Quick Take
As we turn to the holiday season, Lookout columnist Claudia Sternbach is hungry for tales of community. Recently, she found inspiration in a new children’s book written by Aptos native Taylor Lahey, who moved back home during the pandemic. "Câmbio" tells the story of a community in Brazil that has banded together to solve the city’s trash and transportation problems. “I kept imagining our own Santa Cruz County community doing something similar,” she writes. “Could a program like this work here?”
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During the Great Lockdown when the world was in the throes of COVID, neighbors helped neighbors.
Here in Aptos, my friends Larry and Patty would give me a call if they were at Costco to see if I needed frozen cherries or a roast chicken. And when Larry felt the need for a haircut, he would call me and we would play beauty parlor in his front yard. We were both masked, but behind those masks were smiles.
We were all living in strange times, challenging times, but we were in it together. It is quite remarkable what working as a group can accomplish. We made it through those days, but as we relaxed our shoulders, let out a deep breath and looked around, it was clear that we still have issues we need to address.
Last week, I met a young man who has a passion for community. Aptos resident Taylor Lahey was working for the Celo Foundation, which focused on developing a carbon-negative financial system. In other words, cryptocurrency. While at the San Francisco-based company, he heard a story that stuck with him.
It centered on the Green Exchange Program in Curitiba, Brazil. It was the story of how the residents of the impoverished town worked together in the 1980s to find a solution to a problem no one was addressing. Two problems, actually. Garbage was left to collect on the sides of the road, and many of Curitiba’s people lived in extreme poverty. The roads were too narrow to allow garbage trucks to pass so refuse was left to rot on the streets.
Then, the mayor, using his influence and a lot of political finagling, pushed ahead with a new plan suggested by his assistant Nicolau Klüppel.
Why not place large bins in places residents could access and offer bus tokens in exchange for trash? It worked. In 1989, the community made the program such a success that it grew. Now, residents can get fresh produce in exchange for trash they clean up.
Lahey was so taken with this story he traveled to Brazil in 2019 to see for himself.
The numbers were quite impressive. The 62 city neighborhoods have exchanged 11,000 tons of garbage for nearly a million bus tokens and 1,200 tons of food. More than two-thirds of the households participate in this creative plan of action. It is changing lives.
Lahey decided to write a children’s book about the town and the program. “Câmbio” is the result.
As Lahey told me this story, I kept imagining our own Santa Cruz County community doing something similar. We have put so much effort into cleaning up encampments and shuffling folks from place to place. We have trash and people who need food. Could a program like this work here? Could it be one more step in finding the solution to the challenges we face when it comes to cleaning up our environment while also helping people who need a hand?
The book, written by Lahey and colorfully illustrated by Ryan Matias, is small in size, but tells a big story of neighbors pulling together to accomplish something for the greater good. It also shows that one is never too young to help change the world for the better.
“I wanted it to be the size of those old Golden Books I read when I was a kid,” Lahey said. Easy for a child’s small hands. At 14 pages, it is geared toward young readers 6 and older. It’s a great book to spark a conversation with a child.
Lahey is committed to building a life in Santa Cruz County. In 2020, he moved from the Bay Area to his father’s home in Aptos, bringing his girlfriend with him and opening Taylor Lahey Studio, art and creative solutions. Publishing “Câmbio” is the studio’s first project.
The book is not just a tale of community, but came to fruition because of a community of like-minded folks who wanted this story told. When I spoke to Taylor, he wanted to make sure those people are acknowledged for their commitment to the project. Peter Nowell served as type and layout consultant, Nicholas Tolfa worked as editor and proofreader. Taylor also worked with Community Printers of Santa Cruz, Print Production and CIP Blocks for Independent Publishers. Without them, he says, the book would not exist.
“Câmbio” is a story of imagination.
Imagine what can be accomplished when we work together. Imagine the magic that can happen when neighbors with big hearts and kind intentions focus on a common good. It sends a profound message to all who read it. A message of hope and resilience. A “yes we can” kind of energy. A message perfectly suited to this time of year and holiday gift-giving.