GAUTEMALA
Pura Vida
Location: San Marcos, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
www.puravidaatitlan.org
Pura Vida’s mission is to promote public health through elevating environmental consciousness among the indigenous villages of Guatemala, by curbing the contamination of air, soil and water, promoting healthier living conditions, and preserving the beauty of the land. The majority of villages in Guatemala have no official trash dumps or systems to collect and contain their trash. Trash is dumped on the ground, in lakes and in rivers. Vital drinking water is being contaminated. Children are playing in garbage and disease is being spread. Pura Vida teaches villagers and children to compact clean, dry plastic trash and pack it into used plastic bottles, thereby converting waste into easily-storable and transportable “Eco-Blocks” for construction.
Student Learning: Pura Vida has produced three manuals that are used in school classrooms. Manual One teaches students about ecology and why improper waste disposal is bad the environment and people’s health. Manual Two teaches how to recycle. Manual Three teaches students how to design and construct a building using Eco-Blocks.
Targeted Organization Need: Additional Spanish educational and training manuals and CDs
Project Components:
- Reprinting 100 educational and training manuals
- Making supporting CDs
Project Costs: $1,100.00