Celebrating Mothers Day with the three Rs

                Happy mother’s day from Paraguay! One year ago, I was walking down the street in my site and happened upon a used grain-sack in the middle of the road. Thinking to myself “I could probably use that for something,” I went and lifted it up. It was a bit heavier than I expected a grain sack to be…and I was soon the proud owner of Jasy Ysapy Jaeger (The-Dew-of-the-Moon Jaeger). We have been best friends ever since/rainy day snuggle buddies.

                In honor of Jasy, who I came to own by attempting to REUSE a grain-sack, I would like to talk about one of the projects I have been working on since the New Year: my girls’/recycling art group. One of the challenges of Peace Corps service is that I have to do community-motivated projects. Just because I believe that something in my community should be different, doesn’t mean I get to change that. I have to work with community members to figure out what types of community development are important to them and then figure out how my abilities and skills match with their needs. And then we begin to work.  One day, I was talking to my best friend in site, Mirna, about how I missed visiting art museums in the states (there’s no MFA here), and she said to me, “I really like art!” when I asked her what type, she said, “Well, I think I would like art if I ever saw any.” This conversation eventually led to Mirna and I working together to form a girls’ group focusing on making arts and crafts from recycled materials.

                Some of the really great/special things about this group:

Brooms from soda bottles

• It was all Mirna’s idea! She both wanted to learn more about art and also wanted to learn some different activities to occupy her time—she works with her boyfriend on a farm, but during down time, she wanted to learn how to do something more than just watch soap-operas.
• This is one of the only extra-curriculars for girls in my community—while there are many local soccer and volleyball games, most of are just for boys/men to play.  This is one of the few spaces for the girls to meet, hang out, etc in a non-‘party’ (alcohol-free), safe environment.
•  We use only local materials: mostly trash and some basics like glue that can be purchased nearby. We work on a very small budget. Most of the girls don’t have their own money. The girls are responsible for bringing the trash that we use. The trash is a great source of free art supplies!
•  The objects we make replace things they would normally buy or want to buy. We are reducing the amount of trash left to litter the community (which does not have a regular trash pickup or dump) and saving money.
•  Many of the group members help teach the classes (especially since my language skills are not the best for giving instructions), we are learning how to be leaders! And also how to be creative… each participant tweaks the project to their own style. No two pieces ever look alike.
• We make awesome stuff!

Cups from glass bottles (I did this one with my women’s comite too)

Earrings from tin cans
Brooms from soda bottles

Decorative bows from magazine pages

Paper Beads

Picture frames (these ones we made with magazines)

Gift bags from newspaper
7 strand string from plastic bags
CD-tile picture frames
tetra-pac wallets
homemade shampoo and conditioner.

I never knew how to make any of these crafts previously, but sometimes being a PC volunteer just means being the middle-woman for resources (such as the internet!). Some great resources for recycling projects have been: pinterest, instructables, about.com, spoonfuls (and more). I do my best to translate the instructions to Guarani and make one example, and then the girls take it from there. Luckily they are much better visual artists than I am.

One more word about international development/the Peace Corps: over the past twenty months I have learned so much about the unique struggles of the people in my community and Paraguay as a developing nation. However, at the same time, many of the challenges here highlight/remind me of things back home. Just because the USA describes itself as “developed” doesn’t mean that we don’t share a lot of the same ‘developmental’ issues. The USA is still learning how to deal with the environmental consequences of consumerism and the “TRASH PROBLEM.” Recycled art/reusing trash to replace buying new items is just as relevant in the USA as in Paraguay. While in the States we may be able to afford new art supplies, it might be worth while trying out recycled art materials—it’s amazing what can be done with some cans, bottles, and plastic bags. For starters, just google plarn!