Hero School

Guatemala faces huge economic and environmental challenges not being addressed by rote memorization learning and the current economy. Centro Educativo Tecnico Chixot (CETC), a K-11 private school in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, is responding to this reality. 

In 2015, CETC created the Hero School Model and implemented it with grades 7-11 in 2017. This model’s curriculum satisfies national education requirements while also utilizing the green construction process to teach the principles of active community participation and eco-literacy. Content and learning are relevant to context and oriented towards progress through action. This ensures that students cultivate critical problem-posing and solving skills in order to address the interconnected challenges of climate change, economic injustice, and environmental degradation. The curriculum is built on the idea that education is a vehicle for empowerment in the pursuit of health and freedom for individuals and communities.

In 1992, government leaders around the world received a document endorsed by 1,575 of the world’s most prominent scientists titled ‘World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity. To avoid causing “vast human misery” this document called for immediate action to transform human behavior “to stop the ever-increasing environmental degradation that threatens global life support systems on this planet”.Data collection, specific to ozone and marine life depletion, freshwater availability, ocean dead zones, forest loss, biodiversity destruction, climate change, and continued human population growth, led to a 2nd Warning to Humanity in 2017. The signatories concluded that “with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse.” The United Nations IPCC estimates that we have 11 years (and counting) to prevent further irreversible damage to the planet.

What exactly does “far worse” look like for a country such as Guatemala - already war torn, crime ridden, malnourished, and impoverished - when you add extreme and unpredictable weather patterns? Scarcity. Insecurity. Schools, teachers, and organizations are needed to offer lifelong learning opportunities that equip local heroes to address this context

The Hero School serves: grade 7-11 students; teachers and directors who guide learning; builders who work with teachers and students to implement student projects; community members who receive critical infrastructure items from the student projects; international volunteers who engage with waste as they contribute muscles to the projects.

Construction of CETC and its delivery of education emerged from collaboration. From 2004-2009, Comalapans, LWH’s Executive Director, and LWH’s Construction Manager identified community needs: quality employment and education opportunities, methods to address non-existent waste-management, and processes to cultivate local leaders of context-responsive community development. From this identification, in 2009, international volunteers brought muscles and money to support the construction of CETC’s one-of-a-kind green campus. In 2015, CETC teachers, LWH’s Executive Director, and pedagogy experts began to write the first versions of the Hero School curriculum.

In 2019, 77 K-6 students, 51 grade 7-11 students, 27 Teachers/Directors, and 9 full-time builders directly benefited from CETC employment and education. An additional 400 community members have been impacted through CETC’s curriculum. Since CETC construction began in 2009, our volunteer program has benefited ~1,000 international volunteers who have learned to revalue waste as a resource in construction and sustainable community development.

According to the reference material available from national and international health organizations, recommendations to drastically improve living conditions in Comalapa and its surrounding villages include: 

Build ventilated stoves to reduce respiratory illness; Implement waste management systems to reduce gastrointestinal illness; Improve access to potable water; Build retaining walls to prevent property destruction from landslides; Replace adobe walls with earthquake resistant construction; Increase participation in secondary education; Improve employment opportunities; support environmental health when addressing all of the above.

Responding to this local and global context, CETC developed the project-based Hero School curriculum for grades 7-11. Students and teachers built stoves, latrines, and water tanks in Comalapa and presented these projects to a neighboring community. With the permission of the community, CETC students conducted a survey in Social Studies class to evaluate living conditions from home to home. In math class, they then designed their assigned project - stove, water tank, latrine, or retaining wall. At the end of the school year, the students went to the community to construct their project for a family identified in the survey. Students work with teachers, builders, and volunteers to actualize their projects. Students graduate with tangible work experience relevant to bringing community-driven development.

The education process integrates project-based learning, democratic education principles, and green building methodology. Projects are constructed to produce a net-positive environmental impact. Concrete, a highly exploitative material, is used only when necessary. Yet durability and resource efficiency are not compromised, but instead improved. Tire retaining walls are not easily weathered and cracked like their concrete counterparts. Stoves are designed with a smaller burning chamber to increase heat efficiency and reduce firewood used, leading to decreased local deforestation. Compost latrines use little to no water and the compost generated can be used as a natural plant fertilizer afterwards.

In Comalapa, trash is dumped in the local ravine and waste run-off leaches into the water table creating a public health crisis. To address this challenge, CETC repurposes waste into construction. CETC has repurposed 450 tons of trash into an earthquake resistant campus and has integrated green construction into the Hero School curriculum student projects. Stoves use old tires as their base; latrines use eco-bricks (plastic bottles compacted with non-biodegradable waste) and glass bottles in the walls; retaining walls are made from used tires compacted with dirt and non-biodegradable waste. In their curriculum, students learn how to design, plan, and execute large projects and how to participate in the democratic process of allocating resources to address local challenges.

The responsibility of designing and constructing their grade level project is distributed across all nationally required courses from arts and sciences to budgeting and indigenous language classes. Teachers guide the classroom activities and builders guide the on-site construction. International volunteers assist in project builds, bringing equitable international exchange into the student experience and positioning the Comalapan students as leaders amongst their international peers. Students also serve as household sustainability leaders as they integrate efficient waste management practices at home and bring waste to CETC for use in construction.

Since curriculum implementation in 2017, students have constructed 39 smoke-efficient stoves, 25 water tanks, 4 compost latrines, and 2 tire retaining walls. These projects address key local health challenges, repurpose waste, and generate student-led community development. Meaningful, full-time employment is generated for local teachers and builders. In total, 390 community members have directly benefited from the CETC student projects.

This video demonstrate the student-led impact of the Hero School -

Student-led Overview of Projects in Xiquin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1bMcI5D3VQ

2020 = 

CETC Students: 121;   CETC Teachers/Staff: 28;   LWH Builders: 9; Xiquin Community Members: 12 (if students are able to get out to the communities in 2020, after COVID restrictions are loosened);   CETC Family Members: ~400; International Volunteers: 100 (served 85 by March 15 and then closed down all experience programs due to COVID. If we reopen the volunteer program in 2020, we do not expect heavy traffic due to infection concerns)

2021 = 

CETC Students: 121;   CETC Teachers/Staff: 28;   LWH Builders: 9; Xiquin Community Members: ~35 (student projects completed, builders focused on building three houses);   CETC Family Members: ~400; International Volunteers: 100-150

2025 (GOAL) = 

CETC Students: 150-170;   CETC Teachers/Staff: 40; LWH Builders: 15;   Paraxaj Community Members: 100 (completing student projects, builders focused on building three houses);   CETC Family Members: 400; International Volunteers: 200

The primary goal driving this five year plan is the development and implementation of the Hero School curriculum for all grade levels at CETC. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, timelines for 2020 may be extended. 

LWH and CETC seek to further refine the Hero School curriculum for grades 7-11 and expand it to grades K-6. With a comprehensive curriculum, CETC graduates will be well-equipped and confident, community development practitioners when they enter university and/or a career. This objective requires curriculum development planning in 2020; refining and creating curriculum in 2021 with teachers, curriculum coordinators, and pedagogy experts in eco-literacy and project-based learning; and K-11 curriculum launch in 2022. In the full curriculum, feedback structures will drive yearly curriculum updates. 

CETC will have finished work in its first community, Xiquin, by the end of 2021 and implement the process in a new community, Paraxaj in 2022. By the end of 2025, Hero School anticipates that all survey-identified student projects will be completed in Paraxaj. This will initiate a new process of student survey to student project work in a new community. The impact of this student-driven process is not only astounding for the student’s personal and professional growth, but also important to improving living conditions in marginalized communities by installing critical infrastructure items.

Financial - On average, 12% of nonprofits fail five years after founding (Nonprofit Quarterly, 2014). Financial sustainability is vital for a non-profit’s ability to generate continued impact. As we operate in a low-resourced community, we must build an income portfolio that is primarily externally focused.

Technical - Green building combines traditional and new styles of construction. Including using waste as a primary building material. Building codes have not yet been established for this new material and without proper knowledge of engineering and architecture, poor and unsafe structures can be the outcome.

Legal - CETC and the Hero School cannot operate without the approval of the Guatemalan Ministry of Education. Innovative, project based curriculum that responds to local challenges, must also meet national grade level requirements. This integration is a complex task. 

Cultural - Two key assets that Guatemalan families invest in are land and home construction. When constructing a house it is the cultural norm, as perpetuated by globalization, to construct a cinder block house that acts in disharmony with the local environment. To then convince people to build a custom house made from “trash” (a symbol of poverty and dirtiness) can be a difficult sell. 

Market - Much of the global green building sector pursues high income customers with higher valued currency to spend in low income countries. This fundamentally excludes middle to low income families in low-income countries from the choice to build a custom, environmentally friendly home (people who would arguably benefit arguably more from such construction).

Financial - LWH’s entrepreneurial approach to income generation mobilizes traditional sources like grants, awards, donors, merchandise, and special events. Yet, we also crafted immersive experiential programs that generate income and global awareness of our work. 

Technical - Building safe structures, is the primary goal of LWH in this seismically active region. Our Construction Manager has extensive experience in architectural design and engineering for intense structural integrity. Our builders follow his direction, and after 10+ years our builders have become experts in their own right. We also partner with Natural Building Collective to train builders and update our best practices.

Legal - LWH has successfully worked with the Ministry of Education for eight years. The pilot version of the Hero School curriculum was successfully approved and has met all national requirements since its launch in 2017.

Cultural - LWH began its journey in Comalapa in 2004. In 2009, The CETC campus then became a model for the potential and beauty of “trash” buildings. We have used this model and our well-established commitment to Comalapa to build interest in green building in Comalapa.

Market - Green design can be more cost and resource efficient for families. Compost toilets use less water, passive solar design requires less heating, fuel efficient stoves require less wood, tire retaining walls require no to minimal repairs, using waste as a building material reduces construction costs. LWH therefore seeks to make green design economically accessible through the student projects as well as general construction projects.

As described above, the Hero School curriculum has been operating for grades 7-11 at CETC since 2017. As a private, nationally-accredited school, CETC has been operating since 2012. It is LWH’s flagship school. As a non-profit focused on education, employment and green building in Comalapa, LWH has been operating since 2004. 

The activities currently related to Hero School include continued curriculum development and refinement for grades 7-11. All grade levels are completing their academic activities to complete their grade level requirements. Grade 7-11 CETC students are working with their teachers to design their grade level project and plan to implement them from August to October for the remaining families in Xiquin, identified by the student survey as in need of the project. CETC Directors and the LWH Board and Executive Director are currently assembling the personnel and resources needed to carry out the comprehensive, all grade levels curriculum development scheduled to occur in 2021.

Note: The COVID pandemic has caused CETC to close for half of March and into April. Students have paused studies and teachers are working remotely. Due to a lack of technology, internet, and power for certain CETC families, CETC has decided to pause learning while the campus is closed. CETC continues to follow national directives for when to bring students back to school.

Full-Time = 38

• 23 - CETC Teachers
• 2 - CETC Directors
• 2 - CETC Secretaries
• 1 - CETC Grounsdkeepr
• 6 - Green Builders
• 1 - Finance Manager
• 1- Construction Manager
• 1- Executive Director
• 3 - Nonprofit Operations Staff

Part-Time = 4

• 3 - Green Builders
• 1- Nonprofit Development Director

Contracted = 1 

• 1- Green Building Academy Instructor

To be contracted August 2020 - December 2021 = 4

• 1 - Curriculum Development Director
• 3 - Curriculum Development Coordinators

When Hero School students team up to build a dry compost latrine to improve the living conditions for a family in need, Hero School students are applying the scientific method to solve a problem. First the team, guided by our teaching staff, through observation, identifies a problem. For example, there are no sewage pipes or treatment plants to manage black and grey water in rural Guatemala resulting in widespread contamination. Next, the team asks the question, what can we do about this? Concurrently the team investigates options, discusses solutions and forms a hypothesis to predict an outcome. Project implementation is led by the students and construction is guided by our team of experienced green builders.  

When this process is repeated at each grade level, Hero School students develop the habit of looking at all possibilities rather than being overwhelmed by obstacles. They learn not only to look for solutions but how to find answers and recover quickly from interruptions in the process.  

Our international Hero School green building team, consisting of primarily rural Guatemalan farmers has been invited to transfer skills and knowledge in Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, Venezuela, the United States, South Africa, Sierra Leone and throughout Guatemala. These invitations have been a consistent source of pride for the builders, an inspiration for our students and acknowledgment of the global adaptability of the Hero School education ecosystem.

Guatemalan Ministry of Education - certifies and monitors CETC for national standards compliance of education.

Xiquin Cocode (community governing body) - partnering to identify households in need of student projects, arranging logistics for projects, and ensuring that families work with students to construct the project.

Service Groups - Partnering with Gap Year, University, and Corporate Service Programs to introduce international students to alternative forms of building and equitable international exchange.

Natural Building Collective - partner to carry out the Green Building Academy, a month-long course that teaches students from around the world key green building techniques and how to practice community-responsive green building. Partnered with LWH to publish the LWH Guide to Green Building, a text that grows the reach of LWH green building techniques and model. Alongside university partners in South Africa, NBC is carrying out testing to develop internationally accepted building codes for green construction.

Two organizations have purchased the Hero School Model and are in the process of creating their own education institutions that weave its unique democratic education tenants into their campus structures and learning activities.

• Wildwoods International School, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, opening in 2022
• The Ark Orphanage and School, Livingston, Guatemala, opening in 2022

LWH operates and serves in three integrated parts - education, employment and green building. A diversified portfolio of 15 income sources funds the LWH mission. Donations, program fees, and grants lead this portfolio.

Program fee income is associated with our key customers. Volunteers, service groups, and Green Building Academy students, immerse in a learning process at LWH. They learn the technical aspects of green building, its relevance in under-resourced and rural communities, a full and complex Guatemalan history, and contextual challenges to sustainable development. They leave Guatemala with a unique understanding of green building, equitable international exchange, and how to envision sustainability in their home communities. 

Other key customers are people/organizations that hire our local building team to construct green-designed space. From private houses to community health clinics in Central and South America, LWH has a full portfolio of private-client builds.

Income generated from our portfolio serves our key customers, the Comalapan/Guatemalan community. Despite being a U.S.-registered 501c3, LWH has spent 72% ($1,611,518) of all expenses from 2005-2018 in Guatemala. From 2004-2018, 85% ($1,894,874) of all expenses were directed to program services. Income earned by LWH is directed to the qualitative education of CETC students, teacher and builder employment, the expanded reach of green construction, and local sourcing of food, hospitality services, and construction materials. Unemployment and underemployment feed economic injustices and public health infrastructure severely lacks In Guatemala. LWH is committed to directing funds to fuel innovative, community-driven solutions to these challenges.

LWH has operated for 16 years, surviving during challenging economic hardships while constantly maintaining the mission and services of the organization. One of the reasons we have been able to operate for this length of time is because of our diverse income portfolio, described in the previous question.

Our largest source of income are fees from our experiential programs (green building academy, service groups, internships, and individual volunteers) which provided 26% of our total revenue in 2019. Individual donors provided 19% of our income, and grants a further 18%. The remaining income sources from most to least income earned in 2019 were: Special Events fundraising, outside construction projects, Education Model, Tuition, Merchandise sales, Corporate Donors, In-Kind donations, and Miscellaneous incomes such as interest, refunds, food sales, loans, and school supply sales. 

In times of financial hardship, we can assess this portfolio and engage the sources most relevant to the context. For example, as our experiential programs are suspended during this pandemic, focus will be on generating income from grants, awards, individual donors, and already-started construction projects. In the past three years, our organization has synthesized its operations and analysed its historical impact. This has allowed the organization to position itself as a leader in context-responsive green building, consequently increasing our ability to attract investors through grants, awards, individual donors and construction projects.

LWH has built a solid foundation for innovative education and community development by using the resources and valuing the economic realities that currently exist in Comalapa. Our foundation is built on partnerships, commitment, and long-term relationship building. By building an operating budget from $5,000 in 2004 to $300,000 in 2019, we have been able to understand where the resources in Comalapa lie. We also know how to strategically identify partnerships with outside actors and effectively direct outside resources to improve living conditions. For example, we have been a long-time community partner of Engineers Without Borders - University of Minnesota, helping to identify communities in need of water delivery systems, mobilizing local actors, and assembling materials.

Now, with a solid understanding of the context and solid solutions for addressing challenges, LWH sees great opportunity in a partnership with Solve and MIT. There are so many ways in which technology can be integrated into the expanded Hero School curriculum, to accelerate its impact. For example, how might we integrate tech-based monitoring solutions to calculate the longitudinal impact of the student projects on resource savings in households and the resource savings of our 18-building campus? How can students use these monitoring solutions to grow their capacity to communicate the relevance of green building solutions? The potential to grow the capacity of Hero School and further equip youth to become community leaders, with tech-driven data gathering skills, is an exciting partnership to imagine.

Partnerships are the cornerstone of the Hero School education model. In order to transform 15,000 tires and 450 tons of trash into a school campus we partnered with both internal (in Comalapa) and external actors. With the campus construction approaching completion, our focus is now on the innovation of an appropriate education - Hero School. The following are strategic partnerships that we will be implementing in order to optimize this process.

For our 2021 Curriculum Development year:

We will be partnering with E4 Education to train CETC teachers, develop curriculum and lesson plans, and research the outcomes of our model to provide a methodology towards ongoing improvement. 

The superintendent of schools, assigned by the Ministry of Education will oversee our national education standards compliance (as they have done since our 2012 inauguration). Involvement with the Ministry of Education also includes access to local, regional, and nationally based educators available for consultation. CETC will hire three “Curriculistas” (curriculum coordinators certified by the Ministry of Education) to support E4Education and supervise teachers in curriculum development that is in line with national requirements. 

Essential to the success of our initiative is coordination with The Parajax Village Advisory Council which represents 160 rural Guatemalan families. This village will partner with the Hero School to survey, assess, and implement vital living condition improvement infrastructure.

As previously mentioned, working with Solve partners to integrate educational technologies and data collecting technologies into the expanded Hero School curriculum is something that our team is very interested in.