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Hello there. Now generally, I’m not one for public declarations. However, I'm a mere 1 week away from embarking on one of the most terrifying and exciting experiences of my life. On May 30th, I will be travelling to Brazil, to a place called Iracambi, deep in the Atlantic Rainforest. Set up by pioneering South Africans, Iracambi’s mission is to make the conservation of the rainforest more attractive than its destruction. It works with the local community to conserve the land and help generate income in one of the most bio-diverse places in the world. Once there, I will spend a month donating my skills to help them create a brand and communications strategy, which I hope will make a positive difference to their future success. This blog will be a document of my time there, a way for friends and family to see what I’m up to and, crucially, a portal to help raise funds for this project (aiming for a total of £1000). If you feel you’d like to sponsor my work out there, just click on the ‘Make a donation’ button: any donations will be incredibly gratefully received and you’ll be able to see how that money will be spent. Many thanks for taking the time to read this and wish me luck!

Monday, 8 June 2009

Mad dogs and Englishwomen stride out in the Brazilian midday sun


An action packed Saturday saw me wake at 5 am to torrential rain. The prospect of a morning hike seemed as appealing as the damp clothes that I had to put on that day (it's the tropics - everything is perpetually damp). But come 6am, the sun was out, I put on my hiking boots and then: we walked for 45mins to get a lift for 20mins to the local village. Then we joined the group in the square congregating for the locally organised eco-walk, took a group photo then climbed into two school buses (we made the local news with that photo: spot the English woman on the caminhada - http://www.jornalfolhaindependente.tk/). We drove out to a fazenda where the family had made vats of sweet coffee and trays of cake. 6 speeches from local dignitaries preceded the walk. After a group prayer, a pick up truck blaring Brazilian pop pulled out of the farm and we all followed like the Pied Piper of Hamlin. We trekked all morning, stopping for more speeches along the way. There was singing, dancing, deeply bad Portuguese-speaking (and that was just me...). The day was fab, everyone was so welcoming and even the 6km trek home at the end (plus the motorbike ride I accepted simply to avert full on sunstroke) were all part of the adventure. I've got lots of photos, but here's a little taster of the gathering.
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2 comments:

  1. Philippa White8 June 2009 at 18:54

    Brilliant. Looked like a fantastic day. And, only one week in and you've already made it into the local paper - nice work! Great chatting earlier. Looking forward to catching up next week. Philippa

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  2. Unknown10 June 2009 at 06:12

    Hi Tiff

    Sounds great fun, especially the dancing and singing! Just caught up on your blog now back from sunny Cyprus where choir got standing ovation! Looking forward to reading more....

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