Our recycling project is aimed at creating a more
efficient system of processing recyclable material both at the Pop Wuj language
school (www.pop-wuj.org) and in some of the communities where Pop Wuj runs
other projects. The goal is to not only
reduce the amount of waste produced by the school and rural communities but
also to promote recycling in rural communities.
Additionally, collecting recyclables helps reduce the amount of plastic
that families in the rural communities burn. Families often burn plastic to
cook their food because it’s abundant and burns slower.We currently collect
recyclable material from the Family Support Center in Llanos de Pinal, but we
are looking for a way to increase the practice of recycling in more rural
communities while not adding more expenditure to Pop Wuj’s budget. There are some local recycling companies in
Xela that will pay for recyclables by the pound, but after paying for
transportation to the sites to drop off the material there isn’t much left over
to give back to the community from which we received the recyclables. There’s a long way to go but we are working
slowly but surely to make progress.
The ongoing reforestation project is back with the rainy
season. We are planning to hold a
benefit in Xela to raise money to buy seedlings that can be planted in the
communities where we work. Additionally,
a group of women from San Juan Buena Vista have formed a group to run a nursery
for seedlings to be used for reforestation.
This week we will be going to visit their nursery and gain more
information about their project so we can support them in whatever way
possible. The group came out of a group
of women who received stoves and were inspired to do more for
reforestation. Not only does the group
have positive environmental impact but it’s a way for the women of the
community to organize and empower themselves.
Finally, the nursery (formerly greenhouse) at the Family
Support Center continues to be a focus of the environmental program. Much of the information about the nursery can
be found above, but our current aim is to find funding to revamp the nursery to
put it back into full use. We are also
looking for a way to make the nursery self-sustaining, in other words, not in
need of continual funding for such necessities as organic fertilizer, chicken
wire and plastic tubing to repair unenclosed areas, and wood to repair the door. We will also be going to the nursery this
week to work on fixing it up and see what is possible for developing it in the
future.