Visting My Host Brother and Sister

March 9th, 2008 Lima, Peru

Visiting Porfirio and Silvia and Pedrito

In December my host brother-in-law, Porfirio, moved to Lima because every day there seemed to be less and less work in La Encantada. Since he was probably my best friend in town, it was hard to see him leave. But I couldn´t really blame him since he is earning about 4 times as much money as he did before. It was just as hard in January when upon my return from the States, my host sister, Silvia, packed up and left for Lima with her 2 year old son to join her husband in Lima.

Since I was going down to Lima for some Peace Corps training, I took advantage of the trip and went a day earlier to visit these good friends who have truly become family. It was cool to see where they live in Lima. We mostly sat around chatting about their current life and I informed them of all the recent town gossip they have missed the past few months.

I also noticed that their ideals have not changed. They truly understand the importance of family and life and know that material things do not bring consistent joy. Porfirio complained about how boring life was there because he has to work 6 days a week and sometimes arrives home so late that his son is already asleep for the night. Pofirio works for a construction company and claims that he is coming back to La Encantada as soon as his contract is up. In the meantime, they are saving money for Pedro´s education and some capital to invest in there pottery gallery.

Beekeeping

March 8th, 2008 Picsi, Peru

Beekeeping with Pete

My good buddy Pete lives in a small town called Picsi about 10 minutes outside of the departmental capital of Lambayeque. Since we would both be travelling to Lima that night for training purposes, I decided to head down the Pan-American 3 hours and see what his life as a volunteer is all about.

We spent the morning visiting the NGO to which he was originally assigned. They work with a different style of pottery and also promote animal husbandry projects. We visited with some friends and family and I realized how much of an impact Pete has had on the kids there. Everywhere you walk you hear “Peter!” We had lunch with his family and then got ready to go beekeeping.

Pete´s main project has been to help some beekeepers expand their business by practicing better business habits. Along the way, Pete has learned a great deal about beekeeping. We suited up in those famous bee suits that make the user look like an infectious disease doctor. It was fun to watch the beekeepers do their work. I learned to spot the queen and quite a bit more. Hopefully, I´ll post some pictures soon.

Family Gardens: The Sequel

March 3rd & 4th, 2008 La Encantada, Peru

Family Gardens: Attempt 2

Last year I attempted to grow family gardens with mothers in order to raise nutritional awareness and offer a economic option to the standard rice and potatoes. Unfortunately, due to bad governance we lost water for 10 weeks and most gardens perished. The first time I had mothers place their gardens behind their houses because I thought they would be more apt to work in them if they were closer in vicinity. On the contrary, the gardens that worked better were those which were further from town in the fields. These mothers were able to take advantage of the irrigation canals used to water the crops.

I tend to teach my business classes around 4pm because most prefer this time slot. Recently though no one seems to want to meet in the evening due to the rain. Well, you can only read so many hours of the day. Therefore, I have been finding individuals who want to plant family gardens. You should see the look on people´s faces when they seem me up at 6am strolling out to the fields with a shovel in my hand ready to get dirty. This week we planted tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cilantro, radishes, cucumbers and cabbage. Hopefully, a few weeks from now I will be able to write about the wonderful salads we are eating.

On the Brink of an Economic Crisis

March 1st, 2008 La Encantada, Peru

On the Brink of an Economic Crisis

Due to the constant downpour, I believe La Encantada is on the brink of an economic crisis. The next few paragraphs will describe the economic plight faced by those who earn a living in my site.

Artisans: The artisans are unable to produce ceramics for sale because there is no clay because the clay producers are unable to keep their pits dry enough for the two days required to produce clay. There is not enough dry wood to fire pieces. Finally, the artisans can´t smoke any pieces which would otherwise be ready for sale because all the mango leaves are soaking wet. Normally, 30 to 40 tourists visit town daily but due to the rain and the road conditions we are lucky to get one unexpecting tourist family per day. Needless to say, the artisans are in dire conditions. So are all those who work within the rest of the economic chain in support of the artisans.

Farmers: The farmers don´t have it so bad. Although some of their fields may be flooded, most are excited about the crops this year should definitely yield. Those who own their own fields are excited and can wait out these down times but those who work as day laborers are sitting idle and penniless. Everyone worries if the rain doesn´t cease soon there will be no crops at all this season.

Taxis Drivers: The dirt roads are horribly muddy. Therefore the usual 20 minute ride into town takes at least twice as long and leaves its passersby splattered with dirty water. Thus, traffic is down about 80%. Supposedly these conditions are very rough on the maintenance of the vehicles.

Others: The economy of La Encantada is not very complex but quite interlinked. The shop owners earn less due to a combination of higher prices and the fact that everyone has less disposable income. The mechanics have less work because far fewer trips are being made to town due to road conditions.

Trying to keep dry

February 28th, 2008 La Encantada, Peru

Trying to Keep Dry

The final paragraph of my last entry describes the rain as a blessing and proceeds to list several reasons why this is popular opinion. This opinion is beginning to run dry due to the fact that the rains are quickly making life ever so more difficult. Some nights the rains are absolutely deafening. Should the rain continue relentlessly, La Encantada could enter a time of economic crisis.

The other night I went to buy chicken for my dinner. I always try to make conversation with whomever I come in contact with and this being no exception I hung around chatting. The rain began to absolutely pour. I thought I would maybe just wait it out. Half an hour later I realized it was not going to let up and trudged home. I came home to find my host father in my room with a broom trying to sweep out the half inch of water that had crept under my door to the backlogged canal. (The water runs off our roof into a canal that under normal conditions dispense the water into the street) My host dad quickly constructed a flood barrier outside my door while I swept the water out. I have several large cardboard boxes on the floor in which I store my things. In a panic, I placed them under bricks hoping to salvage them from water damage.

Ordinarily, I bathe with a bucket. I decided to take advantage of the downpour and headed to the bathing area for a genuine shower. The first and probably only shower I will ever take here. The next morning my host father constructed a canal with room for two tubes in hope that the canal wouldn´t overflow the next time.