On 7 March 2015, the ICS volunteers working with local organisation ADES held an eco-festival. This activity took place in Casa Comunal of the community of Santa Marta.
This Eco-festival was held with the objective of raising awareness among people in the community about the importance of taking care of and protecting our environment, and also to show how we can re-use and recycle rubbish, like plastic, cans and paper.
Elza prints a leaflet for the Eco-festival
The Eco-festival started at 3pm with an agenda including many artistic highlights revolving around the environment, with the goal to make known the importance of respecting it. At the same time, it was a day organised to mobilise and engage with the community, and spend a cheerful afternoon together. People attended in high numbers and were pleased with the programme.
There were many funny and exciting artistic highlights. Both national and UK volunteers took part in a play called “La Historia de la Vida” (The History of Life). This play saw the volunteers exploring the evolution of the life of human beings and their approach to the environment until modern times and beyond. This was meant to inspire the public with a reflection over the present situation and where the world is going to end up if we do not take care of it.
Progressio’s dance show was really nice too. Again, the volunteers, both national and UK, came together to perform a dance that included Salvadoran folklore moves and a modern dance to represent British culture. The dancers were nervous but everything went well and the show was very interesting.
The programme did not only include acts performed by the volunteers, but people from the community also participated with dances and songs.
Giulia teaches a community member how to make jewellery with paper
After the entertainment, the community was invited to take part in workshops held by the volunteers. Many people participated, adults and children, and learnt how to make jewellery out of recycled materials and wallets from newspapers. Everyone was happy to leave with bracelets and earrings that they made with paper or plastic and it has been hard to put an end to the Eco-festival, thanks to the enthusiasm it received.
This day was very important because we spent time with people from the community and their participation was a success. The Eco-festival finished with a small dance and many decorations and products made from recycled materials to take home.
Written by ICS volunteers Carmen, Osman, Giulia, Willians and Franklyn
