I am returning from a lovely morining full of a bike adventure to a near by pueblocito to learn about some magical plants from a good hearted man, Fliex, I joked that we were Feliz because I was happy to be with him and his name is prounouced Fiez, which is happy. Fliex, full of life and full of love, was happy to show me around his little solare or home garden system, growing in abundance of medicinal plants all around his house! And wow! He taught me about 20 or more incredible plants; helping and curing all sorts of sickness from cancer to diabities to the common headache. Indeed a great morning with this good man, we talked about life and about how his grandparents had taught him soo much, and we looked at old ethnobotany (the human and plant relationship) book from 1775, and both we sharing a happy glow to know the power of plants and how they are truly great friends. He told me that he knew many more plants in the wild, he told me that there are more than 1000 wonderful plants that heal everything! I gave words of inspiration to him that we should go to forest and collect many more to grow in his wonderful garden, he told me he would go soon. He is living a good life, tranquillo, as he put it, helping people with plants and not working to hard, eating the gifts of the earth, sell a little at the local market and healing the people that visit, usually up to 5 a day, but laughed that sometimes up to 20 people arrive to his home. I love the people that this magical land cultivated! Mi vida es llena de una cultura maya buena ! I am living with a wonderful family, a strong Mom, whom is friends with nealy everyone in our little community of Cepeda, mi papa ahora is a strong man, whom shares a powerful love of mine; Bicycles, he fixes the towns bicycles. My days are filled with wonderful people and many wonderful family members. I have been here in Cepeda less than a week and my heart is being filled quickly with this wonderful little community. I have been helping out at the local school full of soo many wonderful kids and teenages, so eagar to learn and they have much curousity with me and is nearly impossible to walk by a class room, without many warm and loving calls of David... Inviting me to talk to them, so I have been helping in classes about the environment, farming classes, sharing my prespectives about life, and listening to thiers. Tomarrow some teachers and I are going to create a compost system at the school with some students to teach them how to create soil full of life for the life of plants. All of this experience is soo incredible. On sunday another Yérbatero Maya whom I have befriend is a strong man deeply rooted in Na´Lúum, Mother Earth, who knows much about life and medicinal plants, has invited me to to an all day lecture about medicinal plants with others that know plants...
Now a moment for why I love spanish more than English, for the ease of expressing my heart. When I wrote how other good people that know plants, in my head I was saying people that Conoce, plants conocer is know but to know with the heart, like I know my friends and family, different form saber which is know información....
Okay well I have a bit of an adventure home so I must leave this writing, but much more goodness is ahead in this wonderful life. I have plans to fish with a good friend of mine in Meridad, and bike trips to zaranotes with some of the students at the school and many more learning opportunities to Know plants with the strong people I have befriend. I will soon begin to collect plants and with the help of some of the school teachers and the students we are going to plant a medicinal garden in the local school to help the kids develop a deeper relationships with these magical plants and our tierra madre (mother earth). Vamos a sembrar semillas de concimeinto en las mentes por el medio ambiente!
As always may peace be with you all,
Love,
David
Friday, October 2, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
october the first!
time flies! i am out here writing notes in the ciber and i thought i would share some more photos because today we started building the first kaanche. now the most time consuming part of the project is finding and cutting the wood. after thats done, its not too much work. we now just have to do the walls, line the inside with juano and mine, mix and fill the dirt... and of course PLANT ON THE FULL MOON! tomorrow we finish it up and then i go to merida to speak with Dr. Jimenez and work with Don Alfonso finishing up the second kaanche modificado and aparently he has started building an oven, so we'll be
working on that as well. heres some DOCUMENTATION
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Farming
The people here are so kind. I FINALLY got to get my hands dirty today :) They´ve been too clean for too long. I spent the morning working with William the owner of one of the farms that I´ll be working on for the next few weeks. One of the main projects there is setting up hyrdropontic lettuce, but today we started out picking tomatoes and eating really delicious oranges. I had a really great time with him and thankfully understood almost everything he said.
We visited the other farm that I´ll be working on yesterday and they are also a really sweet family. Francisco the owner is growing a lot of lettuce and celery, as well as lots and lots of coffee, but the lettuce has developed a blight that is destroying it and the celery is showing signs of a blight as well. My job is to find a cure - hopefully organic, but Francisco just wants to be able to sell his product and feed his family.
A week here has passed so fast. I love learning about the people. I´m really glad that the farmers are happy to work with me and teach me. I have chosen to do ´trabajo de hombres´ (men´s work) as my homestay mother calls it, but I suppose that the people here have become accustomed to the Gringas.
Some important vocab words - Americans are Gringos. Costa Ricans are Ticos. Ojo de Gallo is the fungus that is destroying coffee in Coopabuena. Costa Rica is where the best coffee in the world is grown. Coopabuena is where the best coffee in Costa Rica is grown. Mai is dude. Catholic is the only true religion.
So I learn...
We visited the other farm that I´ll be working on yesterday and they are also a really sweet family. Francisco the owner is growing a lot of lettuce and celery, as well as lots and lots of coffee, but the lettuce has developed a blight that is destroying it and the celery is showing signs of a blight as well. My job is to find a cure - hopefully organic, but Francisco just wants to be able to sell his product and feed his family.
A week here has passed so fast. I love learning about the people. I´m really glad that the farmers are happy to work with me and teach me. I have chosen to do ´trabajo de hombres´ (men´s work) as my homestay mother calls it, but I suppose that the people here have become accustomed to the Gringas.
Some important vocab words - Americans are Gringos. Costa Ricans are Ticos. Ojo de Gallo is the fungus that is destroying coffee in Coopabuena. Costa Rica is where the best coffee in the world is grown. Coopabuena is where the best coffee in Costa Rica is grown. Mai is dude. Catholic is the only true religion.
So I learn...
Family - originally posted in the wrong spot... oops
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
"I need someone to wash my clothes, to cook for me, to take care of me. I need my mother." When my 32 year-old, male co-worker said these words I could not help but think: pathetic and wash your own clothes. The great difference between himself and me was our culture; he is Brazilian and I am very American.
Here in the small village of Coopabuena in Costa Rica this characteristic of a family-centered culture is even further enforced. My mother is so kind to... everyone. Since I arrived yesterday she has been so attentive to any hunger pain that I might experience, as well as those of every person that enters the house from her son´s friends to the man who came to take pictures in order for them to consolidate their loans. She already alerted me to the fact that she will wash any dirty laundry that I have. Her fulfillment is in caring for those around her.
The concept of family and responsibility is so broad in this world. In America the idea of being constrained to such a role for many women is frightening. For most here it is natural and a dream to have a family to care for. Children will remain in their parents houses until they marry and start a family of their own, if this hasn´t happened before they are thirty, forty, etc. this is not a problem. One culture that puts great emphasis on individuality and personal achievement and another whose most important accomplishment is family.
Here in the small village of Coopabuena in Costa Rica this characteristic of a family-centered culture is even further enforced. My mother is so kind to... everyone. Since I arrived yesterday she has been so attentive to any hunger pain that I might experience, as well as those of every person that enters the house from her son´s friends to the man who came to take pictures in order for them to consolidate their loans. She already alerted me to the fact that she will wash any dirty laundry that I have. Her fulfillment is in caring for those around her.
The concept of family and responsibility is so broad in this world. In America the idea of being constrained to such a role for many women is frightening. For most here it is natural and a dream to have a family to care for. Children will remain in their parents houses until they marry and start a family of their own, if this hasn´t happened before they are thirty, forty, etc. this is not a problem. One culture that puts great emphasis on individuality and personal achievement and another whose most important accomplishment is family.
Chili Picante
2 Immodium and 2 Peptobismols. Is it okay that I take them simultaneously? Too late, down the hatch. You expected this but... but why me, why now; better now than later I suppose. Just like chicken pox. Hey you!... ya you! Either you are another CAN intern or I gave you this link in confidence that under NO circumstances will you tell my mother about my late night discussions with the toilet. Unless it is your inention to give a lady in her mid fifties a heart attack. With that said I will now try and explore the origns of my ailment.
I believe it all began with a very very spicy chili. It was my first night with my host family. William and Guiselle have three children: Adreína is the oldest and is in her last year of highschool which they call colegio. Justin is the middle child and is 11 years old and Maria is the youngest with six years. At dinner William pulled out a bottle of chili which is basically white vinager that has soaked in a bottle of whole chili´s for some time. The chili juice was hot but I could handle the temperature with ease. It was not until William offered me a whole chili that I began to sweat marbles. The fact that the chili was small and red should have been my first warning sign but I proceeded to cut off a small piece about the size of a black bean while William chuckled softly to himself. I should have stopped their after discovering that the chili was packed densly with seeds but I proceeded to consume the chili with a spoon full of rice. Chew, taste, swallow and within moments the heat I experienced from the chili juice was magnified tenfold. Sweat began trickling from every pore of my body as the heat slowly dropped to my belly. Laughing and crying histarically at my misfortune with the rest of the family I managed to ask for a cup of milk. Lets just say that after that night, which was 2 days ago, my poops have not been the same. But does a piece chili the size of a black bean have the ability to disrupt my gastro system for that long? According to the interwebs "Capsaicin" is a a substance that is present in some peppers and can trigger diarrhea. Since this has been happening for the past 2 days makes me think that it is not capsaicin but possibly a bacteria of sorts. Aside from the stomach issues I have been learning a lot about the coffee cooperative and would like to let you know what I know so far.
The CoopePueblos Coffee Cooperative is composed of over 50 different farmers. They sell their coffee to the cooperative but usually do not recieve the full amount for their coffee becuase some of the beans are infected with Broca, a tiny black insect that eats the bean. The way that the cooperative is able to test for Broca in the bean is by taking a 250ml sample of all the beans and placing them in a bucket of water. The beans that float have either been infected or have simply dried out (dried out beans are also consisered inferior for making coffee). The beans that float are placed back into the 250ml graduated cylander and measured. The fraction of beans that float to beans that sink is created into a percentage. For example if 10ml of beans float that is 10ml/250ml which is 4%. In this case the farmer will only recieve money for 96% of his total crop. The cooperative measures coffee in units of "cajuelas." A calquela is a box with the length, width, and height of about 1 ft. Twenty cajuelas will fill another much larger rectangular box called a "fanega." 20 caljuelas or 1 fanega is worth roughly 55,000 colons to a farmer. The current exchange rate is 582 colones to one US dollar so 55,000 colons is about $95. If this farmer lost 4% of his crop he would be loosing 2,200 colons or $4. But over the whole coffee season (September - December) when a farmer would fill 100 fanegas a total lost of 4% would equate to 200,000 colons or $344.
The other day I went to a farm just up the road from my house with my coordinator Merlin and another student, Kerry. The farmer, Francisco, and his sons showed us around the farm and what they were growing. Coupled with his passion for farming and the speed at which he spoke it was difficult to keep up with what Francisco was saying. Though his emotion made it clear that he was upset about something. Everything on his farm is grown organically and he incorporates a lot of worm compost to the system. He seemed to be having problems growing his lettuce without the use of pesticides. All of his lettuce has aquired these brown cirlces with smaller and darker brown cirlces in the middle, giving them a very unappealling look for anyone buying them at market. It is the job of the other student, Kerry, to find a solution to this pest. I know that the desciption about the pest is vague but if anyone has any information about how to grow lettuce free or with minor infections let me know so I can relay the information. Currently Francisco is monocropping the lettuce, in which may lie the problem. Besides the lettuce Francisco has a few qualms with how the cooperative accepts its coffee. He says that the cooperative needs to better inspect coffee rather than considering all floating coffee bad. Remember the two types of floating coffee are the ones infected with Broca and the dry beans. Dry beans are not ask good as fesh but are still usable. The problem is that the coopertive believes that here lies a difference in opinion. The cooperative name needs to represent quality coffee and if they are accepting inferior dry coffee it makes the cooperative as a whole look bad. But by doing this they are neglecting to reach an agreement with their farmers which could lead to unforseen consequences down the road.
That is all for now but I will write again soon.
Con mucho amor!
Mike D
I believe it all began with a very very spicy chili. It was my first night with my host family. William and Guiselle have three children: Adreína is the oldest and is in her last year of highschool which they call colegio. Justin is the middle child and is 11 years old and Maria is the youngest with six years. At dinner William pulled out a bottle of chili which is basically white vinager that has soaked in a bottle of whole chili´s for some time. The chili juice was hot but I could handle the temperature with ease. It was not until William offered me a whole chili that I began to sweat marbles. The fact that the chili was small and red should have been my first warning sign but I proceeded to cut off a small piece about the size of a black bean while William chuckled softly to himself. I should have stopped their after discovering that the chili was packed densly with seeds but I proceeded to consume the chili with a spoon full of rice. Chew, taste, swallow and within moments the heat I experienced from the chili juice was magnified tenfold. Sweat began trickling from every pore of my body as the heat slowly dropped to my belly. Laughing and crying histarically at my misfortune with the rest of the family I managed to ask for a cup of milk. Lets just say that after that night, which was 2 days ago, my poops have not been the same. But does a piece chili the size of a black bean have the ability to disrupt my gastro system for that long? According to the interwebs "Capsaicin" is a a substance that is present in some peppers and can trigger diarrhea. Since this has been happening for the past 2 days makes me think that it is not capsaicin but possibly a bacteria of sorts. Aside from the stomach issues I have been learning a lot about the coffee cooperative and would like to let you know what I know so far.
The CoopePueblos Coffee Cooperative is composed of over 50 different farmers. They sell their coffee to the cooperative but usually do not recieve the full amount for their coffee becuase some of the beans are infected with Broca, a tiny black insect that eats the bean. The way that the cooperative is able to test for Broca in the bean is by taking a 250ml sample of all the beans and placing them in a bucket of water. The beans that float have either been infected or have simply dried out (dried out beans are also consisered inferior for making coffee). The beans that float are placed back into the 250ml graduated cylander and measured. The fraction of beans that float to beans that sink is created into a percentage. For example if 10ml of beans float that is 10ml/250ml which is 4%. In this case the farmer will only recieve money for 96% of his total crop. The cooperative measures coffee in units of "cajuelas." A calquela is a box with the length, width, and height of about 1 ft. Twenty cajuelas will fill another much larger rectangular box called a "fanega." 20 caljuelas or 1 fanega is worth roughly 55,000 colons to a farmer. The current exchange rate is 582 colones to one US dollar so 55,000 colons is about $95. If this farmer lost 4% of his crop he would be loosing 2,200 colons or $4. But over the whole coffee season (September - December) when a farmer would fill 100 fanegas a total lost of 4% would equate to 200,000 colons or $344.
The other day I went to a farm just up the road from my house with my coordinator Merlin and another student, Kerry. The farmer, Francisco, and his sons showed us around the farm and what they were growing. Coupled with his passion for farming and the speed at which he spoke it was difficult to keep up with what Francisco was saying. Though his emotion made it clear that he was upset about something. Everything on his farm is grown organically and he incorporates a lot of worm compost to the system. He seemed to be having problems growing his lettuce without the use of pesticides. All of his lettuce has aquired these brown cirlces with smaller and darker brown cirlces in the middle, giving them a very unappealling look for anyone buying them at market. It is the job of the other student, Kerry, to find a solution to this pest. I know that the desciption about the pest is vague but if anyone has any information about how to grow lettuce free or with minor infections let me know so I can relay the information. Currently Francisco is monocropping the lettuce, in which may lie the problem. Besides the lettuce Francisco has a few qualms with how the cooperative accepts its coffee. He says that the cooperative needs to better inspect coffee rather than considering all floating coffee bad. Remember the two types of floating coffee are the ones infected with Broca and the dry beans. Dry beans are not ask good as fesh but are still usable. The problem is that the coopertive believes that here lies a difference in opinion. The cooperative name needs to represent quality coffee and if they are accepting inferior dry coffee it makes the cooperative as a whole look bad. But by doing this they are neglecting to reach an agreement with their farmers which could lead to unforseen consequences down the road.
That is all for now but I will write again soon.
Con mucho amor!
Mike D
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