FEBRUARY 16th, 2010

The journey: from 2009 into 2010

Welcoming our newest addition... Just a few weeks ago, the Seres headquarters had a small makeover as we shuffled everything around

to make space for our first long-term volunteer. Depending on what day your ask her, Jasmin - an

early childhood teacher from Byron Bay - will be here from 3 months onwards, or “as long as I’m still

having fun”. I met Jasmin (Jaz) on my recent trip back to Australia and as she tells it, the day we met

was the day she decided to move to Guatemala and see first-hand the work that Seres is doing. Four

months later—true to her word—I find myself sitting across the desk from her, shooting [cont]...

2009 — The Year in Review

ALMOST ONE YEAR ON, WE F IND OURSELVES IN FULL SW ING: FROM AQUAPONICS TO WORM

FARMS, SUPER-ADOBE HOUSES TO GRAY-WATER RECYCL ING. WE’RE ON THE GROUND AND

WE’RE MAK ING IT HAPPEN, HELP ING PEOPLE BUILD RES IL IENCE TO CL IMATE CHANGE THROUGH

EDUCATION AND SUSTA INABLE DEVELOPMENT

This coming March marks the first

anniversary of Seres. It will be both a

celebration of a busy and successful

first year and of the promising and

exciting prospects that lie ahead.

Since launching, we have worked

hard on establishing a solid founda-

tion for Seres, giving us a strong

base from which we move for-

ward confidently into 2010. A num-

ber of significant milestones were

achieved in 2009, including obtain-

ing charitable status, establishment

of the Seres Executive Board and

Advisory Committee and breaking

ground on our first community pro-

ject in Malacatan (see article “Casa

Del Nino’s’ over page). It was also a

year for building partnerships and

networks, and in November I repre-

sented Seres at the Resilient Peo-

ple+Climate Change Conference in

Vancouver: rallying up a lot of sup-

port and followers for the project.

The year drew to a close with the

exciting news that Seres had made it

through the first round application

for an Echoing Green Fellowship: a

highly competitive award that—if

successful—will give us two years of

financial and organizational support

and access to a global network of

people working to create positive

social change.

All in all, it has been a fantastic year

which has been made possible by

yourselves: the Seres supporters. On

behalf of Seres, thank you for your

support and I look forward to con-

tinuing to share this journey with

you as we move forward into 2010.

Regards,

Corrina Grace

Casa del Niño's, La Independencia

Rainwater catchment, grey-water recycling,

black-water treatment and permaculture...this

site has got it all!

[cont] questions back and

forth about fundraising ideas

and fish farm designs. Jaz’s

focus while she is here will be

on marketing and publicity

for Seres, and coordinating

volunteers for our field pro-

jects. However in the 10 days

since arriving, she has dem-

onstrated that her skills also

extend to designing worm

farms, planning fundraising

galas and keeping me organ-

ized!

Keep up to date with Jaz’s

Seres Adventures through the

blog on the website:

www.projectseres.org/blog

At the end of 2009, Seres

started working with Solace

International in the commu-

nity of La Independencia to

help establish a home for

abandoned street children.

Our work

at the site

to date has

been help-

ing to de-

sign infra-

s t r u c t u r e

that is

functional

and practical while at the

same time being environ-

mentally sound and ecologi-

cally sustainable. We have

introduced the community to

new construction techniques,

built rainwater harvesting and

grey-water recycling systems

and are finishing off com-

posting toilets to replace the

septic system that discharges

directly into the nearby river.

In April, we will start work

with the local community to

build a permaculture garden

at the site that incorporates

aquaponics (fish farming) and

poultry: pro-

viding a lo-

cal, organic

and sustain-

able food

source for

the Casa Del

Nino’s. Once

c om p l e t e ,

this system will be managed

by one of the Centre’s

youths, who will be trained

by Seres and given a salary

provided by one of our gen-

erous donors.

For more information on this

project, visit the website of

become a fan of Seres

through Facebook (Project

Seres).

GREAT PLANS FOR THE YEAR AHEAD!

2010 is shaping up to be an

action-packed year.! While we

continue to work on securing

land on which to build the

Seres Centre, we will carry on

working directly with commu-

nities to help them under-

stand the risks of climate

change and find ways to build

resilience: learning as we go

the strategies and ap-

proaches that are most effec-

tive.

Already on our calendar for

the upcoming months are the

following events and pro-

grams:

• Seres 1yr Anniversary

Fundraising Gala

• “An Inconvenient

Truth” community edu-

cation through media

• Super-adobe build-

ing workshops

• Launching Seres

volunteer program

• Community out-

reach in El Salvador to

identify students and

instructors for the Seres

Centre.

If you are interested in donat-

ing, finding out more informa-

tion or getting involved in

Seres and our work here in

Guatemala, please contact us

by emailing:

info@projectseres.org

Corrina Grace Founder & Executive Director

corrina@projectseres.org

Antigua, Guatemala

N. America: (601) 284-4533

Guatemala: (502) 4268-6429

www.projectseres.org

PHOTOS: Front Page: Right: Corrina and

Julio reviewing designs for vermi-

compost systems; Bottom: Jas-

mine Wall, Seres newest volun-

teer);

This Page: Top Right: Padre

Carmello in a design workshop;

Top left: Corrina and Banze

laying the foundation for the

rainwater tank; Top Middle:

educational aquaponics at the

Case del Nino’s; Bottom Left:

ferro-cement composting toilet

Bottom Middle: Banze with soil

test for earth bags; Bottom Right:

finishing off the ferro-cement tank