Pictures

Even though I have a couple of albums on Picasa Web Albums, I wanted to share a few recent photos with you all...

A few weeks ago I went to another community's anniversary celebration, but unfortunately I went the day before to help prepare... we were frying chicken until 3am!! This picture is from around midnight when we are still semi awake. You can see the large bowl of chicken still to be cooked, and the fire that we are cooking over. The lady standing up was telling stories and making up poems right up until we finished! She loves to make up poems...and I will just say that you can make up a lot of poems about an "angel." :)

Corn. Something so simple but so beautiful.  In the mayan creation story, the Popol Vuh, the first real humans were made from corn... This small ear of corn represents so much to the people. 

A boy in the community helping the women's committee prepare for the chicken coop they will be constructing. 

This is a picture from one of the communal work days of the women's committee for the chicken coop . Obviously you can see there are men working as well, and so yes, some husbands come out to help. I really like the communal work days... 

A beautiful sunset I saw one evening while I was walking back from a youth meeting at a nearby community called Las Mesas. I made the youth hang out with me and watch the sunset for so long that the community thought something had happened to us and sent men with machetes to come look for me... they are a little protective of their gringa :)

When the Furman kids came to visit the youth did a little dance for them. This is a picture of a few of the girls dancing and the university students and a few community members sitting in the school watching. That was a special day for me.

Project Update (Part 2): What is the plan now...

The picture: A simple clay heart that my friend Laura (an Artcorps volunteer also working at FUNDAHMER) made. I thought it was a beautiful picture that I wanted to share... but I also liked how she just found some clay (which on first sight appeared to be mixed with dirt and rocks, but happens to be very good clay - Laura knows, she does a lot of clay artwork) on a trail we were exploring in a community in Morazan and within a few minutes she had turned it into something quite pretty. We left it in the stream, placed as it is in the photo. And Laura is working on a proposal to use clay in a community project next year... 

So now that I have filled everyone in on what I have been doing, I thought it was time to update on what I am doing now!

After being here for 3 months (I just got back from Mexico - my first trip out of the country to renew my Visa, which I must do every 90 days!), I still feel like I am figuring out what happens when I push one button instead of the other (if that analogy makes sense... to put it another way, I still feel like a pilot on his second or third day in the plane, looking at all those buttons and just going "what the heck do all these do??? I have the on/off and a few others figured out, but the rest...?") However, I do feel like I have learned A LOT. It has been really interesting visiting other projects, getting ideas, seeing things I don't like, talking with other producers and hearing their stories... 

One thing I have seen in a lot of projects is a lack of commercialization. Non-profits, cooperatives, women's groups, etc. can produce some really high quality goods, but the products are going to ruin and the projects falling apart because nothing is selling and the people aren't seeing any profits from their hundreds of hours of labor. Thus, I want to produce and sell. I want to have a plan for markets before we start producing things.

At the same time I have also realized it's ridiculous to plant some organic crop with the sole

 purpose of selling when the nutrition within the community itself is so poor. You wouldn't think the people are malnourished when you see them because most of the women are overweight. They aren't in lack of calories, but they are in need of nutrients. Sometimes for 2 or 3 days straight they won't eat anything but corn tortillas, rice and potatoes (and some random candy or potato chips!) - all starches with hardly any nutrients. Vegetables are not part of their diet and very few people know how to grow them. I think they crave nutrients and stuff themselves with tortillas and rice to try and satisfy their cravings...but i'm not a nutritionist!

Furthermore, even though I knew it beforehand, I am now realizing it more than ever that my original project idea/plan is more like a 5+ year plan. I still think that planting something in large quantities (basically planting a cash crop in addition to their basic corn and beans) as a cooperative and getting organic certification is a great idea, but I think that will take years and I think other things need to happen first. Hence, my new modified plan is a large community garden in the community. The plan has already been approved by Armando and Anita and we have presented it on two occasions to the community and are basically already starting!!

Within the cooperative (the community is actually already legally recognized as a cooperative!), there is communal land where the garden will be located, and it will focus primarily on vegetables, grains, and roots (based on nutritional content and caloric content). There will also be some fruit trees and a few other trees that can eventually be used for firewood, as well as a few herbs. The project/garden will consist of a series of workshops and technical visits where the community will be able to learn skills and techniques on the whole gardening and organic process! Workshops will include topics such as planning a garden (aka, looking at calories and nutrients and what crops grow well together...), natural insecticides, crop rotations, composts and fertilizers...etc., One part that I am also really excited about is that once the harvest starts we are going to bring in a nutritionist AND teach some cooking classes! The people can learn how to cook the new vegetables and flavor things with various herbs and spices instead of just oil and salt, as well as learn a little about the nutritional content of things and why nutrition is important! You think that people should already know this stuff, but we take a lot for granted...One example of what I want to do, a lot of the women are anemic and so we are going to plant spinach which has a lot of iron, but most people in the community have never eaten spinach - and they won't eat it unless they learn how to cook it and why they should eat it. There are several new types of vegetables that I want to plant for the community to try. 

The skills learned in the community garden will hopefully be put to use in everyone's individual gardens, and then the harvest from the community garden will eventually be only used to sell and take to market, allowing for some extra income for the involved families.

The 5 "objectives" we wrote for the Organic Community Garden include:

1: Improve agricultural skills and knowledge within the families

2: Improve family nutrition

3: Aid in alleviating some of the food security issues

4: Create extra family income

5: Improve environmental conditions in the community

(Hoped for) Results:

1: Families will be trained with appropriate technology in organic gardening 

2: Families will:

a) improve nutrition

b) improve income

c) reduce toxic chemical usage 

Ok, I think that is it for now. Of course I am involved in several other little projects in the community but more on that later! I hope I didn't bore you too much

Me and Noemi, one of the little girls who frequently runs around the community sitting in my lap or holding my hand...

Project Update: What exactly have I been doing for the past 2 1/2 months...

By now I am sure everybody is probably wondering about my "project"- what is up?? How is it progressing? What exactly do I do with my time?

So I wanted to prepare a brief summary of my activities thus far. In a second post, I will tell you in more detail about my future plans...

- Biointensive Sustainable Agriculture Organic Workshop:

During my first few weeks here I attended this intense workshop. At the time it was a bit overwhelming (I wrote about it in an earlier post), but it has proved very helpful and given me many ideas and resources for my project.

- Community Diagnostic

During my first month here, I completed a community diagnostic with detailed family, work and agricultural information. This really helped me to see what each family grows - which in reality is very little besides corn and beans - and what things grow naturally in the area. There are 18 different types of fruit trees that grow in the area! I also learned a lot about the economic status in the community, and honestly, I don't understand how some people live day to day. Granted most people grow enough corn and beans to live off, but they still buy a few things rice, sugar, coffee...soap, and many have very little income. This info helps me to better understand the reality of the community...  and is invaluable as we work together to create a project plan.

- Community Survey

You are probably thinking that is the same thing as a "diagnostic," and maybe you are right and I am just using the wrong words. However, for the diagnostic I visited every family and gathered very specific information with numbers, dates, and quantities. For the survey I met with community leaders, the women's group, the youth group, and the members of the cooperative. I learned about all the various organizations and groups within the community and gathered info on all current projects in the community. I documented the project's history, related challenges and successes, which community members are involved, project needs, and the amount (if any) of income generated with each project. This information has been extremely helpful to me and some of my bosses at FUNDAHMER. There are a lot of good things going on in the community, but very little is generating any $$ for the people. It is actually am

azing to see how hard the people work to see little benefits. From this survey, I also learned about 2 other organizations that are interested in promoting organic agriculture in the community that we may end up collaborating with!

- Visited other projects

Part of my plan from the beginning has been to spend time visiting other organic agriculture and cooperative projects to learn from some of their ideas, successes, and challenges.  From these visits I have gotten an idea for irrigation during the dry season, and learned a few things that I don't want to do. The problem has been that at every place I visit, I get ideas for other projects to visit! However, it has been good overall. I have learned a lot and made some good contacts.

- Visited Markets

One thing I have noticed in a lot of other development projects is that groups can be producing really great products, but the products are sitting in storage until they ruin and people are leaving the project because there is no market plan. People are producing but not selling. Thus, I want to have a plan for where to sell things before we start producing. We want to produce and sell. 

- Applied for space in an Alternative Community Market in San Salvador

I was pretty excited about this. It was my first formal document that I have written in Spanish that people outside of FUNDAHMER would see - but I have to admit that Anita helped me a lot. I sent in the application a few weeks ago, but we still haven't heard anything yet because we have to wait for the market committee to meet so we can make a presentation!

- Attended a Forum on the Food Security Crisis in El Salvador

Someone from another organization that sometimes works in my community invited me to attend this Forum with them, which I was a little nervous about, but I had a lot of fun and learned a lot of interesting stuff. It was good to see data backing up some of my own observations thus far. It was also good to be back in a semi-academic setting for once... this is the first time since I was 5 that I have been out of "academia" for more than 2 months, and I have to say I miss it a little. 

- Taught Computer Classes

The school in the community was donated 3 computers by a rotary club in El Salvador. However, of course no one at the school - including the teacher - knows how to use them! Thus, I have been attempting to help a few of the older kids learn computer skills in the little free time they and I have. But summer break will start next week and I am working on creating a formal "class" for those interested 2 days a week. Youth from a nearby community have already written me a letter asking if they can attend! I have never formally taught computer classes so anyone with experience or ideas, please contact me!

- Began working with the community youth

In my time here thus far, one of the things that has impacted me the most is the reality of the youth in the community. It is hard for them. I honestly can't even imagine living the life they live... and yet, it is they who make me laugh when I am having a hard day, and who give me hope when everything seems so overwhelming. It quickly become obvious that if I go somewhere all the youth in the community want to go, if I go to a meeting or an event, they all want to go. I have decided to take advantage of that and start working a little with the youth. Currently I just attend all their meetings and events and aid in the organizing part, but we are working to put together a project or try and raise some money for the kids to go to the beach one day or something else fun. After all...the youth are our future :)

- Hosted a group of 20 Furman University Students

Furman (the University I graduated from) has a Central America study abroad class and they are currently in El Salvador! Last week I was lucky enough to have them visit Los Naranjos for almost an entire day. It was really a beautiful day for me... two really important things in my life thus far came together for a short while. I think the students and the community both loved the day. I met the students on a Sunday, spent the afternoon/evening with them, sharing my experiences and then they came out to the community on Tuesday morning, getting to know the people I love so much for themselves.

- Revised my project plan and created modified more realistic proposal

My original project proposal was more like a 5 year plan, and so after my time here, visiting other projects and getting to know the community better, I have come up with a revised version that is both realistic for a year and will still make positive sustainable difference in the community (and don't worry I will tell you more about this plan in another post). What's even more exciting is that I presented the idea to the community 2 weeks ago and they liked it, and so Armando, the director of FUNDAHMER, and I had a meeting with the community a few days ago to formalize everything. So we are ready to start doing stuff!!

So, maybe it seems like I haven't been doing that much, but I feel like I have been running around like crazy attending meetings and such, as well as trying to spend as much time as possible in the community. I hope this helps all of you picture a little bit of the "work" I have been up to.

This is a picture of me working in the beehives in the cooperative - they have a beekeeping project and sell the honey! I am one of the few women who will actually go in with the bees :)

Analyzing Reality

Poverty... will I ever understand it...???

The poverty here in the community is a lot worse than I first realized... or maybe it is just that I am getting to know the life and the people a lot better.

On one side I am feeling way more secure, happy, and comfortable in the community and where I am right now. I am getting more used to the daily life, learning bus routes, my spanish is improving, I am making friends, I can now get to everyone's house in the community without getting lost, the cold rainwater showers in the morning are now refreshing rather than dreadful...I am getting to know both the community and office dynamics better (but I still have a long ways to go!). I think a big part of my contentment and joy is that I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now and that is a truly good feeling. 

However, on the other side of things, there is a deep sadness that I am experiencing... I am not sure exactly how to describe it, but it is like I am grieving for the people, my friends, and the deep injustice they suffer everyday... something I had no idea about for most of my life... a suffering and reality that most of my friends and family back home in the US know very little about. Even though this grieving or sadness hurts, I think it is good. I am learning from it. I think it is the only way to experience true compassion for the people...

Recently I have come to notice a sadness that has settled in the air over the community. Even if I get fully wrapped up in the children's laughter during a dance or a game of duck-duck-goose, I feel it again when I walk by Daisy's house on my way home and Abel isn't there to tell me a joke, or when I get to my house and Ricardo isn't there playing with Diego... most of the men in the community are gone now. Two weeks ago almost every man in the community left for Honduras to get jobs working on cell phone towers there. The work is extremely dangerous and difficult, but of course it pays well - about $250 a month. The men will hopefully come home one or two days a month. 

Before leaving, Ricardo (my host dad) had a job working for the cooperative earning about $125 a month or $4/day for 8 hours of work per day. When he left, Alicia (my host mom) asked him if the job in Honduras was worth sacrificing his family. He said, "no it's not, but I don't have a choice... I have to support my family." The economic situation in the community is very difficult right now.

Everyone feels there absence. Not only emotionally, but physically. Women with little babies now have to out and work in the cornfields, and chop wood - among all their other daily chores.

The effect of poverty on the youth is something else that has been hitting me hard and has been contributing to the recent sadness in the community. In the past month, 3 girls from the community have moved in with their boyfriends (with or without their parents' permission).Of course the parents want more for their kids, but they cannot change the situation they are living in... Two of the girls are 13 and one is 16. The 16 year old actually surprised me the more than the two 13 year old's because I did not see it coming (and neither did anyone else in the community). Her parents had no idea it would happen until she was already gone. The girl was a close friend of mine and had a scholarship to study in the city for high school. She only lacked 3 weeks to finish 9th grade...but in that one night where she sneaked out of her house her entire life changes. When she decided to leave her family and move in with her boyfriend, everything changes. She stops going to school, stops participating in the youth activities, and mostly stays at home cooking and cleaning - only leaving to participate in things that her husband allows. It is a difficult thing to understand, and I can't say that I will ever understand it... the reality of the lives of these kids is so far from the life I lived and the reality I know that it is hard to even imagine their thoughts and feelings. 

I was talking to my boss, Anita, about it and she said something that hit me hard but helped me to understand a little. She basically said the kids and the youth have no hopes, dreams, or plans for their future.

For as long as I can remember I have had plans or dreams... when I was little I wanted to be a horse trainer, then a firefighter, then a teacher...and I have always wanted to travel - to El Salvador, Africa, Cuba... and I had plans to go to college and now I have plans to continue studying... but it is true that in the 2+ months I have been here I have never once heard the youth talk about their future or any sort of plans or dreams they might have.

I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I am going to find a way to start including the youth into my project. I want to find something that excites them or motivates them... but I must admit that I can't guarantee that I will find that "something" so more than anything I want to accompany them in their search for hope and for a better future.

A Day in the LIfe...

It's independence day in El Salvador and so even though it's Monday, there is no work, school, or anything. In fact, the only things I know of that are open are the pools and amusement parks in the city. However, since I am in the "campo" or in the country, there isn't much special happening. It is a day of rest, which really means that the one or two men who have contracted jobs don't have to work and there is no school, but everything else continues as normal. Nonetheless, I am determined to sleep late in honor of the day off! But by 6am, I have been wide awake for an hour, and I am the only one in bed except for Marielos (my 5 year old little sister that I share a room with). As I lay there thinking, I realize that it didn't rain lastnight - which I realize because the rains always bring a certain smell with them, a smell that isn't there this morning. This is the first night that I have been in the community that it hasn't rained. Normally, I bathe every morning with the rain water that we collect from the roof. My realization shocks me a little, and makes me dread (just a little) carrying my bath water to the house... maybe I won't bathe today??

The morning is very relaxed. I retained a little of my determination to sleep late and decided to stay in bed and read for a little while. However, by 6:30, Marielos is awake and she says she will only get up if I get up too. We both roll out of bed and stumble outside and find that Alicia and Ricardo have already gone to the Molino (which Ricardo is in charge of for the month) to grind the corn for tortillas and returned! Before Alicia starts making tortillas, I do a little more reading and play a game of cards with Marielos. This year I am going to learn to make tortillas and tamales so I take advantage of every opportunity to practice! Today goes better than most days; I manage to make one semi-round but edible tortilla to every 3 or 4 of Alicia's perfectly round tortillas.

After breakfast I am happy to hear Ricardo (host dad) announce we are all going to the river - to wash clothes and bathe! This means a lot less water to carry and some guaranteed fun with the kids at the river. I pack up some clothes to change into, my dirty clothes (to wash), and we head down. The path down to the river always makes me a little nervous, but I manage it without falling today - probably because it hasn't rained and the path wasn't full of mud! Since there are no meetings or anything big planned for today, we can take our time playing and enjoying the morning at the river. I explore up the river, venturing farther than I ever have. Nelson, a 9 year old neighbor, accompanies me on my exploring adventures. Then I return to the family and spend a while playing with Diego and Marielos so Ricardo can have a break and Alicia can get some washing done - she has to wash the whole family's clothes (and mine too if I don't stop her!) so she will be washing for 4+ hours. While I play with the kids, Ricardo explores further up the river. When he comes back, he carries several beautiful orchids that he later plants by our house. He loves to find the orchids and plant them at the house... I can't wait till they all flower because we have around 40 orchids all around our little house. Before heading back up, I ask Ricardo to bring me next time he goes looking for orchids. I want to bring one back for Anita, one of my bosses, because she loves flowers and she took care of me while I was sick and has been a lot of help to me lately.

I headed back up to the house a little earlier than everyone else in hopes of getting some work done before the kids come back. No school today means that Marielos thinks we should play all day! However, I find the house locked and I am without a key so I opt to take a nap in the hammock instead :)   Lunch is special today and we eat fresh Tilapia from the Tilapia ponds in the community. The family wanted to do something special for me since I have been sick and just started eating normal food again (first day in over a week!). After lunch I head over to the Restaurant (which also serves as the community gathering space and my favorite work space) to write up a few documents. I spend most of the afternoon there, only taking a break to walk to Don Goyo's cornfields to see the nearby construction. Some rich people have been buying up all the land around the community and building a golf course and fancy "country homes." The sight saddens my heart - it is not only more deforestation (for a stupid golf course that a ridiculously small percentage of the population can afford to use) but I also know what this means for the community. People worry that soon the same people are going to start buying up the community's land. They are paying good money for land and the people have a lot of land, which is in great condition and almost completely forested. You can't blame them for accepting an offer either. They are barely surviving and an opportunity at any large sum of money is almost impossible to turn down. If this happens, Los Naranjos will cease to exist. These people need some form of sustainable income that will alleviate a little of the huge economic pressures they face... and sooner rather than later would be better.

In the evening we have a "grupo de jovenes" meeting. FUNDAHMER works to create a "grupo de jovenes" or youth group in all their communities. Most people reading this are probably thinking "church youth group" but this is quite different but not completely different. It is something to get the youth (age 10 to 25) involved and thinking about their life, their community, and the reality they live. They do a variety of activities such as workshops, cultural events, political discussions, games, dances, art etc... I think it is a truly great thing and I love hanging out with all the youth and learning from their thoughts and questions. 

The meeting was supposed to start at 5pm, so of course it actually starts around 6pm. We start with 10 or 15 minutes of duck-duck-goose. I taught them this game last year and everyone (even the 20 year olds) love it! I have never had this much fun playing duck-duck-goose!  Then we talk for about 45 minutes - today was mostly planning - and we end, traditionally, with half an hour of dancing! At 7:45 I take a break to check the time and my heart skips a beat when I realize it's so late. I don't want to end the party, but I know I have to go. My family usually heads to bed at 8pm and I know they are waiting up for me (and keeping food warm for me). I run/walk back to my house, and Cesar, one of the youth leaders, walks me home. I find everyone in bed except for Ricardo. I feel bad that I didn't get to say goodnight to everyone (but I enjoyed the youth meeting so I only partially feel bad). I eat my semi-cold beans and rice mostly in silence, but I don't mind. It's been a good evening. It's a clear and beautiful night so I eat slowly enjoying the natural beauty of where I live... and enjoying the moonlight from the full moon which allows me to not eat in the dark. The battery for our solar panel died yesterday  so we use candles and flashlights now.

By 8:15 I am in bed... but I manage to read until 8:45... it is the end of a full and beautiful day in Los Naranjos. 

First Impressions (and my first week)

First impressions: 

1) I forgot how beautiful it is here.

Sometimes when I am walking to a neighbors house or to the restaurant, I just stop and stand completely still listening to the birds and observing my surroundings. I usually just stand for a few seconds or a minute so people don't think I am crazy, but I could stay like that, in marvel, for an hour or more. Everytime I look around me, I have to think how crazy and amazing it is that I actually live here. I hope I never lose that fascination and amusement...

I put up a bunch of pictures on a picasa web album, please check them out. Just click on the slideshow link or image on the right and it will take you right to the website. 

2) I also forgot how hot it is here.

I remember saying to my parents last year that the only time I am not sweating is when I am bathing. However, I must have blocked that little detail out of my memory, but it is true. I walk to the school and back (only a few hundred yards) and I am dripping in sweat!

My first week was kept busy with lots of eating and visiting - two very important things in Salvadoran life and in building relationships in the community. On that first day, at my welcome party in the community, I made the mistake of saying that I couldn't wait to eat tamales and Atole (this amazing drink made from fresh corn that is kind of like a sweet pudding but usually thin enough to drink). To my delight, someone sent fresh tamales and atole to my house the night I arrived. However, I have to pause here and make sure you understand how big of a deal this is, it takes at least half a day to make tamales and atole! But that first night was definitely not the end of my tamale eating. The next day I went to a traditional corn festival in a nearby community, where we stuffed ourselves with atole and corn on the cob... and of course someone invited me over to their house for dinner when I returned (a dinner of tamales). A tradition that continued almost every night I was in the community! THEN near the end of the week, someone sent over a bunch of fresh corn so we could make tamales at my house and I could see and participate in the whole process from cleaning the corn to cooking the tamales in a giant pot over the fire! The thing is that when you make tamales, you make A LOT of tamales so you can send them to family and friends... and of course eat tamales for 3 or 4 days. Needless to say I haven't eaten a single tamale since that first week in the community...

So, besides eating, what did I do with all my time?? What did I accomplish? 

I think that I did do a lot, but I have to say that most of what I did was be there and be a part of the community and the daily life. I got up at 5am and went with Alicia to the molino (where you grind corn to make tortillas) and said hey to all the other women and kids, sharing our daily plans... going into the city, going to the river to wash clothes, making tamales...etc. After the molino, I went with Ricardo or Alicia to help carry drinking/bathing water for the day, which takes a while... and is always interesting because the kids like to laugh at me attempting to carry the water jug on my head (sometimes successful, sometimes not so successful), not to mention that my water jug is about half the size of their water jug! I used to think I was in shape and fairly strong... 

A few evenings, I went to the school to teach computer classes (someone donated 3 computers to the school, but their is no one there that knows how to use a computer!!) so I think one of my goals is going to be to teach a few basic computer skills to the kids who are likely to advance on to high school. 

So that is what I did... I lived with Ricardo and Alicia and thier kids in Los Naranjos, and I think that is going to be the most important and essential part of what I accomplish this year. The project will only have successs if I know the people I am living and working with and if they trust me. Most importantly, this project, this year, is about the people, about creating a project that will contribute to a more just and sustainable livelihood for the people in Los Naranjos without sacrificing the environment and natural resources surrounding them.

But Ok, for all of you who want to know about all the technical stuff, I will share that as well. My goal for the week was to get a clear picture of what is going on in the community, to create a summary of all the projects currently going on, and visit each family to complete a brief survey with basic family and agricultural information. Thus, I spent a lot of time in meetings with project leaders, community leaders, and visiting each family. You may think it is ridiculous to visit every family, but it is not only necessary for the project, but a necessity out of respect for the community. And I think I did accomplish a lot that first week. I have a nice 4 page summary of the community, various committees within the community, and projects that the community is working on. Also, I know exactly who has a job and who does not and what each family is growing to eat and to sell. A random interesting fact about Los Naranjos is there are 18 different kinds of fruit trees growing in the community!

Bienvenidos a Los Naranjos

Finally, the day I had been anticipating since the day I landed in El Salvador - my first day in the community. We left the FUNDAHMER office in San Salvador around 9am (despite planning to leave at 8am) and arrived in the community a little after 10am. I savored the drive there, mentally recounting the last time I made this drive and the last time I was in the community - in March of this year, with a delegation group from my University but that stay was only for 2 days. However, even then I was wondering, when I would be able to return... but I knew I would be returning. And then there was my last day in the community last year...I remember saying goodbye, walking one last time across the soccer field and all the women coming up, many crying, saying goodbye. I struggled to find the right words to say, I wanted to promise I would come back, but I didn't want to be yet another "gringo" making empty promises. I knew I wanted to come back, but I admitted that it could be the last time I would see these people that meant so much to me. That day I left in August of 2007 was not so different from today, in August of 2008. As before, it was Armando and me in the little green pickup on a beautiful (but hot) Salvadoran morning, except then I was saying goodbye and now I am going to say good-morning... here I am to stay.

All the women, kids (and yes they let out school for an hour for my bienvenidos party), and men, who weren't away working, were gathered at the restaurant - aka, community meeting place (which is a new addition since last year!). Deicy, the president of the cooperative, gave a little opening speech, welcoming Armando and I, then the kids did several "artistic points" and for the last few dances they made me get up and dance with them! Only for the kids in Los Naranjos will I get up and show everyone my complete lack of latin rhythm. The kids love to dance and they seem to love it even more when I make my attempts at doing the meringue or salsa with them. After the dancing, Armando and I each made a short speech expressing gratitude for their hospitality and excitement for working with the community. The welcome party finished with a lunch for Armando and I of fresh Tilapia from the Tilapia ponds in the community. I am not going to lie, most of you know I don't like fish, and so I was not at all looking forward to this Tilapia lunch. But, surprisingly, it wasn't too bad. Fresh fish has a completely different taste than fish we buy at the grocery store; plus, you can make almost anything good fried! I figured I better start now liking the Tilapia because it is probably what I will be eating on every special occasion from now on in the community :)

Before saying goodbye, Armando and I walked around the community together, making a few house visits and he stopped for a long visit at my host family's house. While there, he put Marielos (my 5 year old little sister) in charge of taking care of me - which I must say she took very seriously!

I have to share a little more about my Salvadoran family... I live with Ricardo and Alicia and their two little kids, Marielos (5) and Diego (1 1/2). Alicia is 28 and Ricardo is 29; so they did not have kids until much later than most people in the community. A random interesting fact about my family is that Ricardo can cook AND make TORTILLAS! He is the first Salvadoran man that I have met who can make tortillas. One night him and I made the tortillas for dinner, and sometime he is going to cook for us. On another note, Diego is just one awesome kid. I don't think I have met another 1 1/2 year old that is as animated as Diego. Sometimes I like to just sit and watch him. 

I was a little worried about what family I was going to end up living with because it makes such a difference in your daily happiness, as well as your community involvement. I think it is perfect that I ended up with Ricardo and Alicia. Their amazing hospitality was obvious before I even spent a single night with them. Before Armando was allowed to leave their house, he had to carried 2 giant orchids with him that Ricardo had carried from the forest and planted at his house. The two that he gave to Armando, he could have sold for $5 or $6 each - the equivalent of a full days pay for each one! The thing that is even more amazing is this type of generosity is not uncommon here. 

My first few days in the community and with Ricardo and Alicia were a little awkward. However, I think this is unavoidable. Anytime you move in with a family (especially one that you hardly know) and move to a place like the "campo", there is going to be an acclimation period. Even though I had been in El Salvador for 2 weeks already, city life and community life are two very different experiences. Just getting used to living without running water, and electricity, and using a latrine is a big change. Then there is the change from living by yourself and on your own schedule to living with a family and adopting to a completely new daily rhythm. My first big shocker was going to bed at 8pm! By 8pm we are almost guaranteed to be in bed or in the process of getting ready for bed and by 8:30pm we are in bed with the lights out! In case you are wondering about the "lights out" part, we do have a solar panel (thanks to FUNDAHMER and Michael Jenkins) which powers one lightbulb. Also, I have to say that by the end of the week, I too was semi-tired by the time 8:30 rolled around...

This was my "team" at the organic agriculture workshop! Each team had to create a design for a family garden using the techniques we learned, such as crop rotation, association of crops, planting for calories and nutrition...etc. The photo below is me transplanting lettuce during the practical part of the workshop.

My Arrival (even though it's 3 weeks late)

"Why would you want to go to El Salvador?"

I was standing in line to check in at the Charlotte Airport and found myself behind a Salvadoran man returning to El Salvador after visiting family in the US. Because he didn't speak any English, his sister was standing in line with him trying to explain what to do once he got past security and to catch the connecting flight. When I realized we were both heading to El Salvador and thus had the same connecting flight, I volunteered to help and make sure he made it on the plane etc... The line to check in was rather long so we had a while to chat. His sister soon realized I wasn't going to El Salvador for vacation, and she seemed quite surprised by this discovery and so rather confusedly, she asked, "Why would you want to go to El Salvador?" Her question didn't necessarily surprise me, but it did make me uncomfortable in a way I don't know how to explain. Even though I found myself saying to her that I thought it was a beautiful country with a lot of truly great people, on the inside I was asking myself if I really knew what I was getting myself into this year. And the truth is, I don't.

My first day in El Salvador was fairly uneventful except for the fact that my luggage didn't arrive - along with 20 other people's. I think they just got tired of loading the plane and decided not to load the last half of the luggage. I ended up getting the luggage 2 1/2 days later so it wasn't too bad (luckily I packed some extra underwear and a t-shirt in my carry-on.) That afternoon my project mentor/boss and I went out for ice cream and I got some of my favorite coconut ice cream from my favorite ice cream store - right next to the office where I work when I am in the city. Last year, every Friday night when I came into the city from the community I would head straight over to get a large ice cream cone!

Even though I knew the Salvadoran culture is very relaxed, I still kind of expected to "jump right in" to the project. However, in case you haven't lived in El Salvador, things are laid back. For my first 3 days here, every morning people asked me if I got enough sleep (little did they know that I get more sleep in El Salvador than at home). And they acted surprised when I was at the office ready to go at 8am with everyone else the day after I arrived.

Despite my first week being very relaxed, I did jump right into everything the second week. On Friday of my first week, Don Armando (my boss/mentor) told me about an organic agriculture workshop going on Monday through Wednesday of the following week. A few other FUNDAHMER employees were going and he thought it would be good for me to attend as well. I agreed and so there I was at this conference with 5 other people I barely knew and 20 other Salvadorans I had never met. I, of course, was the only non-Salvadoran and thus the only non-native Spanish speaker, as well as one of the few women there. Plus, I was also the youngest and the only one without years of farming experience or years organizing farmers. To top things off, I didn't realize we were sleeping at the conference until 10 minutes before we left. As you can already tell, I was slightly overwhelmed. I do think the workshop is going to prove to be extremely helpful as we spent around 20 hours in the classroom and 15 hours in the "practical." And it was a good experience, but a hard experience. I will just say that I thought more than once about pretending to be sick so someone would come get me.

The first day at the workshop was the roughest...if anyone I knew even a little had asked me how I was doing, I probably would have burst into tears, but fortunately (or sadly) no one was there. The second day was better, even though I was exhausted because we got up to start working at 4am and we were meeting until 10pm at night. By the third day I was feeling a bit more confident and was even making a few jokes with some of the other people.

I got back from the conference on Wednesday night (of my 2nd week in El Salvador), spent all of Thursday in meetings (literally), and then left early Friday morning for the community. The meetings on Thursday were a bit long and tedious, but worthwhile. I felt better afterwards because we had more or less established an advisory committee for my project, as well as a few long and short term goals. One of the first things I was to do is a survey or diagnostic of the community to see what each family is growing to eat and to sell, and what kinds of potential various crops have. I am also going to include in the survey all the projects going on in the community, attempting to identify some difficulties and successes of each project. This will help me get a better idea of how the community works and various needs within the community. 

About Me

"Find where your greatest desires meet the world's greatest needs and go there..."

This time a year ago I was leaving El Salvador, unsure if I would ever return to the country that changed my life. Last summer, I had the opportunity to intern with the non-profit FUNDAHMER and live with a family for 10 weeks in the community Los Naranjos. The "plan" was for me to help with a sustainable agriculture project they were starting called "Centro Agroecologico," but I soon realized that I was of very little help. I knew nothing about tropical agriculture and I was not accustomed to working in the hot tropical sun (and thus I was always slow and tired). However, I went to learn and I definitely accomplished that. I learned a lot about the Salvadoran life and people. I caught glimpses of the Salvadoran reality - which was very different than the reality I lived back in the States. Before going I could quote you all the statistics about poverty and inequality and deforestation, but I knew nothing about the people living in poverty. The people affected by the deforestation. 

I still cannot truly say that I know what it is like to live in poverty because I always had the option to leave, and part of poverty is not having options. But I do think I got a snapshot of their life and their struggles. A life that is hard, but beautiful. A life that seems to be without mercy, yet the people are full of mercy. A reality that made me question whether God is truly a loving God, yet it was the people living this reality that taught me how to love...

And thus when I found myself in the plane looking down at El Salvador, I realized I left something behind. A part of me would always belong to the children I last saw running behind the pickup yelling "Adios Angelita, no nos olvidaremos" (Goodbye Angelita, Don't forget us).

When I returned to the states and began dealing with a good deal of culture shock, I also found myself asking a lot of questions about the world we live in and the inequalities that we see everyday (but most of us have learned to ignore). Through asking these questions, I realized that I needed and wanted to return to El Salvador. I wanted to fulfill my promises to come back and I wanted to give back to the people that taught me so much. I had to do something to help (in some small way) create a better world.

With the help of a Compton Mentor Fellowship, I am returning to El Salvador for a year to work on a project in sustainable agriculture and community development. For my project I will be living with the same community, Los Naranjos, that I lived with last summer. I will begin by just going into the community, and by living with them trying to understand their needs, hopes, and challenges. My hope is to bring the community together and to listen to their needs and desires and address the community-based concerns, as well as the ecological needs of the area. Then provide the community with the resources and training needed to become a sustainable agriculture cooperative. A focal point of this goal is to obtain organic certification. This will allow the community to sell its produce at much higher profit margins in the organic markets, and will thus ensure a more sustainable income for the farmers. Hopefully, this, along with other sustainable agriculture techniques, will reduce deforestation by decreasing the need to clear more farmland. As most of us know, deforestation is a real and growing problem, but the poor are not going to understand the importance of preserving the environment (and the rest of us cannot ask them to) until they can be assured of their next meal. Thus it is necessary to address the full range of problems associated with sustainability and search for a solution that is socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable. My hope is to work with the community and together work to find solutions that are truly sustainable. 

Where it all began