Jan 27, 2010 4:58:16 AM | From the Field Global Environmental Brigade in Kuna Yala

UCSD Group Assists Kuna Village to Build Environmentally Safe and Sustainable Infrastructure

Anna Else Pasternak, 1/27/2010

As Director of Global Environmental Brigades, I would like to thank the students and professionals who volunteered their time to help with the solar panel installation. This trip was a huge success and it is thanks to your preparation, expertise and passion.

Jonathan Lee, Global Environmental Brigades President of University of California at San Diego, described his experience in Panama this December as follows:

GEB at UC San Diego visited Panama to assist the indigenous Kuna people with the installation of photovoltaic panels onto one of their main buildings . This project allows the Kunas to not rely on unsustainable power sources such as batteries or diesel-powered generators for their electrical needs, while at the same time significantly reducing the amount of toxic pollutants, such as lead, cadmium, carbon monoxide, which pollute their food and water supplies. There was also an education component  concerning climate change, water, nutrient cycles, and waste reduction.

Even though the Kunas are traditionally known to be conservationalists who genuinely value the richness of their land, it is our goal and hope that the current and future generations will gain a fresh perspective of their natural environment and the imminent weather shifts through the educational activities that were implemented.

Santiago Giraldo, GEB’s Panamanian intern, shared his experience in this way:

Although I have been living in Panama for the last 18 years, it was only a few months ago, after beginning to work with Global Brigades, that I realized how different the Kuna culture was from my own. I consider this experience with GEB as an enlightening one in that it taught me how easy it is to become a foreigner in your own land.

Another student from UCSD described her Global Environmental Brigades experience to the island of Nusatupu in Kuna Yala as “pretty much one perfect day.” She went on to say that it was “the highlight of [her] life. It was basically a dream come true.”

I feel forever indebted to the kindness of the people of Nusatupu, who us treated like brothers and sisters.

If you are interested in learning more about GEB, click here.  If you want to read more about UCSD’s trip this December please visit Jonathan Lee’s blog, which has a link to UCSD’s new GEB website:

http://ucsdgeb.blogspot.com

Photos of each day of our amazing experience can also be seen at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ucsdgeb09

Best wishes from the tropics,

Anna Pasternak

Anna Pasternak is Director of Global Environmental Brigades and currently lives and works in Panama. Contact her at: anna@globalbrigades.org