Let's Celebrate!

Showing posts with label Reforestation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reforestation. Show all posts

14 July 2010 in 14 June 2010

7:36 PM by Kh
14 July 2010 in 14 June 2010 is Day 10 of Ecoventure 2010.


As usual, I was up early in the morning. Mornings in Gia Bac are so lovely I found it a waste to be inside my sleeping bag instead of being outside with the sights and the sounds. However, while it was usually quiet while we were out enjoying the sunrise, we were joined by a sudden commotion.


Wait, what was that I saw? Our friends were up early too and taking a jog around the village! The nice fresh air, the occasional cool breeze, mountains at the side, it must had been a wonderful experience jogging in such an environment. ^^

Back at the house, another surprise awaited us.


It seemed that we have visitors! These three beautiful animals were found just beside our house and I was so delighted to see them because I was just out that morning on a lookout for them and was feeling rather disappointed at not having found them.

What a great start to the day!

The morning project was slightly different on this day. We were off to the coffee plantation belonging to one of our students' family. Her father had kindly invited us to his plantation to experience what it would be like to work there.

A Try at Fertilising the Coffee Plantation 
We were showed how to clear the weeds in a circle around the bottom of the coffee trees and eager to try it out, we scrambled off in little groups to various parts of the plantation to claim our territories. It didn't take long before most of us were exhausted and it was barely after removing the weeds from below a single tree!

After a few feeble attempts to attack the hard ground with our tools, my arms and shoulders felt sore and disobeyed my demands that they continue moving. It was then that I felt several pairs of eyes staring at us, observing our every move. A group of children had suddenly appeared from seemingly out of nowhere while we were focused on getting rid of the stubborn weeds. They were the family's children. One of the older girls extended her hand towards us and offered to show us the proper way to use the tool. In a matter of seconds with a few swift powerful strokes, the job was done! I was very much impressed as I watch her work. She was no bigger than me in terms of size and yet there was so much strength coming inside her, definitely much more than there is within me. That left me wondering...

Through the disorganised manner in which we spread out to do the weeding, it wasn't long before we were told we had ventured off into the neighbour's plantation! We laughed at ourselves when we found out and hurried back before we could get into any trouble.

Daily Teaching, Daily Activities
Back in the classroom, we taught the students about daily activities. They were quite tickled by the fact that I said "I like to sleep". When I asked them whether they like to read books, they all shook their heads. I do hope they enjoyed our lessons though!
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08 July 2010 in 08 June 2010

7:35 PM by Kh
08 July 2010 in 08 June 2010 is Day 4 in Ecoventure 2010.

Days in Gia Bac started early as well and on the average, everyone of us was awake and out of our sleeping bags by 5.00am or the sun would be shining down on you!


The start of our Village Life
This morning, we finally had a good look around Gia Bac. The wind that blew was cold but the sun warmed my skin. Outside, the hens and roosters were already up and about, wandering all over the place like the owned it.


Having lived for all my life in the city, I often wake up to the sound of annoying car drivers honking continuously in the neighbourhood or my sister's ringing handphone. The sight that greeted my from my bedroom window is that of tall HDB estates with limited greenery, save for the sparse trees scattered here and there in the carparks and a nearby playground.
 
Here in Gia Bac, I awoke to the sound of roosters, our alarm clock from Mother Nature. It was as if they felt it their all-important duty to wake everyone up bright and early. Taking a look out of the door, the view was simply breath-taking, all the more alluring for someone like me who had not had a chance before to immerse myself in such an environment that has not been thoroughly recreated by human hands.
 

This was what welcomed us when I went outside onto the corridor of the teachers' house we were staying in. Even for an extraordinarily imaginative mind like mine, (okay, again, I exaggerate) I would not have thought up such a beautiful scene on my own without any inspiration. You had to be there to see it for yourself and to experience it in order to know how it was like. However, hopefully the photo I took, albeit not capturing the place in its full glory, will be able to implant a certain seed in your brain that gives you an idea of what I saw.

Reforestation

We went out on our first FLITCH assignment that day and were brought to this vast area and our jaws nearly dropped when we heard that the whole huge area was supposed to be cleared. Did I mention? The place was humongous! So, we were led to a spot somewhere inside the entire gigantic patch, feeling smaller than we had ever felt. Did I mention? The area was massive! Oh wait - I did.



So through the help of translations by our Vietnamese volunteer from EVG - Thuong, we learnt that the area was owned by a lady and her family. It was necessary to weed the area but it was just so large! Nonetheless, with a certain firmness to do whatever we could, everyone set off promptly to work after we were shown how to use the tools. Along the way, we even devised our own methods to cut the weeds off more swiftly although we could never be as fast and efficient as the seasoned villagers themselves. =S

Teaching at Gia Bac School
In the afternoon, as we were preparing to set off to school for our daily English teaching, it started pouring heavily. Thankfully, we had the ponchos from our Eco Vietnam volunteers and we made it to the school dry and relieved but late! In addition, this being the first time we met our students, we were rather at a loss about what to do and the lessons kicked off to a rocky and nervous start.

Lucky for us, the weather was forgiving and the sun soon peeked from behind the clouds. That was great news for us because it meant that we could play some outdoor games! We heard that the students love them and it would be a pity if we weren't able to play together, especially on the first lesson when we were just getting to know each other and trying to create a friendly and fun atmosphere. We taught them how to play an improvised version of "Captain's Ball" with a frisbee instead of a volleyball. It was something new to them but they soon caught up with the rules and aims.

Before the start of the game, one group had actually run away and hid in a corner of the school though. At first, we were perplexed but we later learnt to give these children some time to warm themselves up to us when we realised that they were simply too shy to join in the games with us.

It was an 'Orientation Day'
This day was a learning experience for us being the first official "working" day in Gia Bac and helped prepare us for the others to come.

(Also, we learnt to predict when the heavy rain was coming so that our shoes and clothes did not get entirely soaked again as it did on that day. =S)
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Yes we did - We Walked The Green Talk!

6:18 PM by Wan Ying
Hallo World!

Team Ecoventure is back!!



1 full day of ecoforum + exhibition
8 full days of reforestation + teaching
1 full day of Rest & Recreational Activities
(2 full days of on-the-road travelling)


Boy, it was sure blasting eventful!
We're still in the midst of collating our photographs/documenting stuff. 
So, please be patient and give us some time yeah? 
We'll be updating asap :D
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