ADAWA

Skill Building

 

While the digital age has put the world at our fingertips, only 7% of households in Guatemala have internet access. For these families, there is no magical search button for “how to build a composting toilet,” “crop irrigation systems,” or “what do I do when my child is vomiting?”

 

For those of us constantly connected to the grid, answers to such questions are a few keystrokes and a click away. For the rural poor in Guatemala, not only are the answers further away, the trickle of information to these areas is so slow that not only may someone not know how to build a composting toilet- they probably don’t know that this simple, eco-friendly form of sanitation even exists.

 

In communities like ours, where paved roads and wells are still uncommon, the internet is almost unheard of. Opportunities to leave the community and learn new skills are not regularly available to those who dropped out of school at a young age to help support their siblings before raising families of their own. In these areas, new information is sought out, eagerly awaited, and highly valued.

 

Workshops provide our members with skills they can use within their own home, skills that can be shared with their neighbors, and skills that may be further developed to provide a new source of income for their families. Additionally, members benefit from exposure to the different ideas and ways of thinking that are brought in by facilitators coming from outside their own community.

 

ADAWA members have already completed workshops in tailoring, well construction, and English conversation. Our April 2013 health workshop series will focus on various aspects of nutrition, and the role of water and hygiene in health. Our full 2013 workshop schedule is still in development but will include topics such as women’s empowerment and self defense, and aquaponics (a simple system that is used to simultaneously grow vegetables and fish for consumption or sale).

 

ADAWA is constantly searching for individuals or groups who are interested in bringing new information or skills to our community. Below is a list of topics our members are most interested in:

 

-Technical skills (all kinds)

-Construction of omposting toilets and other methods for improved sanitation

-Organic agriculture, permaculture, increasing crop yield naturally

-Innovative agricultural techniques (hydroponics, aquaponics)

-Medicinal herbs and plants (natural antibiotics, etc)

-English as a second language (conversational-basic)

-Hospitality and eco-tourism

 

If you or someone you know is interested in providing a workshop or training course to our members, send an email at wodum1338@gmail.com.