Phew! I just got back home from La Trinidad where the air is full of smog and the streets and river full of mis-placed plastic. La Trinidad has been on my heart since I first passed through it three years ago and had to hold my breath. The photos here of the local Balili river and the weekly mountains of trash illustrate the scope of the challenge.
I was thus super excited when the new principal of Lubas National Highschool, Soraya Faculo, invited me to talk to all the HS teachers and principals in La Trinidad about Ecobricks. We’ve observed in the villages how they get cleaned up so fast. Could it happen in a place like this? Well, what an opening and opportunity for a massive collaborative mobilization!
I thus GLADLY made the six hour bus ride on the tortuous highway, and talked through a cold to introduce the Ecobrick phenomenon to the teachers. They were so eager! Everyone wants to do something about the pollution in La Trinidad– and now we can! With each the 100 teachers represent 30 students, and each student connects to a household with half a dozen members then the latent potential is huge.
The most important step wasn’t material though– it was imaginal. I had each teacher write down their vision for how beautiful La Trinidad could be on their bottle– prayers if you will that will set the direction for the momentum that has now launched. No new reality can ever be without it being imagined first. Off we go!
-
The garbage piles high in La Trinidad
-
The river flows with water and plastic
-
We write our visions for the environment in La Trinidad
-
Our visions!
Here’s a few Ecobrick visions that emerged:
“I envision La Trinidad with fresh air and water and filled with green, flowers and fruit bearing trees.”
“I am dreaming of La Trinidad to be a Shangrila of Benguet Province”
“I envision everything in La Trinidad put in its proper place and the air, water and earth clean and pure as we all live in harmony with the circle of life”.
