My Group of Participants and Birthday in Zap

(Originally posted in July 2007)

Hello Everyone!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! It was nice to hear a little something from everyone back home while I’m far away and sometimes feel a little disconnected from the rest of the world. Thank goodness for Internet. Ohh, ps, my boss mentioned that there was a large landslide and major accident here in the state of Puebla. In case you’ve seen it on the news, I just want to let you all know that it’s not near where I’m living/working.  

I celebrated my birthday with a co-facilitadora and good friend, Francisca, whose birthday was the day before. We had cake and a giant card and everyone sang was the Mexican equivalent of Happy Birthday to You. Then, we finished off a bottle of Vino Natural with the other facilitators. That night, there was a dance in the Plaza here in Zapatitlán. We danced a whole lot of cumbia and enjoyed beers that only cost 60 cents.

At the beginning of the week, Yssel and I recieved our group of participants. At first, everyone went through a two day orientation while they got accustomed to the region and got to know everyone in the Proyecto. I really enjoy the group that we’ll be working with for the summer. Caro comes from Coahuila, Mexico, a state in the north that borders Texas. Alfredo comes from Lima, Peru but studies in the United States. Amy is from Washington DC and Sarah is from Virginia. Rosa’s family is from Michoacan, in the western part of Mexico but now lives in Oregon. Luz Elena is from the state of Mexico and works in an alternative elementary school for children who haven’t had success in regular schools. And Juan joins us from a community in the Sierra Norte although his family is Totonaco and the community of Copales (where we live is Nahua). All together, we have a very diverse group of cultures, families, backgrounds, languages, abilities, fears, skills, and ideas. I really look forward to continuing working with all of them.

The week I spent a few days with the family of Don Pila, one of the elders we are working with. In a few days. I enjoyed the time I spent with the family and I learned alot about the way they live. The family was filled with activity around the clock as six of Don Pila’s grandchildren live with him. The kids took me out and around the community as they gathered fruit, picked up documents at the school, hauled water and played with friends. The kids ranged in age from the little girl, Rosio (age 2) though Juan Carlos (age 17). Luis (age 4) was attached to my side the entire time I was there. Adrian (age 8) and Simon (age 9) climbed everything in sight. They climbed 45 feet in the tree with a 15 foot pole to knock down fruit. Leonardo (age 13) was filled with questions about the US and loves watching soccer whenever possible.

From Julia, the senora of the house, I learned all about making tortilla and the importance of maíz. The family grows corn where all the men work and the produce sustains their family, with a little help from family working in other parts. The corn feeds the animals (chickens, turkeys, cats, dogs, and a big pig) and the kids eat at least 20 tortillas a day each. The corn clearly is an important aspect of the culture and a staple in their diets.

We are getting ready to start our projects this week. In Copales, we’ll be constructing ten water catchments to help the families have cleaner drinking water and continuous access to the water. For example, the family of Don Pila where I spent several days this week has to send three of the boys way down the hill to the river with a wheelbarrow and a bunch of buckets to fetch water for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Then the boys struggle to push and pull the wheelbarrow up the rocky hill. With the water catchment, they’ll regularly have clean rainwater to drink. The tanks will take about two or three days to construct and cost about $50 but will help out the family significantly.

After the water tanks, we´ll be constructing five ecological stoves. Many women spend ten hours a day, crouched over a stove. These traditional stoves, some on the ground, some elevated a few feet, cause many lung problems for the women after years of inhaling smoke from the fire. Their eyes burn from the continuous smoke in the house and the ceilings are covered in black soot from the smoke. The new ecological stoves use a simple method of a chimney and air tubes that pull the smoke out, up and away to the chimney instead of the faces of the women as they cook. In addition to the health benefits for the women, the ecological stoves use 30% less firewood meaning less cost and less work for the family.

We have a few other projects that we´ll be working on as well such as improving community areas like the Casa del Campesino and clearing a soccer field with the young boys. The elders hope that if they boys feel more connected to the community through these projects, a soccer field and the workshops we’ll be doing that fewer will choose to migrate to big cities or to the US.  

We preparing our workshops as well. The first ones will be to teach the community how to build the tanks and stoves since we won’t be able to build one in each house. There are about 100 families in and around Copales. Also, well be doing classes of Nahuatl for the children.  I’m starting to learn a few words myself. Since the indigenous people are experiencing a drastic language loss as the children are learning only Spanish instead of both Nahuatl and Spanish. There already is an obvious disconnect between the elders that speak mostly Nahuatl and children that speak only Spanish. Other workshops we have planned include bracelet making, recycling, games for kids and beginning English classes, at the request of the community.

Well, if anyone is still reading….Thank you. I’ll post all the pictures when I get home. Thanks for your messages, I’ve enjoyed hearing a bit from everyone.  

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer heat, I’m sure feeling it as well.

Talk to you soon, love you much,

– Megan