I Love Chile News: Issue 18 January 2012 by I Love Chile News

Edition 18 January 2012 Price $1.000

Promoting English in Chile, Promoting Chile in English.

Luis “Conejo” Martínez

Following the Chilean Dream: Innovators of 2012

www.ilovechile.cl

JANUARY 2012 / TABLE OF CONTENTS

STAFF Publisher & CEO Daniel Brewington

Letter from the Editor

Director, Sales & Marketing Steve Halsey

IT IS DIFFICULT TO SAY WHAT IS IMPOSSIBLE, FOR THE DREAM OF YESTERDAY IS THE HOPE OF TODAY AND THE REALITY OF TOMORROW

Online Editor Kayla Young

ROBERT GODDARD

Editor In Chief Julie Gibson Managing Editor Kelsey Bennett Copy Editor Sharon Ewing Travel Editor Jonathan Franklin Chief Strategy Officer Pamela Lagos

Contributors Shonika Proctor Nick Lavine Anishka Gheewala Ian Gilbert Marcelle Dubruel Ben Angel Colin Bennett Andrea Cibotti Jonathan Franklin Ryan Seelau Laura Seelau Pablo Javier Retamal Pamela Villablanca Titus Levy Richard Magennis Alexis Psarras Mamiko Ito Photographers Daniel Brewington Julia Dose Katja Moeller Design Alfonso Gálvez Interns Matt Niner Daniel Boyle Courtney Harrell Michelle Donahue Marianne Tweedie Anishka Gheewala Zoë Ackerman José Miguel Galdames Álvarez

Can imagination be facilitated and entrepreneurship taught? Is creativity a natural instinct or a learnable trait that can be facilitated through education? Is innovation a skill that can be learned through training? Innovative ideas are available to each and every one of us. We just have to learn to tap into our inner voice. First, it comes with asking a question. Am I happy with my career? What is my purpose? Once you get a hunch or premonition, don’t shoo it away. Treat it with respect and do something with it. Buy yourself a notebook and write down your ideas. Form your ideas into concrete goals. And who knows, maybe you’ll end up creating an idea that will change the world! In this edition of I Love Chile News, we have highlighted Chileans who have followed their inner voice. These innovators had a dream and didn’t stop until their dream became a reality. These men and women are truly inspiring. I hope this issue sparks your inner voice to give you the nudge you need to follow your passion to make 2012 an unforgettable year! Wishing you a wonderful New Year! Julie Gibson Editor–in-Chief

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”— American economist Theodore Levitt

The I Love Chile Office is located on Loreto 6, Bellavista, Santiago Chile Our office hours are from 10:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday. Contact Phone: +56 (02) 732 26 39 Out of hours contact +56 (09) 7 549 1513 To contact our newsdesk email: prensa@ilovechile.cl or press@ilovechile.cl To contact administration email: info@ilovechile.cl To contact advertising email: Pamela@ilovechile.cl

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 & 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 & 13 Page 14 & 15 Page 16 & 17 Page 18 & 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28

Letter from the Editor The Year in Passing Innovation and Indigenous Peoples The Water Fight Simply Styling How to be a game inventor: Phrazzle Me! COP17 Durban, Repositioning the Climate Change Debate ILC REcommends Turning Education Inside Out Fischmann: Creator of the Wolds Largest Swimming pool EstoyenDicom: Till debt do us part Nuts 4 Nuts: The street-seller that not only conquered New York but also the hearts of millions Agricultural Innovation “Alhue Lahuen” Offers Unique Combination of Natural Beauty and Conservation Education Andean Safari 8 Life Lessons of Sucessful Women Entrepreneurs The Entrepreneur Hunter: Suika Awareness + Innovation = Chilean Wine Sizzling Summer Yesterday’s Seaweed, Tomorrow’s Bioalga ADS

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NEWS / JANUARY 2012

FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE STREETS: 2011’S EDUCATION MOVEMENT ii In 2011 it wasn’t earthquakes or miners that dominated Chile’s headlines. It was the fury of student protests that swept the nation, closing down some of Chile’s largest and most prestigious education institutions. With a change of student leaders and two ministers of education, is Chile any closer to a resolution? PHOTOS: DANIEL BREWINGTON

By Nick Levine

ast year was marked by protests around the world, from the so-called Arab Spring to the “Indignados” in Spain and occupations in Wall Street; Chile was no exception. It’s hard to deny that the student movements and strikes this year were the story of 2011. Seven months of strikes by university students and school occupations by secondary school students put education right at the center of public concern for the first time since polls started measuring such things, displacing traditional favorites like security and employment. The student movement captured the imagination of an entire country and a good part of international public opinion, as its charismatic leaders challenged the political class to come up with credible solutions and formulas for the problems in the country’s education system. Not only did they demonstrate once again that this government has difficulties reacting to contingencies and is not proactive about anticipating crises, but they presented to the country a batch of young leaders representing very different political tendencies yet united in attaining certain goals and very capable in communicating them to the press and to the public. Thus the country got used to seeing Camila Vallejo, a member of the Communist Party and president of the University of Chile Student Federation, working side-by-side with the more centrist Giorgio Jackson of the Universidad Católica. This was something rarely seen over the last 20 years, when the latter institution tended to remain on the sidelines of national student politics. This alliance, and their ability to keep up the pressure and the media attention for seven months, even earned them a trip to Europe to present their case to legislators and authorities there, in addition to international organizations. So it was that the entire country’s attention was focused on the respective student federation elections held at Chile’s foremost universities in November and December to see the impact that seven months of protests, would have on the next student leadership group and the potential implications for the movement. While Noam Titelman will take over for Jackson in representation of the same moderate center-left

group, the student leadership at the University of Chile and Santiago has leaned further to the left with Vallejo losing to Gabriel Boric, who believes in stepping up the pressure and protests. However, Vallejo still won the vice presidency and will continue to espouse a change in tactics and greater willingness to negotiate. The new student leadership is more divided. Their real challenge will be to give the movement a longer-term projection and to balance the different forces represented without exhausting the students themselves, thus losing their power base. The students managed to extract gain concessions from

As the Rolling Stones say: “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.”

the authorities this year, in addition to putting the debate about a tax reform on the table. To put two major cross-cutting issues at the center of the political agenda is an achievement in and of itself. The student leaders must realize that to continue their successes they have to be capable of reading the moment and understanding that, beyond discourses, in 2012 they have to capitalize on the popularity of their cause with a change in tactics. They must take advantage of the fact that municipal elections will be held at the end of the year (followed by presidential elections in 2013) to extract as many concessions as possible. They received the attention and the momentum this year, but in 2012 the time will come to play the game and be proactive in proposing and obtaining solutions. With gained pragmatism and maturity, they must recognize what you can get today and what you can get tomorrow. The country is tired of confrontation and the new student leadership must recognize that they face the risk of squandering the political and social capital that they earned themselves this year. ILC

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JANUARY 2012 / INDIGENOUS FOCUS

INNOVATION AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

By Laura Seelau and Ryan Seelau

ndigenous peoples have thrived in the Americas for tens of thousands of years. In order to do so, indigenous peoples had to be resourceful, inventive and disciplined. Likewise, in order to survive the 500 years of colonization that at times took the form of genocide and ethnocide and was often aimed at assimilation, indigenous peoples had to fall back on their own spirits in order to survive within countries like Chile. And that is precisely what they have done. Indigenous communities not only continue to survive, but countless numbers of indigenous peoples are working tirelessly to improve their own living conditions and to strengthen their own cultures. For indigenous peoples, innovation has been crucial in the battle to maintain their own identities, values, and cultures. Both in Chile and throughout the world, one of the hardest challenges indigenous peoples confront is how to maintain their unique identities within societies where they are small minorities and where there is constant pressure to assimilate. Innovative ways of addressing this problem, however, spring up time and time again. If one knows where to look, it isn’t difficult at all to see the indigenous peoples of Chile continuing to reinvent the manner in which they preserve their worldview and ways of life. For instance, language is a key component of any people’s identity. As a result, it can also be a powerful tool of assimilation. Today in Chile, indigenous children are expected to speak Spanish. That is the primary language of instruction in schools throughout the country. While government efforts in recent years have attempted to provide opportunities during the school day for indigenous children to learn their native languages, many indigenous leaders recognize that one language class during the day is insufficient and are taking action to address this challenge. A group of Rapa Nui leaders on Easter Island have recently been working together to design an innovative language immersion program to ensure that their lan-

For indigenous peoples, innovation has been crucial in the battle to maintain their own identities, values, and cultures.

guage is passed on to future generations. Prior to the creation of this program, Rapa Nui children had two options for learning their language and the values it reflects: they could learn from family members (who may or may not know the language themselves) or they could take a language class at school (if their school was one of the few that participated in the Chilean government’s intercultural education efforts). To the Rapa Nui people, neither of these options seemed sufficient mechanisms for protecting and promoting their language and culture. Out of this obstacle, a new solution was born--the creation of a Rapa Nui immersion program where students are taught the Chilean curriculum, but where every class is taught in the Rapa Nui language. This program, which is just beginning to operate in one of the schools on Easter Island, is unique in Chile and, if successful, could be a major step towards ensuring indigenous culture and values are passed on to the next generation. Another challenge facing indigenous peoples throughout Chile is that of preserving traditional ways of life in an increasingly modern and globalized world. Without innovative efforts, indigenous peoples risk losing their traditional knowledge and methods of making a living. These traditional practices often carry with them many of the customs and ancestral understandings of the world that have shaped the indigenous peoples’ culture for millennia. In this area, too, there is innovation coming from within the indigenous peoples of Chile. For example, the Lafkenche people are a sub-group of Chile’s Mapuche population who live along the coast (“lafken” means “coast” and “che” means “people” in the Mapuche language). Traditionally, the Lafkenche people were largely dependent on the ocean, both spiritually and economically. Over time--especially the last 200 years--the Lafkenche people have lost more and more of their land and coastal rights to the Chilean government, corporations and private individuals. The Lafkenche people knew that something had to be done or else their

traditional way of life might be lost forever. Fortunately, the Lafkenche people banded together and came up with not only an innovative solution, but one that is a powerful example of citizen-driven change in Chile. Starting in 1991 when a new fishing law increased pressure on the Lafkenche way of life, the Lafkenche people came together to peacefully pressure Chile to adopt legislation to protect their cultural and economic interests in the coastal area. After nearly two decades of continued work, political pressure and countless round table discussions with government officials, in 2008 the so-called Lafkenche Law was passed. The law opened the door for any indigenous peoples in Chile with ancestral ties to the coastal areas to gain control over coastal waters not yet claimed by other actors. This law is a landmark piece of legislation in Chile, recognizing important rights for indigenous peoples. While the law by itself is not enough to ensure the protection of Lafkenche culture, it is a unique first step that opens up possibilities for additional innovation to thrive. The stories above, while unique in their own right, are just the tiniest sampling of how indigenous peoples living in Chile are continually redefining ways to ensure the ongoing success of their people. One can look, for example, to Aymara women growing flowers and changing what it means to be an indigenous business, to the Atacameño communities of the San Pedro River Valley that own and operate their own geological and archaeological sites, or to the Asociación Indígena Mapu Lahual, a Mapuche organization that established its own system of parks in order to protect ancestral territory and teach about its significance. The list could go on and on. For millennia, indigenous peoples thrived due to their own resourcefulness and innovation. Five centuries ago, that survival was made exponentially more difficult due to colonization, but indigenous peoples found a way to survive and to re-build their cultures and societies. The ingenuity and discipline needed to do these things is often overlooked by outsiders, but it is there and it is a driving force that will take indigenous peoples many more millennia into the future. ILC

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THE WATER FIGHT By 2060, Chile’s mid-section will be 30 percent thirstier; expect desertification between Santiago and Valparaiso the way La Serena and Copiapó are currently experiencing it.

PHOTOS: JULIA DOSE

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY / JANUARY 2012

By Pablo Javier Retamal

ff the beaten track, away from city life hysteria and just over an hour away from Santiago lies a peaceful place called Tunquen. The name translates to “place where earth opens (splits)” in Mapudungun (Mapuche). It’s a 2.5 kilometer beach surrounded by flat dunes, enough farmland to keep it picturesque, and an extraordinary wetland on its north side that intertwines that intertwines with breathtaking landscape. Driving in from the highway to Valparaiso, through curvy paths bordered by pine forests, Tunquen appears suddenly. From the top of the valley every curve on the ride down hides the panoramic beauty for just an instant before it reappears on the next straightaway. “How can this be so near Santiago” says my girlfriend Romina as we make our way down the snake-like road. Tunquen’s wetland originates from the Casablanca valley. The water table flows toward the sea, surfacing here to create a unique and unexpected delta. It’s as if the earth and sea twirled each other into a marsh of biodiversity. The wetland is home to a myriad of migratory and endangered bird species such as Livingstone’s seagull, IUCN’s redlisted cocoi heron and the largest hummingbird in the world, the Chilean firecrown. It’s basically an ornithological heaven only a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean with lots of fresh water and no nearby roads. Locals tell us that on a busy summer day there are only ten people on beach. Sometimes a couple of surfers show up to ride this secret beach break. Penguins, sea otters and dolphins occasionally take their turn with the surfers playing on Tunquen´s powerful green waves. Yes, all this is only an hour away from Santiago. Local residents are a special bunch. The Ushaped valley of Tunquen is populated on its northern ridge by La Boca, El Rosario and Punta de Gallo eco-estate home-dwellers. Ex-Chilean presidents, local celebrities, artists, renowned architects, UN diplomats and lawyers make for a peaceful “mind-your-own-business” kind of place. There are no restaraunts, bakeries, or kiosks around here. Very little mingling goes on amongst them. There are two things, however, that unite the neighbors: Tunquen’s wetland and the unsigned agreement to live sustainably to protect it. When entering the estate the first thing that will strike you is that there isn’t a cable or lamppost in sight. All 300 houses run on self-generated solar (and sometimes) wind energy. Water is pumped from wells in each house equipped with a filtering system that cleans up the gray water before returning it to the water table. The entrance is guarded but unpretentious. You have to know someone to enter. Can anyone live so detached from the grid, without even paying any bills? These guys do! Self-reliant, “Tunqueninos” prove that low-carbon life is possible on planet Chile. Protecting your environment is a matter of choice as well as money. Land here is not cheap, and for the same price you

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JANUARY 2012 / SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

could secure yourself an exclusive spot in Chile’s prestigious Zapallar/Cachagua beach resort. However, having the money still doesn’t make it easy to choose to live “the Tunquen way.” “Why?” I asked Gonzalo-who lives half the year in Tunquen and the other in Geneva, Switzerland, where he accompanies his wife Pilar on posting with UNICEF. “It’s complicated and sometimes less practical--a 100 percent solar photovoltaic system means no bills, but also limited use of hairdryers, TV or microwave,” he said. “It’s a sacrifice this community has made in exchange for clean air, serenity and access to wildlife. A place far from the madding crowd, a place to be inspired, a place of rest.” Gonzalo invites us in and makes tea from the Boldo trees he inherited five years ago when purchasing his property. He proceeded to explain to Romina and I a couple of things about Tunquen life. The eco-minded neighbors come together once a year to clean their beloved beach. Without blaming anyone, the eco-home-dwellers pick up dirty diapers left by campers, plastic bottles from fishermen and the tides of used sunscreen tubes that flow from south of the bay where Algarrobo sits. They arrange with Casablanca´s mayor for a garbage truck to come on that day so they can deposit the unwanted findings. In sharp contrast, Algarrobo is home to a huge apartment complex that celebrates having built the largest pool in the world. Further up north, one bay over from Tunquen, is Quintay. This ex-whaling village was given an economic boost a little over a decade ago by the Santa Augusta project. The project consists of condos and bungalows that, in total, house over 400 families. At Santa Augusta, residents access their very own golf course and swimming pools while admiring the thirsty exotic plant gardens that decorate cobbled sidewalks kept clean with copious amounts of (heck, why not) more water! It’s the kind of place you find retired people sipping on non-alcoholic piña coladas comparing golf handicaps and their SUV’s trunk size-a very different vibe sinks in when you visit Santa Augusta. Compared with the rich hippies from down the road this place seems as suitable as an all-inclusive hotel in downtown Mogadishu! Despite all the lush green vegetation available in Santa Augusta, strangely, the thought slowly creeps in: is all this green good? How come outside these walls there is no grass? Why are people in the rest of the region having water problems, but not here in Santa Augusta? In 2008, an economics of climate change study for Chile suggested the country would suffer from less access to water. By 2060, Chile’s mid-section will be 30 percent thirstier; expect desertification between Santiago and Valparaiso the way Copiapo and La Serena are getting it right now. Residents in these cities pay over $1,000 CLP for a cubic meter of water. Excuse me, Pablo, did you say 2060? Who cares, I’ll be dead by then! Sadly, that’s the kind of reply you hear a lot. Even sadder is that this reply tends to come from the retired (or about to retire) who enjoy “putting it out” with their chums on the greens at Santa Augusta-like

The reason why this water fight must be settled by saving the wetland is because it will set a precedent for how the future of water conservation in Chile will be prioritized. resorts. So you have those who care and those who don’t. Obviously the Tunquen crowd care, while the Santa Augusta crowd, well… let’s just say that golf is a sport that requires a lot of practice. Regardless of geographic proximity, the two communities have lived away from each other’s sight-to each his own way of life--until now. “Tunqueninos” recently found out that Santa Augusta’s owners bought the rights to the water beneath a large portion of Tunquen. As stipulated by Chile’s 1981 water law (Codigo de Aguas) one can make use of water rights regardless of land property. Water rights are basically more powerful then land rights. Don’t believe me? Ask the Pehuenche’s down in Ralco as their native lands were flooded in the making of the Ralco hydroelectric power project in the early 2000s. As water becomes scarcer in the Casablanca region, Santa Augusta has realized it will need to activate its water rights over in Tunquen. Climate change effect? Roger that! They are building pipe and will soon start extracting from Tunquen’s water table. Effects? Disastrous! The rich-pseudo-hippies realize less water means breaking nature’s balance and negatively impacting Tunquen´s wetland. All their efforts to live sustainably will be futile when water starts being

sucked through the pipeline and sprinkled onto Santa Augusta’s grassy patch of golf heaven. The neighbors in Tunquen have come together to finance a lawyer instructed to attempt protection of the wetland by filing a protective clause. In parallel, the neighborhood president, Johnny Heiss, is currently gathering support for a petition to be sent to the presidential representative responsible for the environment of the area (SEREMI). However, it seems too little too late at this stage. Water rights in Chile are far from being fair or environment driven, rather, they make up the base for the world’s first fresh water market that, in turn, tests the notion of water as a human right. Sadly, Tunquen’s wetland is now subject to demand and supply economics. Can biodiversity preserve itself when competing against a product designed to entice the rich and powerful? Is golf more valuable to us than keeping alive a wetland home to migratory and endangered species? What world do we live in? A surfer myself, I pondered these things as I gave Tunquen´s beach break a run for its money. My meditative surf session led me to conclude that Santa Augusta residents probably don’t have the faintest clue what’s going on. The owners of the condo are securing a product that is easily consumed as long as water is available in abundance. In turn, these individuals receive praise by their entourage for how smart they were in securing water rights preemptively and thus creating a seal proof strategy to secure the project and keep Santa Augustinos happily swinging their clubs and bathing in luxury. On the other hand, Tunquen sells itself as a pristine resort. This product is under threat since the very essence that represents the area is being challenged. The influential neighbors must come out and say something! People will hear them! Radio and TV hosts, politicians, yes you! It is time to get up and shout. There are definitely solutions here. There must be ways for both communities to find a sustainable way to keep co-existing without producing irreparable environmental damage. It’s a matter of seeing what has to give; hopefully it will not be the Tunquen wetland. Just think that if these sorts of fights are brewing already, what will start to happen in the coming decades when water becomes scarcer to those who need it, not to play golf, but to feed their crops, their families, their children? The reason why this water fight must be settled by saving the wetland is because it will set a precedent for how the future of water conservation in Chile will be prioritized. Will people adapt to the effects of climate change by applying water efficiency strategies that are just for all, or will they go on until the damage is irrevocable? Considering the nature of the people involved, solving this water fight publicly will bring lots of attention to the fact climate change is happening already. ILC

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FEATURE / JANUARY 2012

SIMPLY STYLING

ii Mathias Klotz rarely watches his words. Famous for his sharp tongue and serious architecture, Klotz sat for interview at his office in Santiago, Chile. Jonathan Franklin interviews one of South America’s rising architects who turned an abandoned ranch into a showcase for the simple joys of country living. PHOTO: MORTEN ANDERSEN

By Jonathan Franklin

“I

t’s not my house anymore. My ex-wife has it,” Mathias Klotz looks wounded as he describes Corralon, the restored ranch that he first remodeled in 2005 and then promptly lost in a divorce. Room by room, Kotz describes with loving detail the restored 1860s ranch home. But it sounds like he is talking in the past tense, as if Klotz’s pet project had burned down or been flattened by one of Chile’s legendary earthquakes. “Look at the master bedroom,” said Klotz with pride. “When you are there, you have all kinds of privacy, but you feel part of the whole house as you can see 20 meters across; it is really surprising.” Inside Corralon the sense of both light open space and protection are seamlessly integrated. Even in the scorching summer, fresh air blows throughout the house. The high ceilings keep ground level temperatures comfortable. “You can really feel that the walls here are 1.2 meters thick,” said Klotz, refering to the original adobe walls. Klotz’s work is characterized by the extensive use of light-colored wood, exposed beams, rustic finish and strict right angles; Klotz is the antithesis of the Neimeyer school of curves and cement. At Corralon, the rough hewn beams, adobe exposed walls and natural tones are all pleasing to the eye. There are few curves in the house, but horses in the corral and the family dogs keep a sense of warmth. His only regret for Corralon was separating the kitchen into an annex, instead of incorporating it with the main living and dining area. Such “kitchen apartheid” is com-

Traditionally, Chile has been world famous for its poets and painters. Gabriela Mistral won the Nobel Prize for poetry and painter Matte is showcased worldwide, yet today, Chile is receiving recognition worldwide for its school of new young architects. mon in Chile where cooking was traditionally an invisible activity sub-contracted to the maids and house staff. The modern concept of community kitchen and sipping cabernet while frying scallops has yet to invade mainstream Chilean thinking. “The kitchen is not a good space, it is too small,” says Klotz. “In order to add a guest room, we divided up the ground level into kitchen and guest house. That should have been one space.” “This house sits on a property that was 30,000 hectacres, but during the government of Salvador Allende (early 1970s) the estate was expropriated by the government. Today it is just 30 acres,” says Klotz with disdain, showcasing his trademark willingness to provide sharp opinions on all matters of local politics. (He occasionally buys full-page ads in leading newspapers to express his opinions.) Losing this land twice, first to a socialist and then to an ex-wife, has done little to slow Klotz down. Maybe, he suggests, it has propelled him forward. As one of South America’s leading modern architects, Mathias Klotz is now recruited worldwide. In Chile his current projects include a winery, private homes and a huge new library for a local university. In Mexico, Klotz was tapped to develop housing for the XVI Pan American games held in Guadalajara, Mexico this past October. The Pan Am project provided Klotz with just the kind of intellectual and design challenge that he thrives on. For a month in 2011 at the Pan American Games, the 10,000 unit complex housed athletes from throughout the

Americas. But when the games ended, the houses were to be sold as individual apartments, part of a stylist and community-oriented housing complex. On the coast of Spain, Klotz has been recruited to build a marina and offices for a small sailing school. While in the mountains of China, Klotz was one of just ten foreign architects invited to build a cultural center. “They barely paid us anything because we were contributing to local culture,” says Klotz with a laugh. “Then we find out it is like a ten-star resort and the owner has hotels all over China.” Whether it is his ex-wife running off with the house or Chinese businessmen posing as community organizers, Klotz does not get knocked off balance. In fact, his career has shot up over the past decade. Born in the Chilean resort town of Viña del Mar in 1965, Klotz is a descendant of German immigrants who first came to Chile last century. Klotz graduated with an architecture degree from the Universidad Católica of Chile in 1991 and within 5 years had won one of the biggest prizes in Chilean architecture. He is currently head of the Architecture School at

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the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago. In Chile, his focus has been on social projects ranging from a huge school complex (the noted Altamira project), designs for Santiago’s largest public park and even an Andean ski refuge for Chilean army patrols who work at 3,500 meters. Traditionally, Chile has been world famous for its poets and painters. Gabriela Mistral won the Nobel Prize for poetry and painter Matte is showcased worldwide, yet today, Chile is receiving recognition worldwide for its school of new young architects. Klotz gives credit to the economic stability that has reigned in Chile since the late 1980s. “Though Chileans are very conservative on their homes, there is an emerging class of people who now want second homes and they are so much more relaxed in their second homes,” says Klotz who noted that much of this new Chilean architecture takes place on the Pacific coast or high in the Andes Mountains. “There is a huge demand for these kinds of houses and it comes with the same kind of fantasy that people have for a convertible automobile. That’s where the new modern Chilean architecture all started.” ILC

JANUARY 2012 / FEATURE

By Anishka Gheewala

ouldn’t life be easier for teachers and students if learning English was just a game? With Phrazzle Me, game inventor and English teacher, Marcelo Montecinos, has made it just that. STEP 1: BE INSPIRED. “When I was 9, I moved to Canada [from Chile] and didn’t speak a word of English,” said Montecinos. “One day our teacher took us aside into a separate room to play Scrabble. We learnt a lot of vocabulary in a competitive environment, as well as in a fun and non-pressured manner. In fact, I loved the game so much I used to take the dictionary home with me to learn new words so that I could use them to win at the game. I didn’t even realize I was getting a wide repertoire of words.”

HOW TO BE A GAME INVENTOR: PHRAZZLE ME!

STEP 2: HAVE A LOT OF TIME ON YOUR HANDS Moving on a few years, Montecinos ended up in a small town teaching English. He had a lot of spare time on his hands, so he decided to do a little comparison between a few other languages and English. For example, with Spanish and English, Spanish has 28 versions to a verb, English has around 4. “And I realized that I could put these options on a rectangular stick. And I could make the sticks with subjects, nouns, etc, and that’s where the idea came from to make a game. The game would be very much like Scrabble in the way that you play it, but very different in the way you can make phrases,” said Montecinos. “I had to work out the most commonly used words and verbs, but I also try to teach something new, so I included unusual irregular words such as, commute. I had to know how many times to include prepositions for example, ‘for,’ ‘to’, ‘and,’ ‘because.’” STEP 3: GET INNOVATIVE Mr. Butts, the inventor of Scrabble, read the NY Times and counted the number of times that a word was repeated. After adding up the total, he came up with a mathematical formula to determine the number of points to give to each tile. ”So I did something similar except I took an 800 page book, and, for example, I took the word ‘for,’ and I read 8 pages and marked the amount of times ‘for’ was in those 8 pages. I would count a few pages to get an average, and it gave a mathematical equation, a percentage for example, of how many times to include the word,” said Montecinos. STEP 4: TRY, TRY AGAIN… Of course, this had to be tried and tested in the classroom, and so followed a yearlong process of elimination with a prototype made from laminated cardboard. STEP 5: GET DOWN TO THE NITTY-GRITTY. SIT, SAW AND SAND “Firstly, I needed to work out how big the wooden pieces would have to be to get the words on the pieces. And get steel letters made by a different company,” he said. “I had to get long pieces of wood, 1.5 [centimeters] by 1.5 [centimeters] on the sides and 4.5 [centimeters] in length. I had to sit and saw. For each long piece of wood, I’d get 28 smaller pieces, so again a lot of math was involved in getting the right number of pieces.” “After cutting the pieces, you had to manually sand them down. You sometimes ended up with such a tiny piece you had to throw it away! Each game took me three days to make, that’s eight hours a day for three days. Twenty-four hours per game. Then I had to put the letters together, by impressing each steel letter on the wood, and then write in the word in ink. This really destroyed my eyes. Finally, I had to varnish them individually.”

idea of having the pieces color-coded. It was sent from the gods in a dream.” Previously the pieces were black and red, and the idea was that the red would make the words worth double as they were the more difficult words to use. By this time, he had already contacted a firm in China who agreed, after a lot of persistence, to make his game with a first order of only 50 games in red and black. After his idea of color-coding, the orders just kept on coming. STEP 7: DREAM BIG “The worst thing that could happen to me is to get a good offer and sell it. I have already received a $5 million dollar offer from a Saudi who wanted 80 percent of the company. And I turned it down. I believe that this game will sell; it is an international game, not limited

market. It’s also a fun game to play. It’s got the same possibilities as the sales numbers of Scrabble. I’m aiming real big,” he said. STEP 8: SELL YOUR PRODUCT Where can you get your hands on Phrazzle Me? Juegos Magicos Americo Vespucio 0196 /La Cisterna 527-8260 www.juegosmagicos.cl or contact Montecinos himself: Marcelo Montecinos 9-855-2943 www.phrazzleme.com

STEP 6: GET A BIT OF HELP “At that time, my uncle Julio was alive and he helped me a lot,” said Montecinos. “The two of us would sit there after work and on weekends.” Montecinos did not only get help from friends and family. “One night, I woke up at around 3 a.m. with the Keep up with Chilean art and music every week with ‘A Spot of Culture’ on www.ilovechile.cl.

FEATURE / JANUARY 2012

By Pablo Javier Retamal

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he Kyoto Protocol (KP) to the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was doomed to face serious difficulties when it was ratified and put into effect in 1997. Between November 28 and December 9, the 192 countries of the UNFCCC met to negotiate a second term of the KP since the latter is coming to an end by 2012. The main problem that the KP has had is that it places the responsibility of reducing greenhouse gas emissions only with developed countries (Annex I countries) as if they were the only sinners in the matter of climate change. Instead of asking only Annex I countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a more effective (and arguably fairer) way to tackle climate change today is by bringing together the major greenhouse gas emitters, irrespective of their GDP. Why? Because the Kyoto Protocolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stipulation that only Annex I countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions does not reflect the climate change reality of today or tomorrow. It is not enough to ask only Annex I countries to reduce their emissions if the aim is to solve the climate issue. Major developing countries that are also major greenhouse gas emitters should be asked to reduce their emissions. Why? Seen prospectively, climate change is a problem also linked to developing countries, as predictions indicate that developing countries will be the major polluters in the near future, as well as the major victims of the consequences of climate change. Did you know Chile is considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to be one of the most vulnerable countries to the phenomenon in the world? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ranked up there with Bangladesh and Pacific Island States. Chile is destined to continue losing fresh water reserves and seriously undermine economic growth potential since agriculture and mining are set to take huge hits. Developing countries have already surpassed the industrialized world in total greenhouse gas emissions and will account for more than 75 percent of emissions growth in the next 25 years. The U.S. and other Annex I countries maintain that the terms of the Kyoto Protocol are unfair because they provide developing countries with inappropriate trade advantages and

COP17 DURBAN, REPOSITIONING THE CLIMATE CHANGE DEBATE Seen prospectively, climate change is a problem also linked to developing countries, as predictions indicate that developing countries will be the major polluters in the near future, as well as the major victims of the consequences of climate change. CHAN PHOTO COURTESY OF UNCLIMATE

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCC), at the COP17 in Durban, South Africa. Dec. 5, 2011

because the greenhouse gas emissions of leading developing countries are growing rapidly. Yet non-Annex I countries are not legally bound to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The world has changed dramatically since the UNFCCC divided the world into two categories in 1992. For instance, approximately 50 non-Annex I countries now have higher per capita incomes than the poorest of the Annex I countries with commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. In the same way, 40 non-Annex I countries ranked higher on the Human Development Index in 2007 than the lowest ranked Annex I coun-

30January Monday

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try. So major greenhouse gas emitters/economies (whether developed or developing countries), which are responsible for historic, current and future emissions, should therefore be the ones to take action. As of 2000, the top 25 greenhouse gas emitters accounted for approximately 83 percent of global emissions. Moreover, the top five greenhouse gas emitters today (China, the U.S., the EU--treated as a single entity--India and Russia) were responsible in 2000 for over 60 percent of global emissions. By contrast, most of the remaining countries contributed very little in absolute terms to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (the 140 least-polluting countries were responsible for only 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions). These countries include the least-developed countries and many small island states. Dealing with the challenge of climate change requires concerted international action supported by an effective international climate regime, with a global institutional framework for coordinating national climate policies. The current impasse in international climate negotiations on a post-Kyoto climate agreement calls for a reconsideration of the basic canons of global climate protection, and facilitation of international climate policy with new instruments. While the UNFCCC has its merits of serving as an international forum for the negotiation of solutions to climate change, the UN-led climate negotiations reveal serious drawbacks of a top-down approach to the international climate regime and the ineffectiveness of a consensus-based system. The international climate change negotiation process is heavily hindered by the large number of participating countries with diverse interests and differing expectations of the outcome, reliant on their level of economic development and the dependency of their economies on fossil fuels. Although it is still unclear what COP 17 in Durban will be able to deliver, it remains evident that we must ask society and governments to focus on a more just and efficient process, one that will deliver concrete responses to climate change. ILC

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EDUCATION / JANUARY 2012

TURNING EDUCATION INSIDE OUT By Ian Gilbert

t’s funny how revolutions start. One little act can unleash a whole string of events that seemed to be just waiting to happen. The next thing you know, things have changed, forever. And the world never saw it coming. A few years ago, an MIT alumni and Wall Street banker by the name of Salman Khan volunteered to help his niece who was struggling with her math at school. Because she lived on the other side of the U.S., Khan put together a collection of little videos, each one lasting no more than a few minutes, covering certain key mathematical topics with which she was struggling. They helped her to no end. But, the thing is, they also helped other people to no end. As they were posted online in the public domain, other people came across them and started to tell Khan how they had learned more with his little videos than they ever had in class. Seven years later, with the support of some big names including Bill Gates and Google, the online Khan Academy has some 2,700 videos covering a range of topics from elementary arithmetic to advanced astronomy and much more in between. You’ll even be able to learn about Pinochet’s U.S.-backed coup against the democratically-elected

With Khan Academy we turn the traditional model inside out. With this modern paradigm, homework becomes the opportunity to become acquainted with new ideas. President Allende in 1973. Do you remember the way things were for you at school? Standard procedure, whether it was a math lesson, a science lesson or nearly any area of the curriculum, was that the teacher would introduce a new topic slowly

and clearly enough for the children (or at least most of them) to get it. With the bell about to ring to signal the end of that lesson, there would be just enough time for the teacher to call out that your homework was to go and do twenty of them--differential equations, exercises in your text book, irregular verb declensions or whatever it was. So the pattern was that you were introduced to new ideas in class and then expected to embed those ideas-effectively learn them in depth--in your own time at home. In other words, the teacher was the one with new knowledge and the only place you could get it was the classroom. If you weren’t at the lesson--or simply didn’t get it in the pace and style the teacher delivered it--you missed out. What Salman Khan and his niece initiated just a few years ago was the potential for a different model, one that still has the same components, but where everything is back to front and upside down. In his words, one that allows us to “flip the classroom.” My book, “Why Do I Need a Teacher When I’ve Got Google?”, came out a couple of years ago, but already I need to update it to include exactly the sort of phenomenon that it was foretelling. In the book, I underlined the need for great teachers in the 21st century. With so many challenges facing us, so many things to put right, so many ways in which the world has changed and continues to change almost daily--with all this going on, we need teachers who really do prepare young people for all that lies ahead. But good teachers in the 21st aren’t simply the ones who have the knowledge that the children need, as it was in the old days. After all, knowledge has been democratized. It is everywhere, it is cheap or, more often than not, free. What we don’t need to put up with anymore are teachers of such poor quality that they add nothing to the learning process, or worse, do damage to young people--to their self-esteem, to their love of learning and to their potential to succeed in life. We don’t need such teachers because, now, we no longer have to use them to find the new knowledge they

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so carefully hoard in order to give themselves identity and purpose in the classroom. This is why Khan Academy is the tool the revolution has been waiting for. With Khan Academy we turn the traditional model inside out. With this modern paradigm, homework becomes the opportunity to become acquainted with new ideas. You don’t need to wait for the teacher to introduce you to factoring trinomials or the history of Napoleon’s peninsular campaigns. You can log on and let Khan Academy (other online resources are also available) take you through the introductory work. Then, your homework--making the new knowledge your own as you dig deeper, explore further and reinforce new ways of thinking--you get to do at school when you can really make the most of that expert mind who will help you best in your work--your teacher. What’s more, because you are accessing the new material online, you have the opportunity to employ two special features you may well have desperately needed at school but never had--the pause and the rewind buttons. Psychologists talk about “‘in–out listening.” The idea is that we can’t be outside our own heads listening to new ideas and also inside our heads processing them at the same time. We are in one place or the other. Often, when we are learning new things, we have to disappear into our own heads in order to make sense of them, but then, when we reappear, the teacher has moved on and we start to fall behind. No such problem like this exists with online learning as you can simply pause the process, have a think, write some notes, sketch out your ideas in a learning map or any number of active learning activities, then simply pick up where you left off. And don’t worry if you missed a bit. Simply hit rewind and go through it as many times as you need to learn it properly. This process may take longer than a traditional lesson, but at least it’s a great deal more effective than many lessons where nothing goes in and even less comes out. As I say in my book, you know what people say about the 60s, that, “if you can remember it, you weren’t there?” I’ve been in science lessons like that. My sixteen year-old daughter has sat through many history lessons over the years and learned very little, despite her best efforts. After taking her out of school recently (regular readers of this column may remember this story) I sat her at home with Khan Academy, BBC Bitesize and other online resources. After going through the Khan Academy version of Napoleon’s Russian campaign--in her way and at her pace--she was able to recount from memory the entire story from beginning to end in a way that she has never been able to do in the past. This education-revolution means you are able to learn in your way at your speed when you want to and however many times you need to in order to learn it. You then get to work with a committed and knowledgeable expert--as well as other learners going though the same process to support you--to help iron out any obstacles or misunderstandings to ensure you really do know the subject you are learning. That’s quite a revolution. But that’s not the whole picture. There is another factor at play that is helping to change everything when it comes to education, in particular to the equality of opportunity of education. This is something that is very relevant to a country like Chile, currently a battleground for those who are demanding

JANUARY 2012 / EDUCATION PHOTOS BY: JULIA DOSE

Groups of students in Santiago Schools enjoy an educational field trip to Museo Interactivo Mirador in La Florida, Santiago on Dec. 6, 2011.

quality education and those who are justifying not delivering it on grounds of cost. With world-class resources at my fingertips (and a commitment from Google to translate the Khan Academy videos into Latin American Spanish) I have to worry less whether the school down the road has basic resources like books or even teachers. As long as I have access to the Internet, I have access to high quality learning.

And if everyone has equal access to world-class education, then that is a revolution. ILC Footnote: With all the international media coverage of Khan Academy, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth noting that it is not the only tool in the educational revolutionaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s toolkit. During the writing of this article I had an intriguing conversation with a Chilean educationalist who is about to launch a

product to compete in a similar area, albeit on a smaller scale to begin with. His competitive advantage--it will be learning material for Chileans by Chileans. Watch this space. www.khanacademy.org www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

FEATURE / JANUARY 2012

FISCHMANN:

CREATOR OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST SWIMMING POOL Ben Angel

n 1986, Fernando Fischmann, son of Isaac Fischmann, the owner of the famed Santiago restaurant “Chez Henry,” came across a real estate opportunity on the north end of the Litoral de las Artes y los Poetas. He and his sister Myriam had been developing real estate for six years when he successfully bid in auction for 60 hectares on the north end of the seaside town of Algarobbo. After augmenting this purchase in 1991 with an adjacent 30 hectares of land bought from the Larrain family, Fischmann decided that he would create a largescale coastal resort in his little section of Region V, not far from the high-rise offices of the city center and the spacious houses of Los Condes in Santiago, home to a whole third of Chile’s population. But he needed to do this in a way that was unique – the whole of the Chilean coast was dotted with resorts, and not all of them were doing particularly well. With so much competition on a shoreline notorious for being a really bad place to enjoy the water – the Humboldt Current flowed past it northward out of Antarctica and its jaggedness created violent tidal conditions and strong undertows that made swimming a hazard – he needed something that would make his resort uniquely attractive. Noting the scarcity of places that were sheltered and safe enough to really swim or boat in relative safety, he decided in 1997 to build what amounted to the largest swimming pool in the world on the coast. Perhaps this was not really a unique idea; such structures had been built for coastal resorts since time immemorial. What made Fischmann’s idea unusual was the pool’s size. To that point, the largest coastside swimming pool, the Centre Balneaire Georges Orthlieb, better known in English simply as the Orthlieb Pool, was a 1.5-hectare (3.6-acre) 300 meter-long and 1.5 meter-deep rectangular saltwater monster built as a public swimming facility for the Ain Diab district of Casablanca during France’s administration of Morocco. It had been named for the head of the Region of Casablanca when it opened on July 14, 1934, and was recharged daily by incoming high tidal waters. However, the pool was so badly engineered that it required frequent repairs, and this, combined with increasing European racism directed against locals who were permitted by French authorities to share in the pool, led to it eventually being abandoned. By the time private resorts took over the Corniche, Casablanca’s coastline, and perhaps even before movie stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman became romantically associated with the Moroccan city by their 1942 silver screen portrayal of the city, the pool had become, outside of the Guiness Book of Records, a memory. (The site became in 1993 the location of the Mosque Hassan II.) Despite the Orthlieb’s problems, Fischmann felt that he could create an even bigger saltwater pool on the Region V coast that would stand the test of time. He devised essentially a concrete-lined lagoon, complete with beaches, that was 1,013 meters long, the centerpiece to his resort, complete with pool alcoves that would be surrounded by the artificial cliffs of towering condominiums and short-term rental apartments, second homes for those coming from nearby Santiago. But the idea had problems. “Three weeks after the lagoon at the San Alfonso del Mar resort was filled up, the water smelled bad,” said Matias Goldsmith, Business Manager for Crystal Lagoons. “It was because of algae. So, Fernando Fischmann started to travel around the world. Using his biochemistry education, he began looking for solutions that would help

“This advance provides something that until now was not technically possible,” said Fischmann at Cityscape Dubai in 2007, “namely, the generation of monumental amounts of water in a crystalline state to provide a better environment for beachside recreation and water sports.” him deliver a promised tropical paradise at Algorrobo.” For five years, Fischmann lived the classic definition of insane, asking the same questions about algae control of water quality researchers at science and engineering firms, universities and institutes, and despite constantly being told the same answer at every turn, he still hoped someone would tell him something different. “All he heard from people was that he was crazy, that he couldn’t do anything about that,” said Goldsmith. “They said that it would require a traditional filtration system, and that he would need to use a large building and bring in 10 trucks of chlorine a day. Of course that solution wasn’t viable.” Finally giving up on the rest of the world, he developed a new technology, one that would use 100 times less the chemicals of a swimming pool the same size, and only 2 percent of the energy of a conventional swimming pool the same size while still obtaining a clarity level that kept the water transparent to 35 meters depth. After getting patents for the new technology around the world, he founded his company, calling it Crystal Lagoons. Marketing the new company, and its new idea for large-scale water filtration, turned out to be surprisingly easy. Just after San Alfonso del Mar opened for business in December 2006, the first task became to get the pool into the Guinness Book of World Records. When that was achieved, all manner of international media sought out Fischmann and his company. “The Guinness Book of Records brought in the attention,” said Goldsmith. “Now the interest in us is so

big that everyone wants a lagoon. Just about no important real estate development is being contemplated today without considering a lagoon.” Dubai sought them out for the creation of a new coastal pool shaped as a palm tree, like a water-filled Nazca pattern in the orange desert of the Emirate. Other projects followed, including the new City of Stars project at Sharm el Sheikh on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. When that project is completed, the lagoon there will surpass San Alfonso as the world’s largest pool. One of the selling points of Crystal Lagoon’s system is that everything is handled from a distance by the company. “We can measure the water quality parameters of a lagoon in Egypt from our headquarters in Chile,” said Goldsmith. “We can maintain from there our projects all over the world 24/7, ensuring clarity and U.S. Environmental Protection Act drinking water quality standards. This is a key to any of our real estate proposals – our clients don’t have to think about maintenance.” As a result of the Dubai project, the Chilean Ministry of Economy, in its first ever Avonni Forum, recognized Fischmann as Innovator of the Year in 2007 for his swimming pool. “This advance provides something that until now was not technically possible,” said Fischmann at Cityscape Dubai in 2007, “namely, the generation of monumental amounts of water in a crystalline state to provide a better environment for beachside recreation and water sports.” Fischmann is looking at expanding the number of offices his company has around the world. Beyond its Santiago headquarters, Crystal Lagoons maintains an office for North America in the U.S. state of New Jersey, an office in Cairo supporting projects in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and the Dubai office supporting the Jumeirah palm tree-shaped pool project. The company is looking at starting a new office in Singapore, supporting projects that might come up in the Philippines and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, as well as India and China. Crystal Lagoons is also developing an “urban resort” concept that envisions middle-income homes set around huge beach-clad reservoirs that are 2-3 hectares in size or more. “Laguna del Sol (near Santiago) is the first of several projects oriented to first home living,” said Goldsmith, “a revolution in the real estate market where people in the city will have the beach lifestyle experience. We are trying this in Chile, Mexico, and Panama.”

Keep up with Chilean art and music every week with ‘A Spot of Culture’ on www.ilovechile.cl.

JANUARY 2012 / FEATURE

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Of course the greatest potential for this sort of system is in the desalinization and purification of water for simple household usage. With more of the world, even here in Region V, facing increased water shortages, the urgency for a low cost and eco-friendly system will become even greater with time, and Fischmannâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research and development team is already investigating how to make such purification a reality using their technology. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are developing ways to remove salinity with our system,â&#x20AC;? Goldsmith said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Several minerals are being studied a lot, as these kinds of solutions are needed for Chileâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s north, where lots of mining takes place. However, we are still early in development for this kind of thing.â&#x20AC;? ILC

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FEATURE / JANUARY 2012

ESTOYENDICOM:

TILL DEBT DO US PART A

By Shonika Proctor

sk any Chileno “¿Está usted en Dicom?” (Are you in Dicom?) and you are likely to be met with a very uncomfortable silence. But Chilean filmmaker and social entrepreneur Osvaldo Oyarce hopes to change that with his forthcoming film, “EstoyenDicom” (I am in Dicom). Dicom is the Chilean credit reporting system, where an estimated 70 percent of Chileans are recorded along with their unpaid debts or late payments. Granted, there are many reasons, intentional or not, that may have caused one to miss paying a bill. The big problem is that getting listed in Dicom is kind of like being accepted into the mafia, once you’re in, you’re in. I AM IN DICOM. SERIOUSLY! “EstoyenDicom” is a dark comedy and in many ways parallels the real life struggles of Oyarce as both an entrepreneur and a Chilean. In the process of bootstrapping his filmmaking career and previous film projects, he fell behind on his bills and, as a result, was listed in Dicom. From this paralyzing, embarrassing and frustrating experience, the lead character and concept of “EstoyenDicom” was born. The film, which stars Julio Gonzalez Littin as Bartolo, follows the life of Bartolo and the series of misfortunes that come as a result of being listed in Dicom. For Oyarce, being listed in Dicom is eerily comical as it naturally shows up when you least expect it and, of course, at the most untimely moments, whether that is when applying for a job or trying to obtain health care services. His greatest frustration is that Dicom knows everyone, yet no one. Although inability to pay a bill could have been related to unemployment, loss of a job, illness or a typo, there is no classification or notation that states the reason that someone was not able to pay their bills nor is there an easy way to exit the system. In years past, Dicom was one of the most popular tools used in employment and human resources offices of companies located throughout Chile. The Chilean people often argued that it was discriminatory practice to assume that, if you were listed in Dicom, you had a flawed character. And it was insane being that you were listed in Dicom because of your inability to pay bills, yet you could not get hired for a job to pay off those bills because of your inability to pay them previously. With a long pause and a look that reflects a man who appears as powerful as he is powerless, Oyarce shares why the story is so close him. After being listed in Dicom his life changed, although

The big problem is that getting listed in Dicom is kind of like being accepted into the mafia, once you’re in, you’re in.

he is not yet sure if it is for the better or the worse. He said being listed in Dicom stressed him out as it puts so many limitations on things you can do. But as a true entrepreneur, he has endured. As his resilience and creativity has been tested time and time again, with each setback and obstacle, he has become more determined, resourceful and confident that he will move forward and ultimately succeed. His two greatest challenges are interconnected with his circumstances and each other. His first challenge is that the name used in the movie is that of a real company, and a very big one at that. Dicom is literally Chile’s Equifax (compared to the U.S.). Four months after he registered www.estoyendicom.com in Chile NIC’s domain registration system, he was contacted by Dicom-Equifax for infringement of using their name. Not only were they asked to revoke the name, lawyers threatened to contact other agencies and organizations to ensure that the project did not come to fruition. Oyarce expected to be approached by Dicom at some point and stated repeatedly that the movie is not intended to put Dicom in a negative light, but to liberate the Chilean people from the negative stigma that comes with being listed in Dicom. Even after being contacted by them, he says that he will not give up on his dream. He stands by his original vision for the movie and will not portray Dicom in a negative way. The second challenge is indirectly connected to the first. Given the name and the somewhat controversial context of the movie, they have been unable to secure financing for the film from private investors or top brands. Oyarce states that he believes his story is not uncommon in Chile. Unfortunately, it is very common as it affects all Chileans in many different ways. As the tagline of the film suggests—“aqui estamos todos los Chilenos” (here we are, all of the Chileans). PART OF THE STORY IS NOT TO STAY OUT OF IT Every Chilean knows someone in Dicom. During the pre-production phase, Oyarce and his team spent a lot of time in the streets talking to the people. They have heard so many stories, some heart-wrenching, about the depression and hardship that families have suffered as a result of being listed in Dicom and not able to escape it or improve their situation. In looking for solutions to leverage the film as a tool to educate consumers about debt and open up the dialogue on a taboo topic, the “EstoyenDicom” team has been able to touch a lot of people in Chile. The film already has strong brand

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JANUARY 2012 / FEATURE

recognition among the Chilean people. The team estimates that more than 50 percent of the population has already heard of the film. Their pre-marketing efforts have been very grassroots-oriented, with street teams collecting â&#x20AC;&#x153;lukitasâ&#x20AC;? ($1,000 CLP) from their fans and hosting small events such as mini-concerts. With just a $1,000 CLP donation to the film during production, your name can be listed in the credits. Their goal is to be the movie with the longest credit reel in history. Oyarce also hopes that â&#x20AC;&#x153;EstoyenDicomâ&#x20AC;? will be like a Chilean underground film that catches on quickly via word of mouth. He said it is estimated that a popular movie made in Chile will attract about 180,000 patrons. And his vision and dream is to impact 1,000,000,000 Chilean people, via word of mouth by the fans who are early adopters of the film. ARE YOU IN DICOM? The following are some tips to manage your situation and the stress that may result in being listed in Dicom. R5 &&5 5 ,# ( 5 ),5 '#&35 ' ' ,5 ." .5 you trust about the situation as it can be a very stressful. They may be able

to support you financially or emotionally. 5 #- #*&#( 85 " ." ,5 #.5 #-5 #(5 your food consumption or how you consume energy in your house, look where you can reduce costs by consuming only what you need at that time. Carry a small notebook around to track your expenditures. , . 5 5 / ! .85 /#& 5 5-#'*& 5*& (5 so you can see your money flow, where it comes in and where it goes, or use a free online money management tool such as www.mint.com #'*&# 35 3)/,5 &# 85 0)# 5 !)#(!5 .)5 places where you will spend money like pubs and restaurants. This is easy to find yourself doing, especially when you are stressed or sad. Instead, visit places like parks and free events. )(. .5 .),-85 .5 ." '5 %()15 your situation and ask if they can offer a payment plan or reduction on late fees and interest. ( &34 5." 5,)).5) 53)/,5 .85 " .5 is the thing that has motivated you in the past to spend money such as a need for fulfillment or rewards for oneself? Was it something else such as the loss of a job or an illness? Look how you can rebuild and

be better supported where you find yourself now. R5 &&5 # )'85 -%5 # )'5 B1118 #com.cl) what options they offer in terms of raising your credit rating. It may be as simple as making a small consistent payment to your creditors for a certain amount of time.

Want to check out the promotional trailer for â&#x20AC;&#x153;EstoyenDicom,â&#x20AC;? serve as an extra in the film, get some creative product placement or make a contribution of $1,000 CLP or more? Then reach out to their team today at www.estoyendicom.cl ILC

English Â AA Â in Â Chile

contact@englishaainchile.cl

www.englishaainChile.cl

Visit us at 221 Centre Street New York NY 10013 or at www.puro-chile.com

Get business updates on Chile every Tuesday from Ken Shields on www.ilovechile.cl.

INTERVIEW / JANUARY 2012

NUTS 4 NUTS:

THE STREET-SELLER THAT NOT ONLY CONQUERED NEW YORK BUT ALSO THE HEARTS OF MILLIONS By Anishka Gheewala

et’s transport ourselves back to the 90s, when a young Chilean, Luis Martínez, moved to New York with nothing. He too a leap in search of his version of the “American dream,” only to came back to Chile as the successful owner of Nuts4Nuts, living the dream he had sought abroad back home. Better known as “el Conejo,” or “the Rabbit,” a nickname given to him when he was younger due to his slightly larger front two teeth, Martínez went to New York in 1991, taking with him the advice of an old family friend: “There are various destinies here in the US: work, parties, friends, drugs. You choose.” “I arrived to work at Belmont Park to look after racehorses, and I didn’t earn as much as I wanted. Things were not as I expected from the stories I had heard about the ‘American Dream’ for Chileans. I didn’t see it,” Martínez said. “I’ve always been impulsive. I like to create and work and put in the time. “ Those hardworking and creative characteristics have no doubt done much for this visionary man. But after working with horses, what attracted him to peanuts, of all things? Imagine the bustling streets of New York, people walking with purpose, striding to get places, walking among the smells of car fumes and overflowing rubbish bins, when suddenly a man stops mesmerized. “I smelled un manicero (a peanut seller). I watched and listened to him shouting ‘Honey-roasted peanuts, yes,’ ‘Everybody can try a free sample.’ I was amazed at how well he spoke English, but he told me he had a cheat sheet with a couple of English phrases on them! I had thought the language barrier would be a problem.” The tempting, mouth-watering smell of the sweet, crystallized peanuts wasn’t the only thing to convince this astute businessman to change his life course. “I was walking around in a tie and earning 150 dollars a week, and he scoffed at that and said he earned that in a day.» And with that, on October 12, 1991, he went from horses to jeweled peanuts, and began work with Jorge González, who had a rather neglected cart and ob-

Being a patriotic Chilean, his heart, his passion for nuts and his life have been split between Chile and the country that adopted him as one of its own, the United States. viously needed the ambition that el Conejo brought with him “But there was no cart for me; there were 27 people and 23 carts, so I did a few odd jobs while waiting for my own. Then I learned how to make them [the peanuts.] You have to learn how to make them well and I fell in love with them while making them.» Of course, this is not a story without obstacles, especially after González passed away and especially not for an undocumented immigrant. Who can imagine trying to hide an illegal, honey-roasted peanut cart? He joined a group of street vendors who were also

trying to work without papers, though he managed to get working papers through a Puerto Rican named Julio Perez. Fast forward five years later, when Martínez was missing his family, but also longed to start his own and began his own Big Apple romance. “At a party, just as I was thinking about heading back home, I met a gringa [Carrie.] She was beautiful with gorgeous blue eyes and immediately, I thought about how beautiful our children would be.” After a whirlwind romance of three months, Carrie, asked him to marry her. But as he spoke only a little English, he had to go and ask his friend what she had said before agreeing! “Sadly we are now separated but we had the most marvelous few years together and we had three children: Ash, Luke and Eliana. Luke has Kabuki syndrome, he is a special child. All of them are beautiful children.» Kabuki syndrome is a rare congenital disorder whose characteristics include developmental delay and intellectual disability. At this time, he was still working as a manicero, finally with a license, and he began upping the ante, hiring other Chileans and leasing his “conquered” turf, as it were. The competition had a lot of corners covered but Martínez got lucky with a corner on 45th on Times Square in “the heart of Manhattan.” “I had 18 carts, two lorries by the time my other two children were born,” he said. ‹El Conejo› soon became recognized in Chile and he came back to help with the Teletón, a fundraising event for children with developmental disabilities.

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 / INTERVIEW

PHOTOS BY: JULIA DOS E

Luis Martínez is a man whose innate personal values are centered around respect, a value that many people respect in return.

Being a father who knew the reality of living with a disabled child, the event meant a lot to him. In the first year of selling peanuts, he earned CLP$400,000 for the Teletón, and the second $10 million. He has continued supporting the cause ever since. He realized after talking to one of the vendors that in three hours he could earn CLP$9,000 and after some rapid calculations, decided that the manicero who conquered New York had to conquer his hometown. “In two years I had over 100 carts. I had the experience and we earned 10,000-12,000 pesos daily with only 30 carts. I have a lovely house in Las Condes. It was like another dream, the Chilean dream,» he said. The future looks bright for Nuts4Nuts, which also sells hot dogs and mote con huesillo, a refreshing Chilean drink. Martínez has 20 vendors in New York, around 300 in Chile and 10 in Madrid, Spain. Not only setting his sights on these places, he said “I want to carry on conquering corners. Every 200 meters, there is a corner all over in the world. Peanuts are universal.” ILC Tap into life in the countryside with ‘Life in the Sexta’ on www.ilovechile.cl.

FEATURE / JANUARY 2012

AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION What if there was a way to change the desert-like terrain into a fertile farming ground that could give the country an economic boost and provide work for thousands of people living in an otherwise isolated region? By Titus Levy

n central Chile--near the agricultural heart of the country--there are large swaths of land where almost nothing grows. This is the “secano,” hard, unyielding earth that seems virtually unconquerable. The ground is so tough that it can actually shatter heavy digging machinery that tries to breach the surface before a season’s worth of rainfall has had a chance to soften the soil. But what if this barren wasteland could be transformed into an agricultural hot spot? What if there was a way to change the desert-like terrain into a fertile farming ground that could give the country an economic boost and provide work for thousands of people living in an otherwise isolated region? For Stefanie and Nicolas Party, these aren’t far-fetched visions or pipe dreams, but works-in-progress. Two years ago, the couple left their lives behind in the United States and came down to Chile to take over a farm on the shore of Lake Rapel in the VI Region that had been in Nick’s family for generations. Now, with the help from outside experts and Chilean governmental organizations, the couple is working on a number of innovative projects aimed to introduce a more sustainable and ultimately more productive farming system into Chile’s agricultural landscape. Chile is in need of such forms of innovation. Agricultural production is an important part of the country’s economy, but over the years traditional farming methods have taken their toll on the environment. Many farming operations use an enormous amount of pesticides and other chemical agents that protect crops from potentially devastating diseases, but that also damage the long-term health of the soil. The agricultural system also obviously needs a tremendous amount of water to flourish, but years of drilling deep into the land to extract water, along with the negative effects of climate change, have begun to stretch resources to the breaking point. These practices have led to soil degradation and desertification in once prosperous areas of agricultural production. “Our whole vision is to help turn around this degradation,” said Stefanie. “Desertification is a problem across the world and reduces the already very small areas of land that are available to grow our food. It doesn’t have to be a one-way street, but it will be unless we do something to stop it.” The cornerstone of the couple’s push to revolutionize Chile’s agricultural methods is the implementation of Keyline Design, a technique meant to prevent, and even reverse the process of desertification. Originally developed in Australia in the 1950s, the system is designed to help farmers capture a larger percentage of naturally occurring sources of water such as rain, mist and fog. The idea is to crack through the surface of hard earth, allowing the soil to absorb and retain water that would otherwise filter out into the ocean. The design also calls for tanks to be built into the hillside to collect the extra run-off that would normally escape entirely. In April, with the support of the Chilean government, the Partys organized a Keyline Design workshop in the VI Region, led by Darren Doherty, an Australian expert on the technique. Over 100 people from five different regions attended the event. The Keyline project is a long-term, potentially gamechanging undertaking. But while that plan is taking shape,

the Partys are also working on other ideas to maximize the productivity of their farm, which is mostly based around sheep. The farm has a large number of Merino sheep, which are traditionally raised primarily for wool production, but the Partys have been experimenting with ways to develop a type that also yields equally excellent meat. The couple is working on importing Australian wool genetics; ideas with the potential to develop sheep able to produce high quality wool, while maintaining the body composition necessary for good meat as well. But although Stefanie and her husband have made tremendous progress in the past couple of years, there are still some big challenges to confront if the couple hopes to see their vision take root in the Chilean agricultural community. One of the most basic problems is that their work is long-term and seeks to implement radical changes in a very old, very rigid system. Although some people--likeminded visionaries and struggling farmers, for example-may be willing to come on board and try out some new ideas, many others will probably choose to keep their distance, at least for now. “If you are a 60 year-old traditional farmer in the central valley [Chile’s primary zone of agricultural produc-

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tion], or a big corporation with massive water rights, what incentive do you have?” said Stefanie. “That’s where we have a lot of work to do. We have to prove that our system works and is economically viable.” Shaking up the system could seem like a risky proposition for entrenched interests, but in the end, continuing on the same path of environmental destruction is an even greater risk. Something has to change if Chile hopes to maintain a strong agricultural sector for years to come. “For the country, agriculture is such a huge part of the economy, that it must have a long-term plan to stay that way,” said Stefanie. “Our technology helps assure that it can grow in an economically responsible way, in addition to the environmental benefits.” Behind the techno-fervor, the push for innovation and all the talk of agricultural alchemy, there is a simple ideal that drives the Partys’ work, as old as agriculture itself-- to make life where there was once nothingness. For Stefanie, there is a visceral, meaningful pleasure in seeing the fruits of her hard labor end up on her plate at the dinner table. “That’s the feeling that keeps me going--that one day I’ll be able to look outside and instead of the dry wasteland I see, I will see a bounty.” ILC

JANUARY 2012 / FEATURE

ALHUE LAHUEN OFFERS UNIQUE COMBINATION OF NATURAL BEAUTY AND CONSERVATION EDUCATION By I Love Chile News Staff

ntrepreneurs come in all forms and with many different ideas, and in Buin--located 50 kilometers south of Santiago--entrepreneurs take the form of a very enthusiastic middle-aged married couple named Violeta Harnisch and Cesar Rojas. The couple owns and operates Alhue Lahuen, which they say loosely translates from Mapuzungun to mean “remedy for the soul” and also refers to a native Chilean plant from the south. Both are fitting for a site that helps its visitors connect more with nature, and in particular Chile’s natural wonders. While Alhue Lahuen’s Web site (www.alhuelahuen.cl) describes the location as an ecological center, it is difficult to limit a description to such few words. Alhue Lahuen is part park, part botanical garden, part science class, all with a few other things mixed in. Despite the challenge of finding the perfect words to describe Alhue Lahuen, its purpose is clear and simple: to share a message of conservation while promoting Chile’s native flora and fauna. Upon entering Alhue Lahuen, one immediately gets the sense of entering a very nice park, but it doesn’t take long to realize that the site is so much more. A tour of the property quickly reveals that every plant and structure has a purpose. The land is divided into zones, each designed to replicate the environment and landscape of a different part of Chile. Additionally, there are greenhouses scattered throughout to protect plants that require more specific climate controls. Walking from zone to zone, one will see signs indicating the various plants and oftentimes indicating their origin as well as information about the specific specimen. One thing separating this from other botanical gardens is the fact that Alhue Lahuen is also home to various native Chilean animals and can provide basic information on some of the indigenous peoples who live in Chile. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that various parts of the ecological center are essentially a large classroom.

There are stations for children to plant seeds, to learn how to create compost and to sample edible plants. In fact, Alhue Lahuen is such a good outdoor classroom that they regularly host field trips from schools from all across the country.

Despite the beauty of the location and the innovative approach and teaching people about Chile’s natural beauty, it is perhaps the owners who set Alhue Lahuen apart from other places that may claim to be similar. For Harnisch and Rojas, Alhue Lahuen is a work of

love. You can see the endless amounts of time and care they have put into every meter of the area. Not only that, but their enthusiasm and passion for their work and their message are infectious. It takes only 30 seconds to realize that the couple not only knows what they are talking about, but that they thoroughly enjoy discussing and sharing what they’ve learned with anyone who is interested. Between the landscapes, the meticulously cared-for property and the happy and proud owners, Alhue Lahuen is a place that is not only a place where one can easily spend hours, but it is also a place that lives up to its very ambitious name. ILC

Alhue Lahuen is part park, part botanical garden, part science class, all with a few other things mixed in.

Keep up with the latest headline news every day on www.ilovechile.cl.

TRAVEL / JANUARY 2012

ANDEAN

SAFARI

ii Crossing the Andes from Argentina into the Atacama Desert: A gateway into a wild corner of South America. By Jonathan Franklin Photos by Morten Andersen

TRIP DETAILS Fly into Buenos Aires, Argentina Internal flight, Buenos Aires to Salta (northern Argentina)

“W

e must travel slowly,” our guide warns as the 4 by 4 crunches through ice-filled ruts in the dirt road. Looking out the window, I see more condors than condos. “There is a new highway the next valley over, but here we see the authentic Argentina.” Authentic indeed, as flocks of sheep block the road, farmers live in small stone huts that look like they were airlifted in from Tibet and the colors of rock valleys light up in hues of orange and browns. I began this trip in Cachi, an Argentine village where cowboys (gauchos) still stroll the streets, homemade empanadas are served for lunch and leather workers stop work on the latest saddle to watch a football match. “Even people who live in northern Argentina and Chile never get to see this,” the guide explains as he serves us cheese and wine during a brief stopover at a lookout point. We have hiked to the peak of a dormant volcano covered in tiny black rocks that roll like ball bearings as we climb, walking zig zag, to stride ever higher. Solitary cactus as tall as lampposts are silent sentinels, branches curving skyward as the wind whistles through a tight band of thorns. From the peak, I scour the horizon, only a single road--empty of vehicles--shows that humans have entered this valley. No structures, no signs, no crops in this miles-long valley that overflows with a sense of peace and natural equilibrium. As the car follows a serpentine road up the slopes of an Andes, I stretch my imagination, wondering how Jesuits and other pioneers ever explored this barren land in the pre-industrial age. How did they stay warm after the blazing sun dipped behind the mountains and the crisp evening air dropped the temperature into the 40s? I count on Patagonia and North Face clothing to comfort me as I bundle up to stargaze, huddling close to the campfire, my head rolled back as my eyes savour a sky with so many constellations it amplifies the notion of an infinite universe. We drive up to one of the highest passes in this part of South America--4,600 meters. Oxygen is thin here, but I don’t feel bad. In fact, I feel giddy with excitement,

FLEW INTO SANTIAGO, CHILE Internal flight, Calama (northern Chile to Santiago) MAP/GRAPHICS The trip starts in the northern Argentine city of Salta. Next stop is southwest to city of Cachi. From Cachi, up Route 40, through San Antonio de Los Cobres and west along Route 51 and over the Andes, northnortheast, crossing the Andes border at Sico. From Sico, venture down the mountains to the city of San Pedro de Atacama. WEBSITES www.explora.com (English/Spanish) www.cachi.todowebsalta.com.ar (Spanish) www.argentinaturismo.com.ar/cachi (Spanish) http://www.sanpedrochile.com/ (English)

pumped full of the adrenaline that surges into the human brain during moments of sensory fulfillment; an aural orgasm of sorts. For hours after the peak crossing, I am quiet as I drink water. Even the temptation of gourmet food does little to distract the lingering pleasure of oneon-one experiences with the wilderness. Many a traveler to South America looks for the colorful markets of Ecuador, the body-beautiful beaches of Brazil or the chic European artistry of Buenos Aires. Those are all valid and beautiful experiences, worthy of a trip, but I was looking for an escape, not an arrival. My goal was to launch myself onto the secondary, rutted roads of Argentina and Chile’s forgotten northern deserts. Based from either the Argentine city of Cachi or the Chilean desert outpost of San Pedro de Atacama, this journey is known as a “travesia,” an eight-day adventure that combines the rough wilds of frontier country, with the world-renowned Hotel Explora staff and their exquisite attention to detail. Fresh orange juice in the morning, five-star gourmet snacks that appear like magic from our guide’s backpack and then slowly grilled steaks marinated in red wine at sunset; simple yet gracious meals amidst a setting that demands respect and at many times, silence. After exploring the heights, the trip leaves Argentina and the road drops down across mammoth salt lakes. Here, the Atacama Desert is peppered with hot springs and soon we arrive at San Pedro de Atacama, a historical oasis that is now developed into a desert Mecca.

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For travelers who prefer to recharge their batteries-not challenge their endurance--a viable alternative is to stay at the Hotel de Larache in the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama (on the Chilean side of the Andes) and use the advice from Hotel Explora (http://www.explora. com/explora-atacama/) to choose day trips--a horse trek up to an abandoned volcano or a dawn journeys to an erupting geyser. The daily activities at Explora are as varied as a gourmet menu and can be custom ordered depending on factors ranging from weather to energy level. Want to ride a horse two hours to a hot spring or search for the tallest cactus in the desert? Either way, Explora’s knowledgeable, multilingual guides are overqualified. Chile’s best and brightest minds have migrated to Explora as their gap year destination. In another generation, they will be ministers and CEOs, leaders of the future of this remarkably developed nation. For now, they are your private staff, able to sort problems, tailor solutions, open the wine and tell a story to make the bottle memorable. Either way--the eight-day travesia exploration into the wild or the day trips to local attractions--the scenery and experiences of Northern Chile and Argentina are a novel way to enjoy a continent that is so often stereotyped and typecast. This is a voyage for those with a taste for adventure and a need to be challenged physically and mentally transported to a place where nature sets the rhythm and opens up the mind to new experiences. If that is the goal, travesia is the trip. ILC

JANUARY 2012 / FEATURE

8 LIFE LESSONS OF SUCCESSFUL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS PHOTO BY: STUART MILES

By Mamiko Ito

arlier this month I attended an amazing event called “Shine with Ali Brown” in Dallas, Texas, where hundreds of women entrepreneurs gather to learn and inspire. There were over 500 women from different countries, different colors, different businesses and different ages. But all of us had one thing in common--we all have a mission and we are willing to do whatever it takes. The average age of women who start a business is mid-30s and -40s because that’s the time when many of us start asking ourselves questions like: What do I really want? What is the meaning of my life? What is it that I’m meant to do in my life? For women, business is something very personal. It has to be something we feel passionate about, helps others and fulfills our heart and soul. And having our own business is best way for self-growth because it makes us face our deepest fears and desires. Every one of us has a unique purpose and so much potential. It thrilled me to see so many women stepping up and showing the world what we can do to change it. Here are eight lessons I learned from the successful women entrepreneurs I met during the event. I’m sure they’ll guide you to live more fulfilling and successful lives. 1. EVERYTHING YOU WANT IS OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing in the same way and expecting a different result. If you are not satisfied with your current level of happiness, relationships, wealth and fulfillment, you must do something differently. If you want a bigger quantity of happiness, bigger amounts of money and a bigger sense of fulfillment, you have to make a bigger leap. It can be scary and uncomfortable, but what makes a woman successful is willingness to be uncomfortable. 2. REWARDING THINGS IN LIFE TAKE RISK What are the five most amazing experiences you’ve had in your life? I bet almost everything involved some level of risk, didn’t it? If there is no risk, there is no reward. If there is no risk, life is boring. It’s all up to you whether you perceive it as a risk or opportunity. 3. TRY EVERYTHING. YOU’RE NOT GOING TO FIND “THE ULTIMATE DESTINY” UNTIL YOU GET UP AND MOVE THAT BUTT! If you just meditate and expect a message from the gods or the universe, you’d still be where you are even after five or ten years. Nothing will happen if you don’t take action. The universe will show you the way only when you are truly committed and willing to do whatever it takes. 4. SUCCESS IS NEVER A STRAIGHT LINE. IT’S ALWAYS UP AND DOWN, DETOUR AND ZIGZAG Eddie Cantor said, “It takes 20 years to become an overnight success.” Many people don’t realize the

years of hard work behind a success. Obstacles are part of the game. It’s not that only few people succeed, but most people give up. 5. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BALANCE Many women say they want balance. But what is balance? When things are balanced, there is no movement. If there is no movement, there is no progress. You have to know what’s important for you and prioritize your time. 6. YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE IT ALL AT THE SAME TIME Being a business owner, you may not have all the time you want for your children. There are times you have to make a tough choice, but never regret your decision. You are running a business because you are passionate and you are fulfilling your mission. If you are living for your higher purpose, your children will understand and respect you someday. Remember your children will see the world through your life. If you want your children to be a successful leaders and change-makers when they grow up, show them the way through your actions.

7. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH SUCCESSFUL AND POSITIVE PEOPLE You will be the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Stay away from people with limiting thoughts, negative beliefs, gossipers and complainers because they will eat away your dreams! Consciously choose people who are always happy, positive and who share the same vision and beliefs as you do. This is probably the most important lesson for your success. 8. HAVE A MISSION BIGGER THAN YOU Don’t underestimate what one woman can do to the world. And it starts from every one of us. Every woman should have something that she finds meaningful and purposeful in her life, and it must have even greater significance than being a mother, wife or employee. We touch and influence so many people’s lives. I have to agree that, “If you want to change the world, empower women.” “Business mentor Mamiko Ito teaches women around WKH ZRUOG KRZ WR WXUQ SDVVLRQ DQG WDOHQWV WR D SUR¿WDEOH EXVLQHVV WR OLYH D +DSS\ 6H[\ DQG 5LFK OLIH *HW KHU )5(( 5HSRUW ³ 6HFUHWV RI %XLOGLQJ 6XFFHVVIXO %XVLQHVVHV IRU :RPHQ (QWUHSUHQHXU´ DW ZZZ $EXQGDQW:RPHQ FRP´

Discover the best of Chilean music, food and culture at www.ilovechile.cl

THE ENTREPRENEUR HUNTER / JANUARY 2012

SUIKA ATTRACTS MASS APPEAL IN CHILE’S SERVICE INDUSTRY PHOTOS BY: JULIA DOSE

, Suika is Meanwhile, here in Chile netration enjoying 80 percent pe racts of the market and inte directly with Apple. By Shonika Proctor

uddled in a small office, at the base of a tree-lined hill street off Victoria Subercaseaux, on the sixth floor of a non-descript building, lurk the dynamic team of Suika. Just over two years old with a relatively young staff, it is hard to believe this company is considered the pioneer of mobile apps in Chile. But they are even more than just that. Fernando Soto, co-founder of Suika, believes their team to be very special. I had the opportunity to sit down with the team and talk about their experiences working there. Their general sentiment seemed to be that Suika was like their home and their colleagues seemed more like their family. One of the partners, Pablo Castro, said transparency is a huge value in their company. In terms of their crisis, he says it happens-you don’t know how or when, just that it does, and he compared it to a popular saying about motorcycle drivers, “there are two types of motorcycle drivers--those who have crashed and those who will crash.” The same is true of companies, he says. There are companies (regardless of size) who have had a crisis and companies who will have a crisis. In their total life cycle this will likely happen on more than one occasion as it is a part of growth and taking the risks that are needed to stay competitive and make progress. If it doesn’t happen, the company will plateau and die, said Castro. THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF MOTORCYCLE DRIVERS… Soto and Castro shared their story, typical of a struggling start-up in Chile and the world in general. Their founding team bootstrapped their company’s start up with about $250,000 CLP. Castro said that was www.ilovechile.cl/radio

definitely not enough for him to buy the Mac he needed to develop the apps. So he went online, did some research and figured out how to modify his PC so that it could run Mac programs. They did not have enough money to establish a business bank account. They could not apply for Corfo funding because they did not have the time to complete the paperwork and try to find and support clients at the same time. It was difficult to get clients not only because they lacked any hands-on experience and cash flow, but also because one of their greatest challenges was finding specialized developers who had familiarity with building apps. Soto stated that in Chile, students take more years of schooling at the undergraduate level in Chile, but the curriculum and courses lack diversity and specialization. Yet they persevered and figured things out. The simplicity and novelty of their apps quickly caught on. A challenge they ran into was that people began to pirate their apps. This led them to move towards private industry and custom development, where they have established their niche today. Primarily working with large, wellrecognized brands in the service industry, Soto states that they have developed and published over 80 apps. Apple told them this was by far the most in South America and likely in Latin America, as the average company publishes about 12 apps. One of their most popular apps includes a mobile app that allows consumers to search a phone number to see what carrier they are calling and if it will be a free mobile–tomobile call before they press send. WHAT HAPPENS IN CHILE… While the founding members have received various offers to move their venture to other parts of the world, including the Silicon Valley in the U.S., they have decided to stay in Chile. They said that it’s not only that they’re in their own home, but that the real opportunity is here. They have seen Chilean companies try to relocate outside the country without successfully building their roots here, only to end up getting lost. Meanwhile, here in Chile, Suika is enjoying 80 percent penetration of the market and interacts directly with Apple. They are easily seen on the radar here, where the market is still developing and they are a top player. They have also been able to slowly expand into other markets. They encourage other developers and start-up founders to stay in Chile and add their expertise to build the ecosystem here and make it a stronger player in the Latin American marketplace. As Chile was recently named one of the top 25 fastest growing countries in the world, it seems like now is an ideal time for Chilean developers to get out there to “apps and receive!” www.suika.cl ILC

JANUARY 2012 / WINE By Pamela Villablanca

he impact of foreign cultures has greatly influenced the Chilean wine business since its early days; travelers of the 19-century imitated what they saw in France, and today it is still a practice that winemakers gain experiences of harvest and winemaking in diverse wine growing areas around the world. It seems the industry has never ceased to satisfy its thirst for practical teachings. There are countless layers to the deep essence of innovation in wine. It involves not only the agricultural aspect--which has become a very complex scenario--it also involves logistics, finances and administration. Last but not least we should consider aspects related to culture that are inherent to the activity. One of the fundamental pillars is the networking that results in an interactive environment, inviting other clusters of innovators to interact and boost renewal and change in the trade. Wine is one of the world’s oldest commodities, however, it has been referred to as an “industry” only within the past 25 years. Catering to international markets has created innovations to renew and change products, processes, technology and ideas that are framed by the different markets, governments and societies. These innovations aid in comfort, convenience, efficiency in purchase and consumption of wine. Innovation is more than a response to the competitiveness of international pressures, even though it feeds directly into export activities. The impact of foreign investment in Chile has brought both technology and highly specialized professionals that transfer practices and procedures to the local community. The bonds with other acclaimed wineproducing areas consolidate the developing network. The industry is fostering the entry local entrepreneurs with highly sophisticated production functions in areas that collaborate with product awareness. New world wineries have sacrificed tradition for innovation and growth. Uneven distribution of resources, research infrastructure and wine production are still important issues to have in consideration worldwide. Train-

AWARENESS + INNOVATION

CHILEAN WINE

Wine is one of the world’s oldest commodities, however, it has been referred to as an “industry” only within the past 25 years. ing and education bodies have a tremendous role and responsibility in South America. The selection process of students and the fees charged should be according to the real needs of professionals and should also be according to the salary paid for the position. Wine business is not a bubble anymore; the new economic era and currency

exchange has set a big challenge before it. The big question is how does Chile successfully integrate the core ingredients of viticulture and wine innovation, as well as the organizational and marketing requirements, into a highly evolved mix of domestic and export activity, and vertical and horizontal integrationencouraging intensity? New product development looks for the revival of aboriginal grape varieties; product differentiation’s new attention is to denomination of origin beyond the recipes by the acclaimed international winemakers. Employee training leads into advanced human capital ready to take a company to the next step. Distribution networks need to be heard to find the best way to assist them as the partners they are. Marketing needs to be redefined at feasible costs and by determining the target markets with the most attractive and competitive messages. Woman wine consumers are making it happen. Pay attention to what they have to say. Public relations campaigns are more than promoters. Consumers demand knowledge. Sales reps from distributors need to see a real face from the winery. Social networks are full of real people, so they will need real information and not just segmented boring individualistic views. A new generation is taking over the wine industry; it is well educated and traveled, they excel in their abilities and break the paradigm that only wine-family members are involved in the business. They are highly motivated and are passionate about what they do all across the entire chain of the trade. Is this generation who spreads the word of mouth and transfers great neutral information. Real wine should be made for real people and we are all ready for it. ILC

HEALTH / JANUARY 2012

SIZZLING SUMMER By Marcelle Dubruel

t’s that time of year again. The summer weather, warm, sunny days and cool, refreshing evenings mean it’s time to dust off the barbeque, dig out our swimsuits and think about some well-earned relaxation time. Whether you are going away on a summer vacation or kicking back at home, this is a good opportunity to give some thought to summer health. Making just two changes to your diet can make all the difference. Drinking more water, and eating more fruits and vegetables will help keep your weight stable and protect your skin, keep your immune system strong and give you energy to enjoy your down time. Hydration during the summer months is very important. You lose more water through perspiration. Aim to drink a glass of water every two hours while you are awake. We need to drink at least 48 to 64 ounces (6 to 8 glasses) of water every day to replace the water that is lost through urination, breathing and perspiring. Don’t wait until you are thirsty. Keep a bottle of water near you to help take up the habit of drinking water throughout the day. Even mild dehydration impairs physiological and mental performance. Many of the body’s metabolic processes need to take place in water. Water also carries waste materials from your cells to your kidneys so they can be filtered out and eliminated. A good indication of whether you are drinking sufficient water is to look at the color of your urine. The clearer, the better. Dark yellow urine means you need to drink more water. Don’t be concerned by a more fluorescent yellow color as this is usually happens if you are taking a multi-vitamin supplement containing B vitamins. The anti-aging effects and high water and mineral content of some fruits and vegetables are good reasons to take advantage of the seasonal fruits and vegetables that

SUMMER SOUP INGREDIENTS: 1000g red ripe tomatoes roughly chopped 1 garlic clove finely chopped 80g green pepper finely chopped 40g red onion finely chopped 100g cucumbers peeled, roughly chopped 30g apple cider vinegar / white vinegar to taste 50g extra virgin olive oil 100g ice cubes or 200g iced water

PREPARATION: In a splash of hot water, lightly sauté all ingredients except the olive oil and ice cubes / water for about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture stand to cool then place into a blender and blend on a high speed for about 2 / 3 minutes until all ingredients pulped. Add the extra virgin olive oil and mix slow speed for about 30 seconds. Add ice cubes and pulse to crush / add water. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve chilled.

SERVING TIP: Decorate with finely chopped cucumbers and peppers.

Serve with crusty wholegrain bread.

HEALTH BENEFITS: This Summer soup is based on a Gazpacho and is a delicious and refreshing nutrientdense and hydrating soup. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene and give the soup an antioxidant boost as do the red onions. Garlic has anti-bacterial properties, and is effective against common infections. Apple cider vinegar is a good digestive tonic. Cucumbers are cooling and great for sunburn and skin problems.

this time of year has to offer. Swap creamy ice creams for fruit smoothies and frozen yoghurts. Blend large pieces of watermelon with ice cubes for a deliciously refreshing and nutrient-rich summer drink. Watermelon has high water content and is an excellent diuretic. It is packed with antioxidants, including lycopene. Different studies correlate high lycopene serum levels with a reduced incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease and macular degeneration. Increase your intake of all the summer berries as these too are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants decrease the effect of sun on the skin and prevent UV damage. To ensure a good supply of antioxidants, choose fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, selenium, lycopene (found in the red pigments in tomatoes and watermelon) and betacarotene (found in the orange pigment in carrots and squash).

Fruits and vegetables are also rich in fiber, important for good digestion. Regular bowel movements will help avoid bloating--always a plus when wearing a swimsuit! Include vegetable kebabs on your summer barbeques. A pineapple kebab makes a delicious dessert. Pineapple is rich in bromelain, an enzyme that aids protein digestion and reduces inflammation. Fruits and vegetables like mangos and garlic offer protection against infections. It’s good to eat more of these foods particularly while travelling, when drinking different water and eating different foods may increase the risk of a bacterial infection in the gut. Eat a wide variety of salads, choosing lighter salad dressings like lemon, black pepper and olive oil over rich and creamy, higher fat dressings. Enjoy your summer break and try out the two recipes above for a hydrating antioxidant boost. ILC

JANUARY 2012 / FOODY CHILE

YESTERDAY’S SEAWEED, TOMORROW’S BIOALGA ESTEBAN LEÓN / MARCH 2007, TEMUCO, CHILE

So next time you’re looking for that missing ingredient in a salad or dish, why not sprinkle in a little seaweed?

By Colin Bennett

f you come from the Midwest in the United States, a suggestion to eat seaweed sounds like a playground dare; not something worth actually trying. In Chile, things are a little different. People do eat one form of kelp--Cochayuyo--which carries the name Bull Kelp in English. It is really the only seaweed consumed on a larger scale in Chile. Cochayuyo is but one of many varieties of seaweed found in Chile. It is no secret to the world that Chile is a supplier of seaweed for industrial uses as well as for culinary and cosmetic uses. However, you’d be hard pressed to find much use of seaweed on Chilean restaurant menus. Rather, it’s another item in a long list of raw materials, like copper, that are harvested, mined or ripped from the ground and exported from Chile. This means a dead end for seaweed producers to sell it locally. But for Maria Graciela Ortiz, general manager of Inanna Bioalgas Chile, this is an opportunity. Ortiz started working with seaweed gatherers more than 20 years ago, first as a sort of broker between fisherman and exporters, and then, in 1996, she formed her own company with her husband and father to export seaweed for industrial use. She always saw an opportunity to take this raw material and package it in a format apt for use within Chile, and started to do so last year. “We were exporting it all as a raw material, so we thought to try out a demo here in Chile,” said Ortiz. Besides a commercial opportunity for her, it’s also a source of abundant nutrients, antioxidants, protein, vitamins and more for a country starting to think more about eating healthy. In fact, she says that seaweed can hold 1000 times more nutrients than its land equivalent and even contain protein and vitamin B1, which are nutrients normally associated with meats. Hence, she sees an opportunity to use it as an ingredient or condiment in a healthy diet. In fact, it’s a plant that does not suffer from bacteria, viruses or other such problems even though it is immersed in an environment full of them, she added. Now, it might not sound that attractive to stuff a good 100 grams of seaweed down the hatch. For its culinary application, she looks to France as an example of how to incorporate it in a western-style diet. How? In quiches, as

an ingredient in small, gourmet appetizers or when mixed with spices, you can even have a seaweed chutney. Ortiz considers this to be a longer term project in Chile, but one that has received better acceptance initially than she had originally imagined. They sell their products through their Web site and through specialized gourmet stores in the capital. The product has received attention

as a healthy ingredient that is 100 percent natural. While they don’t have any sort of organic certification--the legal framework in Chile doesn’t allow for seaweed to be labeled as an organic food product--she assures us that it is one product that receives no chemical or artificial treatment.

Follow ‘Pepe’s Chile’ for insightful advice on Chilean life every Monday at www.ilovechile.cl.