The project set up an educational program in the remote community of El Rincón in Honduras. Residents of El Rincón live in conditions of extreme poverty with little access to education. Nearly all families work on coffee fields, including young children, who are expected to help their families.
The program delivered in-person and online activities to the community, consisting of science workshops, as well as a visit to the Astronomical Observatory at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras in the capital Tegucigalpa.
We organised a series of activities:
– In-person visits to the community by scientists and members of the project team to talk about different topics, including: “Chemistry of the soil, modern agricultural practices”, “Mayan and cultural astronomy”, “Ecotechnologies: Rainwater collection system and homemade paint preparation”.
– Online talks on: “Sun & solar layers”, “The Scientific Method & Galaxies”, “Black Holes”, “Discovering Mathematics!”, “Lifecycle of Stars: A Dance between Creation and Destruction”.
– Study circles: open discussions in the community on the activities / talks organised in the previous weeks.
Alongside these activities, we supported the community with tech & infrastructure (including computers, contribution to Wi-Fi connectivity, electricity expenses and stationery, etc.)
We have been working with a series of partners to secure ongoing support to the educational needs of the community:
– Alpha-Cen a non-profit and non-governmental scientific organisation created for the development and strengthening of research in astronomical sciences in Central America and the Caribbean.
– COMSA, a coffee farming cooperative based in Marcala (the municipality where El Rincón is located).
– Social architecture collective Arqtuar: a Honduran non-profit organisation created to share with people in need techniques that could help them to improve their daily activities at home.