We have an idea! Or a couple for a project!

The last meeting where the boys and did some reflection and some walking around town we decided on a few projects that might work for our group. Eitan was actually sick that day so we need to get buy in from him this week, but one of the ideas that seems to be the one that they are excited about is to have some community events for the Las Catalinas town.

At the moment the town is experiencing some growth issues where people are not as respectful or connected as they have been in the past. It has created divisions and really a lack of community. The boys have really noticed it and hear about it from their parents. As we walked around the seemingly idyllic neighborhood, thinking about how we could make a positive change, the boys started to remember times in the past where kids were playing together in the evening, there were get togethers on the beach, and the FEEL of the neighborhood was different. They then decided that they know the Las Catalinas town and the people that live there - so they can directly affect the feel of the town by holding events, getting kids to play together, or really just get people to spend more time together so that they want to work together to make the town feel more like a town again.

They also brought up that there are bats in some of the roofs so maybe they could make bat houses for the bats to have a different place to live. That would be a more crafty project. They also noticed that the monkeys are not as prevalent in the town as they were. So they thought about creating areas of biodiversity for the monkeys to return.

There is an issue with the road to Las Catalinas and they could work with the municipality to fix the road. This one sounds a bit more challenging, but can be tackled.

I loved that they came up with this idea through a 30 minute walk through town. Their memories and feelings helped them tell the story and helped them identify something that is missing in their world. I am excited to start to plan and engage the community through market research to see where the project goes!