A Community Education and Tourism Project
run by local people in Guamote, Chimborazo Province, Ecuador
Inti Sisa, which means ‘sunflower’ in Kichwa, is a non-profit making foundation based in Guamote, Chimborazo province in Ecuador. The charity was set up over ten years ago in order to provide educational and training support to the town of Guamote and its surrounding rural communities. The project is led by a local director and employs 11 local people, supported by 2 volunteers each year.
The project’s objective is to respond to local educational needs and to widen participation in learning activities. It has developed a series of practical workshops that add to the existing provision offered by schools and colleges.
In recent years, the project has developed a twin-track approach, combining educational provision (the education centre, workshops, ICT and English, pre-school provision, outreach education in the communities, homework support, environmental education, music classes, games) with a guest house which accommodates up to 25 people and offers a range of tours to visitors. All profits from the guest house are reinvested in the education project.
First established as a child minding centre for pre-schoolers, so their older brothers and sisters would be freed of child-minding duties and able to attend school, Inti Sisa has grown organically to meet the needs of the local community. More children at school created a need for homework support classes. The children principally speak only Kichwa, but the official language of the State is Spanish. Therefore Inti Sisa began Spanish classes to help the children learn better in school. English classes followed to increase students' chances of obtaining work in the burgeoning sustainable tourism industry being fostered by government and industry. As students need computer skills, Inti Sisa has created a computer lab. (See further details below)
One of the main motivations for Inti Sisa is to keep young people involved in education longer so that they have more time to develop their skills and knowledge. In addition, we hope to continue to re-engage those adults who missed out on education altogether or whose early experience of education were negative.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL PEOPLE
Inti Sisa plays an important part in diversifying the skills set of the local community. Over the last ten years the project has developed a series of workshops, including:
Information, communication and technology (ICT) workshops for all ages from 3-4 year olds to young people and adults, offering general advice and support to beginners as well as more specialised computer courses. ICT is a fantastic tool to help engage them and can open up a whole range of new learning opportunities. By developing ICT skills we also aim to raise the level of basic skills - literacy and numeracy – amongst adults and parents in Guamote. Parents, in particular, lack the capacity, time and skills to support their children with their homework and through education in general. As a consequence, the children themselves become de-motivated and disinterested in continuing their education.
During an average week the project attracts 300 children or adults to its 26 hours of ICT workshops. Unfortunately, we are limited by the number and quality of the machines that we currently have. The hardware that we currently have is old and failing, and there is a critical need to look for new ways to replenish our equipment.
The education foundation doesn’t have the funds to invest in new ICT equipment which is particularly expensive and difficult to source in Ecuador – all previous computer hardware has been supplied by schools and colleges in Europe through donations. After a successful application to Computer Aid International (based in London), the project has the opportunity to replace its outdated equipment. However, first of all, we have to raise the $5,000 for the 27 computers we have requested.
English classes. Many of the young people in particular must take English at school in order to progress to college or higher education. The quality and pedagogical approach of the existing provision is mixed. Inti Sisa aims to supplement this provision with an improved pedagogical approach which includes classes and support both in the education centre and in the indigenous communities, as well as the training of local teachers. In total we offer the children 15 hours of English classes during the week.
Sewing. The project runs courses for men and women who want to learn a practical skill as well as to develop their self-confidence, social skills and economic independence. Participants learn to make and repair clothes for their family or small business. They also learn how to design and make handicrafts for the project. These are then sold to tourists who visit the project, providing an important alternative source of income for the education centre. Inti Sisa is an accredited learning provider (registered with the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education) so we are able to provide certificates on completion of the courses that we run. For many of the students, the young women in particular, this is the first certificate that they have received in their lives.
Pre-school education is provided for up to 25 3-4 year olds who access the education centre during the week, between 9am and 12.30pm. They receive a syllabus which combines play and learning, providing them with a stepping stone between home life and primary school.
Homework club. On weekday afternoons, after the school day has finished, school children, college students and adults are able to access the education centre to get free guidance and support with their homework or to access the centre’s equipment and materials. This support is absolutely critical as the children don’t always get the right support or guidance from their teachers, parents or grandparents who often don’t have the time, skills or capacity to guide them. Without this kind of support the children would naturally become frustrated with learning, further de-motivating them.
Very often children are given homework which they have not practised before in class and which they don’t understand. We offer support to all ages in a wider variety of subjects including mathematics, reading and writing, geography, science, Spanish and English.
On Friday afternoons, the children can play games and do puzzles and jigsaws.
Environmental education – Inti Sisa has recently started a project with the local schools to raise awareness of the local environment, climate change and the importance of local practical steps such as recycling and waste minimisation. The impact has been immediate with schools across Guamote starting to recycle plastic bottles, cardboard and cans. Already in just over 3 months we have recycled over 500kg of materials. On the 5th June 2008 Inti Sisa organised an event with the local schools to celebrate World Environment Day. In total 350 school children, teachers and local people participated in the event which included a procession with music, costumes and banners made out of recycled materials and a presentation and discussion on key environmental issues.
We hope to extend the current environmental actions to other schools and communities as well as running recycling competitions and a project to promote the planting of indigenous trees. This is another example of the capacity-building work that we do. The funds available for environmental activities is limited. We need to attract additional funds to enable us to deliver a 2-year pilot project on the environment.
As well as our environmental work, we are also developing other activities, to promote equal opportunities in education for indigenous girls and young women and to improve access to finance for people and communities who want to borrow money to start up small businesses. We are currently developing a scholarship programme to support gifted young indigenous girls who are in danger of dropping out of education for financial reasons.
Indigenous music classes are also offered to young people to ensure that the musical heritage of their ancestors is kept alive within their communities. This workshop is run on Sundays by Inti Sisa’s music teacher.
The facilities at Inti Sisa can also be used as a base for events, field trips and meetings by community groups and other organisations.
COMMUNITY TOURISM
Inti Sisa’s affordable, flexible and high quality educational provision can only exist because of the income generated through its guest house and tours. When the new education centre was completed in 2003 work began almost immediately on the construction of the guest house. This was opened in 2005, and now offers excellent en-suite double / triple rooms for 15 people and a dormitory which sleeps 10. Without this the project would have to survive solely on donations and fees and would not be economically viable or sustainable.
A visit to Inti Sisa, and Guamote, combines the beauty of the mountain landscape with the reality of everyday life in the rural communities. The project offers horse-riding, mountain-biking and walking tours as well as visits to Chimborazo, local indigenous communities and the Inti Sisa education centre itself. Guamote is also located on the spectacular ‘Devil’s Nose’ railway line that runs from Riobamba to Sibambe. The project is an ideal base for exploring the Central Highlands, with excellent access to the national parks of Sangay and Chimborazo, the lakes of Atillo and Ingapirca. It lies one hour south by bus from Riobamba on the Panamerican highway. The dynamism of the local agricultural economy is typified every Thursday when Guamote plays host to one of the most colourful and authentic indigenous markets in Latin America.
As well as the handicrafts that the project makes and sells in order to help fund the educational activities, we have started a new chocolate-making project. This combines the fantastic Ecuadorian cacao with Belgian experience in chocolate-making. All profits go straight back into the education centre. Our aim is to expand the handicraft and chocolate-making activities so that it can provide more income for the educational side of the project in the future. More up-to-date equipment and new premises are needed to increase the range and production of the artisans that we make.
THE FUTURE
The major challenge for Inti Sisa is twofold: first, to ensure that the project itself becomes self-sustainable; and second, to continue to respond to local educational needs and play an important role in the development of the local economy.
In order to maintain a high level of educational support we are constantly looking at new ways of replenishing books and teaching materials, renewing computer equipment and improving the learning materials and games available to the children and adults who access the educational centre.