Aug
Advocacy, Defending Natural Resources
Success Shines On: Gold Campaign in El Salvador
When Power in Community Alliance (PICA) of Bangor, Maine raised $4,133 by selling donated gold for the anti-mining movement they assumed the money would go to lobbying or mobilizing work done by the National Roundtable against Mining in El Salvador (The Mesa, in Spanish). However, when the news came back that the money had been designated for the region of Chalatenango they were pleased because it is home to their sister city, Carasque.
They were even happier to learn that the CCR (the Association of Communities for the Development of Chalatenango) had decided to use the funds to commission a youth theater troupe from Carasque to present a play about the dangers of gold mining and need to organize to ensure healthy and protected communities. Along with the theater presentations the CCR recorded a radio PSA about the issue and used the remaining funds to travel to meetings and marches in San Salvador organized by the Mesa.
Since the project began, the play, which mixes informative material about mining with humor and funny costumes, has been seen by hundreds of viewers all over the region of Chalatenango. The CCR has brought the theater group to regional assemblies to please audiences in 6 of the 7 regions of Chalatenango. Also, it has been shown at the CCR anniversary, assemblies of sistering promoters, and for delegations from the United States while they visit their sistered communities. The audiences always praise both the acting and the information in the play and it has become an extremely successful organizing tool for the CCR. The CCR is struggling to keep up with the demand from communities wanting to see the play, and has decided to give out copies of the script for youth groups to present it in their own areas.
The gold campaign has become an exciting model in the U.S. for fundraising, organizing and educating around gold mining as well as in El Salvador where it has helped the CCR reach thousands of people, through theater and radio, about the issue and motive communities to continue organizing.
