Working at the Chico Mendes Reforestation Project
Armando Lopez Pocol
chicomendes.guatemala@gmail.com
June 16, 2015
Before beginning my work with the Chico Mendes Project I believed we would be doing more learning than actual labor. Yet, Armando put my group straight to work. Volunteers showed us how to take good care of the tree saplings, and illustrated the various environmental benefits of each step in nursing the sapling. For example, the project uses recycled bottles and cans, as well as biodegradable bags, to cultivate the saplings in. Going into my work at Chico Mendes, I hadn't thought about all the steps being environmentally-friendly. I just viewed the outcome of repopulating the nearby forests as already being a large task and a benefit to our environment, but the foundation did not cut any corners to get to their end goal of reforestation.
I think that through the first couple visits I learned not only about the living conditions in Guatemala and the corrupt government that is cutting down the forests Armando was trying to restore, but also what it feels like to spend hours working in the hot sun. I think from this experience I learned that I am a hard worker when I am motivated by something that I am passionate about, and to be more grateful for the things that I have in my life. Emotionally I think this experience was very humbling. I was sad to see that Armando's organization did not have all of the standard equipment for reforestation, which meant that we had to do more of the work by hand. But it was also astounding to me how someone could live in poverty and still dedicate their lives to running a non-profit organization to try to improve his region's deforestation problem.
Working at the Chico Mendes Reforestation Project
Armando Lopez Pocol
chicomendes.guatemala@gmail.com
June 20th, 2015
One thing I discovered about environmental work is that it can be creative and fun. We used things like old newspapers, used plastic bottles to help protect the saplings from the elements. Along with this, I also learned that I like to get my hands dirty. We spent many days crouching in the mud inspecting and planting trees, and long afternoons building terraces with shovels and rakes. At first I thought I would have lamented the work, but it ended up being a good way to get some exercise at the same time as helping the environment.
To be honest, this experience was a bit draining emotionally. In addition to being physically exhausted, it was hard to see some of the inequities in Guatemala. Things like corruption (which is very correlated to the deforestation crisis), and poor healthcare are omnipresent. Working at Chico Mendes definitely reminded me that the things that I need to be most thankful for aren’t monetary. I have access to clean water, health insurance, a government that isn’t corrupt, family, and an excellent education. These are some things that the citizens in Guatemala are hard-pressed to access.
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