Carlotta's Ripple

Last July TRE had a booth at “The Bainbridge Island Blue Grass Festival”.  These festivals are both fun and a great way to share what we are doing in Guatemala. We sell some beads and textiles to raise money for our projects and Carol and I sell soap and handmade furniture to generate a little personal income. Even though it takes quite a bit of time and effort it is hard to consider these events work because the day is spent visiting with new people and listening to great music.

    One lady who passed through our booth had first met us at another festival and visited our blog site so she was familiar with what we are doing. She asked us how she could help and we shared with her the idea of hosting a bead party. We have been looking for people to host a tupperware style bead party in their home and invite 8 to 10 friends over to shop.  She loved the idea and over the next few months 20 or more emails were exchange in preparation for a party. Carlotta really embraced this idea and not only sharred with her friends photos of the bead ware but told them about how we would use the proceeds in  our projects. When the day for the party arrived her friends came motivated to shop! At the end of the day we were all astounded that we had grossed $1700! This party took place just days before my November trip. Our projects for this trip had already been planned and funded so this money allowed us to choose a special way to help. I knew a group of 101 women who had been waiting for two years for some help. These women are widows or single mothers that live in the village of Sotzil.  The following photos are the ripple that Carlotta and her friends effort created. It shows how the effort of one person can combine with others and reach out in a profound way to bless others. We combined this aid with the donation from another woman , the founder of Miracles in Action Penny Rambacher  who donated over 300 blankets.

                 The village of Sotzil with the plantaion La Perla on the far hill top. This is the olny village we are working in that was not burned during the war. A garrison of solders stayed at La Perla and could always watch Sotzil so after killing 18 villagers when the first came they felt they hed sufficient control not to destroy the whole village.

     Sotzil is a village that is surrounded by the plantation called La Perla. The village was deeded a small parcel on the side of the opposing hill. Without any private land except for their home sites these villagers are dependent on the plantation for work. Outside of the village the plantation rents parcels of land to the villagers for Q35 ($4.50) a month so they can raise food for their families. These parcels can yield 300 pounds of corn each which would sell for Q450. The corn needs 8 months to grow so the cost of rent is Q280.  The difference of Q170 or $21 needs to cover the cost of  seed and labor to work this 1/7 acre plot for 8 months. Wages for the seasonal work available on the plantation are only $3.50 a day for an adult male. I often feel that this situation is a form of economical slavery. The people have no other choice yet the wages and agreement offered are so unjust that poverty and need are going to continue for generations to come. It is in this situation that TRE is working to help the village of Soltzil. In 2014 we are planning a major water project that will bring water to each home. We have been working on the plan for almost a year now. We also brought wiener pigs for this group of widows in 2010

 

                                            25 boxes of grinders arrived

   In early November we meet with the women’s committee they repeated a request for hand grinder that would grind the corn needed to make tortillas. The women have been grinding their corn by a stone and pedestal method. This type of aid is not really a project or a part of a program but simple a gift to help life be a little easier. Although our central work is through projects or programs it feels good to be able to offer a simple gift at times.

 

The arrival of these molinos or grinders is a big deal and creates a lot of excitement in the community. We had plenty of help to carry the grinders to the house where we would disperse them.

                                          Tx’aq’a’m  t’eb’kin  A grand gift

These grinders cost $25 each. The brand Corona is well respected and I overheard many comments about the quality of this gift.

 

At 10:00 the women gathered and I explained the history of how this aid came to these women. How Carllota who lives in Washington State invited her friends to come and support our work and how another woman Penny in Florida saw the photos and needs of this region and donated the blankets. It felt good to share that even if life is unjust and hard they were not forgotten; that from the effort of women in the United States a gift has arrived that I hope reminds them each day that they are not forgotten.

Na- the term used for older women. When passing a women of this age it is polite to say Mat' in Na which literally says "I am going old woman"  Instead of being offended she will reply "E' ba" - it is well. Although it may not translate well Na conveys a level of respect and achievement that is earned by just living a long life.

 

These proud women listened intently to these words and occasionally gave a collective sigh of affirmation.  At the end of all our translation two women stepped forwards and thanked me and the women that gave to provide this aid. They asked me to carry their gratitude back to these women in the states. There seemed to be a connection and identification with the women that provided this aid and those that received it.

                                            So let’s form a line and get started

 

                         The blue blankets are used American airline first class blankets. They are the softest blankets they have ever had.

                                                    I should mention this was a long

                                                 

                                                                        Long

                                                                   

                                                                     long

                                                         
                       long line. 101 women were helped this day. 101 grinders and 101 blankets delivered and it all started from Carlota’s bead party. Each day as these gifts are enjoyed there is a reminder of a special day in which caring and love triumphed

    We always keep a registry of who receives what and the date they received it. The majority of the women will sign by finger print

Andres, my faithful helper getting the last box of grinders from the house. For me this is such a telling photo as Andres is always the first and last person to be working. His heart is so dedicated to helping and service and he has become such a vital part of our work as well as a cherished friend.

                                             

The committee of women prepared us a special thank-you lunch of tamales and chicken soup. These tamales do not have any filling in them and are eaten by dipping or breaking them into your soup like we would use bread

                  Bane' sup con xaq'tze' ku'ach  Making tamles in bannan leaves

                                            Uka Ka   drinking coffee

  After all the work is done here are Manuel, Andres and two of the leaders of the collective enjoying the satisfaction of a good day. Captured on their faces is the feeling I often get to experience. The same feeling that these widows and mothers are feeling after receiving such fine gifts. That amidst poverty and need there is a level of satisfaction that life just got a little easier, that as a community we have come together and learned we are not forgotten. Tantiush le ben se’e Thank you and God bless

A note on the Ixil words-- I hope everyone can allow me a little freedom to play with these words. There are a few Ixil friends that veiw the blog (even though I have never taken the time to translate it into spanish )and they will get a real kick out of it. It is also good for me to keep practicing.

 

A trip into the mountains

I have felt like going back and forth between two extremely different worlds is like submerging myself into a pool of water. At first you think you can’t breathe and hold your breath remembering your other world. After a while necessity comes and you have to breathe. It is then that you remember you can live in both worlds. I guess this trip down I really wanted to dive deeply into that pool. I wanted to hear the sound of life in the land of the Ixil. After I finished with two sets of project meetings I took a seven day walk to visit six different villages. The purpose was to look at the water needs in three villages, promote personal gardens another one and veiw the completed water project in Illom our final destanation. For the first five of those days we did cross a road. The following are photos from the first two days.

Here is Manuel Ramirez our program director and Gaspar one of our four guides from the village of Xecon O’ that lead us back to the village. They left the village at 12 midnight to come out and meet us. We are at the upper end of the village Chel

A little ways up the valley we made this nice river crossing. The journey had all the makings of a fine walk in the park. The prime purpose of the visit to the first two villages was to take a firsthand look at the water needs. The mules were loaded with vitamins, clothing, school supplies and some stuffed animals

I have decided to start learning Ixil and here Manuel is teaching two phrases that come in handy on a trip like this. Va Vitz, the ridgelines that separate the vatz vitz or face of the mountains. Cunash pa mik vatz vitz. Which translates into Lets go slowly Michael it’s a climb. I think this is called the inductive study method.

And climb we did. Up through a beautiful forest. My other word for the day was “Mam Xoq’ol” A lot of mud.

Twice in this journey we ran into a Ixil traffic jam. This time as we were heading up the grade and 15 mules were being driven down it

This is a hard life but for two days I listened to my companions talking about how poorly these animals were respected by their drivers. The drivers were from a plantation 10 hour away and would overburden the animals for three to four years and then sell them. With 200 pounds of spice on the mule’s back I wonder if the spice will be sold under a fair-trade label

This owner is acting as a human anchor holding the tail the whole way down the grade to slow the animal’s decent.

An amazing sight to watch and a chance to learn another ixil word “mam cho qol” A lot of mud

One more decent to go in this part of the trail. I would like to stress that this is not typical treatment of animals here but abuse for profit. The drivers charged $20 to haul each bag and the value of the cargamomo was around $320 each. Most of the farmers do not have a mule and if they did by loading it with only 100 pound it would take them four hard days to make the round trips needed to delivery. On a happier note I meant to tell my grandson Caden that two days after this event a mule put his head through the doorway to join us for breakfast and all we did was laugh, say hi and share some tortillas with him. All kinds of things happen in Guatemala!

Finally after six hours we arrive in Xecon O´. Xecon O’ is only two years old. TRE has waited this long to visit to see if the people would be able to make it. This like so many other sites is where people tried to hide during the war. Now there is a “homesteading” program that these 15 families are working onto receive around 40 acres each . This is their future. So much of the problem of poverty in Guatemala is related to access to land. TRE would like to helppromote this opportunity for land  in these villages in two ways. 1.) Provide clean drinking water and 2.) Help seed these mountains with the food needed to feed these families with a healthy diet. The first year the fields were cleared by hatched and now one family has a chain saw as evidence by the boarded house. It takes a month to build this type of home and during the first year the women and children had to leave often because there was no food. Now the family I stayed with was acting like chefs with a variety of vegetables grown in the fields. The day I was there (except for one family) all the women and children had gone out to registrar for a national program.

The town center.

In a good town meeting there is talking

and listening high up in the mountains

For drinking waterthe community has two catch basins like this.

A few more like this.

And two for washing clothes like this.

This is their spring. 2,800 meters away. We will receive both raining and dry seasons measurements with the hope of bring water to one small holding tank and a community spigot. The water is dirty when I took the photo becuase we were clearing brush from the site.

Yes I really was there. I am not wearing brown pant but have fallen in the mud twice so have mud up to my hips. I also learned a new trick to get mud out of you boots with a matchete.

The children of the forest. The reason we keep working in places like this is for the people. We are working so that the future of these children is more secure with the basic needs of food and water.

We distributed some vitamins and toys and will return this trip with

vegetable seeds and blankets.

They are asking for water.

Day two.

After a magical visit to this mountain community it was time to head to Alguna Caba and Caba, two sister villages.

Packing up.

Loading our vitamins, toys and school suppliest.



We had three new guides for this trip( one in not in this photo). The Alcade is in the center of this picture and soon he was in the lead with me trying to keep up. I asked his name using the Ixil phrase three times but he would only tell me he was ¨Älcade Authrizado Central de aldea Caba¨ After three times he added ¨¨respecta¨¨ and I realizedthat for this year of service as leader his name was his title. We laughed all day as we used his full title as we hiked through the mud. Caba and Alguna Caba were both reestablished 14 years ago after being abandoned during the war.

The new word for the day  Mas  Xoq’ol , more mud. Two and a half days were like this and I was surprised how much easier it was to hike after we left the mud. Each step acted like a suction cup.

Descending into Caba. This is on the edge of the municipality of Chajul and in the distance is the district of Uspantan. There is a lot of space for people to live in.

Entering the two villages. Hear there are two schools and a clinic. With a much more developed village. This village water meeting took place in one of the schools. Afterwards we went to visit the spring.

This spring could yield 60 gallons a minute with a new collection tank,

During our meeting and visit to the spring the school children and their mothers had gathered to seek help and receive a gift of school supplies, hats and stuffed toys

.

They had been waiting for almost two hours in eager anticipation.

I have been told often I am like a village father who brings gifts to his kids after a long journey. Others say we bring Christmas. However you describe it  is a blessing to help make someone’s day special.

 

Two of the kids who don’t attend school who came in from working in the fields to late to receive a gift. I reached into my pack and found a new flashlight and marbles that made their day brighter.

After we gave out all the supplies I visited with Marcos the village medic. He has received 18 months medical training and is the medic for the two villages. We left him a copy of where there is no doctor (in Spanish). Each copy cost $30 and we are looking to put a copy in 7 villages. It is a great medical tool as well as a guide to community development. Donations for these will be greatly appreciated.

The next morning it happened. That magical moment arrived as we ate breakfast and I learned a new phrase. “Atin tzitza xola va mic” I am here among friends. As I looked into the face of each of the dozen or so people in the room and the phrase keep rolling off my tongue our eyes meet, we all burst into laughter and I knew it was true. I was breathing yet fully submersed again in the land of the Ixil. I was here among friends. It is amazing how connected I can feel with these people who open their home and hearts to me. After such a short time our good byes felt deep and profound.

We said our goodbyes and were given a new set of porters and headed up the trail to the next village. All this and more in just two days, life feels full.

    I know we can help these people with your continued support. Their life doesn’t need to be so hard if we will share a little of ours. “Ma’ t in”  I am going now. Adios.