bolivia part four - volunteering

after some successful fund raising and planning, david (cedesol founder/director) and i fly to trinidad (...bolivia) in the amazon basin to implement our project. here 14 rocket stoves and one solar cooker are loaded up and ready to be delivered.

we drive to ibiato county (2 hours from trinidad) and visit 3 communities. heres village number 1.

the traditional cooking methods involve an open fire indoors...which leads to many health complications and deaths.

black soot covers surfaces around the kitchen area.

interested villagers listen to david explain the solar cooker. thankfully we had a sunny day.

plantains and chicken on the rocket stove.

village kids cooling off.

the rocket stoves in village number 3.

keen villagers helping with the construction of a rocket stove.

hugo, director of environmental issues of counties surrounding trinidad on my left, village leader on my right.

we take a boat trip with local officials to asses aid and requirements for families displaced by the flooding. here are temporary shelters along the highway.

one family's shelter deep in the jungle, only accessible by boat.

speeding through flooded rainforest.

the main square in trinidad.

as i sit on a park bench, a sloth makes its way down the tree opposite me and starts to venture across the busy street. i walk with it (as it crawls slowly) so no cars hit it. one car stops...guy gets out and simply picks it up and puts it back in the tree...where it climbs back up. ???

kids armed and ready with their water balloons...waiting for passing motorbikes and cars.


an overall success. the 14 rocket stoves and 1 solar cooker were distributed amongst families in the 3 villages. below is our amateur video of the days events. thanks again to all the generous people who helped out and donated. cheers!!!