In your second post answer the following questions:     

Who are you now, at this present moment of your life?

How do you feel?                                                  

What are your professional doubts?

What are your dreams?

What are your challenges?

THE DEADLINE FOR ANSWERING THIS MESSAGE IS: AUGUST 25th!

Hi, I’m Rodrigo Alonso a staff member of Elos. Soon you will get to know all of us. Please, forgive my bad English.   

For those who didn’t know yet. We just finished realizing the first session of the Warriors Without Weapons program in Oaxaca, México. We did it in partnership with the Universidad de la Tierra. It was the first experimenting on disseminating the program to others countries. I got there only for the last week of the program and for an evaluation meeting. However, arriving in the last week means to arrive and roll up the sleeves to put hands-on work!

The "che bus" - official vehicle of the Warriors Without Weapons Oaxaca

 

I was impressed seeing the amount of things that were being built in a piece of land in the Colonia Diamante community. The group of participants was formed by only 18 people and the land was quite big. They were building a park.

general view

 

Few people, many dreams. By the way, they were building the dreams the community shared with them. There were channels for draining rain water – one of biggest challenges in this community. 

 

draining rain water

 

A “palapa” – a small building to host the community meetings. 

 

palapa - hard work

Palapa - some warriors decided to stay a week longer in order to finish building it.

 

A playground for the children with a little house as well as a court to play football.

children's house and playground

 

A chapel – a strong cultural aspect of Mexico, chapels are everywhere. 

 

chapel - using adobe local technics

 

chapel - place of the sacred and the beauty

A complete variety of plants distributed in small gardens throughout the space. There were flowers, fruit trees, herbs and others. 

 

gardening

They had begun building with not even a cent. They had just the local resources but, donations started to arrived without anyone knowing how. Suddenly, a truck bringing sand for the court and soon one more. Then a family arrive with their car full of plants and flowers. More donations kept coming pieces of wood, iron frames, tiles, stones.

community participation

 

The community participation was one of the highlights. Women, men and many children, all dreaming and building together with the warriors. The best was when we arrived in the community the day after the last action day. We found the park full of people from the community working to finish the last details of the children’s house. The mission was accomplished! They took the responsibility for their dreams, the park was theirs. 

 

day after

 

good bye warriors

 

The Warriors Without Weapons in Oaxaca was fruit of a dream that begun in 2005 when I and Sergio from Unitierra met for the first time in the Berkana Exchange gathering in Canada. In 2006 we met Ben Mates from the Hemingway Foundation and he was interested in supporting the dissemination of the program. Debbie Friezze was one who orchestrated the partnership between Berkana, Hemingway and Elos to make this dream possible. In 2007 Melissa Mena participated in the program in Brazil and came back to Mexico with the challenge of making it a reality in Oaxaca. She did it together with a wonderful team! 

the wonderful team

 

The wonderful team who coordinated the 30 days of the program in Oaxaca are the ones at the center of this picture. Starting from the right you have Edgard, which was on the Elos methodological coordination, Diana, Conchi, Iliana, Melissa, Daniel and Sergio wearing blue at the center. Then at the borders the ones who arrived in the last week, bellow you have Aerin, the blonde and Monica. I’m above wearing a green t-shirt.

Hi, folks! I am Rodrigo Alvarez and I am part of Elos staff since the beginning of this year. I am working specially on searching ways to make Warriors Without Weapons Program financially viable, respecting the values and beliefs of all of us.

To make it happen, we are working on a variety of strategies.

The first and most important is the financial commitment of the participants. We know the cost of the program is sometimes a challenge to some of you, especially for ones that live in poor countries. In this case, we have to deal with two questions – 1^st. it is important that all of the participants contribute to the program, with their own money or with money raised by them. Fund raising to participate in the program is an important exercise to the Warrior, and anticipates one of the challenges they will face during the program. 2^nd. No one will be out of the program because of money. We will have bursary policies to the participants that demonstrate interest and profile to be part of this Program.

The second strategy is the supporters. We are searching for companies and individuals which are interested in  this kind of program to be possible. For companies, we have sponsoring plans, that involves social responsibility and marketing interests. In addition, we are working to make this investment tax deductible. Our goal is to add more value to the companies investment. For this, we are planning a 3 day event to companies leaders and people interested in social responsibility and sustainable development.

Elos is the ultimate responsible for the financial sustainability of the program. It means that if all of those strategies don’t generate resources to pay the whole program, we will cover that difference.  

Any queries or concerns about it? Write to me at rodrigoalvarez@institutoelosbr.org.br. And see you soon in Santos…

 

flautas pro centro

flautas pro ar

sem palavras

 

 

If you were a Warrior Without Weapons 2007, you would know I am not exagerating when I say this group was very verbal. Gosh we could talk! In the Fire Councils we inaugurated the tradition of translating the words in the languages of all people present, including the dialects. That’s why the story I am about to tell you moved me so much.

The night before the air game, I was tired… I looked for a light, thin, small bamboo, to make my flute… I don’t remember who helped me out, but I sure had some help to make my only flute, maybe that’s why I had the time to observe the ability of Bane, who made many and distributed them among those with less ability, or as tired as I was.

If you knew me (but only if you knew me really well), you would know I love to walk in the woods, especially if we are talking about going up hills and mountains, I love to go up high – I have to say that this feature of mine relies under layers of inertia, a sedentary life and God knows what else.

That explains why I was so happy in the air game day… that’s why I didn’t feel tired, I didn’t fear the snakes, and I didn’t notice the guide explaining the orchids… I was in touch with my inner world, with the exuberance of the woods outside, with the proximity of the blue sky, with Manu’s smile… In this day we talked – Manu and I – we got closer to each other, I remember well.

The highest point of the day for me was when, after we got to go around the circle 7 times – sounds a lot now – blowing our bamboo flutes, kaka asked if anyone had anything to say. I searched in the place where I usually find my words and they were not there… so I went a little deeper, where I search the words for special moments… nothing! I went even deeper, in a place inside were I rarely go and where, usually, what I find there is not easy to verbalize; this place was still full, but quiet… a warm and cozy silence. I stood there enjoying this moment, till I realized no one… I mean NOT EVEN A SOUL had anything to share.

Immediately I knew something was going on, I can’t say it was magic, but certainly special. And it was happening for all of us.

After that, Kaka explained that the game we just played “cleaned” a generation of words of our minds, every time we completed a round around the circle. End boy, we completed many! He also mentioned that the slight torpor we felt in our mouths would help us to think more before speaking, and speak more from our hearts.

This game really got me… every now and then I remember it, and try to keep my mouth connected to my heart… It is not easy… not at all! But trying fells kind of good.