Hola Hola!
My name is Lyna and I had the honor to be El Lider Del Dia for Work Like A Local Day today. Global Glimpse partnered with Rio Blanco to give us a unique experience in shadowing some of the community members who focus on planting bamboo. Today was an amazing day of learning how locals in Bonao work. We learned how local farmers in the mountainous areas of Bonao live and work everyday.
The question of the day was, ¨How hard do you think their jobs are in comparison to the profits that they make?” We started the day at 6 AM, then we had breakfast at 7 and boarded the bus at around 8 o clock for a field trip to Rio Blanco. At 9 o’clock, Don Esteban, one of the founders of Rio Blanco, welcomed our delegation. He gave several tips and showed us techniques on planting bamboo. We then helped carry bamboo plants from the nursery to the back of his truck. Then came the fun part, we sat in the back of the truck while he drove us to the mountain side where we unloaded and planted the bamboo.
At the site, we met local workers who plant bamboo. They gave us information about the Rio Blanco farmers cooperative and answered all our questions. Working hand in hand with these locals was a very enriching experience. We carried the bamboo plants from the truck and hiked for a bit towards patches of empty and steep hills where we planted the bamboo. With the help of the workers, we dug holes and placed the tiny bamboo plants in the ground and covered them with dirt. We made sure that the bamboo stayed firmly in place by stepping on the dirt around the hole. We look forward to our plants growing into strong and beautiful bamboo trees within five years.
After two hours of intensive work, we took the bus back to Fundacion Un Nuevo Futuro, where we live and hold our daily seminars. This afternoon, we had a great discussion about poverty in the Dominican Republic. Finally, we prepared for our English class and taught from 5 to 7 PM.
Overall, we had lots of fun today and I cannot believe that we planted over 80 bamboo trees!
Buenas Noches!
Lyna Phan