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First SOL Work Group Arrives to Puerto Rico
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Three days ago, Puerto Rico became the fifth destination to which we have sent volunteers. Although, we only had a few groups to Guatemala (for language school) and Belize (for work on a teacher's house), our primary destination for groups over the last 28 years has been Nicaragua and El Salvador.
However, unable to continue our program in El Salvador (due to high rates of violence 8 years ago), or Nicaragua (due to political strife as of last April), we needed to stretch and look beyond.
Almost a year ago, we began a process of deep reflection, research, creative brainstorming, and planning to figure out a way for us to continue into the future. Thanks to the generosity of so many of you, as well as the wonderful feedback and ideas, we are pleased to be moving ahead. We continue to support the programs and people of Nicaragua, and look forward to the return of groups to Dario and Tipitapa areas, hopefully in the near future.
And, we are so pleased that the idea of partnering and working in Puerto Rico has become a reality, as the first group of 14 students and two adults from Sonoma landed there this past Saturday. We are partnering with HASER and Armonía en La Montaña, a farmer-operated education and agriculture nonprofit. Volunteers will help with farm labor such as planting, weeding, harvesting, and soil preparation on agroecology inspired farms.
Below you will find the recap from the first three days. You can continue to read updates on our website here. Each day's update was written by SOL staff member, Dominic Tommasi, who has been in Puerto Rico since late January. He has worked closely with our partner organization, HASER to prepare for the group.
DAY 1 - ARRIVAL, SOL ORIENTATION, AND SETTLING IN
 
I'm very happy to let you know that the group has arrived in Arroyo and have just gone to sleep after a long day of traveling. Despite an hour delay in Newark the group arrived without any incidents. Today included an orientation about SOL and how we go about volunteering in the communities of Puerto Rico, a wonderful dinner of coconut curry with veggies, rice and kale-pineapple salad, and getting to know our amazing hosts here at Trama. Looking forward to another eventful day of getting to know the area in which we are working! Thank you all and I will send another update tomorrow night!
DAY 2 - ORIENTATION, MUSIC, DANCING, AND DISCUSSION  
Everyone has just gone down for bed on an eventful second day. We began with the first visit to the Trama farm where we got to know the area, learned how to use the various tools and were visited by the president and secretary of HASER foundation who brought the group Puerto Rican stew hats! From there we went to Guayama where we visited La Casa Poeta for a Bomba dance lesson. Bomba is a native dance with heavy African, Taino and Spanish influence and is the only dance in the role where the dancer leads the musicians, who are a group of at least 4 drummers. We ended the day with a discussion on the history of Puerto Rico since it’s colonization in 1493 until the present from Elmer, the president of HASER. We are looking forward to our first day of farm work tomorrow.
DAY 3 - WEEDING, DIGGING, CLEARING
The sun has set on our third day here in Puerto Rico. This morning we began our work in the Trama farm. Our team divided into three groups to work on different tasks. The first group worked on composting our food waste and learning the composting process as well as digging the hole that will serve as the bathroom. The second group watered every plant, weeded and cleaned the seeding beds and harvested what was ready to be picked. The final group worked on clearing more areas of the forest to make more seeding beds and expand the farms production area. After all this, we spent the afternoon touring the town of Arroyo, which used to be a major port city and economic hub for the island, but has since seen much of the town’s culture and glory of old fade away as many locals have been forced to leave the island due to lack of employment opportunity and from the effects of hurricane Maria. Finally, we celebrated one of the group member's 16th birthday with a small dance party and ice cream sundaes. Tuesday we will be working with Puerto Rican university students on the farm who will teach us their various disciplines in which they are studying.
DAY 4 - FLORA, IDENTIFYING PLANTS, AND CLEARING LAND
Day 4 has come to a close. Today we were visited by Steven Silvestrini, a student at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras. Steven is a botanist who works for a cooperative at his school identifying the plants of the Caribbean and comparing the flora to what was present in the 1970’s with a goal of understanding how the flora has changed over 50 years. He visited us to explore the subtropical rainforest in which the farm is located and teach our group how to identify the plants. Steven taught basic plant anatomy, how to identify local and foreign plants and every volunteer got to cut and preserve their own unique plant using a press. While we weren’t identifying plants groups continued working in clearing the forest for seeding beds and completing the farms toilet. After dinner, we watched the documentary The True Cost which focuses on the fast fashion industry affects global climate change. Tomorrow we will head to local farmer Miguel Cora’s farm/home to help him plant bananas and plantains.
Photo captions (in order from top to bottom): After a long overnight flight, the group arrives to warm sunshine at the San Juan airport in Puerto Rico. Visit to Finca la Trama, where the group will be working. Dancing, flags and hats on the second day. Visit to the nearby beach in Arroyo after a hard day of work.
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July 28 - August 6, 2019 - Open Work Group to Corn Island, Nicaragua
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We invite you to join us from July 28 - August 6th this summer. It is the last summer open slot for a group. We need 12 or more confirmed people to make the trip happen. If you would like to organize a group of your own with family/friends at a different time, please just let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you. If you are interested, please let us know ASAP. We could use more help from volunteers on this school.
 This will be a more traditional work group to help repair and add to a school. This trip will promote solidarity and cross-cultural understanding that will ultimately help reduce poverty and inequality in the world. Each day will be filled with hands-on construction work, playing and sharing with children, and cultural excursions. You will learn about local cultural traditions through food, music, testimonies, nature adventures, and visits to colonial towns and historic sites. An integrated opportunity for cultural and Spanish immersion, service, and adventure.
What: Volunteers will work side-by-side with local community members to upgrade the Saint Santiago Elementary School. Due to lack of resources, the school infrastructure is in poor condition and in need of a new kitchen, roof, sidewalk and paint.
Where: Corn Island is located 43 miles off the eastern coast of mainland Nicaragua, and is a short plane ride from Managua. The main ethnic groups are Afro-descendants, mestizos and misquitus, who speak creole English, Spanish and misquitu.
Who: 12-18 SOL work group volunteers will work side-by-side with local community members hosted by SOL Nicaragua staff.
Cost: $1,500 plus airfare. The fee includes food, housing, and staff leadership. The group airfare is arranged in advance (travel to Managua with a connecting flight to Corn Island). You can fundraise to cover the trip cost and some financial assistance is available.
How to apply: Email us for details and to find out more.
Photo captions (in order from top to bottom): One of the beaches on Corn Island, the St. Santiago School in Corn Island is in need of repairs, a sidewalk, kitchen, paint and more.
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