Environmental Brigades has been redesigned to reflect extensive research and evaluation work conducted by Global Brigades Panama as part of its overall shift to a new model focusing on rural communities in Eastern Panama. Environmental Brigades is now equipped to meet the specific needs of these communities and to provide a greater opportunity to Brigaders to work closely with individual families on a variety of environmental projects.
At its core, Environmental Brigades is focused on: Reforestation, Sustainable Agriculture, Waste Management, and Education. These projects will help address some of the most pressing environmental needs of our communities, improve the health of community members, support the development of sustainable businesses and agricultural practices, and educate community members so that they can implement change for generations to come.
Reforestation: Deforestation is one of the most pressing issues facing Panama. Each year, Panama looses approximately 1% of its forest. Not only does this loss deplete biodiversity and harm clean air, but it also depletes soil nutrients that affect farming, it puts communities at greater risk for flooding, and it reduces a community’s natural protection from the elements.
To address this pressing environmental concern, Brigaders will be working with families on an individual basis to assess how they can plant more trees on their land. Currently, most families clear their land completely to plant agricultural products. Brigaders will work with families to find creative ways to incorporate more trees, such as identifying if part of their land can be used to plant fruit trees and planting trees to use as natural fences. The goal is to teach community members how to replicate nature traditionally: instead of cutting everything and clearing the land, Brigaders will work with community members to try to mimic the diversity and balance of plant life that exists in an eco-system.
Sustainable Agriculture: Most families in our communities use their land to plant food (mostly corn, rice, yam, yucca, grain and plantains) to feed their families. Brigaders will work with families to educate them about the possibilities of diversifying their agricultural products in order to benefit soil nutrients. Brigaders will also work with families to incorporate the use of natural fertilizers and will research and present alternatives to pesticides. The Environmental Brigades team is currently conducting soil studies to see what local plants will be best for the environment and soil.
Waste Management: The communities we work with in Eastern Panama currently do not have an organized or city-supported system for dealing with their waste. Trash is thrown in a local river, burned, or discarded around the community. The Environmental Brigades team will be launching a Waste Audit to see on a house-to-house basis what type of trash is being produced and what families are doing with it.
Based off the Waste Audit, Brigaders will help research and educate the community about alternative methods for dealing with trash. For example, Brigaders can help the community to start composting to re-use organic waste, or find creative ways to repurpose non-organic waste, such as pouring concrete over old batteries to use as the foundation for floors. Environmental Brigades is also working on developing a community-wide system to collect and organize materials that can be recycled. The team will then arrange for a truck to pick up the materials on a regular basis to take to a recycling center.
(Community Member Burning Trash in Piriati Embera)
Education and Community Participation: A large part of Environmental Brigades will be focused on helping to raise the community’s overall awareness of environmental issues and their understanding of the repercussions of degrading the environment. Brigaders will take an active role in helping to develop educational materials, deliver workshops, and research sustainable environmental practices.
Environmental Brigades has also developed a Environmental Youth Committee (EYC) in the community of Piriati Embera. The EYC is comprised of approximately 15 young people, ages 16-20 years old, who have volunteered to assist on Brigades, to provide follow-up, and to promote environmental awareness in their community. Recently, Environmental Brigades held a three-day workshop to train the EYC, to develop their teamwork and leadership skills, and to provide motivation and support for their role as community representatives for environmental projects.
The new Environmental Brigades model allows for greater interaction between Brigaders and community members while focusing in on the core environmental issues affecting communities in Eastern Panama. Please be sure to check our Facebook page and Blog for updates about our work year-around supporting environmental projects in communities in Eastern Panama.
(The Environmental Youth Committee in Piriati Embera)
