CURRENT MISSION

I am a bridge-builder focused on the connection of distant realities. For +10 I have been connecting rural communities with companies, ecosystems with environmentally conscious markets, through initiatives focused on social value creation, community empowerment, shared value models, and entrepreneurship. I am currently working with Crepes & Waffles, one of the biggest restaurant chains in Colombia.
Crepes & Waffles is currently connected with nine territories in Colombia, purchasing fruits, vegetables, beans, wheat, cacao, and pepper from small-holder farmers avoiding unnecessary middlemen, offering better prices compared to local markets, fostering community empowerment and environmental conservation.

ABOUT ME

I am a people person. The most important lessons I have gathered come from coffee shop conversations, movies, stories of all kinds. I really like biking, writing, dancing, taking pictures, exploring diverse cuisines and letting life surprise me in every corner. I'm working in communication consultancy for diverse projects with social/environmental impact.
Here my blogs: http://www.marcelab.co http://marcelab.wordpress.com/

PHILOSOPHY

In almost all life experiences you can decide to suffer them or enjoy them, I definitely take the second option

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have been hosted by very nice people and I love that opportunity to understand the world from different perspectives. I also get in touch very often with people from CS to share experiences e information about many issues. I'm mostly moving around, but whenever I have a place, I find opportunities of hosting amazing people.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I really like CS, I have met incredible people from CS the last months and now I want to meet CS in everyplace that I'll visit.

Interests

Food, books, movies, swimming, volunteer, Africa, permaculture, edutainment, social business, radio, images (http://www.flickr.com/photos/56072481@N04/) PEOPLE!

• arts
• books
• dancing
• salsa dancing
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• walking
• crafts
• movies
• crochet
• drawing
• music
• scuba diving
• swimming
• business
• history
• languages
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies (among many):
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)
Historias Mínimas (Carlos Sorin)
Shining (Stanley Kubrick)
A perfect world (Clint Eastwood)
Into the Wild (Sean Penn)

Books:
The Strainger - Albert Camus
Blindness - José Saramago
The perfum - Patrick Süskind
The unbearable lightness of being - Milan Kundera
Que viva la música - Andrés Caicedo
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
The Blue Sweater: Bridgind the Gap Between the Rich and the Poor - Jacqueline Novogratz
The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good - William Easterly
Escape from Freedom - Erich Fromm

Music:
I´m very eclectic. I love tango and salsa. I like folk music from Colombia and I love to discover traditional sounds from other places. I enjoy rock in Spanish (Soda Stereo, Fito Paez, Cafe Tacuba, Molotov) and also in English (Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd...)
Some of my favorites (among many):
Bob Marley, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Ben Harper, Calle 13, Alicia Keys, Hector Lavoe, Rubén Blades, La Ocho y Media, Gotan Project, Carlos Gardel, Robi Draco Rosa, Bebe, El Cigala, Buenavista Social Club, Jamiroquai, BB King, Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sky diving

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: Spanish, crochet, google tools (they are awesome!), some salsa dancing.
Learn: Languages, art crafts, history, music, cinematography, draw, cooking, etc.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Experiences I have gathered by walking around asking questions and sharing good conversations.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Colombia, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Colombia, Mozambique, United States

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