Louise Cardeiro Boyer Gallery

“Team Monterey in El Salvador”
Team Monterey in El Salvador is a collaboration between the Monterey Institute of International Studies and La Coordinadora, a community-based organization representing over 80 communities in the Lower Lempa River region (Bajo Lempa) of southeastern El Salvador. This region is subject to the ravages of hurricanes and other natural disasters, and is still suffering from the damage of the country’s devastating 12-year civil war. The area has been designated a United Nations protected biosphere. Team Monterey began as a student-conceived project in 2006, and it has grown into a well-defined partnership resulting in an institutional Memorandum of Understanding between MIIS and La Coordinadora in January 2009. Each year, a small group of MIIS graduate students and a faculty member establish, implement, and execute sustainable development projects in the region. This exhibit was proposed as a “creative” means of raising a portion of the sizeable expenses incurred by team members in the course of their work. All of the team members participate on a volunteer basis, while gaining professional, linguistic, and multicultural skills. Their collection of photos provides a fascinating look into the culture of the area.

Lucy Jodlowska, “Morning in Ciudad Romero”