Blog 2021 Surina Marwaha
As I sit in the airport and think about the last six months I’ve spent with Long Way Home, I wonder about the impact it’s made on my life (I can’t even remember a time before!); whether it’s the fact that I’m writing this blog post with my fancy new Panajachel pen or my backpack full of cob and flea-ridden clothes, whether it’s the hard drive on my computer completely full of blueprints or my heart full of love and gratitude for the time (and bread) I had in Comalapa.
I am incredibly grateful for the blueprints design internship I completed with Long Way Home. I began in March, working from my apartment at home, where I spent days in class and nights eagerly pouring over Autocad making endless edits to the plans in front of me.
My first project was the template and title block, which essentially has all of the information about the drawing sheet itself (including a legend, copyright comments, the date, title, author, etc.) which really doesn’t sound like a big deal, but this title block is on every single sheet that LWH posts and shares online. And if it’s a testament to how much I’ve learned, I know there are so many things I would do differently now… But regardless, I remember being so shocked that I was allowed to do something like this (who trusted me, I was and still am in school! This feeling carried with me for while, and eventually I was drawing the plans, but somewhere along the way I learned how to do it…) But throughout the entire process my supervisor was right there with me (and believe me I asked a lot of stupid questions), we chatted daily about the drawings that were taking over my mind (in a good way of course) and the excitement and innovation in these buildings kept me working, eager to see and learn more.
One of the best parts of Long Way Home is that the people truly care about one another and the passion they have for the mission is so contagious. Before I knew it months had passed and we had fixed up the plans for over ten of the buildings on campus. And, eventually I had the opportunity to go to Comalapa to work on the plans (and school) from there!
I cannot begin to explain how I felt when I arrived at the school for the first time. There is no picture, plan, or video that can convey the beauty and curiosity of the campus.
The way that each of the buildings are bright with the different colors and shapes of trash is so incredible; the cob and eco-brick walls are illuminated with the glass bottle windows which melt together with the blues and greens of the paint. Each and every detail of these buildings has been thought about and explored as a way to unconventionally use trash, and fill you with wonder as you walk up and down the tire steps. The site almost looks like it was designed with the imagination of a child; with mushroom homes made of earthbag domes and flowers made of bottle caps lining the walls (an interesting conversation I has with Roberto Perén one night, a builder, painter, and amazing person that lives on the adjacent property with his family, the sweetest people I have ever met in my life- his son even made me a cake for my birthday:)).
My days in Comalapa were packed working on the plans: running around site, taking measurements, talking to the workers, and drawing plans, sections, and details, or working in construction: pounding tires, stomping cob, and repurposing trash (shout out to the workers who have stolen my heart in the past eight weeks as we shared pizzas for refacción). My evenings were filled in town with my flatmates, exploring Comalapa and trying every single bakery in town, drawing in the square, or eating dobladas with the chuchos in the center. And my weekends were spent at the market and in nearby towns, or salsa dancing in the rainstorms and competing to see who could drink the most tap water (I always won).
I am incredibly thankful for the last six months. I have learned more from this internship than in any class or year of university yet; I was even luckier to complete some of my internship from home while continuing my studies. And even more so to visit Comalapa and see the beauty of the town and school in person.
My biggest worry about any nonprofit organization is that they have the ability to go into a town and tell the local people what they “need”, but they’re always wrong. However, because LWH is first and foremost a place of learning, the local teachers and workers work incredibly hard to integrate the ways of green living into the ideas they teach the students and volunteers.
People have been living and building for centuries, and LWH does a very good job of combining these traditional techniques with sustainable practices.
There is nothing like this place.
Eating lunch that tastes fresher than life while sitting in the clouds overlooking what seems like the whole world. (Believe me, the hills do not get easier to climb, but the chocofrutas at the bottom make it worth it.) Or sitting with the kids and playing cards while the moon shines brighter than the sun in my own hometown. I have learned so much, not only about green construction and blueprints, but also about the culture of living and being purely, genuinely happy that Comalapa is so filled with.
