This is why I came to Bolivia....

I had one of my most rewarding days in my working life today. The story began about 5 months ago with an offer from an ex-colleague of the Camden Green Fair, who suggested that his charitable trust would be open to receiving an application for a project benefiting young people in Bolivia. After identifying the community and working out the details of the project together, I submitted an application and within a month we received the wonderful news that ₤4,000 was on its way.

So what have we done with the money? Well the most important aspect was that young people from the community played a major role - both in terms of physical manpower and also in terms of educational benefit - in creating what we believe is Bolivia´s first renewable energy powered primary school. The school has been transformed, replacing holes in the floor with flushing toilets, ice cold showers that now have solar heating, biogas for cooking, electricity powered by a bicyle, solar panel and mini windmill, a solar oven for cooking outside, a new building for the kitchen so that the teacher no longer has to share his bedroom with the cooking facilities, a library of educational books, software and DVDs and a new colour printer. While the project was initially meant to involve the young people and benefit the children who attend the primary school, the truth is that the whole community will benefit and make use of the new facilities.

The official inauguration was a wonderful day, and a great way to acknowledge all the hard work by the community as well as their appreciation for our input. About 70 people attended of the community's 170 residents, the rest were working. The local mayor was invited, though by the time we left - 4 hours after the official starting time - he was still not to be seen, though given Bolivian timekeeping, it is quite likely he arrived later. I gave a 10 minute speech in Spanish, which hopefully they understood (like me, the majority's first language is not in fact Spanish, but Quechua), we unveiled and exchanged various plaques and we were covered in confetti, garlands of flowers and toasted the completion of the project with the local brew, chichi (not recommended in large quantities).

A special thank you to Stefano Casalotti and Greenboard who funded this project. The process as well as the end product really have made a difference to this community's quality of life.