January 4-8, 2006 The “Village Earth Peru Team” recently returned from a very successful and rewarding visit to the Shipibo community of San Francisco de Yarinacocha in the Amazon basin, Peru. 
Above: Yarinacocha at Sunset. Approximately 27 Shipibo community leaders attended the workshop representing 5 communities. They all traveled to the workshop at their own expense and one participant even rowed for two days down the Ucayali River to reach the workshop. This showed us their immense determination and dedication to the future of their communities. There were many influential Shipibo leaders involved, including village political leaders, well-respected shamans, and those that work in local non-governmental organizations in Pucallpa. As well, three resource organizations joined us, including the Inti Wayna Foundation, Engineers Without Borders, and Peace Corps representatives. 
Above: Loading the boat at the port of Yarinacocha to travel to San Francisco.
Spring II Session
GSLL 1517 – Community-Based Organizing
Taking a practical “hands-on” perspective, this course will explore the theories, tools, styles and challenges of community-based organizing. It will discuss practical strategies for developing community leadership and working with marginalized communities, exploring the ideas and examples from Evo Morales, Paulo Freire, Saul Alinsky, Sub-Comandante Marcos, the Bridge Immigrant Rights experiment and Martin Heidegger.
