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    [post_date] => 2019-01-10 12:44:43
    [post_date_gmt] => 2019-01-10 19:44:43
    [post_content] => 
We love to feature the projects that keep our instructors inspired and busy when they aren't leading Dragons trips. Read on to learn about REISA (which stands for Independent Network of Educator for Food Sovereignty) from Erick Torres, one of Dragons Central America Instructors....

Hello Dear Dragons Community and Friends!


I want to share with you all a project I have been working for the last four years, between Dragons and my time in Central America working with SERES organization. (I have been working with SERES sharing Permaculture and Agroecology intensive courses and workshops for young community leaders from Central America since 2014.)

Now I am working and coordinating a project with four other Guatemalan educators and one from the US, to offer more educational programs to our young people, mostly in Guatemala and El Salvador. We have created REISA, which stands in Spanish for Red de Educadores Independientes por la Soberania Alimentaria or Independent Network of Educator for Food Sovereignty in English.

This project has been created by the need to offer and share safe spaces of environmental and agroecology education for our young people. In this way, they can have tools and alternatives to develop and manage Agro-ecological projects in their communities and generate more opportunities for work, economic income, and environmental awareness. We hope that they won't leave their communities trying to go to the US. We all know how difficult that situation is and we need those young leaders staying in our countries in order to improve the life of their families and their communities.

I want to invite you all to visit our REISA website, to see what we have done and what we want to do this year. We already start a crowdfunding campaign and I would like to ask you a huge favor, if you could please help us by sharing the project with your family, friends, and coworkers via Facebook and Instagram. We will deeply appreciate it and we will be grateful for your help to aiding us to share more Agroecological education for young community leaders in Central America!

Un abrazo grande! Les deseo lo mejor para el año 2019!

Maltiox Chawe ! Urpillay Sonkollay !
Muchas Gracias! Thanks !

Erick Torres

Head on over to the REISA website for more videos and details on the project. And here's the crowdfunding campaign if you'd like to financially support this good work!



 
    [post_title] => Featured Project: REISA - The Network of Independent Educators for Food Sovereignty
    [post_excerpt] => We love to feature the projects that keep our instructors inspired and engaged when they aren't leading Dragons trips. Read on to learn about REISA from Erick Torres, one of our Central America Instructors....
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    [post_date] => 2018-12-13 10:03:07
    [post_date_gmt] => 2018-12-13 17:03:07
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"It blends my love of cute things with India and this desire that I have for people to understand the rest of the world better," Sommers says.


This week, we are celebrating the recognition of Christy Sommers (Dragons South Asia Program Director) and her feature by NPR this week in a piece titled, "Dear Internet: Goats In Sweaters Are Cuter Than Kittens In Mittens." We encourage you to read the article and see for yourself seven "impossibly cute" photos of goats wearing sweaters!



From the NPR article:

"Christy Sommers, who takes the photos, first noticed the cuteness that is clothed goats in 2010, while living in a village in northwestern Bangladesh as a Fulbright scholar studying rural primary education. Now she considers the project as adding "net happiness" to the world and helping to share a little slice of life from parts of the world that Americans don't often get to see."

PS. There's also a calendar. Sales of which benefit local organizations in Varanasi, India. Sounds like Christy quickly sold out after the NPR feature, but she's working on a re-print! More details here.
    [post_title] => Christy Sommers & Her Featured Goats in Sweaters!
    [post_excerpt] => This week, we are celebrating the recognition of Christy Sommers (Dragons South Asia Program Director) and her feature by NPR this week in a piece titled, "Dear Internet: Goats In Sweaters Are Cuter Than Kittens In Mittens." We encourage you to read the article and see for yourself seven "impossibly cute" photos of goats wearing sweaters! 
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    [post_date] => 2018-12-05 15:37:41
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    [post_content] =>  



This week we are giving away 5 FREE Learning Service books written by star alum Dragons instructors Daniela Papi-Thornton and Claire Bennett on Instagram.

To enter the contest, go to Dragons Instagram Feed:

1. ❤️ this post (pictured right)
2. Follow Dragons on Instagram

That’s it! We’ll randomly pick names of those entered (via both steps above) and announce the winners on Monday December 10th!

Learning Service answers tough questions like: What does it mean to serve? Who benefits? How do you do more good than harm? For those engaged in service and volunteer work, it’s a must-read.
    [post_title] => Learning Service Book Giveaway on Instagram
    [post_excerpt] => This week we are giving away 5 FREE Learning Service books written by star alum Dragons instructors Daniela Papi-Thornton and Claire Bennett on Instagram. Read on for details on how to enter the contest...
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    [post_date] => 2018-08-07 16:01:32
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    [post_content] => 
This week, at Boulder HQ, we're passing around this poem written by our Summer 2018 Guatemala Instructor, Raquel Wigginton.  And we are collectively, sighing...


We have journeyed
into a history
as dark as
the depths of Lake
Atitlán—el más profundo
de las Américas
The depths have
felt overwhelming but
necessary as the reminder
of the pain that lives
in each of our bloodlines
the bones that hold us
up like a ladder
are dense with the
memories of time
and are buried
in the soil we
occupy with strong
and reaching raíces.

Roots we need to
continue to explore
in all directions.

We have ventured
into the verdant lands
of Guatemala—land of trees
and like the Lorax
we must be careful
of the greed and power
that run like currents
of flames in our
nation’s veins
We must tell the story
of deforestation, of
pollution, of dwindling
natural resources before
it’s too late
We must plant the seed
that will revive the
forests and inspire
the birds of the
trees to keep on singing
We must care
and maintain the
precious seedlings
of our siembra and
never give up.

You are the seeds
of the trees that
will grow into
grandes problemáticas
or soluciones transformativas.
We want to sew
the fruits of our
labor of love
During our adventure
the garden of love
has been planted
let’s see what it’s
beauty holds and who
will hold it up to
the light that
illumines dialogue
and understanding,
patience and tolerance,
caring and challenge.
Raíces profundas y duraderas.




Be sure to head over to Raquel's blog for more.

    [post_title] => A Poem by Raquel Wigginton, Guatemala Instructor from Summer 2018
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    [post_date] => 2018-08-02 13:12:53
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    [post_content] => For all those in our community that have worked, or traveled on a Dragons program, with the legendary Josh Morris, we think you'll enjoy this excerpt and article from The Salt Lake Tribune: Meet SLC Native Who Helped Rescue Thai Boys...

"The last thing that just kind of totally destroyed me in a good way was the parents came up to the headquarters area to ask if they could say thank you to the cave divers,” Morris said. “So I went out with the cave divers and translated this thank you between them.... When I saw those parents, I had a really hard time translating without crying.”

Featured Dragons Alumni Staff Josh Morris 

We encourage you to read the full article! 
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    [post_date] => 2018-07-19 11:50:06
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    [post_content] => 
Experiential Education involves the use of hands-on exercises that engage multiple senses and learning styles.

For a fun example of what this looks like on a Dragons course, check out this "Metacognition" exercise in action on Dragons China: The Yangtze River summer program, subtitled, "Games to Visualize our Thinking" as facilitated by Zack Siddall and described by Tingting Xu...

Er Fo Temple is famous for its Chan Buddhist sculptures. Before leaving the temple, Zack organized a game with the intention of guiding students towards more awareness of their thinking and decision making processes – an important step before entering a mega city, like Chongqing, after a quiet and peaceful time at Er Fo Temple. The process of “sculpting each other” was a lot of fun for the group and helped them get to know each other even better as the journey continues. Hope you enjoy the video as much as we (instructors) enjoyed watching! – Tingting

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