Rio Limpio
The Rio Limpio valley is beautiful – it still rains enough. But slash-and-burn agriculture is still practiced in the Río Limpio Valley. And that is "the big question" for the future of the valley. The forest area decreases every year. How to achieve a change so that this corner of paradise is not destroyed. Is it possible?
In the 1930s the first Dominican families came to live in the Río Limpio valley. Little by little – cutting down, burning, planting, raising animals – the willage has grown to the current population of more than 2,000 inhabitants.
Japon Guzmán was the first Dominican baby born in Río Limpio. He says, "In the 1930s, this was just a dark forest, and the cold was strong! The crops grew well, not like now when nothing wants to produce a harvest... Yes, at that time we had to eat!" (Japon died in 2014)
Behind him in the photo you can see the House of Culture and the Mothers Center. We built both buildings starting in the 1990s. Almost 500 people from Rio Limpio and outside also participated voluntarily to build it! And without machines! Money arrived from Sweden, and direction was mainly in the hands of Confesor, Gonzales and Mikko. And big thanks to Nenito for a nice job with the roof shingles! The women from Centro de Madres, headed by Mrs. Shala, Ana Gertrudis Almonte, did a great job finding the volunteer workers for each day and preparing food for them.
The style of the buildings is the work of Swedish artist Arne Klingborg together with local friends. The design of the " Centro Comunitario" itself comes from the forms of the Dominican cockfighting arena.

