Today we settled a little further into our routine with the community. Our service today was planting native trees in some gardens as well as the forest surrounding the village. Some of the species of trees we planted are medicinal while others provide fruit. After our work was done we walked to a community member’s chacra (food forest/natural pantry), on the way meeting a rescued parrot named Karin. While admiring the chacra we were given the opportunity to chop down a banana tree that will be sent to the city to be sold. We also got to see how the banana flower is prepared to be eaten, a process similar to artichokes. In the afternoon we played volleyball and other games with the kids, learned how to weave roofs out of palm leaves and weave baskets out of vines. Our NGO leaders joined us in our circle tonight and provided questions to help us reflect on our experience so far. Our reflection prompts included: experiences that were positive and that forced us out of our comfort zone, things that we noticed and questions we wonder about, what we thought before coming here and how those opinions have changed and finally things that surprised us. We are all looking forward to tomorrow when we get to participate in a local holiday celebration from start to finish.
Author: Lily H
