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Address: Rua André Stuchi 1806, Embu Guaçu – São Paulo. Brazil

Dates: Workcamp 1: 22nd February - 13th March

            Workcamp 2: 25th March - 17th April

Contact: elisa(at)idem-network.org or
workcamps@idem-network.org

Address Switzerland: Idem- Identity through Initiative
Gerbergasse 30, CH-4001 Basel

Homepage: www.aramitan.org

Aramitan, Embu Guacu

The project

A lot has been said and written about Aramitan over the past years, and many international workcamps have taken place involving over 300 participants since 2004. It is our closest partner project, with its founder, Santiago De Marco, being one of the founders of Idem as well.
Visit their website, www.aramitan.org, or watch one of several videos that we have on this site to find out more. You will find them on the pages Workcamps, About workcamps and Workcamps in Brazil. An Interview with Julia Butterfly Hill was also filmed at Aramitan.

As in many places with high poverty rate around the world the children in Sao Paulo, Brazil, are often at severe risk. Many do not have a home to live in or a place to stay. Some live on the streets, others have intolerable family situations, leading them to take recourse to street gangs, drugs and alcohol.

Santiago De Marco and his wife Sandra heard of a large building outside of Sao Paulo, which had never been completed. They bought this with the idea of creating a living space for the further much needed development of trust and hope for the future. Aramitan is now an organization created to support children and young people in high-risk situations in the area of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Currently,  Aramitan is in the last stage of developing a Community Centre. Young volunteers from all around the world have helped build Aramitan with great love and enthusiasm.

Currently living in New Zealand Santiago and Sandra are working together with a very active group of Aramitan friends and also an administrational group around Ute Craemer from the Monte Azul project in Sao Paulo.
Aims of the Aramitan project could be outlined in 4 areas:
1. Children
Working with children in complementary school programme of activities with an educational focus on art, music, culture, sport, etc. In addition, the development of a Kindergarten.
2. Local Youth  
Working with local youth enhancing cultural experiences, offering courses in: crafts, art, drama, music, language, computer, gardening, cooking/baking and much more. Also developing partnerships with other organizations, businesses and factories trainee placements.
Creating a program to prepare youth in Brazil for going overseas to study or work in organizations that Aramitan cooperates with. Aramitan already has a group of people working on this project called “Preparacao Jovem”.
3. International Youth movement
Working with exchange programs for youths: Organizing workcamps, conferences in cooperation with other organizations like IDEM, YIP, The Youth Section and also with the different support groups of the Aramitan Network in New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, Spain and Japan.
4. Networking
Developing contacts with other NGOs in the area.. There is also a need to offer courses and seminars to develop the network. Here courses and workshops could take place, and meetings, seminars and conferences be held. Aramitan will be an open meeting place.
Aramitan serves as a Cultural Centre providing opportunities for creativity and help for young, underprivileged people to lead a human life and become the  architects of their own future.

What is our task?
The main building is approaching its final stages of completion and hopefully will be more or less ready at the end of 2008. So, the workcamps taking place in 2009 will have the task to:
1. Build a volunteer accommodation base for 3 to 5 future volunteers
2. Bring beauty to the site with post construction work, such as painting, gardening, cleaning up, etc...
3. Go out to the nearby community and support some construction development in family homes or public places.
The outdoors still needs a lot of work. No shortage of tasks in such a renovation, so there will be plenty for everyone to do.
There are local professional builders employed by the project to guide the work.

Eliza Schmidt, and Christina Gerodetti, who are organizing this workcamp, have themselves been part of  a number of workcamps there and worked as  volunteers in projects related to Monte Azul.

Who is addressed, and how will we be prepared?
There will be two different groups of participants coming together in Europe. One will go on Workcamp 1 - led and organised by Elisa Schmidt. This group will prepare in Germany at a meeting prior to the Camp at a date to be announced. 

Workcamp 2 will include a number of participants from the YIP group in Sweden, and is led and organised by Christina Gerodetti. They will prepare in Sweden, with a possible meeting of a group in Germany, should the situation warrant this.

Accommodation:

People will eat, sleep, wash and live in the house. It is big enough to house a very large group, and is equipped to handle workcamp situations without a problem. The small town of Embu Guacu is nearby, about 10 minutes drive away.

There are places to visit in the area, such as the Arapoty project, or Embu des Artes and other places, but this will be decided by the group together.

What to Expect?

Hard work and wonderful experiences in a group within the wonderful Brazilian culture. Working together with locals is the best way to get to know a different culture, and there are always many Brazilians who love to take part in these Workcamps at Aramitan.

Hearing about Brazil and Sao Paulo, a 20 million people city, is one thing, but does not compare with really being there and experiencing the diverse cultures, seeing how it looks in a Favela working together with people from the culture and taking part in their daily lives. In this project we really have the chance to have an impact in the world, and give major support to a project that is transforming so many people’s lives.

To top

Here are the links to a 13-minute movie that was made in July 2006 during the first Connectivity work camp. This version is in English. and one in Spanish.

English:
Chapter 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i7HmMUiNpo
Chapter 2 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFttczWB5Ms
 
Spanish 
Chapter 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kebwlWzno54 
Chapter 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ0C2zmFphw  

Questions?
Just write an e-mail, fax or simply call!