„LA TIERRA DE LA ESPERANZA - SOIL OF HOPE“
bout 20 years ago i went on my first trip to Ecuador. Many other trips to that fascinating country followed. Six years ago I went to the capital Quito to do a language course and suddenly I wished to do something for the local population. First I started to work in a kitchen for the poor in the streets of the old town center of Quito. I decided to engage more intensively in development aid.
Back in Switzerland, I started to search for an aid organization and I finally found the organization "Cielo Azul" from Basel. I spoke to the president of the organization and the idea surged to develop an ecological toilet. The planning took us a whole year. There had already been toilets that worked with chemicals instead of water, but they were too big compared to the size we needed for the schools.
The first installation was built in the village Imbabura close to the town of Otavalo in 2005. At the same time I started to plan and realize my first own projects. Which guidelines lead my work? I want to contribute to the self-sufficiency of the population and to help improve the children's situation.
The project name came up during the planning phase of this first project.
The end product of the ecological toilets is humus. this humus makes possible an improved harvest, alimentation, health situation...
"The soil of hope - La tierra de la esperanza"
Markus Ruf 09/07/08