Happy Thanksgiving!

Today we had friends over to the house for our annual Thanksgiving feast, in thanks for the wonderful friendships we have here in Bolivia.





A happy Thanksgiving to all -- though we celebrate it a bit late, the sentiment is there: all of us here in Carmen Pampa give thanks for the incredible support of all of our bienhechores, contributing with funds, prayer, encouraging words and love that stretches from across the globe!

Science Fair 2011

This semester, the College held its science fair in the nearby town of Coroico -- and it was a great success. The day started with a short ceremony in the main square, with opening words from our Bishop Juan Vargas. The judges were professionals from the Ministry of Agriculture and a social project called Why Bolivia.







There were research projects about biotechnology, the vocation of rural high schoolers, fish parasites, coffee nematodes, organic pest control, agrotourism and tourists that visit Coroico, and more.

Visita de USAID

Today USAID's Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mark Lopes, came to visit the College. He was greeted with students from Afrobolivian communities playing their traditional dance, the saya.




He toured the women's dormitories on Campus Leahy, dormitories that were funded by USAID (through ACDI/VOCA-Bolivia), and listened to the heart-felt stories by students who have received scholarships from USAID.




The day ended with an exposition of projects and products that USAID has supported over the years. Though most of these projects are closing, we are hopeful that support from the U.S. government will continue now that the U.S. and Bolivia have decided to reestablish diplomatic relations.

Ser Boliviano Es

We had a special visitor yesterday, Hugo Miranda, a facilitator from the U.N.-sponsored project Ser Boliviano Es ("Being Bolivian Is"). The project was started to help Bolivians see what they have in common, to insipre a feeling of unity, togetherness in the country.

The facilitator did a workshop about Wikipedia and a contest to encourage Bolivians to start Wikipedia entries about Bolivian people, places and things. Since senior students already write about their communities for their research proposals, many were interested in starting a Wikipedia page about their places of origin.


Photo: Students pose with Hugo Miranda after the workshop on Campus Leahy.

He also held a discussion about what it means to be Bolivian, and what it is like to live together on a campus with students from so many different backgrounds. "It took a while to make friends," said Hilda Pillco, a agronomy senior. "But once we started taking classes together and working toward the same goals, it was easy."

The College is a place where young people learn to bridge cultures, like the campesino culture of their rural communities and the university culture in which they are submersed. But the way the College is organized presents other situations -- like dorm life, like the student-run food cooperatives -- that our students adapt to, giving them skills that go far beyond the technical abilities they get in a classroom.

Vicente Manrique, our newest graduate

Give To The Max Day, an annual fundraiser of the Carmen Pampa Fund, is in two weeks.




You can create positive change here in Bolivia. Your donation will be part of an upward spiral of change, giving a chance to a young Bolivian woman or man who will then multiply that change until many lives are touched.

One such young man is Vicente Manrique who defended his research project today, the 100th student to finish his research project and graduate in the agronomy department. His research was about making infertile land useful again, by planting resistant trees and soil-enriching ground covers. He continued a project started by Veronica Calles, who is now in a Master's program at South Dakota State University with Dr. Paul Johnson.


Photo: One of the plots of land in recovery, planted to pigeon pea and achiote, a tree whose seed is a natural red colorant.

Vicente took a long path to the College, first working for a few years in the city of La Paz at machinery repair and welding before returning home to the tropics of La Paz to be closer to his parents. In his home town he met a friend who was studying at the College. He had a high school teacher who inspired him to be an agronomist, so he went back to school.

And today, many years later, is the day: a student with his wings, ready to leave the nest, spread his wings, and FLY.


Photo: Vicente Manrique and Veronica Calles, the two students who lead the soil recovery project.

The fiesta of Todos Santos

This year we sent the students home to celebrate Todos Santos with their families -- and to recruit students for next school year! Though campus was empty of students, there was plenty going on: the fiesta of Todos Santos is one of the most important of the year for our rural communities.

I put together this short slide show about the goings on of yesterday at the cemetary.



See previous posts about Todos Santos.

Experts left and right!

October was a month of many visitors -- and many of them experts, helping the College where help is needed!

Two Dutch experts from PUM came to help us analyze our hog, meat processing, coffee and vegetable production businesses. These businesses came to be to help the College earn money and serve as a rural business model. These businesses, however, were not working up to speed, so with the help of Mark Versteeg and Henk Faber, we got some good advice about making our businesses more profitable.




Photo: Mark and Henk with the College's driver Salvador.

We were also blessed with the presence of Juan Velasco, the husband of Suzanne Dulle and co-founder of conBolivia. Juan worked with seniors from our Ecotourism program, helping them develop business plans for their graduation requirement, and had lots of good ideas for fundraising.




Photo: Juan Velasco in the classroom.

Thank you to these amazing people and their skills.