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This El Zonte School Exposes the Lie Behind El Salvador’s Bitcoin Revolution | Ana Larios Pohl

• Mike Peterson

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For families considering life in El Salvador, this episode dives into what educational freedom really looks like on the ground. Mike talks with Ana Larios, co-founder of Escuela Libre and Skate, Paint & More, about building a community education program rooted in trust, creativity, and local connection.

Ana shares how Escuela Libre grew from three families into a small but thriving homeschool community. It’s a space where kids learn without uniforms or testing, and where volunteers from around the world teach everything from math and English to aerial silks and robotics. The school is part of a growing movement toward non-traditional schooling that centers kids instead of systems.

We also get into Skate, Paint & More, an after-school program that offers experiential education through painting, skateboarding, music, and group projects. Most of the local kids had never painted before. Now they’re learning to create, explore, and build confidence in a safe, supportive environment. It’s all free for them, made possible by donations and visiting volunteers.

This conversation is for anyone rethinking how learning should work, especially if you care about creative education or are considering a move to El Salvador. It’s also a real look at how grassroots efforts can grow into something lasting without losing their soul.

Hit subscribe, drop a comment, or send it to someone who's ready to ditch the system and do school differently.

-Bitcoin Beach Team


Connect and Learn more about Ana Larios Pohl
https://x.com/analariospohl 
https://www.instagram.com/analariospohl_arte/ 
https://www.instagram.com/acroyoga_elsalvador/ 
https://www.facebook.com/acroyogaelsalvador/ 
https://www.instagram.com/elzonteartsandlearning/?hl=en 

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Browse through this quick guide to learn more about the episode:

00:00 What is Skate, Paint & More and how does it help kids in El Zonte?
01:30 Why did Ana and other families start a non-traditional school in El Salvador?
03:43 Is homeschooling legal in El Salvador and how does it work?
06:43 How do volunteers help build this homeschool community?
10:12 What makes this community education program work for both locals and expats?
14:16 What is grip tape art and how are kids using it creatively?
16:52 How does art and skateboarding boost kids’ confidence?
21:06 What advice does Ana have for parents moving to El Salvador?
29:44 When does the Skate, Paint & More program run and how can others join?
34:00 What kind of donations support creative and experiential education in El Zonte?

Live From Bitcoin Beach

Ana Larios:

Yeah, because it's very important for us the community, you know, and to help like the local kids and the local families skate, paint and more was made especially for the local kids, like we have. The majority of the kids we have are locals, and what I've seen is that they gain a lot of confidence in themselves, you know. So our objective is not for them to learn to paint necessarily, or to learn to skateboard, which, of course, they do, right? But the objective is more to create a safe space for them. They feel comfortable with us and they trust us, you know, and they're so happy every time they come because they know that they're in a safe environment. Last year, we had some donations in Bitcoin. And I was like, I was telling you before that, I was amazed at how generous the Bitcoin community is, because the vast majority of donations I didn't know who they were from, you know. So they just donate without, you know, even Taking any credit for it, which is amazing you.

Mike Peterson:

Anna, this is going to be a fun one. I'm excited to actually kind of go back down memory lane a little bit my my youngest son just graduated from from high school this week, and we've been doing all those activities, and so I've been thinking a lot about the years here in El Salvador. And you know, his young school age years were spent with you and in your kids and the Escuela libre school that we have here in El Salvador. So it's been it's kind of fun to have you on now and think about that as our kids are getting older. I mean, we're not getting older, right? We're staying young, but our kids are getting older. And so, yeah, we can talk a little bit about escuela libre and then the paint and scape program that you guys have kind of developed out of that, and just what an important role both those programs play in the community here in El zonte, especially as we see things growing here and things becoming more commercialized, we want to see these things that are like core to the roots of El Zante, like staying strong. So maybe just give a little introduction about yourself, and then we'll, yeah, we'll delve into those things. Yes, thank you, Mike. It's a pleasure to be here. Well, we've been running a school, a liberal sonte, for 12 years now. So next year, it's our 13th year anniversary,

Ana Larios:

and we started 13 years Yes, and we're still, we're still here, which is amazing. And, you know, we started basically, we had, like, no building. The school was not, you know, it wasn't finished. And Paola called me, and she said, Anna, we have to start the school, like, next week. So we started basically with the workers there, you know, finishing up the stairs and everything.

Mike Peterson:

So give a little history of where this idea came from, and what this what this desire, maybe a little bit of your own history. You're from El Salvador, but you didn't want your kids to be in the traditional school system here. So give a little bit background of where this dream came from.

Ana Larios:

Yes. So the school we started with three families. It was Milena with a Canadian family, and Paola, Paola and Mike. That Mike is American, and Paola is Salvadorian, and us, Gabriella and I and our daughters. So we didn't want our kids to be in the traditional educational system, and also we wanted bilingual.

Mike Peterson:

Hey guys, just a brief interruption. We'll get back to the exciting show here. But I just want to really ask a favor that you guys could make sure that you have subscribed if you're watching this on YouTube, if you are listening to this on a podcast, please take take a second and review this. You know, you don't even have to write a lengthy review or anything at all. Just click the number of stars that you want to give us. It really helps us in the algorithms to make sure people are finding out about what's happening here. All right, back to the show.

Ana Larios:

So that's why we came together as parents, and we all like, taught different subjects, like I did art with them. Gabriel physical education, which we still do. And for example, Milena did math. Mike did English. Paola did cooking, Spanish and cooking too much, yes. Mike did cooking for a long time. Time, yes. So that's how we came together, so that our kids can be in a system that was like, more free, you know, with like, no uniforms, no testing and all that.

Mike Peterson:

But I do remember you guys did Institute uniforms, and at some point, because we got a notification that kids had to wear. I don't know if they had to wear shoes, but they did have to wear shirts. I remember saying, boys and girls have to wear shirts.

Ana Larios:

Yes, yeah, like the kids would come bare feet. You know, sometimes we had to say, hey, you have to wear shoes, at least sandals.

Mike Peterson:

No, it was a very, it was a very free environment. I'm how far into it. Do you remember it was when my kids joined, I can't remember how many years you guys had been doing it. I think they were there pretty early.

Ana Larios:

They were there that, I think the first year, first year started, I believe.

Mike Peterson:

So, yeah, so, yeah, I remember, yeah. It was just very, very rustic, and I think kind of a Sasha that would bring his dog to school and tie it up outside. But what an amazing opportunity for the kids to just enjoy this beautiful environment here to be, you know, be learning math and English and these other things, but also to be doing it in a very free environment. And you guys put a lot of focus on there was gardening. There was especially with because Paula's background with a lot of stuff, with theater and so yes, yeah, for us, it was a real privilege to be a part of that. And there was a lot of kids that that came in. And, I mean, we had kids kind of from everywhere, I feel like that,

Ana Larios:

oh yeah, we've had from all over the place. And also, we have kids that sometimes just come, like, for a month because they're traveling, yeah, or for three months, you know, depending and the parents leave them at the school while, you know, they do other things. And the nice thing about it is that it's been really organic, you know, it's been really like natural, you know, like we work with volunteers. So we've had over 5060 volunteers since we started. Yeah, one time we did a list with SOE and we had like 40 something, but that was like two years ago, so I believe now we have like 5060, people that we've worked we've worked with, so we offer a room in the school, and the volunteers, they teach in exchange. So we've had a little bit of everything, like construction, gardening, aerial silks, gymnastics, parkour, robotics, you know. So there, it's been really interesting,

Mike Peterson:

and that that's still ongoing. So there's people watching this that are interested in and spending some time in El Zante, and have in an area that they specialize in, they can, they can reach out to you, or how low, or,

Ana Larios:

yes, it's still going. We have, we have a page in a Workaway, so you can find us there as well.

Mike Peterson:

Okay, under el Zonte, arts, or what is it?

Ana Larios:

Arts and learning?

Mike Peterson:

Okay, awesome. Yeah, no, we got to know a number of the different volunteers over the year. You know, sometimes there was families. I remember sometimes they came down with their kids. And

Ana Larios:

yes, we've had a few families too.

Mike Peterson:

One Canadian family, I'm blanking on their name right now, with the two girls,

Ana Larios:

Oh, you mean Donna and Rob,

Mike Peterson:

yes, yeah, got to know them fairly well. And, yeah, but there's been a lot of different, you know, neat people that have come through. And what an amazing opportunity for people to kind of be enmeshed in the community right away. I feel like we were able to integrate so much more in the community, just by the involvement in the school. And actually, when our kids, you know, in high school, they decided they wanted to go to international school in San Salvador, and we felt like we missed that, like community that, you know, once our kids were in school, you didn't have that as much. So we really felt that, that missing,

Ana Larios:

yeah, and also because it's always been a small group, you know, like we've had maximum 15 students in escuela libre. So, you know, that's always been really nice, because we've had conflicts, of course, but we resolved the conflicts pretty quickly, you know. So there's no bullying, you know, nobody gets left out because it's such a small group.

Mike Peterson:

No, the group was, was very inclusive with with everything. I love that and, I mean, it was amazing how well everybody did get along considering all the different backgrounds. I mean, there was people from all over Europe, you know, Americans, Canadians, people from other places in Latin America. I mean, there was, yeah, I don't do you know how many different nationalities have attended over the years? That'd be interesting.

Ana Larios:

No, that, I we haven't made a list of that yet, but we've had volunteers from Hungary, from Romania, Germany, you know, of course, Canada, United States, Latin America, like, all over the place. Yeah, yeah.

Mike Peterson:

Know it's been, it's, it's really neat to see. And now I live right next door to the school, so that's kind of the kids sometimes. And bring back memories when my kids were young, yeah,

Ana Larios:

and because we're an NGO, we also look at the social part of it. So we, we have also local kids that sometimes join in the homeschooling hub that now we call it a homeschooling hub because we it's like a homeschoolers that have their curriculum and we support with the different subjects that they do together. Yeah. So before, we used to do like, all the subjects in different grades, but it was kind of difficult, like, kind of complicated, because we had, like, very small groups of kids with in different grades, so it was complicated. So then this year, we decided to make it like, into a homeschooling hub in which each kid have has their own curriculum, and then we have other subjects that they do together, but we also support the locals. And this year we have one girl that's with us, a local girl, and she had a problem at the public school, so her mom didn't want her to continue there, so now she's with us.

Mike Peterson:

Yeah, I know that was, was a little bit challenged, because you have all the different age ranges. I know my daughter for a while was, was the oldest, yeah. And so we would, you know, fill in with different things on our own. But I like that model of, you know, they can have their own curriculum, but still be doing that with other students. And then, you know, for some students, they want to focus more on certain things, or, you know, it's more important for them to, you know, be good at math or English or Spanish, they can focus on those individual things, but still be part of the main group.

Ana Larios:

Yes.

Mike Peterson:

How many kids are participating right now? Do you know

Ana Larios:

right now? We actually have 15, but not all of them come every day. Okay? So we have some kids that just come once a week. Other comes. Others come twice a week, so they're not all of them together. Like it's rare that the 15 are together, but usually I would say we have, like, from eight to 12 kids.

Mike Peterson:

And how many volunteers do you guys have right now?

Ana Larios:

Right now we have two. Usually we work with two, one or two volunteers, depending on the needs,

Mike Peterson:

they still live right there,

Unknown:

yes,

Ana Larios:

in exchange of teaching. And we also do other things. We have English classes, for example, that we've had for a long time, too. And we do different workshops for the community, because it's very important for us, the community, you know, and to help like the local kids and the local families. So how often are you guys doing English classes? English is twice a week right now we have Eric, that's one of our volunteers, and he's doing the classes. It's Thursdays and Fridays,

Mike Peterson:

okay, awesome. And that's all mostly local kids from males

Ana Larios:

only locals, yes.

Mike Peterson:

And how many kids usually attend

Ana Larios:

in this year? Let's see. We've had like, five or six. So it's always like small groups, very like private,

Mike Peterson:

yeah, no. That definitely helps kids pick it up faster. I think we have some cool pictures that we can put up. Can we, can we pull any of those up from the school in there, Paco? Or, I think even we have some video clips too. But as you can see, for those of you who are just listening to the podcast and can't see it, I'll try to describe it as best I can, but I recommend you go to YouTube so that you can see it and get just a sense of it, but it's, it's just like a very kind of old fashioned, like, I don't know, warm feeling you can even see in the picture, just like how, you know, everybody's just part of this. And we've got some art there, and it's in kind of an old rustic building that was, I think, originally built probably 5060, years ago, that they've rehabbed. And so you want to click through a little bit there. Paco, so looks like you guys got some music classes there. Oh, I didn't know you guys had a drum set over there.

Ana Larios:

Yeah, we do actually buy so donated the drum set. And this, these pictures are from the skate and paint course. So this course started in 2023, and I was actually teaching English back then. I taught English for like, eight, nine years to the local kids. And then one of the girls who is still with us. Her name is Lucia, and she told me that she loves to paint, and I'm an artist. So then I told her, okay, we can do the English class, and after we can paint, like for, you know, for the rest of the class. And so that's what we did, and that's where I decided. To begin an art program, you know, with the kids, with the local kids, because I had like, three, four kids at the time, and you know, most of the kids that we have now, they've never painted in their whole life, you know. So they're amazed of what they can do once they start, you know? Because if you don't give them the tools, obviously they're not going to know, right? So a lot of them have, like, very good abilities. And then I decided to include skateboarding as well, so that it's like a contrast between two practices, you know. So that's what we did with my partner, Gabriel. He does the skateboarding and I do the art class. But then, you know, like, organically the kids, because we have the instruments, they kind of, you know, started playing the instruments and everything. And Gabriel is also a musician, an amazing Yeah. So then it just, you know, naturally, um, kids, like, don't only skate when they're outside. That's why we decided to change the name to skate paint and more, because there's, like, a lot more than that we do. Sometimes they play basketball, sometimes volleyball, sometimes the silks or they play music, and, of course, the skateboarding as well.

Mike Peterson:

Yeah, no, I love that. I'm curious if you've seen with certain kids, once you introduce them to painting, and they kind of start exploring their artistic side, if you see other things come out in them, like other giftings. And what's, if you, I don't know if you have any stories or vignettes of things you've seen with kids, once they start painting, how it kind of just expands their imagination and opens them up to other things.

Ana Larios:

Yes, exactly. Well, skate paint and more is was made especially for the local kids, like we have the majority of the kids we have our locals, and what I've seen is that they gain a lot of confidence in themselves, you know. So they Our objective is not for them to learn to paint, necessarily, or to learn to skateboard, which, of course, they do. Yeah, right. But the objective is more to create a safe space for them, and they know that at the school, you know, it's safe for them, nobody is going to be bugging them. You know, they can express themselves with complete freedom, you know. So that's more the objective. And yes, one time, for example, this kid, he was making a picture, and then he he looked at me, and he said to me, Anna, I had no idea that I could do something like this, you know. And I can see like, his eyes shining, and he was like, amazed at himself for what he had done, you know. So what these little moments are like, very significant, you know, to us, because we're not we're also like giving them, you know, self confidence, and you know something to be proud of. You know that they know that they can do this. And then there was one time also this kid named Santos. He didn't know how to make a rectangle, and he was 13. He was 13 back then. He's like, 14 now, but he didn't know how to make a rectangle. I taught him because he wanted to draw a house, right? So I said, Okay, let's draw a rectangle. And then he was just looked at me, and he's like, I don't know how, you know. So I had to teach him how to make a rectangle. So it's like, you know, in the public schools, there's a lot of things that, you know, they they don't teach them well, there's a lot of gaps in the in the learning process. So, yeah, I feel that here we get they get this, you know, they feel comfortable with us, and they trust us, you know, and they're so happy every time they come because they know that they're in a safe environment,

Mike Peterson:

I think, especially in a place like El zonte, and just with the history, you know, in El Salvador, a lot of kids never learn how to, like, dream or think like really, that they can do anything with their lives, other than survive. And I feel like we're seeing that that change in the most recent generation, but it's, it's still very young in them. So I think being able to kind of awaken the artists within them, and you know, their skill is in skating, and to be able to do these things like it really transforms their outlook on life. And they start thinking for the first time, like, what do I want to be when I grow up? What do I want my life to look like? Things that, you know, a lot of times, their parents never really thought of because their parents were just trying to survive.

Ana Larios:

Yes, exactly yes. We see that a lot in the kids, like at the beginning, you know, and then they just start gaining confidence. And also with sports, with skateboarding, I know, and another. Sports is, like, it's really good for them, and it builds a lot of confidence in them too.

Mike Peterson:

Yeah. So are you still teaching English at the school? Are you still I

Ana Larios:

'm not teaching, I just, I'm like, the coordinator, like the general coordinator, and, yeah, but not teaching. We now the volunteers help us with that.

Mike Peterson:

And for, you know, there's a lot of people that are looking to come and spend, you know, safe amount of time in El Salvador, possibly move here, a number of families from around the world who I think have kind of a like minded view of education. They just don't want rote learning. They want their kids to really be able to, you know, question things and to, you know, have this type of environment. What you know? What would you say to parents of younger kids thinking about moving to El Salvador? What would you recommend for them? As far as schooling? What would you say are some of the challenges of schooling like this, what are some of the benefits? And, yeah, just as a parent yourself, what would you what would you say?

Ana Larios:

Well, I always recommend homeschool. That's like the number one thing I recommend here, because I don't know if I can really recommend any school here, because I don't know that much you know about them. And homeschool, I think, works really well because, well, you're out of the system to start, and you can choose your own curriculum, and it's not as complicated as people think. And also that homeschool here is not illegal, and some people think it's illegal, but it's, it's actually not, and I think that is the best option.

Mike Peterson:

I am curious because I had heard that from other people. I think for us as as foreigners, we hadn't really worried about it, because we felt like they kind of left us alone. But you as a Salvadoran, what what it what is the legal requirements and what are, what is, how is the system set up for homeschooling?

Ana Larios:

The thing is that, well, homeschool is not illegal, excuse me, but it's not legal either, right? So, but you can do homeschool like there's no problem. Nobody's gonna be, you know, asking you questions. I have a group in Facebook that's called homeschooling in El Salvador, and actually, recently, I've talked to several people that have asked me this question, you know, like, Are people gonna knock on my door, you know, and ask if where my kids are going to school? And I said, No, you don't have to worry about that. There are some countries, I know, Germany, you can go to prison. Yes. It's like, wow, you know, amazing, because of the history, you know, and everything. But here it's not illegal. So there's a lot of families doing homeschool, and it's growing a lot, yeah, like, when you guys started, it was, yeah, very unusual.

Mike Peterson:

But now it seems like I hear all the time, people know we're homeschooling our kids.

Ana Larios:

Yes, exactly. Before it was rare, you know, like very, very few people, especially Salvadorans, but now there's also Salvadorian families that are doing homeschool.

Mike Peterson:

You guys, you guys started a trend there.

Ana Larios:

Yeah, maybe, well, your kids were doing homeschool for a while.

Mike Peterson:

Yeah, they pretty much till till High School. Yeah, it's true, yeah, and so. And it was great for them. You know, we loved it. It gave us so much more flexibility, too. We could, yeah, go on trips as a family together and go when it was cheap to travel, not when. Now, once my kids went in in regular school. Now we're forced to go on vacation just Christmas and summer, when everybody else is doing it. So we missed, we really missed that, and we missed just the family time and the flexibility for them to be good. There was other advantages that the schools that they went to, and, you know, they had great friends, and we don't have any regrets for that, but we love the fact that at their younger years, we we had more input in their life, and we were kind of able to help shape through that process, you know, rather than it just being, you know, us sending them off to some school to be taught by somebody else. So, yes, absolutely. Same with my with my daughters, that since they were little, you know, they were in escuela libre, and then they did the couple of years of high school. My older daughter graduated this year, and then pass my younger daughter is doing homeschool again. So, yeah. So she tried like a school, an alternative school in the city, but now she's gonna do homeschool again. Homeschool, yeah, yeah. You see that a lot. Yeah, they complain about, you know, normal kids always complain about, no, I want to go back to home. So yeah, but no, that's great to I can't believe that our kids are graduating from high school. I still, I still picture them. You know, being, yes, I know, but they had seven, eight years old.

Ana Larios:

Yeah, they had a great childhood, though. I think that it was the best, you know, for them to be together, you know, in this school. And also, like, it's open, right, with nature and everything so very different from a normal, you know, school.

Mike Peterson:

They were gardening. They were, I remember the one day John comes back and he's just, like, covered in like, Ash doing he's like, Oh, we're roasting coffee today. So many cool things. Yeah, they got to participate in and, and that's one of the unique things about El zonte, is it has this the school opportunity for people that you know are looking, because that's the question we get from a lot of people that you know are looking to move to El Salvador or want to spend a year here, is like, what about schooling? And so I love that there's this, this opportunity in, this option here, and that it's, then it's continued. Yeah, it's, I mean, that's over a decade now, so, yeah,

Ana Larios:

it's amazing. That is amazing,

Mike Peterson:

and a ton of ton of hard work. And so my, my hat's off to to you and Paul and Mike and everybody else that make it happen. Because I know it's it's not easy just coordinating all the volunteers and the classes and all different curriculums and and then, I know a lot of times, even there's been a lot of students that have had, you know, certain learning challenges you guys have adapted to, to help. And so, yeah, really, really amazing to see. And then to see the the skate and paint kind of spin off from that, and how that's not, you know, that reaches a whole different demographic of, you know, young people also, because, you know, there's some, there's some parents that, you know, they're not going to pull their kids out of the the regular school exactly, but now they can still participate in them, yes, through this, this program. So Yes. So tell us kind of where the idea to spin this off specifically came and kind of what your vision is for it going forward. And how often do you guys meet? And I know you kind of have some times where you'll take a month or two off and you'll start a new session. So give us the lowdown on it.

Ana Larios:

Thank you, Mike. Well, we started actually in 2022 in December, 2022 I did only a painting course. It lasted one month, and I had the local kids with me. We had like 26 kids, approximately. And then in January of 2023 I decided to make something like permanent. So we do courses of three to four months, and then at the end of each course, there's an art show. So all the parents are invited, friends are invited. And usually in each course, we make a big painting, like a collaborative painting with all the kids. And the the art show, we share food. You know that this this course we're gonna gabrielito is gonna play on the keyboard, because we also have music lessons apart from skate and paint. We have online keyboard lessons every Saturday for local kids as well. So online, this is online, but in the school, because we have someone helping, always it's a Ryan is the name of the teacher, an American teacher, and well, with skate and paint, we are looking for, hopefully for the next course, to for the art show to make. I don't know if you've heard of grip tape art. Grip tape art. So this is art in on the, like the board of the of the skateboard. So it's like the, you know, what is grip Yeah, so they cut the grip tape like different colors, and they make a design on the board. Okay, so what, what I'm hoping to do soon is, hopefully on the next course is to do an art show, and the kids, each will have their own board, and they decorate it, they they, you know, with the grip tape. And then at the end of the course, make like an auction, you know, to sell the the boards and and the kid who sells the board, of course, the money would go directly to each kid. So that's, that's my idea for the next course. Hopefully we can get that done. I love that.

Mike Peterson:

I love that. So when you think that'll be

Ana Larios:

hopefully next, like next course is starting in August, okay, so right next week is the art show for this course, and then we start middle of August for the next course, so hopefully the art show in December. Okay?

Mike Peterson:

And you guys meet on Saturdays.

Ana Larios:

We meet Wednesdays and Fridays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We have two groups. Was the keyboard, yeah, Saturday is the keyboard lesson. But we have two groups, Wednesdays and Fridays, morning and afternoon. Because in the public schools there's two shifts, right? So some kids come go in the morning to public school, and other kids come in the afternoon. So we that's why we had to make two groups. And we also have kids who come from palmarsito, for example, and other places like nearby. We have a kid that come from K 59 so it's not only Yeah, so it's not only from El Zonte. We have also from other communities nearby.

Mike Peterson:

And if people are visiting just for a couple of weeks, can their kids participate?

Ana Larios:

Yes, absolutely, yep.

Mike Peterson:

So they just come the Escuela libre. Or,

Ana Larios:

yes, they can find us in Instagram El Zonte arts and learning. Or they can reach me and alarios Paul in Instagram or Facebook. And, yeah, there's also the drop in, you know, it could be just one day two or a couple of weeks. Awesome. Yeah, they're welcome to come and, yeah, so about what we I was talking about before that, we create, like, a safe space for the kids. We have some kids in skating paint that, for example, in the public, public school, they don't have any friends, you know, but they come here and they have made friends, you know, because they've been with us for a couple of years now. So they're very excited, you know, to come and see their friends. Their friends,

Mike Peterson:

yeah, I think we had some friends of ours from from South Africa that stayed here for a little while, and I think their kids participated for a little bit. Oh, yeah. Who was it? Was last year. I can't remember. Oh yes, yes, I remember names right now. Yeah, I think Kendall or but I know that because they were here for the Bitcoin Conference, yeah, but no, they, I know they really enjoyed it. Oh, nice. Yes. It was fun for them. And it's, it's nice to have an environment too, where you have, you know, even if people don't know Spanish, there's usually some people that know some English, and they're, you know, they always find a way to communicate amongst each other.

Ana Larios:

Yes, yes. We had actually two kids from Quebec this year in escuela libre. And the little one didn't speak English or Spanish, just French, only French, yeah, so I know a little French, so I kind of communicated with him. But yeah, he made friends with the local kids, you know, just playing and, you know, not talking too much, but they learned a few words. So yeah, and, and after his time, did he speak more English and Spanish? He did, yes, because he had Spanish and English lessons also at the school. So yeah.

Mike Peterson:

And as far as at the school, you guys follow? Do you follow the Salvadoran school year or the like, oh, no, we do in us, yeah, the US system.

Ana Larios:

So school is off in in June, June, okay, just now.

Mike Peterson:

And then you guys start again. You start in September, September. Okay, yes, okay, yeah, yeah, that was that made it convenient for us too, because we go back to the US during the summer to work and so are a lot of families travel during the summer. So, yeah, yeah, and it's nice to get out of here during the rainy season a little Yes, exactly. So do you have anything new planned for the skate and pain? Any new ideas for this year? Or you guys just trying to expand on what you have, or what's kind of the vision for this going forward?

Ana Larios:

Well, we're looking to get more skateboards, hopefully, because we have five that we five surf skates that a girl donated, which was amazing. They were brand new, and the kids love the surf skates.

Mike Peterson:

Was she able to purchase them in El Salvador? Did she have to bring them?

Ana Larios:

She purchased them here, actually, uh huh. And also more instruments, you know, musical instruments used is fine, you know, for the kids, you know, they don't have to be new or, you know, expensive brands or anything like that. But just, you know, some good instruments. And also art supplies, you know, to get more art supplies. And, yeah, I'm excited about the the grip tape art Yeah, yeah. So hopefully we can get some donations for that as well, and we, we can do that for the next course.

Mike Peterson:

No, that's, that's super cool. I'm thinking of somebody, actually, somebody had on podcast a couple weeks ago, who's, who's really in the music, who, who recently bought a place here in Oh, so maybe I'll hit him up to help you guys out with some of the musical.

Ana Larios:

Yeah, because I know that people have, you know, some people have used instruments that they don't use, and. Anymore, you know, so we could put good use to them.

Mike Peterson:

That makes sense. Awesome. Anything else that you want to talk about, I don't know, are you still doing your yoga classes?

Ana Larios:

Or I am I'm still teaching yoga? Yes, I I also do acro yoga, like introduction to acroyoga. so do you do you do classes for that?

Mike Peterson:

And I watch you guys, blows me away, so uncoordinated and I'm flexible, but the way you guys do that is,

Ana Larios:

Or, yes, actually, this Saturday, I gave an A class, an acroyoga, but introduction, like, basic post posture, yeah, and yoga, yes, I still do well. I love the therapeutic part of yoga, so I do therapeutic yoga, meditation, breath work, relaxation.

Mike Peterson:

So somebody's coming to because I know, and you know, in order to kind of pursue these amazing things that that you guys are doing with the kids. You know, obviously you've got to support yourself in that in the meantime. And so you've always been innovative and been involved in all these things. And so I want to make sure people know all the different services that you offer if they're coming here to El Zonte to spend time. So you can, you'll do yoga with them. You can teach them

Unknown:

the

Mike Peterson:

Aqua robot. What is it?

Ana Larios:

Acro yoga? We

Mike Peterson:

don't have any pictures of that. We should have got shoot, but that's basically the one where you're doing it with a partner, right? And you're posing and all these crazy things, yeah, I'm always like, Oh man, that's, it blows me away. So they can what's, what's the best way for people to reach out to you?

Ana Larios:

Well, in Instagram and hilarious Paul, or acroyoga, we have acroyoga El Salvador in Instagram and Facebook.

Mike Peterson:

Okay, and we'll put that in the show notes too, so people get the spelling. Okay, excellent there. And then we have up here on the screen. We really want to encourage people to donate to this project. I mean, it's amazing what you guys do. And I know when the when the kids can't afford to pay you guys scholarship them, and most of them, I think, wind up being scholarship. And so I know you guys need support in that. So would encourage the people that want to be involved in this. It's really amazing project that you guys are doing. So we have a QR code up there on the screen. You can donate in Bitcoin. I know that in the past, you guys have, have used Bitcoin donations. And, you know, being here in El Zonte, there's, you know, a lot of places that obviously you can use Bitcoin, and so would encourage people to participate. So, yeah, anything else? Mike, yeah, yeah, I'll let you give this feel better job.

Ana Larios:

Yeah, we've, we've, last year we had some donations in Bitcoin. And I was like, I was telling you before that, I was amazed at how generous the Bitcoin community is, because the vast majority of donations, I didn't know who they were from, you know. So they just donate without, you know, even taking any credit for it, which is amazing, yeah?

Mike Peterson:

Usually they don't want you, you know, they, yeah, they just doing it out of the goodness of their heart, recognized,

Ana Larios:

yeah, which is so great, because it's one thing that has been a little bit difficult for me, is to is the fundraising, you know, because it's complicated, like, I'm a teacher, I'm an artist, and I do that great, you know, I can teach a class to, you know, 100 people, and it's fine, but the part of fundraising is kind of tricky for me, and we've been able to support the course so far, all the kids that we have, all the local kids, they don't pay anything. It's free for them. All the classes, the English, the music and the skate and paint is free. So we get donations, you know, to sponsor all these kids. And I have been searching for grants. But it's, you know, bureaucracy is like, oh my gosh, very complicated. It's, well,

Mike Peterson:

it's hard, because a lot of them want you to be an official, you know, registered nonprofit, but then you spend 1000s, if not 10s of 1000s of dollars, like, doing that process and being in compliance with everything, money that could be going to, you know, doing the work, and so it's this like, and then you're spending all your time and effort on that. Yeah, exactly. I like seeing things stay grassroots, but then sometimes it makes it hard to raise funds.

Ana Larios:

Yes, exactly, exactly. That's why Bitcoin is so easy. You know, to raise funds with Bitcoin is it's amazing, actually.

Unknown:

And.

Ana Larios:

And yeah, for the last two courses, we did a GoFundMe, which is still on, and that's how we are able to support the kids so far. And yeah, we're looking to launch a capital campaign to support, you know, and make sure that we have the money before, yeah, you know, and not start the course and

Mike Peterson:

yeah, so it's important to have the funds beforehand, so that we know that we have everything for the kids. Mm, hmm, yeah, everything that we need for them. Yeah, awesome. All right, guys. So So send them some stats. I can attest that will they will stretch them and put them to good work and and having a big impact here on the community. So thank you, Anna, for

Ana Larios:

Thank you, Mike, it was a pleasure.

Mike Peterson:

No, it's fun. It's fun catching up with you a little bit, and it's yeah, you and your family have have, you know, had a big impact on our time here in the country and our enjoyment. So I appreciate that. Appreciate everything you do.

Ana Larios:

Thank you, Mike, thank you for having me. Yeah.