Youth from all over the country are sick of the effects that building nuclear weapons and uranium mining have had on the environment. That's why some of them spent last weekend building a site in Chimayó where the "Disarmament Summer Encampment" will take place from July 30 to Aug. 9.

Steven Stormoen is the youth empowerment coordinator for Think Outside the Bomb, the national nuclear abolition group for youth that is helping build and sponsor the encampment.

Stormoen said the encampment is designed to bring youth from around the nation together to brainstorm ways to achieve nuclear abolition within their lifetime.

"The idea of the encampment is to create a free world where we ... understand that nuclear weapons are a much bigger problem than just the bombs — but the entire culture that created those things," Stormoen said.

Last weekend, the crews created a composting infrastructure that will support the planned encampment (which can accommodate up to 100 people), developed a waste management system, constructed solar shower stalls and built plumbing trenches. According to a news release about the event, the practical structures were an addition to gardens, bridges and other structures that were already built on the Teh-Lu-Lah Healing and Learning Center and Youth Camp, where the encampment will take place. Stormoen said there was a great turnout of people to work.

"We had about 15 people come together and we got a lot done — we mulched and dug trenches for our solar showers; we (built) camping spaces and we built compost toilets," he added.

He noted that the encampment was built based on principles of permaculture, which is — according to the Santa Fe-based Permaculture Institute's website — a way to design homes or living spaces that takes sustainability of all aspects (ecosystems, landscapes, etc.) into consideration.

"(Permaculture) involves minimum human input," Stormoen explained further. "We're really following the patterns that are already present in nature and utilizing resources."

There are various reasons New Mexico was chosen as the site for the encampment.

"New Mexico is the center of the nuclear complex — there is mining here, there are weapons labs, weapons storage, waste processing," Stormoen said. Although many of its volunteers are currently residing in New Mexico, Think Outside the Bomb is not based in any particular city.

"We operate across the country and (with) people all over the country," Stormoen said. "We converge in places to get together to recognize campaigns. Our campaign last year and this year, and for the foreseeable future, is in New Mexico."

Think Outside the Bomb has forged partnerships with various local organizations. In addition to the Teh-Lu-Lah Healing and Learning Center and Youth Camp, it has worked with students from Northern New Mexico College, Tewa Women United and various individuals from both Santa Fe and Pojoaque.

The encampment will offer a series of workshops, activities to build community and cultural events. In addition, a "collaborative day of action and resistance" will take place in Los Alamos on Aug. 6. After the encampment ends, the structures built will be used for youth camps at Teh-Lu-Lah Healing and Learning Center.

To register for the encampment, visit the website at www.thinkoutsidethebomb.org. Preference is given to youth up to age 30 and registration will be accepted through Wednesday. The registration fee for the encampment is from $30 to $120 and is determined based on a sliding scale. Travel scholarships are available.

Think Outside the Bomb is always accepting monetary donations and donations of items on its "Wish List," which can be found on its website.

Think Outside the Bomb started in August 2005 as a series of conferences, Stormoen said.

"The youth network took off from these conferences and it's become its own entity." According to the organization's website, the first conference was organized by Michael Coffey of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation to educate the youth about the power and effects of nuclear weapons. The conference was organized during the 60th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.