Sustainability and Expected Outcomes

The successful implementation of this project will allow Arco Iris to better serve the community as a whole. Designed with the staff of Arco Iris and local individuals, this project will improve community cohesion by encouraging members to participate more in Arco Iris activities. The creation of an enclosure for Arco Iris will give the children a safe place to play and learn, provide security for the nascent sewing and bakery cooperatives, supply produce for the kitchen, and create a much-needed space for outdoor development activities. Specifically:

Partnership & Participation: This proposal is a collaborative project that incorporates the results of extensive conversations with Arco Iris staff, Architect Pedro Tirado, and the FSD Site Team. The community event held prior to construction will not only provide support for “Constructing to Create Opportunities,” but will also raise awareness about the daily work that Arco Iris has done for the past twenty years. The Villa Elisa neighborhood served by Arco Iris suffers from high unemployment and low social cohesion; this project will provide employment and provide a forum for community dialogue. Furthermore, after the project has been completed, the garden will become a space that will be shared by the community as a whole.

Youth Empowerment & Education: Many children of Villa Elisa are forced to work or travel to La Plata with their parents to beg for money on a daily basis; in their homes, they cook, clean, and care for younger relatives. But at Arco Iris, they can be children and participate in the social and educational activities offered by the community center in addition to receiving two daily meals. This project will allow the center to live up to its potential, as it will allow Arco Iris to provide outdoor activities and teach gardening skills. A playground will also benefit these children in more specific ways, as the process of play increases a child's self-esteem, improves dexterity and physical fitness, and opens a young mind to new possibilities by developing social, verbal, and problem-solving skills.

Community Development: This project will utilize the skills and labor of community members who live in the marginalized sector of Villa Elisa. It will bring together parents, children, and the Arco Iris staff and improve community cohesion. The individuals involved with the project will be less likely to vandalize the community center after having worked so hard to improve its facilities and they will help to prevent vandalism by others. Moreover, this project will bring attention to the community center and increase the number of families participating in Arco Iris’s capacity building and micro-enterprise outreach programs.