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Truco Baratos - Vacationing with Ted
Friends of Honduran Children is a Peterborough-based initiative which
donates skills and resources to help children and families in Honduras
become self sufficient. Honduras is a poor country with hard working people
– sadly the infrastructure and economy has not recovered from the devastation
of Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Our family has contributed to FoHC for several years now as an alternative
to buying Christmas gifts.
Last year Joan persuaded our friends Eric Harris and Brenda Beck (owners
of Soft Science Associates) to donate the production of an informational
dvd for Friends of Honduran Children. The dvd showcases the activites
in Honduras which include education and training, child sponsorship, employment,
housing and health care.
Canadian actress Jessica Holmes agreed to be spokesperson and we traveled
in July 2005 to shoot the footage.
While we were in Honduras I could not help noticing that the fledgling
woodwork operation - one of several micro- businesses operated by the
community – could use some practical advice. So last Christmas I convinced
Ted to cash in some air miles and spend time helping out at the Honduras
wood work shop. My idea was that some of the skills we had learned in
30 years of operating our small woodworking business on a tight budget
might be valuable to share. Despite the language barrier we spent several
productive days talking about tools, wood and life with the carpenters
at the Nuevo Paraiso community. We tuned up machines, made one good bandsaw
out of three broken ones, developed jigs to simplify production, set up
a sharpening system and discussed safety, maintenance, repair and care
of tools. Ted’s Cheap Tricks that make jobs go faster with better results
were re-named Truco Baratos!
We took time to take the carpenters on a tour to see other woodwork operations
in the mountain villages nearby where we learned more about the local
woodworking industry and forestry operations and about other locally made
products.
When we returned home we sent down some essential items from Lee Valley
along with some basic woodwork books we thought would be useful. It was
a simple way to spend some time out of the workshop that had meaning to
us. If you are interested in learning more or have skills to offer please
let us know.
Please visit www.friendsofhonduranchildren.com
view more photos here
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