Day 7: Visit to Loma Alta
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
For the first time this trip, it didn't rain last night. Which also means it didn't cool off much before bed. I didn't sleep particularly well. Partially because of the heat but also all the bouncing around in the back of the truck while holding onto the bars made my shoulders ache.
I bought a couple pounds of the cacao beans that Blanca brought from her farm to sell in town. She's selling one-pound bags for $1.50 each. I took two and gave her a $5. I always feel a little odd about these things. I could have given her a lot more but giving her $2 more than she was asking seemed more like "rounding up" or something. The only other bill I had was a $10. Somehow, giving her more than 3 times what she was asking seemed...insulting?...or flaunting wealth, or something. Maybe I'm overthinking...
Joana, from El Jicaro, stopped by the house today to say that the women's group at El Jicaro would incorporate the Hacienda Nueva group under the Jicaro group's official designation. This means the HN women would have access to the NGO's resources, like the stove we saw at Ana Marisol's house.
Breakfast was fried plantain (platanos) and a type of refried beans that is drier and stiffer than typial refried beans, a grilled cheese sandwich with a thin slice of ham and 1,000-Island dressing in it. I also had a fresh from the bakery novio...a type of bun that has a thin crust of melted sugar on top.
I remembered to put on sunscreen today! The ride was about 40 minutes and 4 miles of rough mountain roads.
It took me until today to figure out that if I put my bandana under my forearm while I'm taking notes, I won't sweat through the paper I'm trying to write on. Genius!
The meeting was much like the others. Blanca welcomed everyone, Alexander (community representative) welcomed everyone, and there was a prayer. But then, Aristedes pulled out a guitar and they sang Vienen con Alegria (They Come with Joy), a hymn that is common at the beginning of Mass. Mariano said they chose this song to remind us all to share and enjoy our lives and time together.
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The door to Mariano's house with a banner welcoming us
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The Loma Alta group
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The leaders of the group were introduced. The delegation introduced themselves, and then we heard about the community from various members. The entire community has 410 families. The committee we are meeting with was formed about 10 years ago and is made up of the most-poor 20 or so of the overall community.
They are all subsistence farmers; some have only a half or 1 manzana to farm. Some may have 2 manzanas. Almost all must rent the fields for $125 per manzana per year. With herbicides, fertilizer, seed, and insecticides, the total cost per manzana is about $300. A good harvest could produce 50-70 quintales (100 pound sacks). A bad year might yield only 10. Beans are interplanted with the corn so they can climb the corn stalks. 100 pounds of corn may make about $18; 100 pounds of beans, $60...if prices are good. So they need to sell about 20 bags just to recoup the expenses. They need more than that to feed their families for the year and sell some for things like medicine, or other things they need to buy.
The biggest problem this group has is lack of water. Many families don't have a large container for collecting and holding water. A recent project has started to put in a well. It is a very deep well and parts often fail at the bottom because the water temperature is 90 degrees Celsius (194 degrees F) so it hasn't been reliable. The well is 270 meters deep.
The biggest health problem is kidney disease. Public (free) clinics are of very limited usefulness so many people don't bother to get exams or tests. To travel to a private doctor, you need to sell more crops to pay for it.
They have school through high school.
There were final comments by Blanca, Kathy, and Alexander then a prayer by Mariano. We then distributed the health kits while Oscar explained the contents.
We did our first house visit before lunch and it was close enough that we could just walk there. Unfortunately, I didn't write down whose house it was. There was a sort of compound with several houses and a molino near the road. It apparently wasn't working because a man on crutches was using a number of tools on the machine. The house we were going to was all the way at the back of the compound.
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Man working on the grain grinder
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Five people live here...the wife speaking with us, her husband (who happens to be the guy trying to fix the grinder), and their three sons. Two of the sons are in school (2nd year of high school and 4th grade) while the third is 22 and helps with the farm (about a 10 minute walk from their house). The husband's accident was 18 years ago and he is not able to farm so running the grain grinder is what he does now to bring in money. The wife used to help with the farm after the accident, when the kids were small, but now she has diabetes and can't afford to risk a cut. They have a chicken nesting in the house, ducks, and a little goat. The oldest son has a horse. They don't grow veggies around the house.
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The woman who spoke with us about her life
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The inside of her home
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Her "little goat" next to the outside of her house
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A chicken and duck nesting in a corner of the house
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On the way out, Blanca stopped at the first house to visit the people there. They are friends of her mother (deceased) and they were all missing her.
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Blanca stopping to chat with her mother's friends
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We went back to Mariano's house for lunch, which was chicken; a lettuce salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and radishes; rice and soup. And tortillas, of course. They served a fresh pineapple and cantaloupe juice. We have three more houses to visit but they are on the road back to the house.
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We were told not to eat the lettuce but everything else was good
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Second house: I didn't get a picture of the woman who spoke to us. It was too dark inside and none of my came out decently. Three people live here, the oldest son is married. They have a little more than a half-manzana field that's a 15-minute walk. She applies the fertilizer but the sons do most of the work. She has a health condition that requires a periodic injection. She will ride to Berlin with us so she can go to the pharmacy and pick it up. Her sister will give her the injection. She said a water tank would be very helpful for her family.
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This isn't her house but it's an example of a house not made with lamina.
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The kitchen outside the house
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Her house
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Third house: I have no good photos from this house but it was constructed much like the others. This is where Alexander (the young man who was leading the meeting all morning) lives with his mother, father, a brother. The others have married and moved away. They farm a half-manzana field that is a 10-15 minute walk from the house. She has lived her 40 years. The other son who lives here (Manuel) has kidney failure and goes to San Miguel for medication and dialysis a couple times per week (when he starts to feel bad) and he's going again tomorrow. She has eye problems. Her husband has dementia. He wandered into the room at one point and began to look agitated at the people there, so Alexander calmly led him from the room and stayed with him a bit to calm him down. Alexander is a high school student and is due to graduate in November. [the school year runs from February through the end of October so that kids can help with the coffee and corn harvests] He goes to school on Saturdays so he can work the farm during the week. He is also a Delegate of the Word, someone trained to lead Catholic services as a lay person...he can do everything a priest can do except communion or confession. He leads services in another community as Mariano is the Delegate of the Word for Loma Alta. Kathy told the mother that she took care of a parent that had dementia so she knows how hard it is and the challenges and struggles that go with it. The woman started to cry and Kathy walked over to her and just held her.
Fourth house: This is the home of a young family of 8; the parents and 6 children. They've lived here 17 years. When we were there, there was a baby (2 years old), a boy of about 5, and two girls who are in 4th (10) and 5th grades (13). An older child is in high school. I don't know about the 6th child. When asked what their favorite subjects in school are, the younger girl said language and the other like math, social studies, and something I missed. They have a half-manzana field about 25 minutes away. Overall, their health is good. One of the girls was sick as a baby but she is well now. The husband has arthritis and takes medication for it. In addition to the corn and beans in their field, they grow pipian, chipilin, squash, and watermelon and have a hen with chicks.
Back at the house, we had a debrief meeting with the Pastoral Team. Everyone spoke about their experiences over the past few days. The Team expressed gratitude to the delegation for making the trip and being open to learning about the realities of life for some of the poorest people in the area. The delegation expressed thanks for the work the Team does, not just when delegations are here but every day. Elmer, who is relatively new to the Team and drove the truck for us each day, appreciated the opportunity to learn about these communities and apologized for any roughness in the ride or his driving. [He did great! The roads are a challenge for anyone.]
We showered and rested for a bit then we all got in the truck for one last ride. This time to Alegría for the traditional dinner at a restaurant with the Team. We went to a new place that Elmer had heard about. It's owned by the same people who own the restaurant we usually go to. This one is called Finca Margarita [finca is a coffee farm] and it's known for its "doorway to heaven." We're intrigued...
Right inside the entrance is plant nursery and the women spent a little time looking at all the plants. They're always looking for things to plant around the house.
We got a table outside to better admire the view as the sun went down. There is an overlook that looks down on the town of Alegría. On a clearer day, the valley and mountains beyond would also be visible.
And then, there is the doorway (Puerto del Cielo). There is a paved and sometimes steep path up to a cafe where you can have coffee and dessert.
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The start of the path that leads to the cafe and doorway
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The cafe
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Through that cafe are the stairs and door.
The view from the door is very much like the view from our table but the landscaping around the cafe is lovely.
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The cafe and some of the landscaping around it
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Very close to the center of this photo is
Cecilia standing at the railing by our table
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Oscar and Elmer looking at the water feature below the cafe
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The food was really good. I had a grilled shrimp (head, legs, and all) and onion dish that was very tasty, if a bit messy. There was a light sauce on it that was not spicy, some rice, a tomato/cucumber/onion salad, a piece of firm cheese, and a lettuce salad. I ate it all, except the lettuce salad. I got a papaya liquado (like a smoothie) that was also delicious.
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Slightly out of focus but this is most of our group,
Mike and I are the only ones not in it
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By the time we left, it had gotten dark and all the fairy lights had come on. I think this will become the new traditional last-night restaurant.
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The entrance/exit to Finca Margarita
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The only thing left that night was to pack for the trip home tomorrow.
