Finishing Up Guatemala

Rather than continue clogging up the POTD thread with what is pretty much my personal travel report, I decided to conclude the photos and commentary on my Guatemala trip in a separate thread. If you want to go back to the beginning of this effort, click here to go to this post in the POTD thread, and start proceeding down from there.

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When I left off last time I had shown pictures of the fields. We were surprised, and pleased, to learn that Costco is one of the buyers of the peas from these fields.

Now I'll post pictures of some of the villagers of the agroaldeas La Bendición and La Esperanza, so if you've been following the thread you can perhaps get a bit more personal connection with the people.

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I don't know the exact ages of the two women in this photo - off hand I would guess about 50 and 60.



It's extremely rare for any of the people in this area to live into their 70s. Several of the participants in our group had living parents in their 90s. When we mentioned that during one of our meetings many of the villagers were incredulous; they can't conceive of someone living to be that old.

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The "boy's gang" in La Bendición. This group of boys appeared to hang out together all day long.




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If you wonder what happens to those bags of used clothing that you donate to charities such as Salvation Army, this picture should answer your question. Almost all of that clothing winds up in a shipping container headed for a third world country. When the container reaches it's destination, the clothing begins working its way through distribution channels that extend into the rural countryside, where it is eventually sold in the stalls in public markets.



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All boys and men dress in typical western dress, but almost all females wear the traditional huipils (tops) and cortes (skirts), starting when they are toddlers. All of the huipuls and cortes are handmade; all women weave. Usually the colors of the cortas indicate the area where the woman's family is from.

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The children, and especially the girls, love flowers. As we went through the community children would disappear into the surrounding woods and meadows, then come back with gifts of wildflowers. Often they would have the flowers in arrangements.



One time when we came back to our vehicles at the end of the day they had completely decked the cars out with wild calla lillies - in the spaces in the radiator and air dam, under the windshield wipers, between the side mirrors and the door - any place a flower could be placed without falling off.

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This woman had an almost regal presence about her; different from any other woman I saw during the visit. This picture does not do her justice. I could easily imagine her as Mayan queen; she just had that bearing and mien. Her pride in her heritage was evident. Note the earrings - she was the only woman I saw who wore earrings. That wrap on her head was actually braided into her hair. It descended down her back almost to her waist, then came back to the top of her head and finished a swirl atop her head. If she let her hair all the way out it probably would have touched the floor behind her.



Her smaller daughter on the right is actually about 20 years, though she looks younger. That daughter has spinal bifida and severely malformed foot.

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I just love the riot of colors in this outfit.



Most of the women have those wraps with them at all times. They are all purpose - among the uses that I observed were: a shawl for warmth; draped over the shoulder or wrapped around as in this photo, it can be a fashion accessory; a papoose for carrying children; a knapsack to carry loads; folded and placed on top of the head it provides a cushioned flat surface for carrying baskets of goods on the head.

I failed to get any pictures of women carrying loads on their heads. It's amazing to see them walking at normal gait with what must be about 30 pounds of goods in a basket poised on their heads, with no swaying or bouncing of the load.

Thanks so much for posting these - brings back fond memories of the six months I spent in Guatemala in 1978.

Thank you so much for sharing these pictures and a bit of commentary, Steve. It touches my heart to see these wonderful people who live so simply and yet obviously love their culture and heritage. I don't know where your other posts are so could you point me in the right direction? I would love to read about your experience.

My husband and I will be leaving on a two year mission for our church sometime in December most likely. We don't know where we will be going as of yet - won't find that out until July most likely - but we are hoping for a foreign mission in an area where we can not only share the gospel but also where we can help with humanitarian efforts. There is so much suffering in the world and we want to help wherever we can.

I have enjoyed your photos and commentaries.

JanT said:

Thank you so much for sharing these pictures and a bit of commentary, Steve. It touches my heart to see these wonderful people who live so simply and yet obviously love their culture and heritage. I don't know where your other posts are so could you point me in the right direction? I would love to read about your experience.

Click to expand...

Per my commentary, the other photos and commentary are on the POTD thread, starting here: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1071616#post1071616

Steve, Many thanks for producing this series. It has given me a little insight into the lives of these wonderful people. I worked with a few Guatemalan folks in Salt Lake City. Hardworking, ambitious, honest to a fault. They invited me to visit their homeland and even offered to accompany and guide DW and myself. One's wife voluntarily returned home alone to wait the required time so she could apply for legal admittance to the USA. Your travelogue may well have tipped me over to ask if the offer still stands.

Your pictures show a hint of the beauty of the country and the warmth of the people. Kudos to you for getting the portraits and the stories of the people you encountered. The woman you described as one who could be Mayan royalty, yet had a daughter with Spina Bifida touched my heart.

Thanks so much!

Jim Ricks

Thanks so much for your photos and commentary. I have really enjoyed it! I know it is time consuming; your efforts are appreciated.

Thank you Steve.

I want to take my kids to Guatemala when they are a bit older, maybe in their teens. I don't think they will be able to appreciate what they see if they visit now. The boys are only 9. At this age it will be mostly a shock to them I think.

Charles

BTW - before we went on the trip one of our coordinators sent a link to this article, which sums up many of my feelings well: Whose Volunteer Experience Is This Anyway?

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In my posts I haven't talked much about Fundación Agros, but I think it's worth dropping in here that this was emphatically not a work team. We were not in Guatemala to do a "project". It comes down to the notion that if a village can't thrive without outside assistance, then the village is, by definition, not sustainable. Outside projects teams also foster dependency relationships, when one of the issues they are trying to address is to get the local people to take initiative and forge ahead themselves, without waiting for someone to do something for them.

Similarly, when we left a village we left nothing behind. We could bring books to read to children, but we could not leave the books in the school library. If we saw a child who needed shoes, we could not give the child a pair of shoes. We are prohibited from carrying on any personal correspondence or contact with anyone we met in the Village.

And once I understood the rationale, I realized that those are all good, excellent, and commendable rules.

Wonderful pictures, Steve. You are great at capturing the right moment, like the two women who look very similar, yet one is older, and the young woman with the flowers.

I enjoyed your comments as well.

Thanks so much Steve, for sharing your wonderful photos and intrigueing dialogue. One of our son's friends traveled to Guatemala to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. She too was so impressed with the people there.

Dori

Steve,

Very good article and the author is right. Volunteering isn't about us. It's about those we are helping and the best way to do that is to help them learn to help themselves.

Thank you again for sharing your experience and photos.

Jan

T_R_Oglodyte said:

BTW - before we went on the trip one of our coordinators sent a link to this article, which sums up many of my feelings well: Whose Volunteer Experience Is This Anyway?

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In my posts I haven't talked much about Fundación Agros, but I think it's worth dropping in here that this was emphatically not a work team. We were not in Guatemala to do a "project". It comes down to the notion that if a village can't thrive without outside assistance, then the village is, by definition, not sustainable. Outside projects teams also foster dependency relationships, when one of the issues they are trying to address is to get the local people to take initiative and forge ahead themselves, without waiting for someone to do something for them.

Similarly, when we left a village we left nothing behind. We could bring books to read to children, but we could not leave the books in the school library. If we saw a child who needed shoes, we could not give the child a pair of shoes. We are prohibited from carrying on any personal correspondence or contact with anyone we met in the Village.

And once I understood the rationale, I realized that those are all good, excellent, and commendable rules.

Click to expand...

JanT said:

Steve,

Very good article and the author is right. Volunteering isn't about us. It's about those we are helping and the best way to do that is to help them learn to help themselves.

Jan

Click to expand...

At the risk of sounding harsh ... I have a problem with that statement. "Helping them learn to help themselves" is still a paternalistic attitude. And if you come in with an attitude - "Hi - we're here to help you because we love you so much" - don't be surprised if you get a cool reaction.

Most of these photos are from Agroaldea La Esperanza. La Esperanza has been one of the most successful village development projects started by Fundación Agros.

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This is a group of the male leadership in La Esperanza.



Generally there are both men's and women's leadership structures in the villages. Women play an extremely large, sometimes dominant, role in village governance.

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During our day at La Esperanza they had a community lunch for us. This pot has tamales.



Unlike the tamales we see in the US, these tamales are entirely made of corn (they are not stuffed) and they were cooked in banana leaves instead of corn husks.

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And here beans are being prepared for the lunch.





Lunch was served in bowls, with no silverware. Tamales are finger food. You can either scoop the beans out with your hands, or scoop them out with some of the yummy homemade tortillas that accompanied the meal. I used tortillas.

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Next I'll focus more on the children in La Esperanza.

Los Niños de La Esperanza (The Children of La Esperanza)

Perhaps the real joy of these visits is the children. The eagerness, the joy, the happiness is palpable; you can see it in their eyes and their faces. There is such a difference between the children, who are growing up now, and the older parents and grandparents of those same children, who suffered through the brutalities of the civil war, and who will likely never fully heal.

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A sombrero is any hat that has a brim; "sombra" in Spanish is shade, so any hat that has a wide brim that provides shade is a "sombrero". (A hat without a brim, such as a baseball cap, is a "gorro".)

While I was in Antigua I bought a sombrero, because I wanted a hat that would provide shade for my neck. My sombrero proved to be incredibly popular with the children of the villages. They often wanted to wear my hat, and have photos taken wearing my hat.






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There is a river that flows near La Esperanza, and the children really wanted to take us to the river. I surmise that this a place where they spend a lot of their spare time.

The river is about one-half mile from the village, on the other side of the fields.







The bridge over the river is new. About a year ago Guatemala had severe flooding, and there were major washouts and flooding.

Although it's not very evident in these photos, just downstream of the bridge there's a more quiescent pool that is about six feet deep. One of the members of our team was baptized in that pool several years ago by the lay pastor in the village.

Seeing the pool I was unexpectedly moved. Ostensibly it had nothing special for me. Yet knowing how significant it was to one of my other team members, and grasping some awareness of the significance of the river in the life of the community, there was a sudden sense of bond or connection that came over me even though I had no direct personal connection with that locale. I came away with a slightly modified perspective of the spiritual significance of water.

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After we reached the river the children were really excited to have us there. They were most eager to have us take photos of them at the river.



This girl is the only child I observed during the trip that appeared to be shoeless. From talking with other people in the group, I understand that ten years ago more than half of the children were shoeless. Shoes for children is a measure of progress in the community.



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When we got down to the river, the children were very anxious to show us the "cueva", the cave. Getting to the cueva involved navigating through some marginal terrain along the river. Being a bit more spry than most of the others in our group I was able to make it.

I think it's past time for me to finish up this thread.

The only thing I think I haven't touched on is the villages themselves. As you look at these photos, keep in mind that 25 years ago most of these people were either living in huts made of thatched corn stalks or were living under tarps and lean-tos in the forests.

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First, just a couple of general village views:



The buildings on the left in the photo below are storage buildings. Casas are on the right side of the photo.


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This is a fairly typical kitchen. Kitchens are almost always located outdoors, either in a structure next to the living area or in a separate structure. Wood is used for cooking heat.



When this village was started, the villagers were provided with interior wood-burning stoves for heating and cooking. But most preferred to cook the traditional way. So they sold the wood stoves. Some of them, such as in this house, saved the top of the stove and used it in the outdoor kitchen.

BTW - this house has a nice modern refrigerator freezer in the eating area. The juxtaposition with the kitchen was a bit interesting.

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On the other hand, others approach things differently. The owner of this casa (the woman in traditional Mayan corte at the center of the photo) was extremely anxious to show off her remodeled kitchen:



Note the ceramic tile, the sink and indoor plumbing, the water treatment filter, the built-in storage areas below the sink, and the cooktop.

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The owners of this house decided that what they wanted was electricity. Note the solar panel on the right side of the roof.



They use the electricity to provide lighting at night and run a few small electrical items, such as a radio/CD player. The lighting enable their children to do schoolwork at night. Chores in the afternoon and schoolwork at night. It might not sound like a whole lot but without the lighting chores and schoolwork is an either/or proposition.

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The houses might be simple but they are almost always immaculately maintained. Here's the master bedroom in the house with the solar panel - that's the childrens' school artwork on the wall.



And here is the childrens' bedroom, with a wardrobe for clothes.


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At this house, they've started gardening and landscaping the grounds.



And the owners here installed a cement sidewalk, painted the house, and added glass windows.

Some wrap-up thoughts. These aren't presented in any particular order.

I enjoy traveling to new areas, just to see what they are like. Guatemala was no exception, even with this superficial pass-through.

The people that I met with and interacted with on a daily were unfailingly gracious and hospitable. Far more so than you would expect of strangers and casual contacts in the US. In another recent thread Aliikai Greg commented on how he found people in Mexico to be far more welcoming than in Hawai'i. That could easily be extended to Guatemala as well.

Guatemala is a significantly poorer country than is Mexico - per capita income is Guatemala is about half the per average per capita income of Mexico. If you keep your eyes open you can note the differences. The most visible difference that I noted was the greater levels of security in Guatemala, particularly the armed private security guards that are routine in stores and banks.

In contrast the villages we visited were incredibly safe and orderly. Crime is almost totally unheard of in the villages that we visited - a tremendous contrast with the nearly "developed" cities, where there are bars on every window and everything has to be secured.

Guatemala is a country of incredible untapped potential. I presume the same could be said for the sister countries of Central America - Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. The country is stirring, and changes are occurring. An area that twenty years could only be reached by four-wheel drive in the dry season is now exporting peas to Britain. If they can surmount the past issues that have hindered growth and progress, huge changes are possible. And if they can make those changes there will be less reason for the people to try to sneak into the US to find work or to get involved with drug-running.

It was a wonderful trip and I am so glad I had the opportunity to make the trip. There are some significant followup things working, which I will pass on if they come to gruition.

Thanks for sharing, Steve.

Thanks again, Steve, for sharing this journey with us. The photos speak volumes, and your comments along the way were very helpful and descriptive.

Nice photo album Steve.........

Steve, was this your first trip to Guatemala?

My husband and I are going in early March 2012 but we'll have only 1 week that we'll spend in Antigua and Lake Atitlan. I must admit I'm a little nervous about some of the safety/crime warnings I've read, even in the local papers. I guess that may be the reality of an area with extreme poverty and the tourism impact. For this reason (and others), we plan to hire private shuttles rather than renting a car.

I thoroughly enjoyed your photos and the narrative!

cmh said:

Steve, was this your first trip to Guatemala?

My husband and I are going in early March 2012 but we'll have only 1 week that we'll spend in Antigua and Lake Atitlan. I must admit I'm a little nervous about some of the safety/crime warnings I've read, even in the local papers. I guess that may be the reality of an area with extreme poverty and the tourism impact. For this reason (and others), we plan to hire private shuttles rather than renting a car.

I thoroughly enjoyed your photos and the narrative!

Click to expand...

Yes - my first and only trip (so far) to Guatemala.

Antigua and Atitlan are pretty safe. Those are primary tourist areas and they are policed very heavily.

I think you are wise to hire private shuttles for travel. I would not think of renting a car in Guatemala unless I were much more familiar with both the geography and customs of the country and spoke fluent Spanish.

Since you will be hiring private transportation, you need to be aware of a major consideration - never, never hail any type of transportation on the street. Only get into a vehicle where you (or someone on your behalf) has called a specific transportation service and you know that is the vehicle that has been sent to pick you up.

BTW- Antigua is sufficiently compact that you can get around entirely on foot if you choose.