WEBVTT

00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:06.080
The rainforest is an incredible territory.

00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:09.080
It\'s the heart of the planet,
the lungs of the planet.

00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.600
It\'s a place full of cultural heritage.

00:00:12.760 --> 00:00:15.160
We need to learn to appreciate it again.

00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:21.720
The children grow up here in the rainforest,

00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:25.840
in harmony with nature.

00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:30.000
With a completely different idea of freedom.
They are free.

00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:31.800
They grow up free.

00:00:33.360 --> 00:00:37.400
Only very few architects
come to remote places like this.

00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:43.120
And the few who do come here,
do their jobs and leave pretty quickly.

00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:47.200
It\'s very difficult to realise
a project here,

00:00:47.360 --> 00:00:49.640
like we are doing.

00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:54.760
In the early years, the mayors around here
all shut their doors in my face.

00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:57.720
And when I told them about our budget,

00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:02.920
they said, \"That might be enough to build
some straw huts, but that\'s about it.\"

00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:47.520
In architecture classes at university,
they taught us to build cities.

00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:51.640
Only the urban environment was relevant.

00:01:51.880 --> 00:01:55.880
But when I arrived in Peru,
my focus shifted,

00:01:56.040 --> 00:02:00.680
because Peru is mainly a rural country.

00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.000
And education is not a top priority.

00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:10.720
Geographically, Peru has three parts:
the coast, the Andes and the rainforest.

00:02:10.880 --> 00:02:12.840
Politically, the country is torn.

00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:15.640
The largest region
is the Amazon Rainforest,

00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:18.800
which has seen much violence
over the centuries.

00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:30.400
Today, the rainforest is an area
forgotten by the Peruvian government.

00:02:31.880 --> 00:02:34.600
Local communities lack many things,

00:02:34.760 --> 00:02:39.480
first and foremost,
badly needed education infrastructure.

00:02:41.920 --> 00:02:46.720
Since 2014, the Italian architect
Marta Maccaglia has been building

00:02:46.880 --> 00:02:50.160
kindergartens and schools
with her foundation \"Semillas\"

00:02:50.320 --> 00:02:53.160
in Pangoa, a region in Peru.

00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:58.440
The project started as an internship
and is now her mission in life.

00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.440
In addition to her know-how as an architect
and her high aesthetic standards,

00:03:04.600 --> 00:03:08.720
she has a great interest in the people
and their needs.

00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:19.000
She proved that she can build
more than straw huts long ago.

00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:23.560
Today, she is renowned for her work
far beyond the rainforest.

00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:33.560
It takes Marta Maccaglia 18 hours
to get from Lima to Alto Anapati,

00:03:33.720 --> 00:03:35.720
where her latest project is located.

00:03:36.480 --> 00:03:40.040
An arduous car journey
over sandy roads and mud holes.

00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:42.920
The village has 450 inhabitants.

00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:45.880
They belong
to the Nomatsiguenga ethnic group.

00:03:46.640 --> 00:03:51.680
For the past eight months, they have watched
the two Italians with their ambitious plans,

00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:57.200
who want to change their lives and give
their children a school and opportunities.

00:03:57.360 --> 00:03:59.800
When we first came to this community,

00:04:00.880 --> 00:04:03.720
we made some aerial footage using drones.

00:04:03.880 --> 00:04:08.040
It showed us how the houses were arranged

00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:10.760
and it was just brilliant.

00:04:11.200 --> 00:04:13.640
Why?
Because along the river

00:04:13.880 --> 00:04:19.000
the houses were built in groups of four
with a shared inner patio.

00:04:20.120 --> 00:04:24.040
These patios came about
in a spontaneous manner.

00:04:24.200 --> 00:04:26.520
This kind of spontaneity

00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:31.320
in the process of urbanisation
is spectacular.

00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:37.720
The urban settlement of the community
of Alto Anapati was so perfectly planned

00:04:37.880 --> 00:04:40.920
that we used it as a reference
for planning the school.

00:04:41.080 --> 00:04:45.400
So what we wanted
to recreate in the school building

00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:51.080
was these patios, these micro-patios,
within the structure of the school itself.

00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:59.960
... the wall dimensions.
For this empty space, you make...

00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:02.720
I think that the wood

00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:07.280
should be here,
two centimetres above ground,

00:05:07.440 --> 00:05:10.240
so it doesn\'t touch the ground.

00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:12.480
Yes, that would look good.

00:05:12.640 --> 00:05:16.240
The shadow is important,
so it looks like the house is floating.

00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:19.600
In this project,
I\'m involved in all the processes.

00:05:19.760 --> 00:05:22.280
We first came here to meet the community.

00:05:22.440 --> 00:05:27.000
After I\'d got to know them,
I started the workshops,

00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.320
and then the design process
involving the community.

00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:35.360
And what happened was
that when we asked the teachers

00:05:35.520 --> 00:05:38.680
about their ideal classroom
and to draw it,

00:05:38.840 --> 00:05:41.520
nobody drew any walls.

00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:45.160
They drew a tree in the centre,

00:05:45.320 --> 00:05:48.920
surrounded by a round fence.

00:05:49.080 --> 00:05:52.200
A space where children would play together,

00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:55.480
and learn, surrounded by nature.

00:05:55.640 --> 00:05:59.320
So that made us rethink everything.

00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:03.600
We gave this space a name:
forest classroom.

00:06:03.760 --> 00:06:07.800
It\'s not just a patio
where the children play.

00:06:07.960 --> 00:06:10.360
It\'s a space where they learn.

00:06:10.520 --> 00:06:14.920
A place where the teacher
and the class have everything they need

00:06:15.080 --> 00:06:18.720
to learn and study
and connect with nature.

00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:22.160
And I think
it\'s important to give this space a name.

00:06:23.400 --> 00:06:27.280
Tradition, culture
and the Nomatsiguenga\'s way of life:

00:06:27.440 --> 00:06:31.080
it is all there
in these seemingly simple drawings

00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:34.880
of a school as an open, friendly space.

00:06:35.880 --> 00:06:40.840
In my opinion, what is crucial

00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:45.040
is to foster cultural identity
in children from an early age.

00:06:45.760 --> 00:06:49.920
From the moment the baby is in the womb,

00:06:50.080 --> 00:06:55.360
we talk to the baby in our language
and tell it about our history.

00:06:55.520 --> 00:07:01.040
We do everything to nurture its identity.
It was the same with me.

00:07:03.840 --> 00:07:08.720
But if they already lose touch
with their identity as a child,

00:07:08.880 --> 00:07:12.520
later on they won\'t even remember
who their parents were.

00:07:21.080 --> 00:07:24.640
What counts for the teacher
is the spirit that will fill the school.

00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:27.520
For the construction workers,
it\'s the building itself.

00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:33.480
They know the local traditions and that
they\'re building for their children\'s future.

00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:45.920
For me, the building process
is similar to a child growing up.

00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:52.800
When a baby is born,
the most important thing is nutrition.

00:07:52.960 --> 00:07:56.240
It\'s the same with a building.

00:07:56.400 --> 00:08:02.400
We have to nourish it with good materials
to make sure the structure is strong.

00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:17.400
When I start a new project somewhere,

00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:21.480
I always give the jobs to the local people.

00:08:21.640 --> 00:08:25.320
I only bring along
three, four or five workers,

00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:29.120
and the rest I hire
from the local population.

00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.520
When did we come here first?

00:08:39.760 --> 00:08:41.320
Was it in February?

00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:45.000
At the meeting,
the people were very enthusiastic.

00:08:45.160 --> 00:08:50.280
They said, \"I want to work with you\"
or \"teach me how to do it\".

00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:53.800
And they started making lists
and put their names down.

00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:05.480
They already know a lot.

00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:10.360
And while working, they learn a lot.

00:09:10.520 --> 00:09:15.000
So we don\'t have to be here all the time.
It\'s always like that.

00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:22.520
As I said, I really enjoy working with them,
because there\'s such a familiar atmosphere.

00:09:24.800 --> 00:09:29.080
It may sound simple,
but it takes a lot of optimism, calm

00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:31.440
and Marta\'s encouragement.

00:09:31.680 --> 00:09:36.320
The plan is to be done in four weeks\' time.

00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.040
Tomorrow,

00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:44.120
the missing beams of this roof
will be installed.

00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:49.440
This small module here

00:09:49.680 --> 00:09:55.000
should have a roof by Thursday or Friday,
at the weekend at the latest.

00:10:00.040 --> 00:10:04.720
Marta has come to understand
the peculiarities of the local population

00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:07.400
and has gradually won their trust.

00:10:09.040 --> 00:10:12.120
The life of the Nomatsiguenga
is marked by isolation,

00:10:12.280 --> 00:10:16.760
mistrust of the authorities
and the dreadful period of terror.

00:10:20.520 --> 00:10:22.560
When I was a little boy,

00:10:22.800 --> 00:10:26.920
we had this teacher at school
called Florinda.

00:10:29.680 --> 00:10:32.040
She was the first teacher to come here.

00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:36.000
It was September,

00:10:36.640 --> 00:10:40.760
and one day the terrorists came here

00:10:41.520 --> 00:10:44.360
and they killed our teacher, Florinda.

00:10:46.400 --> 00:10:49.440
They came here three times.

00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:53.960
The terrorists attacked us here.

00:10:56.520 --> 00:11:01.360
And so we went into hiding in the mountains.

00:11:01.520 --> 00:11:04.280
We stayed in the mountains.

00:11:06.400 --> 00:11:09.720
Otherwise, we would have died.

00:11:11.040 --> 00:11:15.520
It was 1978.

00:11:19.520 --> 00:11:21.720
The terror never really stopped.

00:11:21.880 --> 00:11:23.800
No matter who is fighting who,

00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:28.600
troops loyal to the government,
anti-government groups, or drug barons,

00:11:28.760 --> 00:11:31.560
it\'s always the local population
that suffers.

00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:58.560
A school plays a fundamental role
in a community,

00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.840
because in most cases, it\'s the only
public infrastructure available.

00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:08.080
So we see the school
as the heart of the community.

00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:13.920
It can fulfil different functions
in the morning, afternoon or evening.

00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:16.760
The school serves the community in general.

00:12:18.920 --> 00:12:20.760
So this school

00:12:20.920 --> 00:12:25.360
is going to be for everyone:
a public school, an open school.

00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:42.840
Something that I found fascinating
and also learned a lot from

00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:47.160
was this system in Peru,
a system of communal work.

00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:52.360
It\'s called \"faenas\" or \"mingas\"
in the various regions.

00:12:53.520 --> 00:12:57.400
These are days of cooperative work,

00:12:57.640 --> 00:13:02.720
neighbours coming together
for a community project.

00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:06.880
So I joined this system.

00:13:07.040 --> 00:13:12.040
I didn\'t arrive here
and come up with my own idea.

00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:16.280
I found a functioning system
of collective work here

00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:19.400
and integrated myself into this system.

00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:27.600
Only five months are scheduled
to construct the school.

00:13:27.760 --> 00:13:31.640
Building in record time,
considering how work is done here:

00:13:31.800 --> 00:13:36.040
No large machinery or big construction teams.
Everything done by hand.

00:13:36.800 --> 00:13:40.200
And involving a lot of agreements,
some of them agonising,

00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:42.440
to keep the village onside.

00:13:53.920 --> 00:13:57.960
This is what a school
built by the Peruvian government looks like.

00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:03.200
Featureless concrete blocks
that can be found anywhere in the world.

00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:07.520
Compared to the schools in Pangoa,
they look like prisons.

00:14:07.680 --> 00:14:11.760
They cost ten times as much
and take several years to build.

00:14:21.640 --> 00:14:26.400
Concrete blocks were brought
to Alto Anapati from Lima

00:14:26.560 --> 00:14:29.000
and given to the families here.

00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:33.000
Nobody asked them about their needs first.

00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:48.680
The problem is the \"how\", the processes,

00:14:48.920 --> 00:14:50.960
the politicians and the NGOs.

00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:55.680
We all work with figures, percentages,
the number of beneficiaries,

00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:58.240
the number of houses that we build,

00:14:58.920 --> 00:15:01.600
the number of schools that we build...

00:15:01.760 --> 00:15:06.160
But we hardly pause to reflect,
to take a closer look

00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:11.680
and to think about the processes,
about how things come to be.

00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:14.360
And that\'s the difference here.

00:15:19.400 --> 00:15:24.840
The difference to figures and statistics
is talking and listening to one another,

00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:27.360
in small, lovingly devised details,

00:15:27.520 --> 00:15:32.240
as well as diversity and colourfulness
instead of monotony and uniformity.

00:15:33.760 --> 00:15:37.480
This is normally used for drinking masato.

00:15:37.640 --> 00:15:43.640
But what are we architects
going to do with this?

00:15:45.280 --> 00:15:49.760
We are going to make lamps with them.
Here\'s an example.

00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:56.200
What we\'ve been thinking is

00:15:56.800 --> 00:16:01.960
that for children, the first
point of reference outside of their homes

00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:03.840
is the school.

00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:08.240
So we wanted the children
to find a familiar atmosphere there,

00:16:08.400 --> 00:16:12.760
to be surrounded by objects
that they know from home.

00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:24.800
The aim is to understand their way of living

00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:30.120
and we want to use architecture
as a means to do that

00:16:30.280 --> 00:16:34.280
without prejudice
and coming from an unbiased perspective.

00:17:02.640 --> 00:17:07.400
When they see these objects that are part
of their daily lives in the school,

00:17:07.560 --> 00:17:10.640
those objects will have
a different meaning and value.

00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:17.680
They\'re nice objects,
because they are here at the school.

00:17:17.840 --> 00:17:21.800
It\'s no longer about the object itself,
but rather the process.

00:17:26.600 --> 00:17:31.320
We have the opportunity to come together
with the women, with the mothers,

00:17:31.560 --> 00:17:34.640
to weave baskets and make things together.

00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:38.480
In those moments,
you have a sense of community.

00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:08.560
The building materials, the colours
and textiles are all from the region.

00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:12.680
The much-lauded concept of sustainability
is more than an idea here.

00:18:12.840 --> 00:18:14.720
It is their lived reality.

00:18:54.040 --> 00:18:59.320
Applying the concept of sustainability
to rural communities

00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:03.000
means creating practical architecture

00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:09.200
which doesn\'t rely on complex technologies
and doesn\'t depend on external players.

00:19:09.360 --> 00:19:13.840
It\'s architecture that aims
to foster autonomy in building processes

00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:18.600
to help communities produce for themselves
and sustain themselves.

00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:28.320
The design of the school is adapted
to the area\'s warm and humid climate.

00:19:29.560 --> 00:19:34.840
The roof is open and the doors and windows
are positioned to create a draught,

00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:37.000
thus keeping the room cool.

00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.080
Marta Maccaglia\'s architecture
is not only cleverly planned,

00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:44.320
but also beautiful to look at.

00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:57.600
We always try to ensure that
the temperature inside is lower

00:19:57.760 --> 00:20:01.520
than the temperature outside in the shade.

00:20:10.560 --> 00:20:14.200
No matter where, all building projects
have one thing in common:

00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:16.960
the stress and excitement
before the grand opening.

00:20:17.120 --> 00:20:21.720
I assure you that we\'ll open tomorrow.
It doesn\'t look like it now, but we will.

00:21:15.520 --> 00:21:17.520
A lot of emotions.

00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:20.400
There are a lot of emotions.

00:21:22.080 --> 00:21:24.160
Another school.

00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:28.000
Another family.

00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:30.240
Another community.

00:21:31.600 --> 00:21:34.080
Now we\'re looking forward
to seeing it being used.

00:21:34.600 --> 00:21:39.080
With every project,
we always say

00:21:39.320 --> 00:21:43.880
the opening is not the end of a project,
but the beginning of its life.

00:21:44.120 --> 00:21:47.760
So we\'re looking forward
to seeing the children here tomorrow.

00:21:54.600 --> 00:21:59.200
Just as the site manager said: the building
process is similar to a child growing up.

00:21:59.360 --> 00:22:01.360
Now the baby has to be nursed.

00:22:01.520 --> 00:22:04.720
The school has to be filled
with ideas and taken care of.

00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:08.640
With her foundation \"Semillas\",
Marta will also play a role here,

00:22:08.800 --> 00:22:11.720
providing support
to help the school flourish.

00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:31.840
We kindly ask the officials
to take their seats.

00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:33.720
The ceremony...

00:22:35.800 --> 00:22:39.840
to inaugurate the education institute
of Alto Anapati

00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:42.920
is about to start.

00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:47.440
Some regional officials have even come
for the opening ceremony.

00:22:47.600 --> 00:22:50.720
But essentially it\'s a celebration
of the local community.

00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:07.280
Marta Maccaglia and Giulia Perri
have become part of this community.

00:23:29.080 --> 00:23:31.520
\"Semillas\" means seed.

00:23:31.760 --> 00:23:35.200
The seeds sprouted in Alto Anapati
in just five months.

00:23:35.360 --> 00:23:38.760
Proving once again
that dedication and conviction

00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:42.320
are more powerful
than chaos and discord.

00:23:42.840 --> 00:23:46.920
With her foundation, Marta Maccaglia
is much more than just an architect.

00:23:47.080 --> 00:23:51.440
She is an ambassador
and the schools she builds are exemplary.

00:24:10.120 --> 00:24:15.680
How can we give far more children
access to places of learning like this one?

00:24:15.840 --> 00:24:18.000
In our corner of the world, too.

00:24:25.080 --> 00:24:27.280
For me...

00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:32.320
this is the greatest job in the world.

00:24:32.840 --> 00:24:37.760
Even though
every step of the process is really tough,

00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:43.800
because there are so many obstacles
and it\'s stressful to manage everything.

00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:49.000
We raise funds, work with the community,
establish ties with local municipalities.

00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:52.920
We try to figure out points of interest,
identify problems.

00:24:53.080 --> 00:24:56.120
It\'s all super complex.

00:24:56.280 --> 00:25:01.000
But ultimately, every moment along the way,
we feel that it\'s worth it.

00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:06.240
But it\'s also a fight,
a struggle all the time.

00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:08.720
And this struggle spurs us on.

00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:14.960
Because we\'re not only building a school,
we\'re working with people.

00:25:15.120 --> 00:25:21.120
We see how the people connect
and build a community.

00:25:21.280 --> 00:25:26.920
And they learn. After all, learning
is the most exciting thing, isn\'t it?

00:25:43.800 --> 00:25:48.520
I\'ve thought about changing my job,
but I never do.

00:25:49.120 --> 00:25:51.800
I just come back home, to the rainforest.