Sep 15 2017

Hi there! My name is Treva Dea, and I am a Centro volunteer. I’d like to share with you the current children’s programming curriculum from the Centro and explain how it helps to further the mission of Sayulita’s Centro.

Our Mission at the Centro is to promote and encourage the integration and creativity of the inhabitants of Sayulita, especially children, and contribute to the construction of a community in harmony with ourselves and with nature; in a social and sustainable space where the appreciation, development, and exchange of artistic, cultural, sports, and craft activities are celebrated.

As of April 2017, the local kids have been enjoying programs that are both an artistic and social exchange within our community. The summer series for the kids’ community is one of my favorite ways to spend time.

I worked with CVIS in their earliest years building a bamboo classroom with the founders and teaching an art literacy course to all students. Those kids from CVIS are teens now and a few have them have let me know how those art courses have inspired their choices in higher education. The Punta Sayulita Foundation and I hosted free art camps on the beach in 2012–2014 for hundreds of local children and visiting kids. I’ve seen a few of our recycled bottle jellyfish sculptures still adorning a few Sayulita homes! Centro classes have been offered since April with acrylics and wax-resist, decoupag, and of course, painting a few of Sayulita’s famous wooden signs of inspiration.

Friday evenings we pull up grass mats and stools and watch a kid’s movie. We average 20-30 kids and parents every week who come for the popcorn and agua frescas, but leave feeling more engaged with their neighbors and community. Building a sense of belonging in this group of kids is a microcosm of the Centro’s goals, to entertain and engage the community with a sustainable activity that has a positive impact.

Look out for the next El Sayulero where we will explain the student’s scholarship program for the Bamboo Workshop series!