The "ECOBOSCO" center is located in Arroyones de Básima, in the province of Villa Altagracia, 45 minutes from the city of Santo Domingo, in an area of about 40,720 square meters.
It was built with the support of the Swiss Salesian NGO "Jugendhilfe Weltweit" (JuWe) through the "Fundación Salesiana Don Bosco," and was also supported and by funds received through the Office for the Promotion of No-Profit Associations (ASFL) granted by the Department of Community Participation of the Ministry of Education.
At this stage, it has a multi-purpose hall with a capacity for 250 people, camping areas, two houses, a kitchen and dining hall, paths for access to a forest, a parking lot, a lagoon, and other common areas.
This project is a response to the concern that the Salesians of Don Bosco have been expressing for some time now concerning the care of the Common Home; thus, they have decided to create new ways of responding to the new challenges posed to the reality of youth, focusing their line of action on fostering the social commitment of young people in favor of the environment, allowing them to have a living and close contact with nature.
With the opening of this space, various environmental training programs will be concurrently launched, youth groups formed to work for the defense and care of nature, as well as environmental engagement experiences. All this will be done with the aim of training responsible leaders in the management and care of natural resources, as well as promoting and developing sustainable actions for care, reforestation, and agriculture in the area where ECOBOSCO is located.
The center’s inauguration was attended by authorities from the province, environmentalists, Salesians, and young people from the Salesian ecological movement, who were able to learn first-hand about all the projects that will be developed there.
