Bolivia 12 Podcast

In our third episode, we had the opportunity to reconnect with fellow Bolivia 12er Alicia (Gray) London in late June 2020 and got caught up on her amazing life which included several missions in international service all around the world.   Alicia served as a basic sanitation volunteer in the small town of Saavedra in the Santa Cruz Province.  She currently lives in San Francisco with her husband Adam and their two young daughters, Adabella and Althea. Alicia is writing a middle grade novel set in Bolivia; the first chapter of which is featured in the Noyo River Review [http://mcwc.org/noyo-river-review-2019] as a contest winner of the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference. During our conversation we learned about her time spent in the field, not only with water sanitation projects but also with emergency aid and relief efforts in places like Indonesia and Honduras.  We then spent time reflecting on the excitement and sense of adventure that motivated her to travel, live, and work in different countries; a desire that was shaped by her indelible time spent as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia. Available where most podcasts are found, including iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor Bolivia 12 Podcast Episode Home Page [https://bolivia12podcast.weebly.com/]

In our second episode,we got the chance to spend time with fellow Bolivia 12er Thaleon Tremain in late June 2020 to catch up on his life post-Peace Corps, and learn about his two decades career in the farmer-owned coffee movement, where he advanced ideas inspired during his service.   Thaleon “León" Tremain served as a small business volunteer at the FEDEAGRO cooperative in Monteagudo, Chuquisaca, Bolivia. Thaleon is a co-founder and CEO of Pachamama Coffee [https://pachamamacoffee.com/] Cooperative of Small-Scale Coffee Producers.Pachamama Coffee [https://pachamamacoffee.com/]is a farming cooperative owned by over 200,000 coffee farming families across five countries, which sells and distributes coffee, as well as operates cafes in the United States.   During the episode, we got Thaleon's perspective on a wide variety of things while reflecting on how he has maintained deep connections with farmers and his international service through his career post-Peace Corps.

In our inaugural episode, we got the chance to spend time with fellow Bolivia 12vr Araby Patch over a Zoom call in early March 2020,  to discuss his perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent quarantine which was ordered in the several US States only a week prior. Araby served in Peace Corps Bolivia from 1995-1997, supporting rural sanitation projects while stationed in the village of Buena Vista in the State Department of Santa Cruz. During the episode, we discussed a wide variety of things while reflecting on the isolation we experienced as Peace Corps Volunteers, and how we were able to deal with it and ultimately develop internal strength through reading, writing, and overcoming fears. Bolivia 12 Podcast Episode Home Page [https://bolivia12podcast.weebly.com/home/episode-1-the-benefits-of-isolation-in-the-age-of-quarantine-featuring-rpcv-araby-patch]