Mini Work Camps 05/12/13th of June

It's coming close to half time ...

This weekend and the one before we - Gerson, Jesse, Oliver, Arthur, Tati, Ebiliani, Jenni Reimundo and Simon - managed to finish plastering the walls until our arms were soar from grinding the cement. It was very cold and wet work out there and a very small “mini-work-camp” indeed, with only a few people. The red pick up from Se had broken down so we had a bit of difficulties with the transport of material and workers. Luckily our precious helper Murilo jumped in and drove us Friday and Saturday to the family’s house.

On Saturday the weather was a bit friendlier. Ebiliani, Jeni and Reimundo helped us to put in the windows, which Oliver, Tati and Murilo had well selected. We also secured one door in the right place to be fixed later on and Ebiliane sang very nice kindergarten songs with the two smallest children.
The Family is well off, apart from the coldness they have to fight with. Joao has got a job at the moment. Now we are closing up the first half of the house and hoping for dry weather and more volunteers who could help us to rip down the old house and start the second half.
With warm regard Simon

PREPARACAO JOVEM

Dereco pora - tupi, brazilian nativ language

Bom dia - portugues

Purru acoeto - banto, an african langhuage

PJ – II. Module Identity/ Vision of Brazil
2nd lecture „ Costumes & Religion“ with Dona Marli Pereira

We continued our studies based on the very valued book documetary of Darcy Ribeiro
including other experts of the brazilian culture.

The second lecture was very complementary to Rangels, we now looked deeper into the historical part of the different influences of the Brazilian culture. We got to know:
- The CAIPIRAS – the first Brazilians, being sons of the native population and the Portugues.
- The CRIOLOS – sons of Portuguese and African slaves
- The SULINOS - including several Europeans folks who populated areas in the South of Brazil..
These three new groups of inhabitants build up the foundation of the Brazilians which was based on violent and random invasion of the Sulinos. They raped natives and slaves, this was the first generation of Caipiras and Criolos.

…-Maybe nowadays we have a kind of social revenge beside educational challenges looking at corruption, crime, violence and poverty. But in majority there are healthy and original influences such as joy peace, happiness and creativity living in an open soul, which we have to consider and take care of.

So we dealt and will be kept occupied with following questions:

What kind of relation we Brazilians have to our roots, knowledge, capacity to do and transform?
What kind of attitude do we have towards work and life?

How much did the new created culture later on suffer because of the industrialism and consumism based on fault needs and disorientation?

Very inspired and full of impressions we led to the afternoon activities, as homework we were being asked to prepare something more deeply connected with the delt topics. For the next seminar the students will create a lesson for themselves.

After lunch we were tought to make traditional Brazilian sweets as:
Pe de Moleque – Sweet penuts
Bolo de Bagaco de Mihlo com coco – Corncake with coconut
Geleia de Abacxi – Pinaplegele
Doce de Abobora com coco- Sweet pumpkin with coconut
Cural de milho – Cornpudding

Dear friends           

This was a amazing beginning of our second module in our Youth Preparation seminar

“PreparacaoJovem”.

We managed to clean up the rooms on the first floor and move in the new furniture’s

- chairs, board, flip chart for our first studies inside the Aramitan building.

Our tough crew for this was: Tati, Andreza, Eduardo, Simon, Jan (a German visitor), Jesse, Gerson and me.

The kitchen team we were used to work with during our work camps - Dona Jasinta and Solange

 was also present and made a good meal for supper and the whole seminar day on Saturday.

Our first inspiring lecturer was Sr. Rangel.           

The essential of this seminar dealing with main topic of Identity and Vision of Brazil from the point of view of Geography and History was

-       to characterize the historical building process of the Brazilian people;

-       to reinforce the idea that the Brazilians are multi ethnical, or to say created through the mixture, the transformation of different ethnics;

-       to reinforce this characteristic of a multicultural population and to use it as a point of departure

      to reflect the national and international public politics;

-       to work out and build up the nation’s self-esteem borne out of the “nobodyness“ which is a tendency in some nations whose cultural history is similar.

 

We were 26 participants, including visitors and short-term students, coming from the southern suburbs of Sao Paulo and from Embu Guacu. - As offered before some Brazilians, who participated in our work camps continue with this course.

 

Through the first interactive discussion time and the artistic task we had after a break: It was possible to know each other in a bigger group. 

Profiles were drawn of our neighbours and designed afterwards with coloured paper and peaces of newspaper, making an individual „peace of art“ of the positive and negative frames.

At least we went on with an activity inside the house, painting wooden walls, which are now limiting our bigger and unfinished building in a smaller particular study area.

Step by step we will manage to set up the other rooms. Planed are living or relaxing room and a library.

      Now we are enthusiastic looking  forward how this pilot project will develop till the end of the year, where longer work camp periods will happen again.

Our aim is to report this for the Aramitan community here and everywhere in the world.

Thank you for your support and your interest.

With warm greetings from our team Oliver Tump

Plastering the walls

Saturday the 30 th of May

Saturday was Cesars birthday, all the children included the children of Gerson went to Vera Cruz to “Dia de Brinca”, it was a day of Games for the community, where kites where being made, recycle games constructed and lots of other activities presented. They came back very happy and with lots of self made games. Murilo and Tati who went with them where also loaded with positive energy. The tough guys stayed at the building side and continued the work on the house. The children came back for lunch, which was very tasty made with fish and fresh salad . After that Tati joined us in the construction work, during that time the children totally inspired by the day of games played all afternoon on the football pitch with kites balls and music.

On that day we managed:

 -     Building up the scaffolding 

-       Plastering five walls inside the house

-       Made a lot of “Massa” for the walls = “Producao Aramitan”

 

 The work to b econtinued…

The work at the families house will continue from now on every Friday, because our course prepraocao  jovem started. There is the possibility to work every second Saturday, when there is no course happening in Aramitan. The plan is to continue with “mini work-camps” with the people around Sao Paulo, who ever wants to contribute can come and help.

Friday the 29th of May 2009 

We arrived at the families´ house with a bit of worries whether everything would work out on this day. Our professional instructor and builder Gerson had back problems and said he was not going to be able to go to work. We managed yet to convince him to join us a bit later on as an instructor. With the same car and guitar we left Aramitan, arrived singing at the place of work, we were 5 people ready to continue what was once started…

It was a joy to see the children’s faces once they saw us arrive. During the work-camp a lot of trust was build up, so they welcomed us with open arms. When I look back, at the first time we visited the family with Santiago, Sandra, Morilo, and Oliver I could see shyness in they facece. There was hardly no communication possible, because of the language but more because they were closed to the outside world. As we arrived on this morning this picture was so different, specially the development of the youngest Junio, it was a pleasure to see how much more outward going he was and how much awareness he gained.

The work we managed was very satisfying:

 - Channels for electricity was made in all the walls

 - Both floor were covered with concrete

 - The Wall was finished in the back room

 - A lot of “Massa” was being made for the floor

With warm regards Simon and Oliver