Live the Forest or “Vivamos el Bosque” started as a dream, became an idea and it is now a plan that is coming along little by little. Through a recently founded Roots & Shoots Group, I am working to develop a pilot non formal educational program for children and youth, in addition to a business plan that Otonga Foundation could use to sustain the program in the long run. I plan to raise 10 000 USD in the next 10 months to start running the program properly.
The project has no money now. Although raising money seems always difficult at first, I am positive that by thinking outside the box and working hard in what we are passionate about, we will find our way. The project’s fundraising plan includes activities such as:
– Photography workshops at the Otongachi Research and Educational Center.
– Orientation and survival workshops at the Otonga Forest.
– Scientific illustration workshops at the Otongachi Research and Educational Center.
– Bird Watching workshops at the Otongachi Research and Educational Center.
– Organize “Scientific discussion forum in Coffee shops” in Quito.
– Organize an awareness event: “The Web of Life World Tour: Ecuador” with the communities surrounding the Otonga Reserve.
– Crowd funding: betterplace.org
– Grant applications
We plan to raise money with each event while continuously applying for more money from bigger donors. I hope we can start running the educational program by January 2013.
Last week I presented “Vivamos el Bosque” to the board members of Otonga Foundation and some good friends of Otonga.
They are all really excited about the idea and are willing to help the project. I received great input and currently we have all their support!! 🙂 Thank you all for joining the dream!
Don´t hesitate to give me your inputs please!… The more we are, the stronger we get!
vivamoselbosque.com 
Hola Caro:
We like your idea but above all we really like the energy that you are putting to this project. We feel very confident that you will achieve your dream…
Regarding some suggestions about the project… We agree with others that thought that 10000 USD could be a low budget, We suggest you to organize a budget including some specific information that will help you better delineate the scope of the project , for example:
How many children or young is your education program targeting? (N. of instructors you will need, N. of equipment, etc.)
What education activities is the program offering? (N. of instructors you will need)
How often the program is offering the proposed activities? (N. of instructors x hours)
Where do the education activities will be carried out? At the Center?, At the school? (Transportation issues)
Do the program will offer food and supplies? (More budget to take into account).
We hope these suggestions help you.
Mucha suerte,
Paulina Guarderas y Lucho Coloma
Centro Jambatu – Fundación Otonga
Paulina and Lucho,
Thank you very much for your nice message. I will explain in detail the educational program I am suggesting as well as the specific target audience, benefits and details of the budget in my next post.
In short I can tell you that the program for children would involve non-formal educational activities such as bird watching, drawing, theatre, dance and other art and playful realted activities. All these activities organized would be sold as a summer camps or eco club type of program that would target children from private schools in Quito. The costs for the private schools in Quito would subsidise tha cost for the communities surrounding the Otonga Forest, starting with the 350 children that are currently receiving scholarships from the Foundation.
In the case of the program for youth, it would be a program for social entrepreuneurs, involving topics of leardership, self estime and income generating activities yet to be determined.
I hope this answer help you to understand better the project and please keep checking the blog for more information.
Cheers,
Caro