Fencing with the Farmers

A couple of weeks ago my training group and I celebrated our one year anniversary in our villages. It’s an exciting landmark, and I look forward to the second year of my service being more productive and enjoyable than the first. The knowledge of language and customs, the familiarity with local people and institutions that we have gained over the past year will (hopefully) give us the tools we need to design and implement successful, sustainable projects in partnership with our Guatemalan neighbors. I am working harder than ever, and am optimistic about our progress overall.

Much of my time has been taken up lately by preparations for our reforestation and school gardens projects. We have been fencing off community springs with barbwire to prevent livestock from entering and to protect the young trees we will be planting soon:

I always try to manage my projects down here with a light hand, so that the work belongs to the people. But of course, I give my input as well. Here is a picture of me working in the mountains with some campesinos, who are debating the merits of a suggestion I offered them about where to put the fence line:

As we prepare for our school gardens we are busy looking for organic fertilizer, soliciting vegetable seeds, and fencing off the growing space. The dads are getting excited about the project and helping out a bunch. Here are a couple of fathers working to clear the soil of roots:

We have also started compost piles to teach the kids about waste management and nutrient cycling, and to create the fertilizer we will need for next year. Prof. Max shows the kids how it’s done:

In addition to these undertakings we are beginning to write funding proposals for a number of community infrastructure projects: ‘improved’ wood stoves for families that are cooking on open fire indoors, potable water, and domestic roofs (it’s no fun to live in a leaky house at 10,000 feet). I have also started working with Peace Corps Guatemala’s Gender and Development Committee, and am focusing my efforts on creating the resources and training necessary so that our volunteers can do HIV/AIDS education in their communities. Last week we brought a small team of volunteers here to Ixtahuacán to do such a workshop at the teachers’ college where I am a professor. Central America and the Caribbean is a global hotspot for HIV, and neighboring Honduras has an estimated rate of infection of 2.5%. Because of this and the widespread ignorance about the disease here in Guatemala, we are hoping to expand HIV/AIDS education efforts, perhaps even creating a whole PC program focused only on this subject. Here is a photo of my friend Mary conducting an activity with the students in last week’s workshop:

On a personal note I just want to tell you all that I am one year in and loving it! I have no regrets about joining the Peace Corps and never think about quitting. I love my life here in Ixtahuacán, my friends, my work. I love getting out into the communities and collaborating with the people to find ways to improve their lives. I do, however, anticipate that I will want to return to the US when my service ends in April ’09 (it is possible to stay for a third year), and am beginning to prepare for life after Peace Corps. I am looking at management programs that specialize in issues of social responsibility and environmental sustainability, and intend to apply for entry in the fall of next year.

I hope all of you are doing well—I know that many readers have endured an abnormally hard Northern winter. But spring should be on the way soon, even for you guys up in Canada. Be well!