Last year, one of our ski coaches, Bariloche native Mauri Cambilla, approached us with the idea of addressing a critical need in his community: better access to fresh fruits and vegetables. During the winter months especially, access to fresh produce is limited, with much of it being imported from Chile, and is often out of the price range of the local poor. In an effort to address a crucial need of the community upon which we depend for SASS’s success, SASS created the concept to both address the lack of recycling and access to fresh produce by putting together an ingenious plan to construct a series of cold-frame greenhouses in Bariloche out of recycled plastic bottles. What started as a small project has snowballed thanks to the ecstatic support of many of SASS’s professional coaches. The greenhouse project is now being assisted by 1STEP, professional skier Mark Abma’s winter sports sustainability foundation, and My Little Footprint, professional snowboarder Chanelle Sladics’ foundation dedicated to improving the the acess and awareness of healthy, local, sustainably-produced food for young students.
Chanelle Sladics is super stoked on the project and said that she is "Really looking forward to giving back to the community and mountains in which I gain sooo much from!!! I feel truly blessed to be in a position to give, and am excited to plant a seed or leave a positive footprint in the places I get to visit!" Chanelle will be joined by the rest of the One Life crew, including Jamie Anderson, Sarka Pancochova, and Kjersti Buaas. Chanelle lives her message of local, healthy food, having grown 10 different fruit trees and 5 vegetable gardens at her house in Southern California.
A plastic bottle greenhouse
Also sharing her passion for healthy eating by engaging in the greenhouse is SASS’s long-time ski coach, Michelle Parker. "I think it’s really important, when traveling, to leave a positive impact where ever you go," Michelle said. "Our involvement within the community in Bariloche is incredibly essential to me. I couldn’t be more excited to give back to an environment that has given so much to us and to be involved in something that will last longer than my trip to Argentina. The community and environmental projects that we are involved in this summer will be a great hands on learning experience for the campers and everybody involved. These projects make SASS more than just a ski and snowboard camp. I can’t wait to watch everybody in action and the projects take place."
Mark Abma will also be coming down on behalf of his winter sports sustainability foundation, 1 Step. In addition to helping SASS build a biodiesel reactor, Mark will be helping to build the first of several greenhouses when he comes down at the end of the month. All in all, SASS has the help of an unbelievable array of talented and passionate individuals to help complete valuable, meaningful environmental and community development projects.
