Funding an Ecuadorian School Through Recycled Art

Dear All,

Thank you always for your continued help and support.  As you know from our last update, Stage 1 – construction of the actual workshop - was completed a few months ago and now we are in the final stage of our project – raising funds, purchasing necessary equipment for the production of our crafts, and training local community members in how to create the final products which will be eventually sold in Quito and allow our beautiful Cloud Forest School to be self-sustaining for years to come.

With your support, we have managed to surpass our half way point in raising the necessary funds for the completion of our project, but we can’t continue moving forward without obtaining the final amount; as you all know, no donation is too small.  Therefore, we kindly ask that you continue to spread the word about our wonderful project in order to enable our community members in creating crafts out of recycled materials which correspond with our environmental friendly ideology and beliefs in sustainable development which in the end will achieve our ultimate goal that is to aid families in obtaining invaluable education for their children and providing salaries to the skilled teachers who are creating our tomorrow through educating our kids today.

Thanks again and I hope to send our next progress update with news about positive strides made towards reaching our final goals.

Thanks to your help and generosity, we have completed the first stage of the La Hesperia Craft Workshop project! To date, we have raised over half of the funds that we need to complete the project. These funds have enabled us to complete the building construction and refurbishment for the workshop. Last week, we painted all the walls, officially completing the first stage of our project.

The second stage will be to raise the other half of the funds to purchase the equipment for making the crafts. In particular, this includes a glass-melting oven, which costs $2,000 USD. With this equipment, we will begin to train members of the community in using the over to make crafts from recycled glass.

For an example of the types of crafts we plan to make, please check out the attached photos.

We are half way to our goal, but we need your help for the second stage of the project. Please pass on news of the project to friends and family. With your help and donations we will be able to put our workshop to use very soon and ensure that there is sustainable income for the Cloud Forest school.