Guardianes del Agua (Water Guardians)
a (pair of) fun and educational game(s) for children
In addition to installing water treatment systems, our collaborators in the Amazonian region of northeastern Ecuador have been working with local youth to develop a fun educational game for children about water quality and conservation.
Guardianes del Suelo
In 2021, during the height of the covid pandemic, our partners at Amisacho Restauracion and La Clinica Ambiental initiated a permaculture/agroecology program for local youth to learn about the complexities and importance of healthy soils -- in the contexts of home kitchen gardens as well as natural soil ecosystems in the Amazon bioregion.
This led to production of the children's game Guardians del Suelo (Soil Gardians). They enlisted the help of a local artist/illustrator to bring to life the sketches and storyboarding done by the youth group.
The idea the kids came up with was to model the game track off of the digestive tract of an earthworm. The illustrator then made a preliminary sketch and through iterative rounds with the kids developed the basis for the educational game.
From this, table-top and floor-sized game kits were produced and sold.
I thought, “Wow, this is so cool! We have to do a “Water Guardians” game next! So we pooled a modest amount of grant money and have been working on a companion game to Guardianes del Suelo.
Guardianes del Agua
The kids took trips to natural sites in the jungle such as streams and waterfalls to learn about aquatic ecosystems and gain inspiration for their project. They built a small model water filter system to learn about water treatment and the variety of biological and chemical water pollutants that impact water sources and human and ecological health.
They made sketches and began storyboarding the game.
According to my colleague and friend Lexie at Amisacho, the kids are basing the game on a “traditional Amazonian narrative of the birth of water and a river as it travels through indigenous villages and expanding cities, weaving through petroleum, mining and agriculture sites, back through conserved forests, swamps, and waterfalls.”
It’s now in the hands of the illustrator to work her magic and bring the game to life! I cannot wait to see what she comes up with. The illustrations she’s done for Amisacho are just stunning, e.g.:
We should have the final version of the Water Guardians game soon ready for printing, packaging, and production!
We’re also planning to produce English language versions of both Guardianes games. I will send out a notice from this newsletter when we have game packs available for sale. All proceeds will go to support youth permaculture and agroecology programs facilitated by Amisacho Restauracion and La Clinica Ambiental.
Josh - Just wanted to say we love your content, and think free expression on topics like this is so important, especially these days! Keep fighting the good fight, and please check our articles out, as we know you'll love them! :)
That's just lovely Josh. Is there a chance for an open version that can be translated into other languages? I would consider translating to Hebrew. And can the games be purchased/marketed outside of Ecuador?