Lago Atitlán: Round Dos

Last week I headed back to the lake. I was going to meet up with two other Nest Fellows based in the town of Panajachel (Pana to most) and also venture to Santiago to administer more surveys. The lake is no more than a 3 hour drive from Antigua, but our shuttle ride was a bit delayed by a large boulder blocking the road to Pana. Due to rainy season, there have been a lot of mud and rock slides, which tend to be exaggerated by the slash and burn farming techniques that really enable erosion. Luckily it didn't delay us for long, and in short seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.

Pana is a great little town. The shuttle dropped me right on the main street of the town, lined with small cafes, artisan booths, street food, and the like. I had really took to the lake culture in San Pedro during my visit a couple weeks back - so many interesting, relaxed people that come to visit for a few days or so and end up staying years - so I was glad to be back exploring another town around Atitlán. I found my way to the office of Oxlajuj B'atz' (Thirteen Threads - La Casa's sister organization), where Nikki and Darcy have been working (HI GIRLS!). The office was really impressive; upstairs they had a fair trade store displaying products from many of the groups they work with - coffee, chocolate, jewelry, bags, scarves, rugs. The girls explained some of the projects they've been working on and introduced me to Andrea, the director of development, monitoring, and evaluation and who has been supervising them.

I was most impressed by both the structure of OB and the variety of workshops offered to the artisans they work with. OB currently is association with 20 groups of artisan women based around the lake and surrounding regions. Andrea works with a group of indigenous women who are each a contact person for a couple groups. These women manage the communication between the OB headquarters and the artisans and facilitate the relationship between the two parties in terms of products and workshops. OB offers a variety of workshops under four main categories: health and well-being, artisan and product development, democracy and team building, and small business. Each of these go-to women meet often to create a workshop, measure how to evaluate its effectiveness, and then teach it to their prospective artisan groups. Later that afternoon, Andrea and the women were having a meeting about how to monitor and evaluate a new workshop they were in the process of creating about catalogue design, so the three of us Nest fellows sat in on it. Rather than directing the meeting, Andrea would simply keep it organized, throw out some ideas, but let the women do the majority of the brainstorming and talking. It was a really inspiring process to watch. These women were so smart, constructive, and compassionate about helping other women like them develop their skills, expand their output, and reach a more sustainable and independent way of living. I appreciated that everyone in the meeting was treated as equally important. There was structure and organization, but no one person leading the meeting or lecturing. It was a very progressive and positive experience to witness.

Wednesday I left Pana early via boat (the best way to travel from town to town due to efficiency and safety) and headed towards Santiago. Cristobal, who does beading work and facilitation for La Casa, met me at the dock. The native language and race of Santiago is Tzutuhil. Although probably the biggest town on the lake, it seemed to me to be one of the poorest and is hardly touristic. The main economies are commerce of basket goods (sugar, corn, beans, etc.) and artisan crafts, primarily bead work. Nest has provided work to Cristobal's workshops through a partnership with bead sandal appliques for Reef, so I came to evaluate the impact of Nest on these women. I was also to assess how production worked so Nest, Cristobal, and the artisans could be prepared for a potential visit from Reef to the area in the fall. Cristobal explained to me that the headquarters of his corporation, also called Tzutuhil, is based out of a workshop next to his home. Here there is the main office, raw materials, administration, and storage of designs. The women work in satellite workshops out of their own homes, so when there is work and orders they come to the headquarters, learn the designs, take raw materials back and work from home, bring their work back to Cristobal when they're done, and then get paid by the product.

While in Santiago, I was able to administer 4 surveys. Although they didn't take longer than normal (they usually take about an hour), they were fairly tedious because Spanish is the second language of almost everyone in Santiago and Cristobal had to translate many of the questions. Because Cristobal has been working with these artisans for years, he knows so much about the women, their capabilities, their families, homes, and financial situations, so he was very helpful and assisted the women during the survey. He seemed to know about some of their experiences (like the terms of loan for example) more than they did. If Nest were to facilitate loans or start a business curriculum program in Santiago, Cristobal would be a very good resource to use, especially considering his connection with each of the women and his fluency in both Spanish and Tzutuhil. He seemed to make the women very comfortable and important, which was very helpful during the surveys.

The rest of my time at the lake I spent reviewing the survey, watching the happenings at the OB office, and playing bilingual Scrabble at a little cafe with a mixed group of Guatemalans and volunteers like Nikki, Darcy, and me. Because I've spent so much time with the survey, I've gotten to understand the importance of having an effective tool to measure Nest's impact on each of the artisans and their life at home. Although some artisans don't see how Nest has impacted them directly, due to the fact they're working with Cristobal who works through La Casa who then works with Nest, it is obvious that they appreciate having a stable income. I sent an email to Rachel with suggestions on how to better organize the survey to make it easier for the women to understand and also hopefully make it easier to evaluate each person's connection with Nest, how it's impacted them, and how they feel it's changed their life. The surveys are to remain constant for the rest of the year so data across countries can be compared, but hopefully she'll implement some of my advice in future surveys!

Well, today is Tuesday, meaning tomorrow is my last full day in Antigua! My flight is at 8:15 Thursday morning from the city, about an hour away, so I'll have to take a very early shuttle :) I still need to write testimonials of people I've surveyed, which Nest will use as marketing collateral and also get in contact with Elmy, who I visited a while ago, to let her know that Nest has interest in meeting up with her again. It's so amazing how quickly time has gone by. Seems like just yesterday I was meeting MaJo at the airport and walking around the city for the first time. Not like I'm a pro now, but it's been nice to meet people coming and going from the hostel and being able to recommend to them things to do and places to eat. Can't wait to come back and visit.

Monitoring and Evaluations

The past two weeks Marie and I have been focusing our time with Nest's evaluation tool - a survey that estimates poverty based on a specified index and also assesses Nest's impact on the work and lives of the artisans. All of the questions were finally finished and organized, so we then had to translate the survey into Spanish.

We were able to meet with Ian in Guatemala at the La Casa office and he explained to us more about their relationship with the artisans and advice about how to facilitate the survey process with Max and the women from the workshops. Because the surveys were completed, we went to San Pedro to meet up with Max and begin the evaluation process. Each survey takes about an hour to complete - quite the challenge due to the language barriers and the effort to make the women feel comfortable while still maintaining professionalism and getting valuable answers. Before we started the survey, we read a prepared speech to the women that explained why we were administering the evaluations, made sure they understand the mission and services of Nest, thanked them for their time, and provided them with an environment and space to share any questions or doubts they had with us. They were also to sign a release form, allowing Nest to use their stories, information, and pictures for things like marketing, administrative, or website purposes.

I've learned a great deal from administering these surveys. I'm able to help Nest realize how effective or not the survey is as a tool to assess their impact on the lives of the artisans. We realized that the survey is structured a bit too formally, and also that sometimes the women don't recognize exactly how Nest has affected their lives. All of the interviews I've conducted have been with artisans that have received market access from Nest through association orders; only one or two have gone through Nest's business curriculum and none of them have received a loan. The majority appreciate having a stable workplace to come to where they know they will be treated well and work in acceptable conditions. One of the women participated in a couple sessions of the curriculum. What she had learned she mentioned teaching to her children and applying in her home.

Tomorrow I have a Skype conference with Rebecca and Kathleen to discuss more of the survey results, plan work for my remaining days, and figure out how to progress with the three groups we'd visited. There are more groups to be surveyed at the lake, and I need to finish up with Max's workshops (we've complete 9 interviews but there are over 10 more that need to be surveyed).

Marie left today :( It's been so nice having somebody to work with. We got along so well, especially considering we simply started living and working together without having known each other beforehand. We were able to bounce ideas off of each other, think of new methods or ways that Nests' tools could be used, and travel together.
I can't believe I leave in under 2 weeks! There is still plenty of surveys to get done and I still need to complete a couple grant write-ups. Hopefully I'll be able to go to the lake for a few days this week and meet up with a couple other fellows based there. I plan on being back in Antigua this coming weekend as I move hostels again on July 2nd. I've loved getting the chance to be stable in this city, expand my network of friends, and learn plenty through traveling, working with Marie, and connecting with the artisans. Will be very strange to go back to Vermont and then school to interact with people who have no idea how different this world is.

Guate, Guate

This past weekend Marie and I went to go visit 2 different groups that Nest wanted us to look at. We left early Thursday morning to go to the city to catch a bus to Rabinal, where we were to meet Mariana from Flor de Algodón. Transportation here is stressful but also somewhat exciting. Primary transport are busses, particularly old school busses that were once used in the US - probably then shipped to Guatemala because they had some sort of malfunction. The busses are painted colorfully, dedicated to a past female lover of the driver. Accompanying the driver, his partner stands at the front of the bus, hanging out of the door mostly, promoting to people on the street where the bus is headed and collecting the fare from the passengers. They shout "Guate, Guate" to let everyone know that the bus is en route to the city. In the early mornings or afternoons after work, the busses are completely packed and people (adults) sit three to a seat. Traveling with backpacks packed for the weekend was cramped to say the least.

By the time we got to Rabinal, we were happy to be out in the hot sun and off the bus. The roads to Rabinal were crazy - narrow and full of blind curves, although that didn't seem to matter to the bus driver who still passed dump trucks and such at a decent pace. Kids were playing marbles on the outskirts of the marketplace of the main plaza. I tried to think of the last time I saw a group of youngsters playing marbles and I was stumped.

Mariana’s group is located around 15 minutes outside of the small city of Rabinal in the state of Baja Verapaz. Agriculture is fairly prominent in their lifestyle; they grow and/or raise corn, peanuts, mangos, beans, pigs, cows, and so on. Although farming is important to their livelihoods and economy, it is extremely difficult to grow anything successfully during the dry season (November to May), so many people struggle with unemployment during these months.

Around 1985, an artisan workshop was held in Rabinal to support the widows affected by the massacres. They learned various weaving techniques and how to make material for an array of products; the women were told they would eventually be provided with a small factory, but what they were promised was never fulfilled. Because their work was simply learned in a workshop, they had little access to initial capital or a stable market. 7 women from the Chuaperol village (where Mariana lives) joined and started working together, producing products for the local market. Rabinal however is not the ultimate tourist attraction, so sales seem to be limited.

The artisans of Flor de Algodón also partner with a fair trade organization called Manos Mayas (Mayan Hands). Their relationship seems to be helpful, but appears as if it could be more financially supportive and stable – we’re looking into meeting with someone from the organization soon to know more about it. Manos Mayas asked for designs and samples from the women. They gave them fabric and a loom, which the group paid for little by little. A main concern of the women is that while the prices of fabrics are going up, the prices of their products sold through Manos Mayas in the US are staying the same.
In terms of their products and production, the principle material they use is cotton (their name Flor de Algodón means ‘cotton flower’), which they buy from Guatemala City. They use two kinds of looms, the standard foot loom, and also the more traditional waist loom. Their products include table runners and cloths, napkins, shawls, and scarves. Although it depends on the design of the fabric, 20 inches of material for a tablecloth can be woven in an hour; thinner designs take 2 days to make. Depending on the design, one person can typically make 12 tablecloths a month. For a single color design, one woman can make up to 150 napkins per month, where as a man can make almost 200.

Mariana gave us the impression that she’s a very hard worker, and is kind and responsible. Her dream is to be able to help provide employment to women, especially when there is no rain and work is hard to find. Financially, loans could help her expand her workshop, cover the rising costs of materials, aid with transportation to the city where they buy their fabric, and provide more looms, among other things.

On Friday, we took a bus to Salama, then a shuttle to Cobán where we were meeting with Amalia from Ixbalam Ke, another group Nest wanted us to look into. Amalia Gue’s group is located about a half hour outside of the third largest city in Guatemala, Cobán. Mayan traditions and culture are still very prominent, as Spanish is almost everybody’s second language here. With the help of a Peace Corps volunteer who saw and admired their work, a group of 25 women joined together, led by a committee headed by Amalia. She was offered the opportunity to learn various weaving techniques in the city along with another women, and then shared her findings and new knowledge with the other women. Now, between 2 communities there are 60 women producing products. Eventually, the volunteer married and left Guatemala, leaving the women with no market access or a way to move forward. At one point the group was also working with NOVICA, a group in association with National Geographic, but they provided very little profit to the women and all of their promises to help with designs and market access were empty.

The products the women make are women in each of their houses. They use 100% cotton that they buy in Cobán. Designs are produced from memory, and the majority of the products are white and made by weaving with waist looms, representing stories and traditions from their Mayan heritage. If dyes are used, they are natural and made by the women themselves from various plants, flowers, and trees found in Samac, their community. They make scarves, shawls, table runners, wall hangings, and huipiles (traditional Mayan shirts for women). Women normally work from 7am to 6pm around 6 days a week; a women produces around 4 scarves monthly – a timely effort considering the fragility and traditionalism of each design and technique. A pound of cotton, once 30 or 35 quetzales per pound, is now around 40. When they do provide products to Antigua, they sell their scarves for 275Q, 210 of which goes back to the workshop/artisan.

Both of these groups seem to be totally worthwhile in terms of partnering with. However, both of them have little to no access to the Internet, which obviously makes communicating, funding, and everything in between more difficult.
It seems as though the people with the most need for loans and support are also the hardest to contact, as we saw with both of these groups that seemed to be in the middle of no where. We are still awaiting some documents from Nest and to hold a conference with La Casa to get some of the work we need to do completed. In the mean time we are continuing to explore Antigua, hopefully find a coordinator based in Guatemala that could help with the multiple projects throughout the country, and also working on writing grants for fundraising. Hopefully we'll get an idea tomorrow of where we should go from here in terms of re-contacting these groups and letting them know if there is anything we can do for them.

T-Minus 1 Month

Despite my lack of blogging for the past week, the last 48 hours of work has been somewhat of a productive whirlwind. Marie got here this past weekend, and getting to know each other has been really easy. We're now sharing a double room at the hostel and it's been nice to have someone else there to bounce around ideas with. She'll be helping me out with a lot of the work I have to do for Nest, including more site visits; she's also doing work for fair trade coffee cooperatives and is working on getting her Masters. We both had quite a few questions for Nest in terms of our work load, especially because I'm STILL waiting to have a conference with Max, La Casa, and Nest, so we put together a list of questions/things we needed to get clarified.

This morning we had an hour long conference call with Rebecca and Kathleen. We covered aspects about the loan process, guidelines for surveying and receiving testimonials from the women, basic information about the curriculum Nest teaches, and how we should go about doing different parts of our work plan - a production guide, a look book of products, information for marketing collateral, etc. From our talk, Marie and I both have a little bit more understanding of some of the specifics of our tasks at hand and ways to go about doing them...

Tuesday marked the start of the remaining month that I have left here in Guatemala - seemingly not much time considering the amount of work I feel like we have left to do. Marie and I figured we should visit another group Nest was interested in while we were still waiting for the conference with La Casa and remaining information from Nest. We decided on visiting the artisans of a group close to Rabinal, Flor de Algodón, on Thursday and another one close to Cobán called Ixbalam Ke on Friday. We're planning on coming back to Antigua on Saturday.

It's a little nerve wracking traveling to these places because we don't have addresses or anything of the cooperatives - both of our contacts at each group said they would meet us in the city and then take us to their communities - hopefully that works out. It is reassuring though knowing Marie is here with me and that we're both proficient enough in Spanish, otherwise I wouldn't do these trips alone! I'm crossing my fingers that it's not too dangerous and that our time traveling there is worthwhile. I'm sure I'll have much to say when I come back...

Next week we'd love to go back to Elmy's group at the lake, and after this conference with La Casa happens, we can go back out to San Pedro again and work with Max. All in due time anyway...Marie is leaving the 26th, and my flight out is July 7th. Still lots left to learn, do, and know. But, that's all for now - we're leaving around 6am to start our trip - wish us luck!

San Pedro

Work these past few days has been a test of my independence, and patience too. Nest and I have been trying to set up a meeting with their business partner here, La Casa, that coordinates with multiple artisan groups around the country. I had been interested to see Max's workshop in the highlands and how Nest was incorporated to the Guatemalan culture. When I went to see the workshop last week, Max seemed eager to welcome me to his home and workplace, but also apprehensive to immediately start sharing details about La Casa and their entire production process. By conferencing with Nest, myself, and also Max and some of the La Casa staff, one could hope for a more clarified understanding of my purpose in Guatemala and a smooth transition for all parties. Although this meeting couldn't take place last week, I spent most of my time waiting researching other artisan groups in Guatemala that Nest had recommended I look into. All of them seemed really interesting, worth traveling to, and getting to know. However they were fairly spread out around the country, and although Guatemala isn't all that big, I felt more comfortable making my first solo journey to a more feasible location.

I was really interested in a group located in San Juan de la Laguna, right next to the town of San Pedro (an 55 queztal shuttle ride from my hostel). Sonny and Alex, whom I'd met while staying at Villa Esthela, were going to Spanish school in San Pedro as well, so I figured 'por que no'? So, this past weekend I took a break from the "bustle" of Antigua and headed northwest about three hours to the beautiful region of Lake Atitlán. The road there winds back and forth through the highlands of Guatemala - beautiful farmland scattered with quaint little groups of houses and stores. Definitely not the ride for travelers with fair stomachs, the people there drive crazy despite all the blind turns! Towards the end of the trip you come around yet another sharp turn, but all of a sudden there is a breathtaking view of an impressively sized lake, completely surrounded with jungly-looking mountains. Between every couple of mountains (one or two of which are volcanoes), lie little towns with populations of anywhere from 3,000 to 40,000. We drove through a couple before we reached San Pedro.

I knew that my friends were staying at a hostel called Hotel Pinnochio, but navigating through San Pedro at first seemed much more difficult than grid-like Antigua. The streets were hardly wide enough for one van, so 3-wheeled tuk-tuks dominated most of the traffic. We were dropped off on a street on which I couldn't find a name for, and were almost immediately surrounded by men and some children who were trying to lead us to various hostels, hoping to earn some commission. Luckily they didn't follow for too long, and about a half hour later I was able to find Pinnochio. At 9:45 the next day, after a great breakfast of local coffee (yummmmm) and banana bread, I took a 20 minute tuk-tuk ride to San Juan, the next town over.
I was meeting Elmy Hernandez to learn about the various artisan groups she was in charge of and the products that they made. I was immediately impressed when I walked into her shop, Xuaan Chi Ya. There was such a variety of products of great-looking quality and design and she seemed eager to inform me about their business.

I noted Elmy's warmness as soon as we got into her office. We sat down and she opened up so easily, describing the community and company to me. According to Elmy, San Pedro is a town of about 12,000 people, 55% of which are women. Aside from crafting, its primary economy is agriculture (coffee, tomatoes, onions, etc.), and is handled by men mainly. After Hurricane Stan in 2005 however, the agricultural market obviously suffered and that of artisan crafts started booming. But, like seen in any old economic situation, a change in the quantity should affect a product's pricing. To this day, many artisan groups struggle with fair pricing; at that time however only certain associations were receiving stable support from government organizations for example, and competition ensued. Eventually, 8 of these groups formed to what is now Xuaan Chi Ya, which Elmy is in charge of.

Xuaan Chi Ya's brand is Los Zumos, which represents the characteristics of strength, essence, vigor, and vitality. The 8 associations of artisans that represent this brand are: Asociación Bellas Cristalinas, Asociación Ixoqajkem, Artesanas de San Jose, Artesanos de San Juan, Manos Especiales, Qomaneel, Rupalaj Kistalin, and Chajil Chapup.

The presence of the Mayan culture struck me as still very prevalent in not only the names of the groups, but also in the town and Elmy's products. She explained to me that in addition to their 2 tourism lines (one for the land and one for the lake), they also worked with medicinal plants and a variety of natural and synthetic materials to make hygiene products and artisanal crafts. When I asked her about all of the products they made, she kept listing them off! Bags (beach and shopping), scarves/shawls, ponchos, make-up bags, purses, laptop cases, satchels, earrings, hammocks, pillows, tablecloths, decorative baskets, napkins, placemats, coasters, aprons, towels, gloves, pot holders, infant attire, soaps, shampoos, teas, candles...the list goes on!
Because there is such a variety of products, Elmy's team uses many different materials and techniques, depending on the product the artisan is making. Cotton, natural sheep wool, maguey (similar to agave), tulle (both the male and female plant), leather, and recycled materials are commonly used.
They use various dyes, some from from a certified producer, and others that are natural and made directly from plants. While some artists learn these skills through workshops, many of them (including Elmy) have been weaving since 8 or 10 years old. The majority of Mayan girls are taught varying artisanal techniques including how to use either a waist or a foot loom, or sewing machines. Because of the fragility of some of the materials or products, as well as the importance of tradition, Elmy's groups use machinery sparingly.

Overall, I left Elmy's very impressed and excited - I am interested to see where Nest wants me to go from here. I'm anxious to have this meeting with Max, La Casa, and Nest so I feel a little bit more productive during the day. Having this "down time" to do more research gives me the freedom to walk around Antigua when I want to, but there is only so much I can find out about a group without a trip there. Hopefully we're all on the same page soon.

So I'm back in Antigua now. The rest of my weekend was pretty relaxing - good and cheap food, lots of hammock lounging, and I took some great pictures! It's funny how my little room with no windows has become such a homey place, it was so great to be back to the hostel...just in time too because I started feeling kind of sick - must have been something I ate. Still waiting patiently to get a better understanding of what I should be doing day by day, but I really am enjoying my time here...taking pictures, sampling food, meeting people from all over. It's strange to think that I have just over a month left!

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page

Since I've been living in the hostel, we have formed a tight-knit group. Last night we all bought food to barbeque on the upstairs terrace - peppers, mushrooms, onions, corn, zucchini, chicken, steaks - and the Swiss couple (literally the nicest people ever), made a pasta salad and another one with cucumbers, onions, cheese, avocados, and tomatoes. Too good.

I've been so impressed with the amount of traveling this group has done, and feel like no words describe the benefits of doing so more than those of St Augustine. Hearing all of their stories, seeing their pictures, and understanding the global lessons they've learned inspires me to continue adventuring as much as possible. Alluring as world traveling may be, I'm reminded of the advice I got from a young Argentine guy I met when my dad and I were traveling in Mendoza. When I asked him if he'd ever been to the US, he'd said no. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but it was important to him that he got to know his own country before exploring too many others. I thought that was so interesting, especially because I'd never really looked at traveling from that perspective. Since then, a goal of mine is to do a cross country trip around the US, as there are still so many places I've yet to go - Colorado (my sister lives in Denver), Chicago (where my other sister lives), California and all the west basically, the deep south, LOTS. Hopefully I could find a travel companion, take my nice new camera along, and make it a point to do this after my graduation in 2012, before the world ends anyway.

Today some of our group is leaving - Sean is still here for a couple more months, and the Swiss couple is leaving tomorrow. Despite the frustration I feel from losing friends just as quickly as I've found them, I'm reminded that I now have that many more people in my network - friends that no doubt will accommodate me if I were (and hope to!) ever travel to their homelands.

In terms of work, yesterday I started doing some research about other artisan groups Nest had recommended throughout Guatemala. I plan to contact them today and hopefully I can go next week to visit a couple of them to learn first-hand more about them and their products. I'll update a list of some of the groups I plan to visit soon! So far, I'm especially interested in the groups around the Lake Atitlan region. A couple of my friends will be staying in that area as well so hopefully I'll be able to meet up with them, explore the area, and understand the crafts of and develop the connection with these potential new Nest artisans.

The Night is Still Young, My Friends

The first night at Villa Esthela was enlightening to say the least. I’m a fan of this hostel because it’s busier than the last one I was in, so people are always around and completely friendly to talk to. The guests here are from all around the world – England, Australia, Canada, India, France, Switzerland, USA, Holland, Germany, the list goes on... There’s a bar on the terrace, and last night a very diverse group of us gathered around a table, drank Guatemalan beers and the popular Cuba Libre (rum and Pepsi), roasted marshmallows on the fire, and shared stories upon stories. Juan, one of the managers (and bartenders) here at the hostel is more than entertaining. He is very passionate about his country and opinions, as most people are I suppose, and he loves enlightening us through cliché yet truthful and humorous advice: "The night is still young my friends!" or "To be or not to be: Toquila (Tequila)". He's provided us with plenty of laughs so far. The majority of the guests are here to travel, some for longer periods of time than others. If I have time (and the courage!), I’d love to be able to get out of Antigua and experience more of Guatemala.

Yesterday was Monday, and my first day of work here. Sandra picked me up around 10am from my hostel. After showing me the bus station, how I’d go to and from San Pedro, we made the 45-minute or so trek to the highlands by car. It was so interesting to get out of the colonial lifestyle and city-scope, and see the mountain-highlands and more traditional culture of Guatemala instead. There were farms that seemed to go for miles, workers bent over in the hot and humid sun, dressed in historic Mayan textile patterns. Sandra told me they cultivated a variety of plants like broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc.

Once in San Pedro, I was introduced to Max, who works with Nest’s business partner here, La Casa, and his family at their home. Inside his house, which is actually a combination of 3 related families sharing multiple kitchens, bedrooms, dining areas, and living space, there is also a small workshop. Inside there were 4 people (3 women, and 1 man) working on different sewing machines, making Guatemalan shirts for National Geographic. Max (striped shirt), with his son and the 4 workers, along with the shirt they're making for National Geographic. I talked to the workers briefly about the sewing process, where they lived, and how often they worked (8am to 7pm!).

Max’s wife brought Sandra and I along to the local market. San Pedro is notably different than Antigua. The entire time I was there, I didn’t see ONE other foreigner. The market wasn’t too overwhelming, but there were lots of flies – admiring the delicious goods while escaping the heat like the rest of us, I suppose. Women displayed fresh looking fruit and vegetables, cheeses, spices, and breads; meat and more commercial products like clothing were in larger booths on the outer edge of the market.

Max invited Sandra and I to eat with their family. They served us a delicious meat dish (honestly I’m not entirely sure what it was, but they said it was traditional of the area), rice, cheese, and of course tortillas. Dessert was watermelon, but despite my love of fresh fruit, I refrained, a bit worried about getting sick from it.

After lunch, Max showed me bags made by Nest artisans for FEED. When asking him about production and cost information, he seemed a bit apprehensive disclosing some information. I mentioned the work plan Nest sent me and told him what was asked of me - some production ideas, the community background, and testimonials of the women. I guess I'm still kind of unsure of what exactly I should be doing day by day, and I think some of the information that I was asking Max concerned him as I received a phone call from Ian, director of La Casa, before I was leaving. He wanted to make sure that I was focusing on the women, their needs, what they're currently earning/what they would like to be earning, and what are their available resources. All of this information to see how independent they could eventually become and how they could benefit from Nest. However, I've yet to meet women that are completely involved with Nest, so I'll be looking to Max and Ian to direct me to the right communities.

My independence is a bit stressful, exciting, but stressful. I'm still completely unsure of how I should be going about doing things day by day, but I’ll be Skyping with Nest sometime tomorrow or Thursday. Hopefully they can give me guidelines to help me run things a bit more smoothly. 60 days seems like a long time, especially because I'm unaware of in which direction I should be going, but I'm really happy to be in Antigua regardless. All of the people I've met here are so fun and friendly, and the city is pleasant to walk around in. I’ve already learned a decent amount about the city’s history. It’s a quaint city, more or less an isolated pocket of a country still affected by war, oppression, and poverty. I’m having fun meeting people from around the world, learning about how our countries differ, but also sharing similarities like passions for travel, language, and friends.

Sean, from Australia, and Sonny, from England, and I are walking up to El Cerro de la Cruz, the cross that overlooks Antigua, later this afternoon. It's been pretty cloudy since I've arrived here, and despite being rainy season, it hasn't rained once. Hopefully it clears up by the time we go so we get a clearer view of the volcano! Tonight the crew is making dinner because it's the Frenchman Pierre's last night before he continues on traveling, and the Swiss couple are leaving Thursday. Again, this hostel is so comfortable, and I can't wait to get to know all of my new friends even more. All of them are genuinely interested in the work I'm doing here, and it's been so much fun hearing all of their traveling stories. Some of them have lived in multiple countries for months at a time, or have been to over 40 countries! Hopefully one day I'll be able to accumulate a good list, but I'm comfortable with my experiences thus far considering my age.

That's all for now - sorry for writing a book! I'll have plenty more to say though I'm sure once I understand more of the details from talking to Nest. Chau!