After five intense days of work between Monday, May 17, and Friday, May 21, 2021, the group of seven volunteers from France successfully concluded their volunteering program with the Raíz Ecuador Foundation – Caemba.
During the first three days, they closely observed the bamboo harvesting process, treatment, immunization in boron acid and borax pools, the production of laurel and bamboo panels for Caemba house walls, and also participated in collecting dried bamboo leaves to make tea, among the main activities on the farm.
On Wednesday, May 19, they traveled to Atacames along with Fernando Serrano, Manager of the bamboo farm and treatment plant, and Emilio Pallares, project technical assistant from the Raíz Ecuador Foundation – Caemba. On Thursday, May 20, the construction process of a Caemba house began in the Nueva Esperanza neighborhood in Atacames.
The family of María Luz Mery Estupiñán, 32 years old, and her three children – a 14-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy, and another 9-year-old boy – were the beneficiaries of the Caemba house with a bathroom built by the volunteers and Caemba construction technicians. The house costs USD 4,100.
The volunteers were very happy when they finished their week of volunteering as they experienced the entire cycle, from bamboo harvesting to handing over the completed house to the beneficiary family in Atacames.
From the Raíz Ecuador Foundation and our Caemba project, we infinitely thank Marie Boutonnet; Manon Girault; Léna Aka Essan; Oussama Nafti; Matías Wattel, who led the volunteer group and is Franco-Ecuadorian; Julian Delorme; and Gregoire Commecy.
