Founders
Lorena Torres, originally from Ecuador, is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. Her interests lay on Refugee Studies, Children/Youth issues, Development Work and the Arts. She has lived and studied in Ecuador, Germany, Denmark, USA, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and most recently in the Gaza Strip working with ActionAid Denmark and Tamer Institute for Community Education. During her student life she volunteered in various human rights related projects, among others with: Norwegian People´s Aid, CaféExil, MS, visAvis, The Trampoline House and Crossing Borders. For CB, Lorena is also working as a freelance assistant, designer and photographer for different projects & campaigns, and is an active member since 2008.
Lorena is the initiator and one of the founders of bambúProjekt e.V. She has curated the exhibition of 2008 Yo veo esto, tu que ves? at Centro Cultural Metropolitano and 2010 YO en medio at the -Museum of Interactive Sciences- MIC. Lorena is in charge of the overall organization in Germany and Ecuador.
Lorena Torres – Founder / General Organization
Niklas Hausser was born in South-Germany and moved to Hamburg in 2003.
In February 2010 he received his diploma in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts Hamburg (HFBK). His work was shown in Germany and Ecuador. e.g. 2006 at the Casa Humboldt in Quito and at the Museo Antropológico y de Arte Contemporáneo (MAAC) Cine in Guayaquil and 2010 at the Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof in Hamburg.
Niklas is Co-Founder of the bambúProjekt (2007) and re-elected treasurer since 2008. He is participating from 2007 actively from Germany as well as in-the-field in Ecuador. 2007, 2008 and 2009 he held workshops (Photography and Video) and organised several exhibitions from the kid’s works in Quito (Centro Cultural Metropolitano, Centro Cultural el Aguijón).
Niklas Hausser – Co-Founder / Treasurer / Coordinator and Workshop Instructor 2007 – 2009, 2011
Jonas Erhardt is from Hamburg/Germany and closely related to Ecuador since 2001. He worked for Proyecto Salesiano in Quito in the support of street children for half a year. He holds a MA in Political Science and Latin American Studies. A 9-month-internship at the german agency for development cooperation (GIZ) in Quito was part of his studies. He worked in the program for decentralization about participation of civil society. At the moment he is following a postgrad for international development cooperation at SLE in Berlin. Jonas is co-founder of bambúProjekt and boardmember since 2008. In Hamburg his main tasks are strategy development, planning and funding. In the years 2007 and 2009 he worked as a organizator and supervisor for the workshops in Ecuador.
Jonas Erhardt – Co-Founder / Chairman / Coordinator and Workshop Instructor 2009
Team Quito
Vanessa Estupiñan studied at the German College and obtained a trilingual technology in Management and Economics, she finished her university studies in Advertising Communication at the University of the Americas in Quito. She currently works in the sales department of a Spanish company responsible for air cargo and passengers. She speaks English, German, French and Italian, due to her exchanges with Rotary International in Germany in 2000, Intrax Work and Travel 2005 and 2006.
Vanessa has completed several courses and seminars on photography, film, leadership and motivation activities that have served well while working and volunteering at bambúProjekt.
Vanessa is the project‘s contact in the city of Quito and has participated in the logistics of the exhibition “Yo veo esto, tu que ves” held at “Centro Cultural Metropolitano” in 2008 and was the main organizer of the exhibition “Yo en medio” held at the Museum of Interactive Sciences MIC in 2010.
Vanessa Estupiñan – Organization / Press
Alexa Olivo B. Born in Quito, passionated by Nature. Belongs to bambúProjekt Quito since the first steps of this awesome project. Colaborates in comunication and positioning of bambúProjekt in Quito in 2008 Yo veo esto tu que ves? exhibition at Centro Cultural Metropolitano, and 2010 Yo Agua, Yo Tierra, Yo vida exhibiton in FLACSO.
Creates environmental education workshops to children during the summer at casa bambú where they meet together with international artists to develop their proposals. The environmental education workshops are a different way to comunicate messages about care, love and respect to our natural surrounding. Studied Climate Change and Clean Development as a Master, and invites everyone to be part of a colective concious of a sustainable culture starting from knowing our ecosystems that make us live.
Participated in environmental workshops in Spain and Denmark.
Alexa Olivo B. – Organization / Press
Team Hamburg
Since April 2006 Elisabeth Weller is studying Anthropology, Latin American Studies and Education at the University of Hamburg. In 2005 she worked for six month as a social worker with children in Guatemala and since then she is member of mariposa e.V. in Bremen. In 2008 she worked in a similar context for two month in Brazil. In Hamburg she was board member (2008 – 2010) of iaf e.V. and involved in various intercultural education projects. Since October 2008 she worked as a tutor at the Institute of Social Anthropology and the Centre for Latin American Studies at the University of Hamburg. In July 2009 she went to Paraguay to realize her first empirical anthropological research (“Multilingualism in Ciudad del Este”).
A six-month research in Quito for her thesis about child work in Social Anthropology was sponsored by the DAAD. Since April 2011 she works at the library of the Museum of Anthropology Hamburg MVH and at the Professorship for Intercultural and International Education at HSU. Elisabeth speaks German, English, Spanish and Portuguese and is learning French.
Since July 2010 she is board member of bambúProjekt e.V. as well as coordinator of 2010th workshops and 2011th exhebition “Yo agua Yo tierra Yo vida” at FLACSO Ecuador. Elisabeth is also godmother of Tatiana, the first bambú-kid sponsored by beca bambú.
Elisabeth Weller – Vice-Chairman / Coordinator 2010/ 2011
Anna Langheinrich studies Social anthropology, Latin America Studies and Economics at Hamburg University. At the age of sixteen she went to Latin America the first time. She lived for a year in Argentina as an exchange student. Later on, in university, she spent a year abroad in Mexico. Anna collaborates with different organizations in Latin America and Germany. She is a member of bambúProjekt e.V. since its foundation in 2007.
Anna Langheinrich – Press & Communication
Sonja Kullas studies Sinology and Political Science at the University of Hamburg. In her studies she mainly focuses on international relations, development and environmental politics.
All of Sonja’s internships, and time spent abroad had a clear relation to Asia. In 2003/04 she studied at the Xiamen University in China. In the spring of 2006 she worked as a volunteer teacher for the German department of the National University of Laos. Since 2009 she works as a language course coordinator at the Confucius Institute of Hamburg. Sonja met Lorena at a workshop about project management for development cooperation. Since 2008 she is a member of bambúProjekt, supporting the Team Hamburg.
Sonja Kullas – Partners & Sponsors
