Video Speaker 29th January Stuart Ottley Caracol – Youth Community Development

The Rotary Club of Chesham donated funds to this project in 2014 and Stuart’s talk to Club revisited its history and outlined its progress.

Stuart Ottley’s son, Jon, born in Chesham, and his partner, Claudia Orantes who is from Guatemala, founded the Caracol project in 2003 as a community-based youth development and arts organization operating in Belize and Guatemala, Central America. 

Caracol works primarily in remote, under-resourced communities with limited education and extra-curricular activities. The need for children to work rather than play and lack of opportunity leads low aspiration and the need for personal development. The village of Arenal, where the project is based, is on the border with Guatemala and is a throughway for smuggling of drugs, people and armaments.

The Caracol method is based on Ludic Education – learning through play. Workshops are fun and filled with laughter, although the play always has a purpose – aiming to build respect (for self, others, environment) and self-confidence. Workshops are given in Arts, Craft, Theatre, Creative Writing, Photography, Circus and Carnival. There have been three major exhibitions of photographs by “Caracoles” and Caracol stilt walkers and circus performers have attended many festivals throughout Central America. As a stilt walker you not only learn stilt skills but also make your own stilts and help design and make costumes.

In 2013 a  new airy building was constructed in Arenal using local material and labour. Stuart showed images of the new facilities with the kitchen worktops, internal furnishings, furniture, water filters and crash mats funded by Rotary being put to good use. 

The New Building                        Water Filters in use                  Kitchen worktops installation

Since inception, Funds have been raised by Trustees. From 2008 to 2016 major grants from the Canadian and US Governments were applied for and received.  This enabled the project to develop its processes and reach, working with community groups throughout Central America. In 2013 Youth leader Aide Sanches attended the Women Deliver Conference in Kuala Lumpa. One of 4500 attendees Aide represented Caracol and Belize.

In 2017 and for a number of reasons, it was decided to no longer take major grants and to revert to relying solely on Trustees raised funds. The project continues to deliver workshops as before but now focused primarily on Arenal village and surrounding areas. In 2019 a pre-school was opened in Arenal Village. 

2020 Covid19 has impacted upon Caracol as it has on everyone. In addition to pandemic restrictions Arenal has been on the edge of two hurricanes and suffered flooding as result of tropical storms. It has been a difficult year. Zoom has been a salvation as indeed has Aide. Aide is managing the project in Arenal supported by weekly Zoom meetings with Claudia in Mexico City and workshop facilitators in Guatemala. Training videos have been shared over the internet for Aide to offer to the Caracoles whenever the opportunity arises. The object is to keep the project active until such time as it can open up again and the facilitators can re-start regular visits to the village.

Modular Furniture

Stuart Ottley is Chairman of Trustees of Caracol whose registered office is in Chesham.  It was very satisfying to see how a project initiated partially by people from Chesham, with a little support from Club, continues to enable young people’s development in challenging times. 

For more information visit Caracol’s website at www.caracol.org.uk