Small animals for the Widow's Collective in Chel

A small project we started in Chel was building a chicken coup for the eight members of the collective’s committee to start working as a egg and meat business. We will be working to grow into this endeavor over the next year.

These ladies have a willing heart even if I was lacking some extra hammers.

This was a lot like a Habitat for Humanity project. It was built by the women of the commitee with help from Michael and one other man Andres. At times Michael had to chase away helpful men because he wanted the women to build and manage this program themselves.


This woman traveled an hour and a half one way to help in this project and receive her personal 10 chickens. She made that journey three times.

Another use for the chicken coup is to raise chicks to give to the members of the collective. We bought over 650 chickens and distributed 10 each to 65 women. In the future we could buy day old chicks and raise them for three week before distributing to others in the collective. This would give us better control of their health as well as provide some income for these women.

Here is a photo of the committee members who will manage this work.

The Arrival of Our Chickens!

The rest of the women were divided fairly equally into two groups 67 received wiener pigs and 65 received 10 chicks and 27’ of chicken wire. Here is the group signing up to receive their chicks.

A truck arrived with 12 crates of chickens. We had ordered these from Nebaj


As each woman comes forward to receive their animal they place a thumb print on our record book.


We placed all the chickens in the shade and then brought two crates at a time into the coup. As the women entered threw one door the committee members filled each basket, with 10 chicks and the recipient carried them out the other side door.





Throughout this process widows would come up to me with gifts of thanks. Normally these would be bananas or cans of juice and at the end of the day we had quite a pile.

Another good day for all involved
SHEEP

To see the joy and excitement that helping these people brings makes this work feel like it is the best job in the world. .
In an effort to diversify the widow’s animal husbandry we bought 13 sheep. These will be raised and breed for meat. We would like to teach the art of felting so they could felt blankets and clothing if they have the interest.


By tying a number to each sheep and letting the women pick a number out of a hat we avoided favoritism.



Raising sheep is a family a fair. Often a child’s job is to take and tether the animal in a pasture on the way to school and then bring it back home when they return. We are starting with a small group of women and will expand based on their success rate. Here are a few more new owners.



Another day Andres and Michael traveled to Illom and, after spending the night, bought 67 wiener pigs. This is the same village we bought from last year so Michael is getting to be known there as "the pig man." Because the villagers there are surrounded by a plantation, they have resorted to raising pigs in the small spaces that are available to them.


We try everthing to find pigs for sale but door to door inquires are the most productive.

This mother pig had 11 piglets which we bought for $16 each. It was a great buy for us because the genetic stock is very good, and it provided a great income for this family. The finca only pays a little over $3 a day for labor.



Once again we pull into Chel with a truck full of wiener pigs.

Before the distribution of pigs, the women wanted to offer an official thank-you from the group. Some of the women are learning to use Michael’s camera. To keep from towering above the widows, Michael lowered his “tall" 5’8” frame to his knees for this photo-op.


Michael receiving a sombreo and mural. The Ixil people are such a generous culture they can not stop themselves from giving gifts.

This widow is trying to get a peek at the pig being caught for her.


Although we try to buy around the same size of piglets, we end up with a large variety of sizes and colors




Sometimes a little help is needed to get everything ready for the trip home.

Michael said ”One widow that has always touched my heart because of the extreme poverty that she lives in is Maria. She was in our monthly food program but gave up her place to a neighbor who she felt needed it more. I saved the biggest pig for her and announced why it was reserved for her. She had one of the biggest grins I have ever seen on her face when she received her prize”.

We added a new feature to our small animal programs by providing vacines and medicines for each animal. Gaspar Lynez, who has vetinary training, administered the treatment to help ensure a heathy start to all the animals.



While this boy is waiting in the drizzling rain, Gaspar treated each animal for worms with a cream in the mouth, a vaccine in the rump, and a belly spray for parasites.


Friends of The Ripple Effect we would like to share with you that this small animal program is extremely helpful in the lives of these women. On our next trip we want to start the same program with 65 widows in the community of Soltzil. We would also like to provide metal roofing for animal shelters, seed, and gardening instructions for this collective in Chel. We need your support. $25 opens the door to help another widow or single mother receive one of these gifts. Her labor turns that gift into an small business opportunity that truly makes a difference. Please consider supporting us in this work. All donations are tax deductible and our mailing address is The Ripple Effect 9712 Kopachick Dr Gig Harbor WA. 98335 e-mail therippleeffectinc@gmail.com

Water is coming to Nueve Puntos!

Upon my return to Nueve Puntos I felt a deep connection to these people. Watching their patient struggle with the basics of life and seeing their gratitude for someone to come alongside their struggle. By supporting the work of Ripple Effect you have brought hope and given a voice to these people. They have showered me with gratitude in response to our work and having a heart to listen to their needs. The need for water here has the whole community ready to work. Let us reintroduce you to Nueve Puntos, our water projects and our friends.




Lets begin our Project- Water for Nueve Puntos. On the first trip in to the village we needed to come to an official agreement for the work so we gathered the men from the village and started planning. I explained that we had funding for about half the project and that I personally only had around two weeks tops to work side by side with them. It is a four hour walk to Chel and during the month the month I had I needed to walk out three times to assist in other projects there. We divided up responsibilities with the community providing the labor to for the tanks, carring in all the piping and rebar, digging over a mile of trench for the pipe and cutting all our lumber.
T.R.E. would provide cement, rebar, gas and oil for the saws, buy the sand and pay for the men to carry the sand and cement from Los Encuentros. One surprising development was that the villagers wanted to make the gravel out of the rocks that surround the village. I have crushed gravel before but was skeptical that they could produce 120 100lbs sacks of gravel in a timely fashion. I was paying the going rate of $2.10 per sack! The next day I went to some meetings in Chel and then into Chajul to get cash. Before I left I stressed that we needed to work in force when I got back and the village elders needed to arrange a meeting with Los Encuentros to work out preliminary details on an agreement to share the spring water with them.

A photo can be worth a thousand words but this one only tells part of the story of what it means to walk from Nueve Puntos to Chel. Pedro here is pointing to the hill on the horizon that lies between Chel and Nueve Puntos. It is another two hours from there to the village. Three times I choice this route. The only sure time to chatch a ride on the shorter route to the road at Los encuentros is at 1:30 a.m.
Getting money from the bank took three days. I personally not only learned some banking rules but received a lesson in patience. Two days late I walked out of the bank with a bag of cash with which I would pay for our projects over the next 3 weeks.
Back in the village we started work on digging the hole for the tank. The tank was to be 12x12xx7 and needed to be ½ way under ground for more support.


It is through community effort that these projects can be accomplished.


By lunchtime it was becoming evident that we would be finding a few rocks. I wonder how many of my readers would be smiling knowing as Pedro does that these rocks aren’t going to move themselves. I was told over and over how happy the village was to have this work to do. Lacking materials many times they have to wait and watch their needs go unmet but given the opportunity they will do what seems impossible.
After lunch we needed to hike ½ a hour out to Los Encuentros to meet the truck from the hardware store. In total there was over 200 100# sacks of sand, 175 20’ P.V.C. pipes65 bags of cement to unload and carry up to the village







To save money on deliveries we loaded 72 post,72 2x4 and 1x12 boards to be delivered back in Chel along with roofing and chicken wire for another project.

How do you move 175 pieces 20’ P.V.C. pipe? With ingenuity!


My job was to herd four horses and take photos. At times it wasn’t so easy as there were two stallions to herd.

But my job was a lot easier than theirs.


Chico seating on the delivered pipe.


The village had moved 18000lbs of sand while I was getting money and was proving beyond a doubt that they wanted this project and are willing to work for it. Well that was enough for one day. It is time for a dinner of Boxbul.


A morning cup of coffee before work


The rocks hadn’t gone anywhere overnight


After two and a half days the hole was dug, 3000 lbs of gravel crushed and delivered, and the rebar grid tied. We were ready to pour but would wait till tomorrow because that afternoon the school put on a Mother’s Day celebration. We will save those photos for another blog.


The village leaders distributed the paid work of carrying sand, cement and making gravel equally among the families and everyone was excited to have a little income. Andres one of the families that is appears to be doing better than others told me he makes around $300 annually. When T.R.E. paid everyone we paid an additional 25% and each family earned around $44.



Mixing the concrete floor. Even the water had to be carried to site.


After mixing the floor in the morning we cut lumber in the afternoon for tomorrow forming


I had to try my hand at making 1x’s. I am teaching some of my friend to use the camera. They love it and I get to be in some of the pictures.

On this project I acted as mason and taught the men how to do the work. The school foundation and floor we built is the only concrete work in the village. Although they have not had the experience they learned quickly and we had a lot of fun.

Interior forms and rebar completed.


Want a break to play marbles?


Placing the exterior wall.


My time had run out and I needed to hike out to Chel and the widow. They finished forming and poured the walls the end of May and will wait for 5 days to let the concrete cure some before beginning the tank lid.
One night they wanted to have a meeting in the church to say thanks. They had me seat if front and one by one came up and share their thanks. Many brought gifts, some that had taken months to make. Others told me "I only carrying my words of thanks to give you." Some cried as they said never before has someone come, cared and helped. When I loaded my backpack it felt that I was carrying away rich treasures and their faces showed that they were happy to be able to share.

As I left I turned to say a final farewell. I wanted to share how much they had touched my heart, how strong their effort had been, how much they mean to me but the words would not come. So with tears on my face I turned away. Until next time my friends "Adios".