After eight years on a journey that has covered fourteen countries in Central and South America, La Caravana Arcoiris por la Paz (Rainbow for Peace Caravan) -an international, non-profit, mobile, experimental eco-village based for the moment in Iquique, a desert area situated in the North of Chile- is getting ready for its next destination.

The starting point for such an original project was the eco-village Huehuecoyotl, Mexico, in 1996, with the idea of making a trip to Tierra del Fuego with a couple of busses conditioned to carry ten volunteers from different countries. Their purpose was to bring their knowledge, ideas and experiences to other people and somehow contribute to improve these communitiesí quality of life.

The way to achieve our purposes is by means of workshops, courses, theatre presentations, conferences, audiovisuals and all kind of events to get to all kind of communities, from the most remote indigenous villages to the neighbourhoods of big cities in Latin America. At the beginning it looked like a dream but it has been coming true year by year. And today, with a good amount of experience accumulated through our way, it is possible to make a summary of the process and start evaluating the results.

The recruitment of volunteers is carried out by a selection of applicants who log on our web page: www.lacaravana.org. In the same way, there is an inclusion of young people from each country who get to know about our activities by attending our artistic and educative presentations or by hearing from us on the media, especially on the radio and TV. The presence of La Caravana colourful busses is also a point of attraction for the interest of curious spectators, adventurous people and those who look for alternatives to change their way of living. 

La Caravana is a kind of ìreality showî. It consists on a group of people living in and sharing very reduced living spaces, where a strong interaction between people from different countries, ages, professions and interests takes place. But, in contrast to high-rating TV shows, there is a community integration process occurring at the same time. This means that there is a constant cultural and social exchange, which changes ideas, behaviours and broadens the peopleís minds. Besides, it turns individuals into agents to the service of ecology, Indigenous communitiesí rights, rescue of ancient knowledge, soft technologies teaching, teamwork participative methods, genre awareness and arts in all its different manifestations.

With time, this project which was originally conceived for one or two years, has become a way of life and was recognised in 2000 by the Global Eco-village Network (GEN) as an itinerant eco-village, a unique model of experimentation and teaching, and an excellent link to interrelate people, groups, networks and social movements. It is also a bridge that connects different realities and communities from the North, Centre and South of the continent.

Proposals as conflict resolution and decision making through consensus for groups of all kinds; permacultural eco-villages design, ecological houses, eco-neighbourhoods, and green cities; holistic medicine, cycles of the moon, rituals, dance, massage, reiki, etc., are part of the works that La Caravana crew carry out periodically. We also organize dance-improvisation circles, juggling, stilts, trapeze, clown, theatre make up and capoeira workshops, all of them specially designed for young people from marginal districts, schools and disabled children.

When the conditions meet, voluntaries of La Caravana start theatre-dance projects. These performances reach the quality standards required to be staged in university auditoriums, cultural houses, and even in the best theatres of the visited cities, as it was the case of the last two theatre pieces presented in the Iquique Theatre: ìMandalaî an amusing recreation of the origins and evolution of the universe; and ìMayaî, staging focused on the subject of sort rolls that pictures the human condition, alienated and trapped in the networks of its vane illusions. Both pieces have received a magnificent reception and coverage by the media and the general public.

Conferences and workshops such as: ìAppropriate Technologies for desert zonesî, ìThe Mayan Community, Yesterday, Today and Alwaysî, ìLiving the Utopiaî, and ìMayan Astronomy and calendarsî are only some of the newest incorporations. They are also imparted in universities and educative centres, which contribute to be seeding the interest in these subjects, and some cases to deepen in their study and application, when a local group with a concrete project is created.

La Caravana sustains itself with these activities, sometimes by means of agreements with public and private institutions or directly with the contribution of the participants, and sometimes by means of an exchange with providers of goods and services required for the operation and support of the project. It has also managed to obtain some donations from international organisms like Gaia Fund, Ecovillages Network of the Americas, Living Routes, North American Bioregional Congress, Ashoka Foundation, and even by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States. The donations are intended to make precise projects such as the meeting of leader women from all Ecuador in June 2002, or the international event ìThe Condorís Callî, which took place in September 2003 in Peru.

This event gathered over 700 representatives from more than twenty countries, during one week, in a temporary-built Village of Peace, designed and coordinated by the members of La Caravana. There, dozens of workshops, cultural activities, ceremonies, and exchange with the Andean craftsmen took place. It also helped to make possible an encounter between representatives of different social and spiritual movements worldwide.

Nevertheless, not everything is as easy as it could be deducted from the obtained results. La Caravana, in spite of having eight years of existence, registered as an international Non-Governmental Organisation in Spain, having an Internet website in which great part of its work in the different countries visited is detailed; and in spite of having dozens of folders with hundreds of recognitions, certificates and press releases, all of them recognising the work done by the members of this voluntary service -who do not perceive any kind of economical compensation for their service and their sacrifices -, does not receive any consistent support from any type of local or international institution, and like many other projects dedicated to work for the defence of nature and the preservation of cultures, it always finds itself under the pressure of how it will subsist the following month.

Although the activities allow us to support the basic expenses for between 15 and 25 people, the maintenance of equipment and transport, plus medical and mechanical expenses, added to the lack of insurances, becomes a constant challenge. Recently, there was an accident -fortunately without serious consequences for the crew - a bus was damaged together with great part of our equipment. As a consequence, La Caravana had to make an international call to get funds to replace the vehicle and be able to continue with our trip.

For mid-term plans, we have the commitment to collaborate in the organization and accomplishment of two events: the First Chilean Social Forum, in November, national spread; and ìEl Llamado de Tricahue y el Delfinî, following the in Peru, that will take place in December, also in Chile but in which is expected the participation of groups and representatives from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Nevertheless, to this purpose, we need to finish repairing and remodelling our vehicles, and then wait until the season of intense cold and rains in the centre of the country is past, in order to continue our route towards Tierra de Fuego.

Our main goal is to continue travelling the Americas with positive messages, planting seeds of joy, education and hope, approaching towns and cultures. This is a true and original school of life: La Caravana Arcoiris por La Paz. All the people in La Caravana thank you for your interest in this project. Visit our web page for any information you need. There is a bank account for any contribution you would like to make, as every aid will help us to continue with our service to Mother Earth and all the creatures that inhabit her.