In Bogotá, Colombia, there is another way to teach. Not just in schools, but also in the streets and other places, people spend their time listening carefully to storytellers. And now groups of storytellers are warning about our impact on the environment.

Every Sunday in Usaquen, a neighbourhood in the east of Bogotá which used to be a small town, a group of people tell different kinds of stories. And every Friday, from after lunch until night falls, the best storytellers go and tell their best stuff, sharing dreams - and facts - at 'La Perola' at the National University. There are all kind of stories - stories of love and madness; fairy tales and stand-up comedy; and now environmental messages. The storytellers who agree that we are destroying the environment are taking action with a very strong weapon: words.

This is a new way to go into people's minds and allow them to think about what we are doing to the environment. We have to take action about what we have on our consciences. We have to care about our present and our future - and those of our children and grandchildren. Stories are a good way to reach both grown-ups and kids. We used stories in some children's workshops we held last year to encourage awareness of environmental issues. The results were amazing. The kids now have a different point of view and they also pay much more attention to environmental issues.

 

  

ALL PHOTOS: Kenneth Ochoa Vargas

Think differently. Think of other ways to share your ideas. Think of storytelling.

Kenneth Ochoa Vargas

Organización Juvenil Ambiental - OJA and Caretakers of the Environment International, Colombia
Tunza Youth Advisory Council

  
         
 
 

- one of the stories used at the workshops

One day Pepita, a Bogotá rail (a shy little water bird), and Luisita, a little black and white spotted cow, met in the pasture near their school. Pepita was a little sad, because she had been flying all morning and she had seen things that were not good. She told Luisita: 'You know, I am very sad, because this morning I went out to fly and near my home, a wetland, I saw people throwing garbage into the street. After that, I saw some men cutting down trees. And a little time after that, I saw a lot of smoke running out into the air from a very huge building, like a factory, and dirty water being thrown into the river close by. I think that this is not good, Luisita, because people are damaging the place where they live, where we live.'

Luisita, with her eyes closed, answered: 'Pepita, Pepita, Pepita, don't be sad, not everybody does these awful things. If you could see the people who come to milk me, they are not like that. They throw their garbage in the correct place. The other day I heard that they split up the garbage and put it in different places. For example, they sell glass bottles to help other people to make more glass. They do the same with paper, and they compost leftover food. They say that they are planning, with other people, to plant trees, because they too have found that many people cut trees down, and they want that to change. I have also heard that some of their friends are going to fix those factories where waste is thrown into the river: otherwise they will close them down and the people will have to stop working.'

Pepita, having changed her sad face, replied: 'Really? Oh Luisita, I am so happy that not everybody does awful things to the environment. Look, I would like to know if everyone can help?'

'Of course!' Luisita replied. 'We can help all we want to. For example, if you see people doing something wrong, you can tell them so, respectfully. We can also tell our friends that damaging the environment is not good, and that we have to think about our future.'

'Of course!' said Pepita. 'Now I will tell all my friends that we can help to take care of our house, our city or the place where we live.'

And Pepita flew away very happy, while Luisita was preparing to be milked because the people she loved so much had just arrived.

ART BY DEIA SCHLOSBERG/PCI
  
         
 
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