After weeks of talking about the idea of doing a mural for the local community of La Asomada, we finally took the initiative and set about putting our design ideas into action. The village is very proud of their local radio station, and it is positioned on the main road leading into the community. We thought this would be the ideal location for the mural. Before the work could begin, we had to agree on our message for the community. The village is in a beautiful location, with lush green mountains scaling up and down the surrounding landscape. It was almost an instinctive decision to remind and reinforce the message that nature is precious, and also fragile; it should be appreciated but also taken care of so that in the future many more generations of people from the community can enjoy the same breath-taking view. The mural also felt like an amazing opportunity to celebrate our bond with the community, and to remember all the positive projects we have worked on during our time in Honduras. The first and arguably most important task was drawing the design onto the chosen wall. This meant we had to scale up all parts of our design to a much larger proportion, including the perfect circle in the centre of the mural. After much measuring, we were finally able to pinpoint the coordinates of our design.
Most of the volunteers, British and Honduran, have taken part in the drawing and painting and have all thoroughly enjoyed the process. I drew some stickmen holding hands in a circle that stretches across the top of the wall of the radio station. This was to symbolise the unity between ourselves and the community. A lot of villagers were there to watch us working on it. I was pleased to be able explain to some of them the purpose of the mural, as well as the ideas and messages behind it. The design is comprised of different images, such as mountains, maize fields and rivers, that all pivot around a circular design symbolising the tree of life - the beauty of nature. It looks very impressive, and one afternoon when driving back through the village of La Asomada from another community, we saw the mural from a distance whilst on the minibus. We felt like we were seeing it properly for the first time and seeing it how others that have not been working on it will see it. The vehicle stopped as everyone gazed at in admiration. We have purposefully used lots of bright colours to attract people to look at the design and understand its message. It has been most enjoyable working on this project, and a great feeling to know that our work in the community will be remembered and celebrated by a beautiful image in the heart of the village.
Written by ICS Volunteers Ben Anson and Emma Hooper
