Vinculación con la Comunidad - ¡Sé un PAT!

PAT en la Comunidad

PATs son estudiantes universitarios (pregrado, posgrado), quienes se inmersan en la comunidad y proponen alternativas de desarrollo basados ​​en sus fortalezas y potencialidades para obtener: un proceso participativo, colaborativo, holístico, integral e inclusivo que conduzca a cambios positivos y concretos, al mismo tiempo creando colaboración, identidad, voz, reducción de pobreza, conservación del ambiente, estabilización de las economías locales y aumento de la participación comunitaria.

Las pasantías comunitarias consisten en la realización de un trabajo de campo a través de la interacción del estudiante con una comunidad o grupo, a los que se vincula gracias a la relación de éstos con una ONG o con el estado, además de aquellos con los que la Universidad tiene convenio, a la vez que se participa de un proceso formativo como Facilitador social. 

El trabajo propuesto por Chacay es que el estudiante una vez conozca la realidad de la comunidad, deberá corresponder con sus conocimientos teóricos, metodológicos y técnicos propios de su disciplina y debe ser conocido por el representante de la organización quien podrá hacer sugerencias para adecuar el proyecto a las necesidades del contexto. 

La diferencia de este tipo de pasantías con las institucionales está en que el desarrollo del trabajo propuesto implica indispensablemente un proceso formativo, que le habilite para el trabajo de intervención social y el desarrollo de propuestas de inclusión y participación social, donde la interacción con los diferentes actores participantes del proyecto es requisito fundamental en la formulación y desarrollo del mismo.  

Objetivos

- Brindar a los estudiantes la oportunidad de aportar socialmente desde la óptica de Smart Destination a  un campo y situación específicos desarrollando una práctica social acompañada. 

- Desarrollar en los pasantes habilidades de trabajo integral y holístico para la intervención social, tales como metodologías de investigación participativa, trabajo en equipo, liderazgo, análisis de contexto.

Son condiciones 

 a)    cumplir con las calidades que particularmente establezca la dependencia de la Universidad, o la entidad con la cual haya suscrito el convenio (Capacitación breve en desarrollo sostenible, smart destination e innovación rural)

b)    Contar con un anteproyecto aprobado por el Comité Verde de la Comunidad y con la respectiva facultad
c)    Contar con un tiempo mínimo de 2 semanas.

Requisitos 

• Cumplir con los requerimientos que particularmente establezca la dependencia de la Universidad y la ONG con la cual haya suscrito el convenio, así como tener la disponibilidad de tiempo en el horario propuesto por la organización.

• No tener compromisos laborales durante el mismo semestre que interfieran con su trabajo en la comunidad.

• Cumplir estrictamente las fechas fijadas por su facultad para la entrega de informes. Trabajar los informes en los formatos publicados en el programa al que pertenece.

• Una vez aprobado el anteproyecto, construir el cronograma que posibilitará el desarrollo del mismo y discutirlo con su tutor(a) asignado.

• Entregar informe final (versión digital) de Vinculación comunitaria a la ONG y socializar los resultados con la comunidad intervenida, así como una copia en medio electrónico a la Oficina de Desarrollo Humano, previo a la sustentación en el respectivo programa académico o publicación de dicho documento.

• Trabajar máximo dos (2) personas por tema o area.

• Mantener una comunicación permanente con  la coordinación de trabajos de grado de su programa académico, con el Director del proyecto de Grado y con Chacay Staff

ONG – Vinculadas

Inscríbase a chacayfoundation@gmail.com

MDP, immersion in Ecuador 2017

The Agents of Transformation Program (PAT) of the BCF implements innovative, groundbreaking projects for university students who lay the foundation for Smart Destinations. Programs range from three weeks to three months, and target marginalized communities in the Amazon, the Sierra, the Costa (coast) and on the Galapagos Islands. These personalized training programs introduce participants to community leaders and equip them in the following areas: 

• Stakeholder mapping and analysis
• Community strength-based assessment
• Train-the-trainer curriculum design (methodology to introduce best practices)
• Application of technology to promote and conserve local destinations. 

Outcomes, based on investing in the Seven capitals (human, sociocultural, physical, natural, culture, politics and economic), promoting smarter and greener businesses; community leaders and high school students as agents of transformation; and ecotourism that generates opportunities for development in each of the seven capitals.

Our agents of transformation program creates opportunities for young people to:

• Develop the skills to develop and implement practical alternatives for development
• Explore the different aspects of development in an emerging market economy context
• Develop Spanish language proficiency through cultural immersion
• Work on Smart Destinations through innovative applications of technology
• Implement workshops to invest in developing and promoting Ecuador as a global destination for ecotourism

Live, learn, give, experience, enjoy, and share with peers in Ecuador. FIND OUT MORE

Considering all above, we welcome SARAH  WHITLOCK and CECILIA GUERRERO, MDP Program from Regis University, CO, USA.

Currently agendas:

Week Itinerary Immersion program 

1. Week 1. Adaptation and Orientation Component (culture, language, altitude and cultural organisation  in Quito

• Local tours (excursions to Quito Colonial, Mitad de Mundo, Otavalo, El teleferico)
• Integration activities with local interns (cooking, climbing, biking, planning) 
• Introduction and workshops with local academia.

Week 2. Community Project Planning Component (Quito)

• Curriculum Design for Smart Community Initiative education directed to local stakeholders (Public, Private, Civil, Media and Academic).
• Identification, negotiation and setting agreements with local communities 

Impressions of our afternoon sessions with the local students 2016

Group picture after our field trip to the local tree nursery

Picking up waste on our way to the tree nursery - an eye-opening experience for all of us (including Nic, the human garbage can, who had to carry the shocking amount of litter we found on our short way).

Listening to local government official Ramiro Alcoser explaining the purpose and functioning of the tree nursery and the local reforestation program. We learned a lot, our students showed great interest and participated by posing very good questions.

Jeff demonstrating the functioning and dangers of water contamination through a well prepared small scale simulation.

A normal day at class: Presenting about sustainable energy, water and waste management. Most of our theoretical input generated a lot of participation by our students and great discussions with them.

Bonding in our spare time: Hiking with Renato and José (l.); on our way to the "Virgen del Cisne" procession with Steeven (r.).

Our Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development (SEDV) Interns in Mindo 2016

Margarita, Jeff and Nic presenting our program at the opening event

Maria Margarita Meza

As our only native Spanish speaker, Margarita soon became the “Mamá” of our group. She had to carry a very big part of the load during our afternoon sessions with the local students, and did an incredible job. Margarita was an important connection between the SEDV group and the local stakeholders, which made our work possible and fruitful.

Jeff Coombes

Jeff was the brain of our group. His ideas were incredibly helpful in order to prepare participatory and fun workshops with the kids. Without his input, it would have been impossible to create such excitement among the local students. He also played a major role in organizing the final report for the local stakeholders.

Nic Ritchie

Even though he didn’t speak a lot of Spanish when he arrived, Nic immediately connected with the local students, thus having an amazing effect on the positive climate in our classroom. The kids fell in love with his fun loving and open minded nature, which made them overcome the language gap easily. Nic’s value for our group was immense. Not only did he do everything that had to be done without a word of complaint, he also guaranteed the harmony within the group.

Assessments at local hotels with high schools Intervention 2016

Visual inspection at Hotel "La Roulotte"

In the mornings we implemented a total of six in depth assessments about energy, water and waste at four local hotels and the two high schools and Mindo. The goal of these assessments was to evaluate the prevailing practices of water, energy and waste management in the community. After conducting detailed interviews with the owners or other people in charge and visual inspections of the facilities, we started analyzing the results from a sustainability point of view.

While we noticed a lot of effort by the hotels and high schools to manage their institutions in a sustainable way, we also identified a number of problems and spaces for further improvement. Based on our observations, we are currently working on a detailed document, including a list of best practices and individual recommendations for each of the hotels and high schools, as well as tools for calculating medium and long term benefits of green interventions. This document is meant to help the institutions to not only reduce their negative impact on the environment (and thus conserve Mindos unique ecosystem and attract more environmentally conscious international tourists), it should also help them save money in the long run.

One of our main recommendations for the local hotel owners is the creation of an “Association for Green Tourism in Mindo”, in order to strengthen cooperation between ecologically conscious businesses. This association should function as a common room for exchanging ideas and facilitating the implementation of environmentally friendly projects and practices.

Greater cooperation between the local businesses could therefore constitute an important step towards making Mindo a Smart Destination for global tourism. In the future, the implementation of the EcoHelix platform will intensify this approach by constantly offering committed local businesses access to the international market of eco-tourism, advanced online training and possibilities of crowdfunding (more on that soon).

SEDV Internship in Mindo - First Steps towards making Mindo a Smart Destination

The Mindo Group: Jeff, Nic, Margarita (Calgary students) and Manuel (Beyond Chacay Foundation)

The SEDV internship in Ecuador can be seen as the first step towards promoting the three local sites (Archidona, Santa Cruz and Mindo) as “Smart Destinations” for global tourism. During four weeks in September 2016, Beyond Chacay Foundation worked together with the University of Calgary to help the local communities to become more attractive for tourists all over the world and at the same time more environmentally sustainable. 

A total of 10 Master’s students of Sustainable Energy Development (SEDV) worked in strong accordance with local businesses and local high school students to initiate a dynamic towards eco-tourism in each of the three communities.

This blog tells the story of Calgary students Margarita, Jeff and Nic and their local allies in Mindo – a small village in the middle of the Andean cloud forest and one of the top bird watching destinations in the world.

The SEDV internship in Mindo had two mayor objectives:

1. Implementation of energy, water and waste assessments at four local hotels/hostels, in order to identify best practices and provide individual recommendations.

2. Workshops with local students, in order to generate excitement and awareness about sustainability, promote cooperation and provide leadership skills.