Apprentices Forge New Paths Towards a Greener Future

Age: 32

Hometown: Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul

Focus Area: Natural Building

Alieska joined the apprenticeship program at Eco Caminhos to collaborate on the Ecolibrium Space, a project which combined her professional expertise in architecture with her commitment to sustainability and social equity. She has been working in architecture for ten years and is an avid traveler. Before coming to Eco Caminhos she spent two years backpacking in Brazil connecting with new people and new cultures. Here at Eco Caminhos Alieska balances time working with architectural design, communications, and hands on in natural building. Her artistic eye has served her well in creating blog posts and reels about our bioconstruction projects. During a recent visit with volunteers from France she inspired fellow female architects to push past preconceived notions of what women could accomplish on a construction site as they worked together to build internal walls for communal bathrooms. She also shared in the volunteers’ discovery of the tasty Brazilian fruit, jabuticaba, which reminds her of her childhood eating from the tree at her grandmother’s house. Her deep appreciation of nature will continue to lead her as she forges her unique path working in sustainable architecture. Building with Alieska has been inspiring and we are looking forward to seeing her future plans unfold.

Age: 20

Hometown: Ehingen, Germany

Focus area: Agroforestry

Before joining the apprenticeship program Amadeus had recently graduated from high school. After temporarily working in construction in Switzerland he returned home to Germany, unsure of what his next move would be. He fondly remembered his time volunteering at Eco Caminhos the year before and decided to apply for the apprenticeship program to learn more about agroforestry. During his time as an apprentice Amadeus has developed a vision for himself, a commitment to hard work, and learned to live in community with other people. He tells us many stories of his childhood summers in Acre, in the Amazon region where his mother is from. Amadeus plans to take what he learned here back to his family’s land to create an agroforestry project. This flat, hot, and humid region contrasts the elevation and cool weather here in the mountains, especially the steepest agroforestry system on our farm, SAF 4, that he is responsible for. Working in a different terrain and climate will present a new challenge for Amadeus, but with his keen intuition and the skills he has learned here at Eco Caminhos he is well prepared for an abundant future.

Age: 41

Hometown: Dom Pedrito, Rio Grande do Sul

Focus Area: Natural Building

Before joining Eco Caminhos’ team, Pedro was working for a technology company supplying monitoring systems for vibration and temperature of machinery. The corporate environment and daily meetings did not align with Pedro’s practical and action-oriented disposition. He also desired to live closely with nature, which motivated him to seek a life and career change through the apprenticeship program. Pedro is currently training with master builder Jorge in natural building, implementing a variety of techniques which make use of materials such as clay, sand, straw, and wood. Together, they turned reclaimed railway sleepers into beautiful doorways and window frames, and are now installing the roof on the Ecolibrium Space, a multifunctional building and permaculture school that will allow Eco Caminhos to expand its social and educational programs. Pedro also works with the cows here on the farm and recently introduced a group of eight-year-olds visiting the farm to the youngest members of the herd. He has tremendous knowledge about local plants, and in his free time, he uses nature’s bounty to prepare medicinal teas, tinctures, and tasty preserves which he generously shares with the team. Pedro has plans to stay at Eco Caminhos long term, and we are looking forward to seeing how he continues to learn, build, teach, and share with our community.

Age: 21

Hometown: Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro

Focus area: Agroforestry

Geovani first learned about agroforestry while spending time at Casa do Caminhos in Xerem where his aunt worked when he was a teen and later went on to participate for a few months in the apprenticeship program at 18 years old. In May, Geovani left behind a job working in sales at a home goods store to rejoin the apprenticeship program and get further training in agroforestry. While he enjoys the social nature of sales work, the overly competitive work environment wasn’t for him. Given his extroverted personality, Geovani is almost never absent on social nights. He is particularly fond of game nights and excels in strategy games. This strategic thinking also pays off in his agroforestry training, understanding the complex natural systems at play and working with them to ensure a thriving system.  At Eco Caminhos he is responsible for two SAFs (agroforestry systems), and he recently went to access a property offsite for the installation of an agroforestry system. He also really enjoys the chance to network with visitors and volunteers and is developing his English and Spanish to be able to communicate with more folks. Geovani envisions himself as an entrepreneur one day and we are confident his future is as bright as his smile.

Age: 21

Hometown: Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro

Focus area: Communications

Rhana is a biology student at UFRJ who is studying to get her teaching license as well. Before concluding her studies, she wanted to get some hands-on field experience. She missed the country life that she experienced on his grandmother’s homestead. At Eco Caminhos Rhana works primarily in communications and has also contributed to both the agroforestry and natural building teams during her time here. In addition to creating educational videos, Rhana is responsible for an email marketing campaign to keep people up to date with what is going on here at Eco Caminhos. She recently led an epic treasure hunt for a group of children on the farm. Even off the clock, Rhana is exploring and learning every chance she gets. On her lunch break you can often find her reading, and afterwork she is more than likely participating in a course whether it be swimming, photography, or ESG. As Rhana charts her career path she wants to continue exploring video making, environmental education, and her interest in biology. Combining these skills there are many directions in which Rhana could take her career path and we will certainly be tuning in to see the great things she accomplishes.

Sponsor an Apprentice!

Thanks to our sponsors for making the apprenticeship program at Eco Caminhos possible. We are interested in forming partnerships with organizations and individuals who would like to sponsor prospective apprentices that they think would be a good fit for our program. Whether you wish to sponsor someone you know as an apprentice or donate to support an apprentice already on the team, we are grateful for your contributions as they prepare each participant and our world for a better future.