Comic "The worlwide adventures of Droppy"
The comic book "The worldwide adventures of Droppy" was originally developed within the Paraguayan-German project PAS-PY (Improvement of local groundwater protection), executed by the Paraguayan Ministry of Environment SEAM and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), financed through funds provided by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). "Las aventuras de Ytyky" as it was originally called is now also available in English, French, German, Russian and Arabic language.
This is an interactive graphic that enables more functions after mouse-click.
The flip-through version of the comic in Spanish language is available here
The comic was developed for primary schools to introduce pupils to the topics "water and environment". The reader accompanies Droppy (or Ytyky) through seven adventures which are related to different themes:
- Gobal water cycle,
- Water wasting,
- Water contamination by residues (heavy metals, oil),
- Water contamination by waste water (in Paraguay hardly 5% of the population are connected to wastewater treatment schemes),
- Water and agriculture (very important in agrarian Paraguay),
- The many uses of water and
- Sustainability.
In the course of the adventures Droppy (or Ytyky) meets various persons, especially children. Together they get to know various water-related problems. Some of the problems are even caused by the ignorance of the actors. Problems are personified by negative characters such as heavy metals, drops of oil, fecal bacteria. Droppy (or Ytyky) always helps to find a solution for the problem, so that the comic is not negative and accusing but rather positive and constructive.
Event in primary school
Complementary material for teachers is available (Spanish only) that explains the background for each adventure, using examples from the country. Posters on "Global water cycle" and "Contamination of water" based on the comic are available for classroom use. The adventure on the global water cycle was additionally adapted as a five minute animated movie (English, French, German, Spanish/Guarani). The package is completed by two games, one a board game based on the water cycle and the other a picture memory, both using motives and characters from the comic. Even smaller children who cannot read yet were not forgotten: a puppet theatre adaptation is also available.
The package is hugely popular in Paraguay and is being used in many primary schools, including some for indigenous children. Around 40,000 copies have been distributed so far. The project has trained many teachers on how to use the materials.
Download comic in different languages
Download video in different languages
Contact