn't decide on the winner of the dessert contest, even though I tried very hard by sampling each one numerous times :)

Charlotte and me

No Argentine gathering is complete without some dancing and music.

After the group headed to a "bar" (in quotes, because I am not really sure what it was) to see my friend, Manu, play with his band.

Manu is on drums

There were some interesting characters at the "bar"

including the Virgin herself

and this guy, no words can describe...

I called it a night after the show. An early ending in Argentina at 2am.

Día de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia

Tuesday was a feriado in Argentina for El Dia de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia, a controversial holiday that only started in 2006. The holiday is in memory of the La Guerra Sucia, or Dirty War, when the military dictatorship tortured and killed thousands of Argentines from 1976 - 1983. The majority of Argentines targeted by the military was activists and students - a lot in the range of 16 - 22. A couple of weeks ago, we watched an informative film about the experience; La Noche de Los Lapices made in 1986 chronicles the happenings of 10 students that were kidnapped by the military in Buenos Aires. The scariest part was seeing how young the students were. The controversy surrounding this holiday stems from the fact that there is little awareness in Argentina about what really happened (note that this holiday only started 3 years ago). La Guerra Sucia is not taught in all schools and some Argentines simply do not believe what happened. Furthermore, some think that the fighting was matched on the other side with students and activists killing military members as well.

Monday, there is a march in La Plata, which I attended with my friend, Jessie. She works for a non-profit, La Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos (APDH), promoting human rights and awareness. APDH organizes truth trials surrounding La Guerra Sucia trying to bring military leaders to justice and find out what happened to the missing people.

start of the march, Plaza San Martinfliers of missing people were strung around the plazaAPDH volunteers

Vandalism and graffiti were a big part of the march...

house of a known military leader

Video from outside of the court house. Lots of vandalism took place here:

Tuesday, I enjoyed my holiday as a typical relaxing weekend day - did some yoga, went for a run, saw friends. I met Becca in the bosque for some mate in the afternoon. There were tons of people enjoying the gorgeous day there. We were certainly not alone in bringing along mate. There was even a line to get a thermos re-fills at the kiosko.

no park experience is complete without the obligatory mate

That night, we went to a free concert (in honor of the memoria) at an abandoned train-station with some friends.

i think that the entire youth population of La Plata was in attendance

It's a Go!

FSD approved my project! Hooray! They gave me US$1000 to build 3 SWHs. I got the money this morning from my coordinator so it's really happening. Now, the real work begins... Luckily, I have the support of 3 (we added a team member) very, very helpful Argentines. One of whom took me to some chatarreras (junk yards) Monday and we bought out first tank.

chatarrera #1chatarrera #2 - now you see what I mean by junk? I wasn't kiddingmy newest prized possession: tank #1 !!!I even found this cool reflective, insulation material that should come in handy

Below are some more photos that I took at the second comedor, Apprendieno, last week:

la cocina

Apprendiendo is the blue one in the middle

Enferma y Grant

What is it about being sick that automatically induces feelings of homesickness? Maybe it's that when you are feeling yucky, coughing up a lung, and dripping icky gooey stuff out of your nose, all you want is to be in the comfort of your bed and have all of the luxuries of home (i.e. internet in bed and chickarina soup). Well, that is how I have been the last couple of days: sick. I did manage to drag myself out of bed on Monday and go to work to send my grant (whoooo!). So, I should be hearing this week if I received the money for my project. It ended up being more costly than I expected because of the lack of finding "good" used materials.

For anyone interested, I posted parts of my grant below. It's long so read at your own risk...

Introducing La Plata to Renewable Energy Technology: Construction of Solar Water Heaters

I. Executive Summary

The purpose of this project is to raise awareness of renewable energy technology in La Plata. While Argentina is a country rich in natural resources, Argentines have yet to take advantage of these benefits. The physical results of this project are three solar water heaters (SWH) and the creation of an instructional pamphlet. The SWHs have different purposes in promoting renewable energy education. Two of the SWHs will be located outside of the city in comedores (community centers/soup kitchens), La Estrategia del Caracol and Aprendiendo. These comedores are located in asentimientos (shantytowns) that lack sufficient services (such as hot water). Currently, the inhabitants use electric or gas energy to heat water. The last SWH will be located at the Fundación Biosfera with the purpose of promoting renewable energy technology for city-dwellers. This project addresses various needs including: economic, health, education, community development, environmental, and appropriate technology. Several actions will be done to ensure sustainability; most importantly, an instructional pamphlet will be created with information on construction and maintenance for future projects.

The amount requested from FSD, $1000, is 43% of the funds for this project. Because this project spans four organizations (La Estrategia del Caracol, Aprendiendo, Fundación Biosfera and La Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos), various forms of support are included in this project. The in-kind support (31%) comes in the form of borrowed tools, construction labor and volunteered work in graphic design. The remaining 26% will be fundraised by Jessica Landerman and Elizabeth Thys while in country. The funds from FSD will be used to buy materials and tools for the construction of three SWHs and creation of instructional pamphlets.

II. Background

Currently, in La Plata and more broadly in Argentina, there is little discussion about renewable technologies; even though, there exists a surplus of natural resources. Renewable energy uses natural resources, such as sunlight, wind, rain, and tides. Currently, Argentina is a world leader in agricultural production confirming the presence of abundant sunlight. With a coastline measuring 2,899 miles, the winds and tides, which could easily be transformed into a major source of energy, remain an untapped resource. Furthermore, the varied climates (“ranging from subtropical in the north to subpolar in the far south” ) provide an environment where a variety of renewable energy technologies can be implemented for more secure use. In researching alternative energy use in Argentina, I found one story on wind technology in Patagonia. However, this story discusses bringing wind technology to remote communities in Patagonia, and there are many more opportunities to use renewable technology throughout the country.

With the current state of the world, a hurting economy, unstable oil prices, and concerns over climate change, a move away from traditional sources of energy and towards more self-reliance is a smart decision. Besides alleviating stress on the environment, renewable technology is a way to save money. Renewable technology can be used on a small-scale (by household), which is a grassroots way to take control on individual’s situations instead of waiting for government assistance.

In La Plata, there is little to no use of renewable technology. Yet, there appears to be great interest from the population. For example, La Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo at La Universidad Nacional de La Plata recently released a booklet, entitled Calentador Solar de Agua. The purpose of the booklet is to provide a manual for creating household-sized solar water heaters with the objective to: “preserva el medio ambiente, mejora su calidad de vida y promueve la salud.” However, the system in the manual, which includes constructing a solar panel, is complicated with a plethora of materials making it expensive and inaccessible to most Argentine families and communities. This project will create a simpler, but equally as effective, SWH system with fewer materials that can be implemented in both community centers, such as comedores, and households.

The first SWH will be built at the comedor, La Estrategia del Caracol. Biosfera and La Estrategia del Caracol have worked together in the past to produce successful projects. The president of Biosfera, Horacio, has established a close working relationship with the leader of the comedor, Marta Torres. La Estrategia del Caracol provides daily meals as well as a community space for the barrio, Altos of San Lorenzo, an impoverished area of asentimientos outside of the city that lacks sufficient services. The homes in the Altos are constructed haphazardly with metal sheets and concrete. La Estrategia del Caracol has grown in the last year with added improvements of a garden, oven and community learning space (these projects were made possible by grants from FSD).

The next SWH will be located in another comedor, Aprendiendo, located in the barrio of Libertad, Berrisso. Aprendiendo serves an extremely poor neighborhood of families that live in government-provided housing and sustain their families with government assistance. Of all the families in Libertad, not a single one has hot water. With a 10-year history in the community of Libertad, Aprendiendo is a well-established community center. Aprendiendo’s leader Mabel Adurate is dedicated and capable, and is assisted by 2 other women from the community. Together, they serve milk and bread to more than 140 local children. At times, the government does not provide the promised milk, flour and sugar to feed the children. A testament to their dedication, Mabel and the other women scrape together whatever resources they have to provide whatever nourishment they can.

The second phase of the project is building a SWH at Biosfera. The purpose of the third SWH is to alter the project towards the needs of city dwellers. The design of the system will be altered slightly for roof-installation instead of ground-installation as at the comedores. Biosfera is another ideal location as a large number of local people come to Biosfera seeking advice from Horacio on a variety of environmental issues. Horacio is a passionate community leader, who has the skill to bring people together and facilitate collaboration. In addition, a large number of community members (including students, journalists, activists, politicians, and others) filter in and out of Biosfera for interviews or meetings with Horacio. Therefore, a working model here would be seen by a variety of people and become an example for the community.

Lastly, this project is particularly timely with the state of the world economy. People around the world are looking to save money in any way possible and Argentina is no exception. Having a SWH is an effective, environmentally friendly tool for lowering heating costs. The cost to build one system is low and payback in terms of lowering monthly bills can occur rapidly.

III. Statement of Need

a. Economics
A major advantage in pursuing the implementation of renewable technology is the combination of an environmentally friendly practice and a money saving technique. The effects of the systems at the comedores and Biosfera will be similar. Currently, the comedores spend $60 pesos per month on a gas tank for the stove in the kitchen. At La Estrategia del Caracol, with the restarting of the panadería (a project started by a past FSD intern), there will be an increased need for hot water. While the basic cooking supplies, such as flour and oil, are donated, the comedor pays for the gas itself. The introduction of a SWH could ideally eliminate the need for the gas tank (at the minimum stretching the use of one tank for a longer period of time) cutting down on costs for the comedor. A SWH would help the comedor focus their funds on the bread business or improving the library for the children. At Biosfera, Horacio pays for gas and electric heating for cooking, washing and showering. The installation of the SWH would alleviate these needs and cut costs at the Fundación.

b. Health
Currently, the women at the comedores are using gas stoves or fires to heat up water for washing in the winter, which is time-consuming and wasteful of gas. Also, burning wood or garbage for fires is a common and harmful practice in the asentimientos. This project addresses the unfortunately common practice among developing communities of burning harmful products for heat. Health problems related to open fires near the homes and burning garbage can cause respiratory, eye and nose problems. In addition to these problems, cold showers in the winter cause other sicknesses. Hygiene is an additional problem in terms of bathing and washing clothes and dishes. By using cold water to do these tasks, the women are unable to remove unwanted dirt and bacteria from their bodies and cooking supplies. This project will address the need for hot water because there will be a ready supply of hot water and decrease the presence of harmful heating practices. In Libertad, the local doctor has confirmed that the major health problem among the children is skin infections due to poor hygiene/sanitation.*

c. Education
The majority of the women running the comedores are immigrants from Bolivia and Paraguay trying to build a better life in Argentina for their families. The majority of women has completed primary school (7 years of schooling) and can read and write. However, a number of women did not attend school and cannot read or write. The construction of the two SWHs will be done with members of the comedores in order to teach the construction process. This project will also provide the women with the knowledge to use and maintain the system. Additionally, the instructional pamphlet will provide complete information on materials, construction and maintenance of the system. The information sessions before, during and after the constructions will include information about better environmental practices in the community. This project will educate people in La Plata about renewable technology in a way that is affordable and accessible.

d. Community Development
After the economic crisis in 2001 and with the regularity of corruption in the Argentine government, there is a lack of faith in government organizations as well as a lack of hope for improvement. The majority of the people in the Altos of San Lorenzo are immigrants from Bolivia or Paraguay content with their improved lifestyles in Argentina in comparison to the poverty in their old countries. However, the Altos of San Lorenzo still lacks essential infrastructure. The overall feeling of complacency is a barrier to future changes in the community. However, witnessing the excitement in La Estrategia del Caracol over the oven and the restarting of the panadería, it is clear that there is a reserve of determination and energy waiting to be tapped. This project will inform the people of the Altos that they already have an abundance of natural resources at their disposal. Through collaboration with the construction and the realization of educational workshops, this project will bring community members together.

Libertad also has a large immigrant population of varied educational backgrounds, and little to no familiarity with solar technologies. However, residents are incredibly enthusiastic about the project. The women are eager to hear about other solar possibilities, such as solar cookers and solar showers. The men, many of whom are skilled in plumbing and construction, are eager to understand exactly how the technology will work. Many hope to duplicate the SWH for their homes, and look forward to sharing the instructional pamphlet they will receive as part of the project. *

In addition, the community around Biosfera will benefit from the information on solar technology in a similar way. The frustration with government corruption is constantly eroding the hopes of change among the people of La Plata. Something as simple as a SWH can introduce the idea of grassroots change and personal initiative. Furthermore, the help from community members ensures their investment in the project and the outcome.

e. Environment
This project will address environmental issues on three fronts. The first speaks to decreasing the use of conventional energy. The installation of the SHWs will decrease the need for the currently used gas or electric energy (which is accompanied by the impact of monthly gas deliveries). The second front tackles the awareness of environmental education. The information sessions before, during and after the construction of the SWH will include information on natural resources how we can utilize these resources better. The information sessions will encourage people to think about their relationship with the earth and how we can improve our interactions with the environment in a less-harmful manner. This kind of education is essential if we want to ensure a safe and environmentally secure planet for future generations. Lastly, this project will alleviate the need to burn wood or trash in the asentimientos for hot water. These practices cause pollution in the form of smoke and toxic gas harmful to the environment.

f. Appropriate Technology
Most people think that new technologies are too expensive or complicated to implement on a small-scale with limited resources. This project directly responds to that notion by proving that simple technologies exist and can ameliorate the lives of people without large-scale construction, large sums of money, or government intervention. By introducing this new technology into the community, it will open the door to other useful, small-scale projects of this sort. Through Horacio, I have met with numerous community members that have a great interest in this project. With the successful construction of the SWHs and a clear instructional pamphlet, I believe that more community members will attempt this technology on their own.

VI. Sustainability and Conclusion

This project directly addresses a need in the communities of the Altos of San Lorenzo and Libertad – the lack of hot water. However, it also addresses a large issue in Argentina, which is the lack of understanding and use of renewable technology. Argentina is a country rich in natural resources, but as of yet, has failed to utilize these assets. The idea for this project came from a manual published by the University of La Plata on solar water heaters. However, that solar water heater is too complicated and expensive for the majority of people in La Plata, especially people living outside of the city in asentimientos. This project will provide a cheaper and simpler version of a solar water heater that can easily be implemented by Argentines.

Methods to ensure sustainability have been embedded into this project. First, by building the first two SWHs with members of the communities, these members will learn how to construct a SWH firsthand. Second, the information sessions at La Estrategia del Caracol and Aprendiendo will provide education on the function of the system as well as maintenance to ensure long-term use. Third, the construction of the SWH at Biosfera will ensure that a large and varied group of people will see this technology. Fourth, the creation of a pamphlet will provide detailed instructions on how to construct and maintain a SWH. Lastly, the inclusion of Argentine volunteers in this project illuminates the interest in renewable technology in La Plata. Through their involvement, they are investing themselves in the project and developing a sustainable interest in the outcome.

I have already received a lot of feedback about this project. Many members of the La Plata community (through contacts from Horacio and FSD) have approached me to express interest and find out more information. This is an exciting opportunity for FSD to bring not only a new technology to La Plata, but also a new way of thinking about natural resources and energy use. This project falls directly under FSD’s vision of grassroots development by involving a variety of members from the La Plata community and addressing a lack of a basic need (hot water). With the construction of three SWHs, this project will introduce La Plata to the new frontier of energy independence, renewable technology.

Foto: Good Morning, Carne

view from my bike on the way to work - typical delivery
(who doesn't love seeing cow carcasses first thing in the morning?)

Comedores: La Estrategia del Caracol y Aprendiendo

This morning, I went to snap some photos of the comedor, La Estrategia del Caracol, where I will (hopefully) be building the first solar water heater. This comedor (functions as a soup kitchen and community center) is located outside of the city serving about 100 families.

biblioteca para los niños

roof that will need extra support for a 400-L tankoven where the ladies made bread (past FSD project)garden (past FSD w/Biosfera project)look at the size of those suckers!ideal location for the SWHpipe connection to city mainneighboring house with roof-tank - proof that there is enough water pressure for a roof-tankneighbors and roadAprendiendo comedor, courtesy of Jessie