2017 1st SEMESTER
FUAD BULLETIN
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MARCH 22
« Children to Children Seminar » in Santiago « The seminar has been very important for the children. They live in small villages, they don’t travel that much. In Santiago, they could realize that water scarcity is not only a problem which affects them, but a global one. » Lilian Miranda Hulaud, a Villaseca school teacher.
WATER WEEK For the Water Week, the World Water Council organized a cycle of events called « Sumérgete 2017 » in Chile, whose aim is to foster a water-related citizen movement, preview to the World Water Forum in 2018. As an official collaborator of the event, the Foundation organized a seminar in Santiago in which 5 schools members of the 2016 UAD network presented their water harvesting and recycling projects. 250 peoples attended the seminar, including 3 Metropolitan Region schools interested in replicate this initiative.
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WATER WEEK On the occasion of « Sumérgete 2017 », we also organized an excursion to the Peña Blanca Ecological Reserve (Ovalle) and its fog catchers with the aim to sensitize the public to the existence of sustainable sources of water in a context of drought. The trip ended with a community lunch, a visit of the Atrapaniebla Brewery and a local fair. More than 60 people took part in the excursion, who were members of institutions, universities, private companies, cooperatives, as well as students, professionals, inhabitants, artists, journalists, etc. Among them, it is important to highlight the presence of European Commission’s members.
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MARCH 25
Excursion to Peña Blanca Ecological Reserve “It’s a wonderful Reserve, where we can feel the inhabitants’ commitment.” - Manuel Moran, President of the Hospital-Champa Rural Drinking Water Cooperative, Paine.
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APRIL 10
Since 2011, the UAD environmental education program profited to more than 20 schools, that means about 7.000 students. Thanks to the funding of the ENGIE company and the contribution of our collaborators, the program could last a significant time and attract new schools.
Limarí Park of olive trees
La Torre Greenhouse garden center
Barraza Medicinal garden Vegetable garden
El Guindo Reforestation Compost Graywater filter
Huallillinga Garden School green spaces
Las Ramadas de Punitaqui Living hedge School green spaces
Metropolitan R. Coquimbo Region
Start of the UAD 2017 program
UAD 2017
Samo Alto Orchard Greenhouse garden
Champa Garden Repair of taps
Hospital Drop catcher garden Repair of taps
The 2017 UAD program has welcomed 5 new schools: Huallillinga, Limarí, La Torre (Ovalle), Samo Alto (Río Hurtado) and Champa (Paine). The 4 other schools were already members in 2016: Barraza, El Guindo (Ovalle), Las Ramadas de Punitaqui (Punitaqui), Hospital (Paine).
Rainwater collection
Graywater recycling
Plantation
NEWS
APRIL 25 Our website new version is now available on: www.unaltoeneldesierto.cl We modernized its appearance and updated its content, according to the new projects that we started these last months. You will find the Foundation’s latest news, our next events and a selection of pictures and videos about our activities. Many thanks to Mayra Francisca for her help in the realization of the new website.
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APRIL 18
UNESCO decides to sponsor UAD 2017 The UNESCO national Commission considered that the UAD environmental education program matches with the UN Sustainable Development Goal n°15: "Education and training increase skills and capacity to underpin sustainable livelihoods and to conserve natural resources and biodiversity, particularly in threatened environments."
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MAY 2
Welcome to UAD 2017 volunteers “Working with schools opened my mind to a reality that I ignored until then. It also helped me to feel useful, by passing the knowledge acquired at the university, which is often difficult to execute in a practical manner.” Solaura de la Fuente, a UAD volunteer since 2016.
UAD 2017 Since its start in 2011, the UAD environmental education program includes the participation of students from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. At the end of the traditional recruitment process that we realize every year to select the most motivated volunteers, 4 agronomy and social work students were selected : Ariel Matus Contreras, Brenda Fernández Anguita, Catalina Hernandez and Solaura de la Fuente. Two agro-social duos will be created to accompany schools’ projects throughout the year.
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INTERNATIONAL MAY 8 5th year of primary school and 2 nd year of high school students from Villaseca (Ovalle) wrote to their classmates from the Barjac school, in the south of France. They also realized a video in which they presented the school and the village. Thus they finished the 1 st module of the exchange programme between France and Chile that we started in April with the cooperation of the French association Cèze. This project aims to share about the environmental projects of each school while making the students discover another culture.
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MAY 14
Project with the German Embassy in Chile During the inauguration of the exposition “The energetic transition in Germany and in Chile” in Santiago, we presented our project “Fog Paths” which will take place during the 2 nd Semester of 2017 in Peña Blanca (Ovalle). This project, financed by the German Embassy in Chile, will allow to reinforce the knowledge about fog and the recognition of the fog catcher as a sustainable way to get water in a context of drought.
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EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCE
JUNE 7
JUNE 12 The Foundation also visited Theo Hernando, Manager of the company Agua de Niebla de Canarias in Tenerife (Spain).
After numerous investigations, Theo succeeded in building an innovative and simple fog catcher, with which he makes premium bottled water.
Visit of the Foundation to Dar Si Hmad, Maroc Dar Si Hmad is an organisation located in a region very similar to Limarí Province. To respond drought, its members settled fog catchers so to supply with drinking water 20 Berber families, who had to travel during several hours to access the vital element until then. “Thanks to this trip, the Foundation could form an international alliance for future projects in Chile as well as in Africa.” - Nicolás Schneider, Founder of Un Alto en el Desierto.
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JUNE 14
Sharing of experience day in El Guindo “The sharing experience days as well as the seminars which we’ll organize during the 2nd semester give meaning to our network of water harvesting schools.” Catalina Bravo, Director of Un Alto en el Desierto Foundation.
UAD 2017
Last month of June, the students of El Guindo received the schools of Huallillinga and Samo Alto with a lovely sharing experience activity. They presented their water recycling system as well as their native tree plantation and their artisanal filter aimed at cleaning recycled gray water. Sharing and diffusing the knowledge of each school is one of the main objectives of our environmental education program, as well as developing the communication and expression skills of the students.
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UAD 2017 The 21 st of June, 4 member schools of our network (El Guindo in El Guindo, Lucía Nuñez de La Cuadra in la Torre, Marcos Macuada in Limarí, Teresita de Los Andes in Las Ramadas de Punitaqui) visited the school of San Antonio de la Villa, in Barraza, in order to learn from their knowledge and experience about gray water recycling (hand wash water). They learnt about their amazing flowershaped medicinal garden made up of native vegetal species adapted to the local arid climate. The sharing experience activity ended with a lovely patrimonial tour through Barraza, in which the students acted as guides.
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JUNE 21
Sharing experience day in Barraza “It’s been only one year that the school San Antonio de la Villa is a member of our water harvesting schools network, but its students already accomplished a great progress. We hope that their successful trajectory will inspire their fellow students !” - Natalia Rebolledo, Executive Director of the Foundation.
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Lancement du programme UAD à Paine « Plusieurs études corroborent l’avancée du désert en direction du Sud. Il est de notre devoir de le devancer. C’est pour cela que nous avons intégré deux écoles de la Région Métropolitaine à notre réseau. » Nicolás Schneider, Fondateur de Un Alto en el Desierto.
We realized the first workshops of our 2017 UAD program in 2 schools of Paine municipality (Metropolitan Region): Gregorio Miranda Morales school (in Hospital) and Elías Sánchez Ortuzar (in Champa). The students reflected together about water cycle and the importance of this resource, climate change and its impact, as well as the measures which can be taken in the everyday life so to consume less water. This project, called “Help bring back the water you can’t drink”, is financed by the Metropolitan Region Council and executed by the Rural Drinking Water Cooperative of Hospital-Champa.
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UAD 2017
Before and after the arrival of Un Alto en el Desierto Foundation to the School LucĂa NuĂąez de La Cuadra, in La Torre. Thanks to the joint efforts of the Environmental Brigade and the whole community, the students of La Torre managed to restore a space in the school and convert it into a greenhouse full of life which will house a vegetable garden and plants for embellishing the school.
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JUNE 27
Before and after the Foundation
JUNE 30
Interview of Natalia Rebolledo by Mujer Impacta “The Foundation has become something much bigger than the mere fight against water scarcity: it’s also an amazing stimulus for the dreams of the children. One of the pillars of our program is to bring Catholic University students to the field so their accompanying a school. How are you going to explain to a child what is going to university if he has never seen one? This is why the work with the CU students on the field is so important … because it shows the children that they can acomplish their dreams.”
DIFFUSING JUNE 29 Our Founder Nicolás Schneider presented during the Seminar « Coquimbo, an emerging and sustainable city » about the importance of the work of the Foundation in Coquimbo Region.
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1st OF JULY
CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN “I travelled to Chile in 2016, searching for fog catchers. It was for an artistic project. There I had the opportunity to know the Foundation and its amazing work about water in local schools.” Barbara Hobot, a Canadian artist, and a 2017 collaborator of Un Alto el Desierto Foundation.
2017 CAMPAIGN
The 1 st of July, our traditional crowdfunding campaign started. Our goal: to raise 8.000$ by the 31 st of August! The raised money will enable us to finance the operating costs of the Foundation during 2017 and thus ensure that it’ll be able to continue its projects and rise up the number of member schools next year. Your contribution will allow the realization of the activities of our environmental education program (workshops, trips, seminars) as well as the communication of the Foundation.
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UAD 2017
“I wanted to integrate the network for students being sensitized to water preservation, as in Huallillinga we are very affected by drought. I also wanted them to take responsibilities by taking part in a project. Today, with the garden, the students are motivated. They make proposals, they think about solutions. Now the families, not only the students, are getting involved in water preservation.� - Elizabeth Carrera, a Huallillinga school teacher.
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JULY 5
Methodology workshop in Huallillinga Students worked together on the realization of a scientific methodology for their gray water recycling and garden project. The methodology will be explained in a scientific poster that students will present during the UAD final seminar which will take place in December in Santiago.
JULY 29
Departure of Catalina Bravo, a Foundation Director Catalina Bravo, an Un Alto en el Desierto Director, has gone for new professional horizons. Catalina made an essential contribution to the development of the work with the schools, thanks to a great professionalism and motivation. However, she will keep on being a member of our Board of Directors: Catalina left field work, but not her commitment with FUAD.
NEWS JULY 13 We now have an office in Santiago, thanks to our integration in Colunga-HUB (Colunga Chile Foundation) which seeks to support social change organizations: Bustamente 26, Providencia
The works realized by Catalina with the network schools will be transferred to Julia Saavedra, a University of Chile Wood Engineering graduate.
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SPREADING JULY 27 A French camera crew visited us in Peña Blanca to produce a documentary for the TV5 Monde channel. They wished to highlight the work of the Foundation and above all the Agricultural Community of Peña Blanca on a national scale, along with Caleta Tortel and the Atacama Desert. Un Alto en el Desierto was born in 2005 in Peña Blanca from the will to develop a climate change adaptation community project. Years have passed, good and bad, but collective work is still going, bearing fruit.
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JULY 31st
Presentation before the Chamber of Deputies Our Founder Nicolás Schneider presented the experience of Un Alto en el Desierto during the Chamber of Deputies’ Thematic Day as part of the preparation process of the gray water recycling ley.
Un Alto en el Desierto Foundation www.unaltoeneldesierto.cl Omar Elorza N°704, Ovalle Bustamante 26, Santiago 65.098.803-5 (9) 78889286 contacto@unaltoeneldesierto.cl
FUAD BULLETIN 2017 1st SEMESTER EDITION Coralie Dubost Mattutzu