Journal Entry #28: Luis Felipe

Inspired
Our CAS project began with the initiative of one of the former La Paz students Manuel Ballestero, who was a participant in the already established organization Futuro Brillantes whose purpose is to improve the community wellbeing, this is being done through the education and cultivation of nutritional crops, which are then donated or sold in order to fund the organization. When my partner Noah and I found out about Manuels participation in the project in Matapalo we saw it as an opportunity to use our skills that we had been learning in school and for me personally growing up with agronomy and agriculture being a big part of my Costa Rican culture which allowed me to acquire the skills to work productively in matters related to agriculture and that’s exactly what Futuro Brillantes needed. I saw this as a perfect fit to work collaboratively alongside my partner, community members, CAS teacher and with advantage of working in the original project with Manuel it was the perfect opportunity to continue this and improve it.It wasn’t until I went to visit the community garden in Matapalo that I felt try inspired and felt like my input and participation in this project could really generate a change in this community. From where I am now my goal is to not only help better the garden but inspire future generations to lead the change that we are trying to create.I hope to continue my success with this project and to keep on working alongside all the amazing community members I have had the opportunity to work with to this date.