Otra Fe April Report: Planting Prep for Rainy Season, Chicken Project

Noé, a member of the Atehucía agriculture group,
showing off the fully developed squash plants.
This was the first dry season planting
on the plot in the El Molino estuary.

The days when I receive the Otra Fe monthly reports are the best days. As I'm going through my International Development class, I find myself being able to relate so much of my learning to what is happening within this project. Jim tells us they are closer to establishing the not-for-profit status. I am excited for life to slow down so I can get more involved again. Perhaps once my course is finished.

We still need to have a better alternative than renting land down there. Does anyone have a few hundred thousand dollars they would like to part with, for a sustainable food security project? Wink, wink. Let me know.

In the meantime, visit the Otra Fe Blog here to read about how they are finding land to rent and taking better care of chickens than ever before, resulting in improved production of eggs and meat. And make sure to click on the reports for the pictures!

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GMO OMG

I know people don't like these types of posts, but today, when organic beef & dairy in Canada is threatened by GM alfalfa, I had to rant.

I'm also in quite a bad mood about this, so not ready to hear my sarcasm or frustration? Or don't like my opinion? Don't read it. However, I'd rather be disliked for standing up for something I believe in and talking about it, rather than liked for keeping quiet.

Today I've felt on the brink of tears and utterly heartsick by what is happening in our world with GMOs. This is one of the biggest dupes that a company has pulled in the history of the world. And you better believe there are just a few pockets that are being completely FILLED by it.

What sucks? That some Canadian farmers feel under attack by this argument against GMOs, since it would mean they'd have to change their entire operation. But the truth is - we LOVE farmers. You grow the food of the world, for sure. More people should be like you. And we should all be responsible for coming to a solution that would work to change Canadian farming practices.

What's the worst? That enough people don't care about their own health enough to take a long hard look at the facts (and more importantly, the facts we don't know, hence why GM foods shouldn't be on our shelves anyways) to not let GM foods become a staple in Canada. We need to start talking about it more and thinking of solutions together. There should be town think-tank meetings on this and coffee shop chatter. Yet in many places, it's dead silent because we don't want to face the bad news.

What's the bad news? Huge CHEMICAL companies have taken over our food supply.
And the medical world.

The way I honestly view it? It fits up there in the level of crimes against humanity.

People say, "there's nothing I can do about it." But the truth is that YOU CAN do little things every single day that will eventually add up. Things like doing a bit of research, buying new brands and shopping at your farmers market (even then, you don't know for sure if it hasn't been affected by GM. Look for organic.) I'm not a purist by any means, but I try to be more educated in my purchase decisions. You can even plant a few herbs or veggies that you eat all the time so no one but YOU controls how they are grown. Step by step, day by day, it becomes easier to live a life free of GMO's. It just means committing to something that's bigger than yourself. It means making one small step everyday. It means caring.

The argument "But GMO's are the only way we'll feed the world."

That is such bullshit. I'm so tired of that argument.

Yes, the population is growing at an alarming rate. But there is tons of land that is unnecessarily used for so many other things than growing food.

And there is ample space all over the world for us to grow the food required to feed ourselves.

Would it mean changing diets possibly? Maybe.

Would it mean starting to care less about parking lots and more about soil conservation? Yep, likely.

But going back to growing our own food is one way to help feed the world.

Oh and the argument "We don't even know yet if GM foods are harmful!"

Yay. We don't know yet just how bad they are for us. Notice how many horrible diseases exist today that didn't even ten years ago? Or how much more prevalent allergies are? How many gluten free kids do you know? I had never heard of that term three years ago and now I can name twenty. I'm not only blaming that on GM foods, but man, we just said we didn't know what they've caused except I know they've only been around for about 20-30 years, and I've never heard of someone's grandmother being celiac. Freaky coincidence?

And from the research that has been done, I don't know. Crazy tumours and terrible diseases just don't seem like good "maybe this is what they do" results to me.

It might also mean that we have to re-think the way that we inhabit the earth. Do we each really need a three story home with five cars and two TVs and three laptops and four cell phones? Why do you think "snowbirds" fly south for the winter? Or why our ancestors followed the animals south during the cold season. To maintain a food supply? Makes sense. Can you pack up a three story home and everything in it each winter? Probably not. So perhaps let's look at living a bit simpler with the opportunity to adjust (I know everyone will think I'm completely nuts for this one. Yes I know my gypsy lifestyle won't work for everyone.)

Look I know the times have changed and not everyone has a job where they can follow weather patterns to wherever the animals roam or not everyone can grow their own food or some people legitimately need to be as busy as they are and cannot afford to do the research on this (that last one's a lie, everyone can do a bit of research on it). But maybe other solutions mean developing co-operative partnerships with the South for the cold seasons here? I'm not saying everything about technology is bad - hell transportation is necessary for me to see my family. Maybe we send them excess food during our growing season and they us, when they have it? It's really just about the making the point that there are a lot MORE solutions than injecting our food with chemicals to feed the world and relying on more and more stuff rather than the basics.

The other thing I've heard with GM foods is "We're going to be sustainable in feeding the world's population."

How can it be sustainable if farmers in poor countries around the world can't afford it? Did you know that you have to purchase new seed every year with Monsanto? How is that sustainable? What about synthetic fertilizers - they require the mining of materials that we're going to run out of? How does that solve a long-term problem? The real story is this: If Farmer A's crops blow into (organic) Farmer B's fields (oh so likely esp. with GM alfalfa) then Farmer B therefore gets sued? Sued? How is that sustainable?

Or the bees dying. Yeah. That should help us and our environment live a long and healthy life - let's kill the one organism that gives everything life!

I personally work with a group of farmers in El Salvador who have been stripped of their power to grow food for their families when they were forced to use Monsanto-and-friends seed, fertilizer, pesticides, etc. We are fighting now to get heritage seed back for them, to use organic fertilizers (like compost & manure, which is readily available from a natural cycle and need not be mined) and pesticides to take their power back so they can simply grow food to feed their families.

Oh, so when you said that it's going to help us feed the world, did you mean that GM foods will help NORTH AMERICANS feed the world? Because that's probably what some people are saying...but that's not a solution. That's another showcase of our greed, our ridiculous "we do everything best" mentality and a great example of caring about only one thing: not families or people or health, or actual sustainable solutions, but about the bottom line.

To be really honest, I'm sad and I'm sick and I'm scared for the future of our food supply that is controlled and dominated by a chemical company. Why shouldn't you be?

Oh, and if me being scared doesn't help, everyone believes Dr. Oz. See how Dr. Oz is trying to bring light to the subject by having the Director of GMO OMG on his program here >> 

And watch the trailer below. At this point, this documentary doesn't surprise me at all. Hey, if a few years from now we finally get some studies where they say GM foods don't hurt you at all and can be naturally sustained, call me crazy and bring on the apple-that-doesn't-turn-brown and the food that doesn't rot. Until then, please leave the choice up to me.

GMO OMG Trailer from Compeller Pictures on Vimeo.

Sources:
DavidSuzuki.org
http://geneticroulettemovie.com/

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Otra Fe March Report: Organic Fertilisers, Soil Care, Chicken & Egg

I continue to be blown away by the efforts of Otra Fe in El Salvador. Our own agronomist, Otoniel, writes these amazing monthly reports that summarize the activities going on down there and sends pictures where possible. Here is March's report below. 

Remember this is a small group of campecino's who decided to come together as a co-operative and create opportunities for themselves where none really existed. This is a story of perseverance. 

Report of activities carried out in Atehuecia Community: 

5th of March:
On this date the Atehuecia farming group met to discuss preparing the fields for the new period of agricultural production that will begin in the month of April with the goal being that the fields would be ready whenever the first rains come, perhaps very early in May. The conversation included the theme of tilling and caring for the land and its significance for today and for the future. Pastor Felix Lino accompanied the meeting.

12th of March:
This meeting took place in Chancuyo with the purpose of organising ourselves so that other persons would not burn their fields, and also to explain to other farmers the damage that is done to the earth when the vegetation left in the soil after the harvest is burned.

22nd of March:
Brother Felix Lino gathered the farming group to continue the work of consciousness raising with the families concerning the use of organic fertilisers making use of local resources such as the organic residuals obtained from their own households. The experience of some members of the group was also shared. These had  produced their own fertilisers using the residue from the harvest of the beans, shucked corn cobs, chaff from rice, and manure.

2nd of March:
We organised a get together to make organic fertilisers, using cobs, manure, ashes from the wood-burning stoves, and the remains from the bean harvest. 10 farmers participated in the event. The experience was later reproduced for 5 more families.

16th of March:
On this date we had the great experience of visiting 4 families in the homes and on their fields in order to see and know how the family fertiliser production is making out.

Report of activities carried out in Monte El Padre Community, and with the farmers in San Diego hacienda.

Generally speaking, the activities in both places have been oriented toward attending to the needs of the farmers (men and women) in their household tasks of looking after their chicken and egg project, principally helping with the reproduction of chicks. We also have been involved in the activities surrounding the search for land to cultivate this year. Preparation of land is already underway. There follows the detail of the principal activities.

14th of March:
Monte El Padre community meeting where we reflected on the condition of the land on the new plots that each of the families have rented or leased for the harvest in 2013, and, in order to preserve the small amount of debris that has been left on the ground, we are mounting a local campaign to explain to the neighboring farmers the damage it does to the ground when it is burned on the field.

20th of March:
In the hacienda San Diego a visit was made to promote soil care when performing the initial tasks of land preparation, mainly recommending that they prevent their land from being damaged by fire caused by other neighboring farmers.

Brother Juan Ramón constantly is talking to the farmers about "the soil that produces life." It is important to emphasise the constant participation of men and women in the meetings and activities that have been conducted.

8th of March
We performed follow-up visits to poultry houses in order to check the overall health of the chickens and check their nutritional status and egg production. We verified also that compliance with the meal plan has been recommended.

As a product of the new meal plan in March there was a daily average of 6 eggs per hen and there was also chicken and mature hens for meat more often than last year.

22nd of March:
We performed the first vaccination campaign for adult birds (over 18 weeks) that were near the beginning of producing eggs, and for chickens and small cocks aged from 4 to 17 weeks. That day a total of 125 birds were vaccinated.

23rd of March:
The second day of poultry vaccination was conducted on this date and a total of 170 were vaccinated since a vaccination of fowl in the neighborhood was implemented as a precaution to prevent outbreaks of diseases caused by viruses. On both days we had the support of the local team led by Don Armando Sandoval.

The photograph shows the visit to one of the families
that have begun to experience the production of organic
fertiliser. Although it will not be sufficient for their plot,
it will begin to improve the fertility of this year. 

Brother Noah (2nd from left) shows the state of
decomposition of his compost to Agronomist Otoniel.

Brother Toño (right) already produced compost last year,
but this year he is producing double the fertiliser
to apply to all of his land, on which
he grows corn, beans, rice, cassava and some vegetables. 

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December in the Food Security Project

December was an exciting month for the project...there was growth in the areas of non-traditional methods of farming, as well as legitimate benefits of organic fertilizers showing their colours.

From the report of our Agronomist:

On December 4th, as part of the Otra Fe team's interest in searching out non traditional activities or options in the area of production and sale of foods, we went to visit a tilapia breeding project on the outskirts of the village of San Pablo Tacachinco, about 35 kms south west of the city of Santa Ana. There we had the opportunity to learn in great detail all the different aspects of raising and comercializing tilapia. Our purpose is to broach this idea in communities that have a sufficient water resource the possibility of developing in the medium term a project that would give them the opportunity to better their quality of life. This was also a good opportunity for training for the team.

On December 12-19 y 26 meetings were held in Monte El Padre and Hacienda El Milagro in Texistepeque, as well as in Hacienda San Diego (near Metapan) with the goal of explaining in detail the benefits obtained in the soil by using organic fertilizers consistently. In 2013 it is proposed to put this to the test in a more extensive program. (I love this update because it's the first for sure we've seen about using organic fertilizers.)

Check out the photos & project report here (warning: it is a versión de español)

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Updates on Food Security Project in El Salvador

Here are some highlights from the October and November updates from the fields of El Salvador. Our Agronomist, Otoniel, is the one sending updates and we thank him sincerely. Muchas gracias mi amigo!

(I'm still working on my Spanish as I found a class in Kelowna to take...and I hope to visit the fields again this summer - money and time provided.)

October 4: The project “Otra Fe” in the community Monte El Padre is causing interest among other groups of farmers, which is why we met on October 4 (Juan Ramón and Otoniel) with twenty-five farmers who cultivate small plots on the farm "El Milagro"in the jurisdiction of Texistepeque to share the vision of short, medium and long term goals that the project has in the technical area and in the area of farm values for family and community.

October 20: Accompanied by eight farmers from the community Monte El Padre we conducted a technical inspection of second planting crops. We walked seven and a half kilometres to visit twelve plots cultivated with millet, squash and pipián squash which, thanks to the dedication of the farmers are developing well, with the assurance of receiving the expected harvest at the end of 2012.

October 30: (This is my FAVOURITE kind of update to get!!!)
With the presence of Pastor Juan Ramon and attended by 25 people, men and women, meeting of subsistence farmers was held (in San Diego) to talk about "community organization" to fight for the improvement of community health, education and food production. At the end of the meeting, the group chose a local board to represent them in present and future actions taken by the community.

On November 30 Ramon Ramirez met with the group of farmers to have a motivational talk in relation to building harmonious community relationships and the local work of mutual aid and solidarity as basic practice in community development.

Also on November 30th, the group met to give thanks for the blessing obtained through the harvest. Pastor Felix Lino pondered with the male and female farmers about the product obtained from the earth and responsibility to work the land and care for it.

Religious or not, it's important to give thanks to the Universe / God / Buddha / Nature / Krishna or whomever you care too for the food that the Earth provides for us. What a special responsibility we've been given.

Gregorio Escalante shows off his bean plants.
He has had a good harvest & there will be food for the family!

A group of farmers visiting Don Beto's plot of mustard
seedings - a new crop for him.

The hard work of bean harvest.

Read the October report in full >>

Read the November report in full >>

To visit the Otra Fe website and to see all the reports, click here >>

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Update on Food Security Project - Otra Fe

I recently received our September update on Otra Fe - the Food Security project that I was in El Salvador learning about this year.

This project is funded by a Canadian company, but currently managed by three amazing men that I met this year down in El Salvador.

Here's an example of some of their meeting topics in Ahuachapan. (There are two Co-operative projects currently - one in Ahuachapan and one in Texistepeque):

September 4 
“Sustainable Agriculture” was the theme of the conversation on this date, in which a great emphasis was placed on care for the Earth on which right now we live as part of 7 billion persons, and there are still many to be born. It falls to farmers to be responsible to secure their food supply.

September 8 
We did a circuit of the parcels and gardens to find out how the second planting (principally beans) was making out. There were no apparent difficulties up to that date. On the same day we dedicated part of the afternoon to evaluate the results of the first harvest which was for food corn and to obtain seed corn from native varieties. Everything had gone according to how these men and women had planned.

September 11 
At the clinic in Chancuyo Canton, Ahuachapan, Felix Lino met with 20 persons with the purpose of promoting the organizing of the families that participated in the project with an eye to commercialising beans and corn from the first harvest so that a better price for the products could be obtained.

September 18 
With 35 persons participating, a gathering was held in a church building on-site with the purpose of sharing the experience of each farmer in the management of the crops established for his or her parcel, principally in management of infestations and diseases, and in identifying distinct varieties of beans.

To me this is fascinating - that a small group of dedicated peasant farmers in El Salvador are truly making a difference. My role right now is so very tiny - to merely take their Spanish and translated reports and to make them accessible to a larger viewing audience. But it is so fun to be involved, to read the reports and recognize all of the faces within them. I sincerely hope I'll get a chance to head back down South this spring / summer to visit them all again.

To read the whole report, pictures included, click here >>

To visit the Otra Fe website and to see all the reports, click here >>

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Reflection on my time away

On my last day in Ahuchapan, we were invited to speak at a campecino meeting in a squatters village. As we walked in, I recognized several of the farmers as those that we have seen over the past weeks - in the fields and in the community. The meeting was to discuss the opportunity for the clinic here to become a working project again - and about the Food Security project. On this last day, a very special moment occurred:

Jim & Felix were speaking (as I am still a-stuttering away in Spanish) and one of the gentlemen in the crowd motioned for me to come and sit between him and my favourite special lady - Maria - on a bench in the front row. Things slowed down for me a bit as I walked over, sat down, hugged Maria and gave her kisses and thanked him for inviting me in. It was a moment of being invited to sit with them, rather than stand apart from them. As I sat there, listening with the rest of them, tears came to my eyes because I felt for once that the difference between us evaporated - and just for a moment - I was one of them.

Our last morning in the fields.
To supply each of the campecinos one manzana
- just enough for their family & them -
we would need to fundraise between $150,000 - $450,000. 

The clinic building that is currently abandoned, but
ready to be fixed up provided we could find doctors and
medicine.

Our community meeting. Faces of the heartbeat of ES.

So how do you begin to digest these intensive weeks I've had here? I've received big real life lessons in sociology, philosophy, theology, geography, agronomy and international development. There is a long road ahead of me over the coming days and weeks and months as I get my situation at home worked out. However, a number of priceless knowledge has been given to me and my heart - just as I felt coming home six months ago from India.

I love how every conversation I've been having lately - be it with the community here, with the Canadians that were here building stoves, with my sister or with my friends that I met on the other side of the world - comes back to how we can make a sustainable difference in our own lives and the lives of those around us. And that starts with basic needs. We need to shift the way we are eating as we are causing ourselves all kinds of diseases. We need to shift the way we take care of Mother Earth as environmentally, again, we are causing all kinds of diseases and unrest...when in fact we are given this fertile earth that can grow amazing foods - without chemicals of any kind (unless you buy Monsanto-plagued seeds) - to nourish ourselves and our family. If each family had a little plot of land, a garden and some training, we would all eat well and be fully taken care of.

It's almost as if we need to revert back to simpler times, keeping our knowledge and advancements where they serve humanity only. It means nurturing Mother Earth to provide for us only what we need and then giving back to her where we can. It means if I have a dollar in my pocket - and you have none - I give you a quarter to get started. To share and live equally and in harmony. This is true abundance.

Abundance is not in having "things". It comes in having conversations and living in community. Abundance is having enough food to nourish our bellies and conversation, community and love to nourish our souls.

In going to Central America, in simply taking notes and giving a few smiles and organizing the project a wee little bit, I have given a tiny bit of myself. Yet, I have been given so much. I've been given the gift of reflection and appreciation for my own life, family and friends. I've been given lessons in what it means to truly live and thrive off of a tiny amount. I've been given the gift of renewal in my faith for a better world...if only we can all work together to make that happen.

Do I have to go back to my job? Yes. Do I like what I do everyday? Sure, most days. But in the end, does it give me the means to connect with others, to thrive in a communal workplace where we try to rise up for the greater good - that is left up to me to ensure. It could, if I work with the right type of clients who are wanting to do the right type of good out there. But does my job give me the means to try to continue on now, one step at a time, with my life? Yes. And as I figure out over the coming months where I'm going to move and what I'm going to do, I'm grateful for this.

And where will I go with this gigantic development project that still goes on down in El Salvador? Well, I need to find what skills I can give best to it. That makes me think it's important to look at when I was happiest there. And that's easy, in two situations do I feel really excited and happy: 1) in organizing the projects and getting a handle on what is being done, what has been done, and what needs to be done. In making sense of the chaos. This is the business side of me coming out. 2) in walking with the people. I simply feel my best when setting one foot beside the other with the campecinos and their families.

So what does that mean for next year? I have the opportunity to go down for a much longer time...to live and thrive within the community and to handle some of the project management. I'm not sure how I would make it work as this would not be a paid job, but from what I've seen, anything is possible. I just need Warren Buffett to read this blog and consider me as an investment...

In the Mayan calendar, the 13th baktun is ending. A cycle of 5,125 days. In December, we'll be starting the next cycle on this planet and from what I've heard, it's going to be one much more focused on how we can undo the hurts that we've laid on Mother Earth and start to thrive together.

The times...they are a changin'. 

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150 Manzanas Por Favor

In El Salvador there are about 6 million people. Roughly half of them live in or around the capital, San Salvador. The other half are spread throughout the small country. Here there are two insecurities that are creating major problems in the country:

1) Physical Insecurity – i.e not enough people feeling safe
2) and Food Insecurity – the food supply is just not stable

Remember Maslow's hierarchy? These are two basic needs that are not being met. When was the last time you can remember when you didn't know for sure that you would have food the next day?

In total, there are 350,000 peasant farmers (campecinos). These peasant farmers DO NOT own their own land. Before the recent land reform policy, 2% of the population of ES owned over 90% of the land. This figure has improved in recent years, but not by much. Los campecinos must therefore rent the land. However, many do not have the money to borrow to rent the land up front, so they take the land on a IOU, grow their crops and must give either the profits from the food or the food itself to the landowners, making them no better off than before. There is a law, similar to the squatting laws of North America, where if a peasant is on the land for so long, they own it. Therefore, each year the land is changed – meaning no campecino rents the same piece of land year after year. This means they are unable to adopt sustainable farming practices that will improve the land and crops year over year...yielding harsher conditions and less production over time. Not only this, but the good land is reserved for landowners...the land given to campecinos is therefore on a mountainside or another bad area – making soil erosion and gravity even more problems. And even worse? The only seed they can usually access is from transnationals like Monsanto. Monsanto uses seeds that you cannot reuse year after year because they are hybrid seeds – thereby genetically produced. We have an agronomist who thinks they come with the plague that affects most crops, meaning you must use their fertilizers - chemical fertilizers - which do nothing to help the earth or soil. So each year, 80% of people here do not grow enough to meet their own dietary needs, never mind the countries. They often have to take on additional work, like working in the sweat shops or cane fields – and often that doesn't even look after their family so they are left with unfriendly options. To starve or to leave.

Salvadorans work with “manzanas” rather than acres. One manzana is equal to 7000 square meters (an acre is 5/8th of a manzana).

Right now, what the country is lacking is sustainable and nutritious organic agriculture...for the people and the land. This was a theme that came up in every conversation we had with multiple authorities in the country – University Directors, Politicians, Theologians and Agronomists. Even those fighting for gender equality or those hoping to educate the youth agree that the number one need of the country right now is sustainable food systems. Otherwise, it could be disastrous in years to come.

One politician told us of a practice that was occuring – and still is – in many places. For example, say the country needs 33,000 manzanas produced each year of food to feed it's people. The Government and other landowners were getting together and ensuring that only half of that – or less – was produced. They were then importing grains from the States for cheaper than what it costs to produce here – and selling it for more in the markets. There was big profit in this. But does it do anything to help the state of the economy here? No. It hurts the people who grow food in a BIG way and solely benefits the few at the top. All for a buck in their pocket.

The other issue is that Salvadorans are one of the only economies in the world that run off another countries currency – the U.S. Dollar. Can you imagine if in Canada we had Abraham Lincoln and other U.S. Dignitaries in our face all the time? If we were to rise and fall with the States? How that would make us feel? I can't imagine. I am proud to be Canadian and many here are missing out on the chance to be proud to be Salvadoran. But the only way to get back to the colón? Raise production. The only way to raise production? Implement efficient and sustainable agricultural practices.

The current government has a plan of action for making some progress here. But we have talked in-depth with an agronomist who is part of our project, Otoniel, and he knows that more must be done - soon. When we asked what the solution is, apart from hoping for a miracle or that the rich SOB landowners finally decide to share the wealth, he responded with this:

"We need a chance to purchase manzanas of land to own. With this land, we could create a test plot that implements a couple of very important elements: 1) We will have land that can be used for a period of three or more years in a row, showcasing the absolute benefit of farmers having land on which they can implement sustainable practices 2) We will work with the community to understand their needs and plant what is required to meet them. 3) We will use only organic practices in order to help the soil and the earth. 4) We will use permaculture techniques and sustainable practices that will enrich the soil and create more efficient food production year upon year. 5) We will rotate depending on the years with chickens, beans, corn etc. This creates a cycle that increases the soil productivity and creates more food.

We need to show the government and landowners the extreme benefits of food production in this way so that we have enough food to feed the country, but we can begin to focus development dollars on other needs for the country – like education, health and equality for all.

With our own land, we can have an example that could spread throughout the country for the benefit of their most basic need. We can give life to the people."

As the age-old saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, but teach a man a fish and he'll eat for life.”

One of the peasant farmers with Project Manager Felix
and Jim in the fields.

Proudly showing off his banana plant.

On our way to the fields, we found
ourselves in a tropical jungle paradise with
this little waterfall. Gorgeous.

Finding water you could drink!
Well, not for gringos...

Now I must tell you quickly about my favourite lady, Maria. She is 72 years old and has a face that tells a beautiful story. Unfortunately, Maria has a son whom was "wrongly" accused of a robbery. His boss swears he was at work, but the courts are far from just here. Either way, she has to visit him twice a month in Santa Ana (which is about an hour away). She saves all her money to bring him supplies he may need and for the transport there and back - and thereby does not have the time to dedicate to her corn crop or to bettering her house.

She stands about 4'5" and when she hugs me it's almost at my waist. But on the way to show us her house (at least a 2 km walk from the road), you better believe she was about twenty yards ahead of us at all times. She also produced a 2 liter jug of orange juice and cups (out of where? She's so small and I had no idea she was carrying it) in the middle of our walk to quench everyone's thirst. Grandma's just come prepared, right? They are magical (love you Grandma) and so is she. If I could adopt anyone to bring back with me, it would be this beauty.

The leader of the Campecinos Organization
Jorge - in front of Maria's house
made...of sticks and plastic.

After meeting with the campecinos repeatedly in the past week, I have no doubt that these guys are capable. They are hard workers and honest people. But they need help. They have lived through wars and mighty oppression. They have seen many die for no reason and have had days of wondering whether food or justice would come. After all the luck we've had in our lives, we will try to find some way to create just a bit of luck for them. The first problem is getting the land. After that will come seed, fertilizers, training, housing, education and health. 

We have land secured that we could purchase. If you know of anyone who is willing / wishing to donate to this ongoing project, please contact me. It will go through the organization OTRA FE (A Different Faith). There are also many smaller projects that I will outline in detail later, including sponsorships of students, education projects, youth and senior projects and a clinic project. Any bit will help, but we do need a fair chunk. Let me know.

Big love!

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The Fruits of their Labour

This last week we have got to spend some quality time in the fields with the campecinos (peasant farmers), and at their homes or in their churches with them. We had lunch at one of the houses where a lorena stove was being put in by the other Canadian group and sauntered through the fields with the families. The next day we went up to a different part of the project in the back of a truck, walking through maiz fields higher than our heads and 'taste-testing' the 'gardens of Eden' as we called it. They were growing everything from garlic to pineapple to cucumbers. Sunday they had a “welcome” service for the Canadians that had 200 people from the community out. And today, we walked into a packed hall of clapping campecinos, single moms and the “3rd age” (which is the old age generation here, the seniors, who have absolutely no pensions or security). 

These people are the heartbeat of this country. They walk and work the fields by hand...hoping that this year they'll have the chance to grow enough to feed their family properly and to sell a little for school supplies and other basic necessities. They have weather beaten faces and often little education and yet (some of them) seem to know what really matters in life. A little food, a lot of laughs and family and friends. They are incredible beings.

frutas stands, what a wonderful
way to start a road trip

The best naranja I've ever had. 

coffee beans!

a young boy in the midst of the coffee farms on the
side of the mountain

coffee coffee coffee farms

Sonsonate nearby town mural

I'll never forget how fresh this morning drives are..

the women cooking on their new stove

And to the fields we go..

Three of the eight kids of one of the families....
amidst all the green.
Verde es el color de la vida y la esparanza
"Green is the colour of life and hope"

We took a walk through the river community.
Three hundred forgotten families live here where our
friend Ramon does some sponsor and education programs.
I may get a chance yet to work here.

The man to my left captured my heart. He has a
parasite that makes him likely to die and no medicine
can help. Yet, bone thin and weak from no food, he
was charismatic and full of life. 

Felix's people's part of the project

I loved the sunshine that came into this pic,
just as I took it. It epitomizes the beauty
of the campecinos.

The farmers explaining progress to us.

Frutas...

Claudia & kids in their plot.
The one in yellow is Christian and is about as 

Monkey paradise.

Banana treees

Rice

Beans!

Peppers

Chillies

Garlic

More magical frutas

Cashew nuts & fruit...together!

Walking together with them, they have a pulse that I can feel in my veins. And each time we've seen them, they offer blessings and hugs and kisses for us all. I feel so blessed to be in their presence.

This trip has me thinking about all of the important things in life...for there is a lot of tragedy and death here. And I received an email today from "The Daily Love" that helped me put this into perspective:

No longer do I have the belief from my youth that I will live forever and cannot be destroyed. I am aware of the fragility, the temporary nature of my life.

I feel a sense of urgency. There are no promised moments. This is NOT a dress rehearsal. I feel inspired, motivated and pushed to say, "I love you" to those I love as much as I can. I feel inspired to take risks. I feel pushed to look at my fear and step INTO it, rather then shy away from it. I am feeling time passing more and more and with it, it is whispering to me, "Do what you are afraid of, you won't regret it. Love out loud, you won't forget it. Live in the now, it is your present. The future is bright if you let it... be." 

In this newfound sensitivity I am in awe of Life. It feels like in every moment I am waking up to something brand new, something marvellous and something mysterious. What really matters comes to the forefront...and everything else drops away.

I hope today we are all living out loud for ourselves and those we love. LOVE!

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And to Central America I will go

Last week I had a wonderful interview with an avid micro financing organization that I am extremely passionate about. The role would involve a four month fellowship in, potentially, the mother land. Africa.

For the first time (maybe in my life!) I thought really long and hard about the position. I have decided to hold back on that one because I am not sure that going away for four months and coming home again with no plan, no vision, just overwhelming feelings and (of course) many lessons learned, is right for me.

Karen (another friend), Jim & I

Over the past year, I've created a great friendship with a minister in town. He and his wife are along the lines of people you want to enjoy dinner with; there are many laughs and good stories. He is a character and a great speaker who always seems to know which little saying to throw at you that fits with exactly what you were thinking. They are not those who think of religion as the be-all-end-all. Instead, religion means love, kindness and helping your neighbour. They don't care that I'm not a "religious" person. They want to know if you have a kind, good heart and if you want to contribute to your world. That's it.

They have now spent 14 years as a part of a community near Ahuachapan, El Salvador. They have worked building houses, chicken coops, gardens, kitchens, testing to improve eyecare and various health conditions, educating children and setting up women's economic programs. They lived there for five years and have visited for eight more. They have come to have a family there. And since they have moved around so much (40+ times in their lives!) and don't feel like they necessarily 'belong' anywhere, it's become quite clear exactly where they do belong. However, in growing older they've realized they no longer have the mental stamina to live there year round - speaking a second language and working in the exhausting heat.

Right now they are in the middle of receiving a large grant to go towards a sustainable agriculture "Food Security" project that could feed dozens, hundreds or potentially thousands of families over time. It would teach them how to do the growing on their own (rather than simply handing out aid). There is an Agronomist on board who will do the training and follow up for the established crops. For ongoing development and management of the project, there are two pastors who will visit the fields each week to ensure everything is running smoothly and that any improvements to be made are done quickly and efficiently. But there is no one with proper project management skills to manage the overall picture. SO, it could be subject to running on El Salvador time..

 -- Enter one passionate Canadian character who knows a little (lot) about project management and who wants to work on a sustainable international asset-based development project?

One of the greatest nights this year was the night that Jim & Brenda showed me a presentation on their past projects with this community and asked me if I would consider helping with the project management of this newest endeavor - with the opportunity to contribute to the other projects using their vast network of resources (they personally know the Director of the IMU: Instituto de Mujer a.k.a. El Salvador's Women's Equality & Rights NGO).

It's a new area for me, but I did know I wanted to go to Central America already. I have had a passion and one College course towards learning Spanish and now it's a must. And I think nutrition and nourishment first will lead the way to bigger and better development goals being met. It takes care of that basic need, that once fulfilled, will go on to bring true hope and empowerment to the community.

I want sustainability. I want to learn more about all facets of asset-based development...not just micro-financing or education and empowerment conversations (although I love these), but about how we can successfully plan sustainable programs while also being in the field. This is important to me. I feel best sitting among the people. I want there to be a plan that will sustain whatever progress I make (if any). I want to make asset-based development and social change a sustainable initiative for myself and those I reach.

And I have so much to learn if this is my goal. So when an opportunity such as the one above presents itself, you take it.

This summer's trip is simply Step One.

1) I will first study in Guatemala, living among a completely Spanish speaking family in Quezaltenango (my Spanish's teachers hometown nonetheless) learning Latin American culture and estudiando mucho español at Casa Xelaju.

2) I will then move on to El Salvador where I'll get to meet all of the people involved in this project to date, including the Agronomist, an ex Rebel Commander of the Salvadoran troops, the Director for IMU and many others who have been integral in housing, medical, education, agriculture, and women's projects for the past 14 years.

Then I choose if I can truly help this project with the skills I have. Nothing lost, everything to gain?

Step Two would be a bigger step. It would mean figuring out how to have an ongoing relationship with the project in order to be able to manage it. Does this mean moving there in the future? It could. It could also mean something less drastic than that, but we will see.

For now, Tamara, one step at a time!

¡Vamos!

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