What inspired you to work for your organization?
I was inspired by Long Way Home’s holistic approach to using local materials to build, and educating people in doing so. I always wanted to learn more about building with trash and seeing all type of resources as something useful to create something.
Green Building Construction
Describe a typical day at work.
I am working mostly on my computer on different administrative tasks for the organization and I handle all kind of contacts to connect LWH with our partners. I take care of visits to demonstrate the Green Building School as I live here on the campus in Comalapa and coordinate CETC development. On special school events and construction projects I take photo and video material for all kinds of marketing and social media activities.
Why do you do what you do?
I can see a greater purpose on what LWH is doing and I am glad I can be part of it. It is nonprofit-oriented, has a social impact for disadvantaged people, and will save the planet from plastic pollution (if repeated globally).
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is the experience of meeting all kinds of different local and international people here—teachers, students, builders, and volunteers. I like sharing time with them together and being part of this movement.
CETC Student
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
My studies allow me to see and understand issues with an interdisciplinary view of technical, social, environmental, economical, and political aspects. Through my travels, I can now benefit from speaking English and Spanish (and German) to communicate well with different cultures.
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
There are so many things to take care of, organize, and be responsible for to maintain and develop the school’s campus and the projects we are involved in, so you need to be patient and take little steps.
What makes your organization special?
Our holistic approach and our 3 E´s of education, employment, and environmental stewardship make us special. Green Building at its finest, like LWH represents in form of a school, is very unique worldwide. There are maybe just two or three other examples like this out there in the whole planet.
CETC Student
What hopes do you have for the future of your organization?
I hope we can soon finish our green building construction on the school’s campus here in Comalapa. I also hope that more organizations will partner with us so we can create more presence all over the world in order to increase the impact of green building techniques.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
Volunteers, and especially Academy participants, will always leave our programs with a big impact. They will better understand local problems faced by rural people in developing countries and how to implement local solutions to those problems, using local materials and resources.
Why do you think learning a new language is important?
Learning a new language and speaking various languages is an excellent brain activity, and it is always important to communicate with all kinds of people in your daily life. The best learning conditions are found in foreign countries where you can practice reading, writing, and speaking all day long.
Green Building Academy
What advice do you have for individuals thinking about going abroad?
Leaving home isn’t always easy, as you leave all your known routines and daily life behind (for a time). And therefore, going to new places means you have to find new ways and have new experiences “to survive”. This is the greatest challenge you can face to get stronger and prove to yourself that you’re able to survive in any other culture. It is also a great way to open your mind and understand the world better. "Travel is the only thing you can buy that doesn’t make you poorer."
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel is travel with a meaningful impact—socially, culturally or environmentally. It’s travel where you have taken your meaning of the journey back home with you.
What qualities in program & host community relations are important to you? (And your organization?)
It is critical to implement projects in foreign cultures. It is most important to cooperate on all levels with the community and to understand local traditions. Developing projects can only be successful by integrating the local community in the process. That means clear communication under a democratic structure.
