Huapango is a must to visit as one of your shopping destinations in San Pancho. You will find a beautiful piece of Mexican art that will bring color, life, and creativity to any room in your home.

 

Escuela del Mundo (The School of the World) needs your help to keep alive the hopes and dreams of their foundation that is making a real difference in the lives of Mexican families. The school is providing that rarest of rare opportunities for children in rural Mexico to receive an inspiring, high quality education.

 
La Escuela del Mundo, a co-operative school based on theMontessori philosophy of teaching the "whole child", was founded in a 3-bedroom house in San Pancho by a handful of parents with a dream of giving children the tools necessary to be responsible global citizens and lifelong learners.

 
After four years of hard work by the staff, and parent volunteers, La Escuela del Mundo is beginning to live up to the promise of its name, enrolling over 50 students from Latin America, Europe, Canada, and the United States. Mexican children from local villages including San Pancho, Bucerias, Sayulita, and Lo de Marcos make up about half the student body and many are able to participate due to the assistance of sponsors.

 
What started as a parent-led initiative to educate their own children has grown larger and now impacts the entire region. In the process, the school has also outgrown its original facility. The school now resides on rented land where the students learn and play in a small concrete schoolhouse and a modest rented mobile classroom surrounded by fruit trees, an educational garden, and playground structures made of recycled materials.

La Escuela del Mundo provides a rich, multi-cultural learning environment that encourages critical thinking, community values, environmentalism, and creativity. Parenting classes reach out to everyone and a vision of a middle school is now taking shape.

 
As the scope of the mission has grown, the challenge of achieving financial sustainability has become more complex. A tuition fund has been created for needy children as it was deemed important to teach as many capable children as possible. But, even with increased tuition and sponsorships, the school struggles to make ends meet. But they have a plan they believe is clear, achievable and that will lead to the sustainability of the school into the future.

 
One of the financial problems is the cost of the rented mobile classroom that was purchased 18 months ago. If the school is able to pay off the money owed on the classroom by the 10th of May, a portion of the rent paid (to date) can be credited toward the purchase price. If they are able to pay off the classroom they will save $48,000 pesos a year that can be applied to other program expenses.

 
In order to buy the classroom, they need to raise $115,000pesos. So far they have raised $30,000 pesos, leaving $85,000 pesos or approximately $6,500USD to take advantage of this opportunity. And they only have about 6 weeks to raise this money. 
 
In addition, the school is in dire need of a sustaining fund to help it weather summer holidays, buildings maintenance and other cyclical and one-time school expenses that historically have resulted in debt. With a "rainy day fund" in the bank, they could pay for scheduled maintenance, changing student needs and the ups and downs in student enrollment and not go into debt year after year. They estimate that they need an additional $120,000 pesos or approximately $10,000USD to insure that they will be teaching children for many years to come.

 
The school is hoping that you, or others that you might know, can help raise this money. Any amount you can afford will make a difference. Remember, the total amount they need to raise is $205,000 pesos, or around $17,000USD and the first $6,500USD will go to the critically important classroom purchase.

 
Their final dream is that they can move off of the rented land, the price of which goes up every year, and have a place to call their own. The school knows that the price of land in San Pancho is very high but they are hoping that they will either be able to move to government owned land or be allowed to use locally owned land at a discounted price. But this goal is more long term than the issues discussed above.

 

 

Info: 322-150-6236
www.escueladelmundo.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Info: 322-150-6236
www.escueladelmundo.blogspot.com

Richard has lived in San Pancho for 2 ¾ years. Previously, after receiving a psychology degree from U.C. Berkeley, he spent 37 years of his adult life as a small business owner in California where he and his wife Linda raised their two children on their six acres out in the country. "My wife and I looked all over for a place to retire." After venturing to Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Yucatan, "we decided the Nayarit coast was the spot," Richard smiles.

 

 

After determining that this area was ideal for the two of them to call home, Richard and Linda began the arduous task of looking for some land to purchase. The plan was to find an area to build an Eco-resort. Once constructed, this resort would provide the means for him and his wife to continue to travel, trading their accommodations for other lodging around the world. "We spent one month visiting ten properties a day throughout the area. We immediately connected with this piece of land (his current property)."

 

 

Unfortunately, the plans for the resort did not come to fruition, but that has not slowed Richard down one bit. As a self proclaimed "amateur herpetologist" and an all around "nature freak" Richard is currently building a wooden jungle palapa on his land for he and his wife. "I like the quiet. I didn't realize that the jungle was going to be such a natural fit. Backpacking has always been my idea of a fun vacation. It is kind of like camping for me out there" says Richard. Currently he is living on his land, sleeping in a hammock at night. He hopes to be finished with his home within the next 6 months so that Linda, who has continued to work in the US, can reunite with him and join in on the adventure of living in Mexico.

 

 

Along with his modest living accommodations, Richard has afully functioning solar powered woodworking shop on his property. His motivation for that being that he needed to figure out how to make a living in San Pancho while being ecologically responsible at the same time. He has built fixtures for a number of business and homes around town, including the woodwork found at the Polo fields. In addition, he donated the bulk of his services for the recent entreAmigos bodega remodel.
 
Richard plans to be here for good all year round. He recalls that the first year was a bit uncomfortable during the hot summer but now the heat isn't a bother. "My body was fully acclimated after the first year." When really pressed to provide La Voz readers with a downside to living in Mexico, San Pancho, or even in the jungle Richard had the following to say. "The road might wash away during the rainy season but that is just part of the adventure. I might experience a four hour delay trying to get into town, but you learn to plan around those rare instances. The exotic animals, the lightning, and the intense rain are just a much appreciated blast of nature. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I moved here. It has superseded all my expectations. It really is a great place to live."

Article by Nicole Fredrichs. Nicole is the Director of SanPanchoLife.com. She received her degree from Boise State University and has a background in Marketing. She has been living in the area since June.