Happy Memorial Day Poppy!

I have been feeling a bit homesick today and think the feeling is unanimous among the Czerwinskis living outside of Oconomowoc. Memorial Day has always been a big Czerwinski holiday and one that reminds us all of my grandpa Poppy who passed away a few years ago.

Poppy enlisted in the service when he was 17 and was assigned to drive amphibious landing crafts in New Guinea an the Philippines. He served 2 years active duty, 4 years in the reserves and later in life volunteered as a firefighter.

 As far back as I can remember, every memorial day weekend Grandma would take out uncle Mark's and poppy's Navy uniform (loosen the pants some years) and press them neatly for the big parade day. All of the family would watch the parade and follow it to the cemetery for the gun salute. My least favorite part was the gunshot noise but I loved racing my brother to capture the guns shells on the ground. After the parade we  went to the VFW for hot dogs and beer (or cokes for us kids!). My Great Uncle Ray and Uncle Mark were also in the service too so it was not only a time to honor those who served our country but it was also a great family reunion.

Over the years, I missed a few memorial day reunions due to my busy immature teenage life but Poppy never missed a single one in 63 years. I would do anything to be able to go back in time and march along with him not only to just be in his presence but also because for me, Oconomowoc visits are a part of my past roots I wish I could hold onto forever. As time goes on and us grandkids grow older and move away, it has become harder to reconnect over fish frys and lazy brunch mornings. However, I know each one of us cherishes those memories and will comit to honoring Poppy this weekend and every Memorial Day to come.

 We love you Poppy!

Guatemala souvenirs

I justified all of my Guatemala purchases based on the idea that I was fueling the local economy and supporting the Lema women's group! Also, this was my third time in Guatemala but the last 2 times were during Peace Corps and believe it or not, I was even poorer back than and everything I owned fit in a backpack.

Below are pictures of most of my purchases. The lighter colored fabric items came from the Lema women's group in Atilan. The other items are from either Nebaj, Pana or Antigua. They are items for me or for gifts but I think it would be so neat to have a fair trade website or store some day.

As for the baby items...well, maybe I am jinxing myself but I couldn't resist.Some day...

Boy overalls from Antigua and girl dress from Chichi market with handmade traje details

Lema women's group bag designed by Paula

Lema coasters, bag and Pana table runner

Spice bowls and coffee

Basket from another similar womens' group
http://www.jadesolidarios.webcindario.com/

Fabric from Chich market and letters from Antigua for a special baby gift for a friend

I was looking all over Nebaj for a skirt like they wear but they were all too big or had to be tied with their belts and I wanted elastic. So, the last day the one host family made one for me. Not sure if I will ever wear it but after the gesture...I had to buy it!!

All the women carry their babies on their backs and this is kinda the american version they sell.

My favorites...Chocolates and tea

Lema

This morning we took a boat ride across Lago Atilan which is a lake within a dormant volcano. It was a spectacular morning with a clear sky and a perfect temperature. We decided to just visit the one town of San Juan but around the lake there are multiple great destinations I have visited in the past.

Lago de Atilan

Boat ride in the volcanoe lake

SolCom (the social entrepreneurship NGO we are with) supports San Juan's entrepreneurial women's group and so we decided to first visit their production site and store. Lema is a textile co-op composed of approximately 8 women that do everything from collecting the plants to dying the cotton and selling their beautiful finished handmade products - all within the compounds of Maria's back yard!

I was completely mesmerized by the whole process and amazed that such an organic method could produce such intricate designs.

Currently the women have to buy their cotton from the city but prior to the tropical storm a few years ago, they had cotton plants in San Juan. The wipe out of their local cotton supply and the overall global increase in cotton prices have both contributed to higher procurement costs and tighter profit margins.  The women also struggle finding a consistent supply of the herbs needed to create the dyes and therefore, they have started saving to invest in seeds for a garden.

Our group discussed other ways to help the business such as moving their finished products to more accessible and profitable locations beyond San Juan and Antigua. There is a website promoting Lema but it needs to be updated and a marketing plan could really help the women sell more for a greater profit. However, the logistics are very complicated since the town is on a volcanic lake within a country lacking infrastructure.

I could see a business student camping out in San Juan for months working with these talented women. Part of me wanted to volunteer myself but I can't quit school with 3/4 of an MBA!

Anyway, the visit was probably my favorite part of the whole trip and I gained so much respect for the women and the art of fabric making. I even tried to use the weave and was shocked by the amount of concentration and labor that goes into each purse, scarf or table cloth. I bought a few gifts after the demo and felt guilty that I had been bargaining so hard earlier in the week for my souvenirs.

The experience helped me see the benefits of working closely with the local talent to help them organize, operate and market their goods so they get the money they deserve! It was a real fair trade lesson far more impactful than any text reading on fair pay in the developing world.

Fair trade women entreprenuers' products

Lema Acociacion de Mujeres Tejedoras store in San Jaun Guatemala

http://www.sanjuanlalaguna.org/eng/eng.html

Pana, Guatemala

Homemade Ginger ale to ease the stomach pain

Pana Water Filter Campaign

The girls sold 19 filters!!

blahhhhhh

I can't sleep...my stomach is burning! Ah, the downside of traveling.


 At least I am now in Pana and have a nice hotel with a private bathroom and hot showers rather than cold bucket baths.


 Ahh...its going to be a long night.

Pictures to tell the story because I am too tired to try...

Transportation to the campaign

Our bathroom option for the day while doing field work

Entrepreneurship Corps and KSU team

Chichi market

Weaving in the highlands

Local tienda

Famous chicken bus- reject US school bus

...and to think we keep our kids in car seats until they are almost grown ups !

Typical food at my homestay: beans, plantains, cheese and tortillas

The kids wanted to test my camera so Shane and I posed.

El Centro Creativa crew



Standard Chajul Guate highland home



Little girl posing in Chajul

La Pista

The best part of the micro consignment model is that it provides sustainable community resources that are not dependent on donor funds. The model distributes the profits first to the Guatemalan entrepreneurs and then invests a percent into new projects such as the Centro Creativa in La Pista.

Although the main objective of the Center is not to directly drive the local economy, the educational services the Center provides do work toward to having a future impact on the development of the community. The Center provides alternative methods for learning and focuses on helping kids think creatively and critically; both are skills necessary for an economy to grow but rarely found here in Central America. Entrepreneurship and general business development require creative problem solving competences and therefore, the Center is contributing to the future economy by investing in the education of today’s youth and future entrepreneurs.

The Center has a library, computer center, creative space (like most kindergartens full of toys that build the imagination) and a kitchen so that the teachers can provide snacks to the students since most are undernourished. The students that attend the school are the ones that have fallen behind in the regular schools and need a bit of extra reinforcement after school hours.

We did a map project today with the youth by recording the different landmarks in town and drawing a map to scale. This community map will then be carved into wood so that the kids that come to the Center will be able to read the map and identify places in town, as well as begin to comprehend the world outside of La Pista. The best part of the day was wondering with the kids and letting them tell us all about the important places they like to visit such as the chocobanano and ice cream stand! I also let one of the girls take picture with my camera and it was fun to later see the world from her lenses.

During our trip we also got to sample Box Bol for lunch which is a traditional food made with a corn paste wrapped in leaves then boiled. You top it off with hot sauce and a pumpkin seed sauce that together create a tasty dish. I have had a little bit of a queasy stomach since I ate it but I am just going to think positively and hope I wake up feeling good!

In addition to seeing the Center and taste testing, the trip to La Pista was fascinating because it was one of the first battle grounds and military bases in the highland area. The military first set up in area in ’82 and after it was attacked by the guerillas in ’86 it grew in size and began requiring the indigenous people to fight. Some people fled to avoid fighting due to their distrust toward the military because they murdered and attacked multiple indigenous villages. We sat for a few hours talking about the war next to a tree alongside the military runway and deep trenches. The stories the Maya man told us about his family and the wartime are too detailed to retell in a blog but my main conclusion is that the Maya have endured some despicable violence and hardships.

Boxboles

Telenovelas!

This afternoon we took a micro bus to a small town called Chajul to organize and promote the upcoming campaign. The micro consignment model is structured so that the local Guatemala entrepreneurs generate income from their sales and the products provide a positive social impact on the community.  Chujul is a very poor town and a large portion of the family income comes from the womens’ work making hupiles (the women’s tops) and other textiles. One hupile can take up to three months to make since they are so detailed. Because the women need to have very keen eyesight in order to sow the intricate textiles, the eye glasses are a very popular micro consignment product in the Chajul community.

Our job was to just visit the town, hang up posters and meet with the radio stations to make sure they are promoting the campaign for this coming Friday. The Entrepreneurship Corps partners with other local organizations to create micro franchises and they also partner with youth organizations that provide scholarships to the students who promote and work the campaigns. Creating partnerships within each community is vital because most people do not speak Spanish and are very shy when it comes to foreigners. Plus, it provides jobs and scholarships to the Guatemalans rather than foreigners.

Today as we walked through Chajul, I realized that although I am pretty familiar with most of central and South America, the Maya culture is still so intriguing and mysterious to me. I guess it is partly because most Latin American cultures are strongly represented in the United States but the Maya are misunderstood and often an unheard of minority. The Maya culture however is so uniquely different from Mexican or even other Guatemalan Ladino cultures. For example, the Maya speak 21 different languages, dress in traditional trajes and have a very spiritual way of living. I noticed that for the first time in my life, I was probably as curious and as tempted to stare at the people as the little kids were tempted to stare at me. On the bus I frequently caught myself gazing at the beautiful Cintas the women wore in their hair, their trajes (clothes) and beautiful features that are so distinct to the Maya. I also enjoyed listening to the Maya languages even though I can’t understand anything!

After our campaign, I returned to my host family for a dinner of beans, platanos, tortillas and cheese. And of course after dinner we watched El Triumfo Amor telnovela on TV and discussed how we couldn’t believe the mom was dating such a young boy who then kissed the daughter! I am actually really getting into the family tv time and it was even better when the aunt and grandma came over to join us!

Well bedtime since tomorrow we are going to hike an hour to La Pista in the mountains. Oh, and we also discussed the massacre that happened in Peten Guatemala and yes, the people are mortified and everyone says we should stay away from the department because of the increased violence and military presence.

Today was our day off from classes so we decided to take a tour of the Iximche (corn-tree in Kaqchikel) ruins. They were built in the 1500s by the Kaqchikel Maya but destroyed within 20 years by the Spanish. However, you are still able to see the outline of the pyramids, the traditional ball game court and the irrigation system. I personally have a hard time envisioning what the town actually looked like just from the skeleton but I still appreciate the history and significance of the site. The Maya continue to make pilgrimages to the Iximche ruins for rituals or healings and today we were able to observe two very important and unique ceremonies. On one side of the pyramid we saw a huge celebration ceremony that included a fire, dancing, music, incense, and the slaughtering of a chicken to feed the guests. I took a few pictures from a distance but they do NOT do justice to the incredible experience. I felt like I was watching something out of a movie because it was so surreal to actually be in the presence of shamans practicing their very ancient traditions.

On the other side of the pyramid there was a very different ceremony taking place. We first noticed a baby swaddled in the moms arms crying the cry that means pain. Next to them was a fire and a curandara (healer) kneeling on the ground with burning incense, blue, red and yellow candles, as well as eggs and alcohol. I moved closer to get a better view, still keeping a respectful distance, just in time to see the curandera cleanse the beak of the chicken with liquor and then slice the neck of the chicken with a knife. She was speaking in prayer as she poured the chicken blood over the fire. She continued to pray and shake the chicken upside down as the mom held the baby in her arms a safe distance from the fire.

As all of this was happening, I noticed two little kids sitting off to the side so I went over to them to see if I could get a better understanding of what was going on. The 6 year old little girl said “we were 5 hermanos and now we are 3 and our baby brother is sick.” Many Maya believe that illness occurs when energies are imbalanced or when someone deserves punishment (like karma). In this case, the curandera was trying to rid the child of Mal Ojo or the evil curse so he could get better and the family wouldn’t have to suffer the loss of a third child. I was going to ask the little girl some more questions but she was more interested in hearing how I got to Guatemala, if I came in a plane, if there were mountains in the states and if I was going to stay in Guatemala. Our question exchange reminded me that we are all curious to understand the world outside our own and no matter how different our spiritual worlds may be, we all suffer when loved ones are ill. I could feel the family’s pain and hope they don’t have to endure the loss or a third child.

After our ruins tour we went back to explore more of Antigua and to shop a bit at the local market. The textiles here are so spectacular I just want to take a trunk full of things home with me.  After our market adventure we were all exhausted from bargaining so we went and enjoyed a beer on the rooftop and rested before our jam packed chicken bus ride home.

Okay, that’s all for now. There are three flies buzzing around me and I can’t handle having one more annoyance while I try to sleep. The roosters, dogs, parrots, and neighbors are enough!

Pictures will come later- internet is too slow to upload.

I woke up this morning at 4:30 in order to catch the first bus out of Santa Tomas (current homestay) toward Chimaltenago. From there we took another hour chicken bus ride to a remote highland community where we then had to take 3 mototaxis or TukTuks to arrive at our final destination for the Entrepreneur campaign. There were 3 men in one taxi and once we hit the really steep hill, I looked back and saw that they were walking alongside the taxi and actually pushing it up the hill!

It was a beautiful Tuk-tuk ride up to the top of the mountain where we set up the water filters, glasses and other various social products for sale. Paula was the Maya Katchequel  entrepreneur that was trained by the Corps to promote and sell the projects . The two Guatemalan women who trained Paula were also there to help her with the eye exams and organizing the people. It was really neat to see a Maya woman confidently educating other Maya in their native language and working in partnership with Ladino Guatemalan women and of course- we American! I enjoyed watching the women work seamlessly together as they explained the products and their health and economic benefits.

Eye exams

Testing the glasses to see if she can sow to make the trajes she is wearing

Little neighbor girl giving us a tour

Meanwhile, I was attempting to visit with the women in line and register them by name. However, it was a challenge since most only speak a bit of Spanish and many are illiterate.  I noticed a younger girl there with her mom who looked eager to help me (thank goodness) with writing registration information. Her name was Maria, she spoke perfect Spanish had an amazing spirit and disposition. She started off by shadowing me but by the end I was shadowing her! She took me around town (2 streets up steep hills) to remind the people of the free eye exams and items for sale. She also took Shawn and me on a spectacular tour of their family garden. She also showed me how to carry water on my head and I couldn’t do it even when the bucket was empty! Every morning the women walk to the river to do laundry and collect water. We all got tired just walking the hill so I can’t imagine doing that every day with water or laundry on my head.

Maria showing us how its done!



Pushing the taxi!



Garden tour