FLIP – Dominican Republic Experience (Part 3)

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
DAYS FIVE, SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT
From scraps to something beautiful. A bunch of lovely, vibrant, energetic young ladies made it their pleasure to invite us inton their homes and literarily their homes, we tore up discarded papers, washed it in a machine, blended for purity, then made into brand new paper for books, necklaces, rings etc. which they sell to visitors who take advantage of this tour, the prices are very reasonable and for a community asset based experience that revolves around the community, creating employment for the community members (one who lives over the river, who travels by boat every day to get to work). Walking through a “BARRIO” “Ghetto” as we may call it, was exciting, it reminded us of the gifts that we have and must cherish. We saw a baseball field that many of these children use for their enhancement of the baseball skills, Baseball is the most profitable, popular sport here on the Island. Many local youths have become popular through this sport. We saw small houses, un-employed persons just sitting at home and some very idle hands that may not be useful due to many reasons surrounding their situations.

Growing chocolate YUMMMMMM. Eating the natural real fresh coco plant was awesome, even Hassan made good use of the entire plant!!!! I left my mark on mother nature as I planted a tree so within the next 3 years I will return to reap my fruits of my labour. This tour is operated by UMPC Guananico and is certified by Turisopp, the local Tourisim Ministry and this tour is also a part of the community and its mandate. Volunteers like Felix, lives in the community and spends most of his time with tis valuable community development experience. It has clear family connections which makes it stronger and viable. And if planting a tree, eating a scrumptious lunch, getting a coco facial service was not enough then we had to go dance up a storm….MERENGUE. hips were oved, legs were twirled, oh YEAH. This additional tour of Dominican’s history is again done under the umbrella of the community, the contributions are endless, hence making members own their history will make history!!!!

Happier times after MERENGUE.
DIAMONDS are a girl’s best friend but after that trip to the AMBER MINES, we want no more diamonds. Amber is the way to go. Open back truck, fresh air, waving to natives, holding the sun in our hands, looking at God’s creation through the lenses of mother nature and just taking in the serenity of the countryside was a breath of fresh air, as we made it to the Amber Mines. Short but sweet visit. This tour had started out as an active experience, however as time elapsed it has dwindled into a less attended experience, reasons surrounding this experience varies. Bad roads, long journey (Even though it was very refreshing and community oriented), unsafe mines, and some amount of neglect are visual indicators of the low attendance. Our presence was needed as we did continuous evaluations on all these community-based experiences. So again, Thank you Centennial College and all other stakeholders on this mission.
Embarking upon the final days ahead we became celebrities. Just take a look!!!!!, we met with Senor Juan Pablo, who gave us an in-dept look and well explained presentation on all those experiences we experienced, and how they came about, how we must use the different eyes, hands to make the community stands out, the inclusion of the members in every community and the heart of what community-based assets are and they do for everyone. Adventure called. Damagua falls, 27 waterfalls, can you believe it, all of 27 waterfalls in one location (however we did 7). The adventure was awesome, sliding, gliding, jumping and just splashing in God’s creation, no artificial inseminations. This tour is one of the most popular tour for the cruise ship passengers and this too started out as a small community-based experience.

The last supper!!!!!!Playa Cabarete, was our final night destination, eating fish, lobsters, burgers and shrimps, then we hit the dance floor. Dance we did. Dominicans had noting on us!!!!

Spending our last moments with one key individual was not to be missed. Juanin’s mountain tour made the trip a worthwhile experience, a long but rejuvenated walk to two most breath-taking waterfalls was worth the walk. This tour is tied to the Coffee experience, and it provides employment for the operator Juanin and his family, as sometimes his nephew and his brother tags along with him. He told us of the benefits of this tour, as for the community and who benefits, the land owner who gives and charges them to walk through the land, the host of the tour and the coffee host. This is a small tour but the community is well a part of it.