Just Another Day...

I am pleased that at this point in my community I can whip out a camera in confidence. The women I work with all know me by know and know that my camera is never far. People around town have seen me enough to know that I can be trusted to take their portrait from time to time. Today as I left my house I put my camera in my bag and set to snapping. Here then, is the chronological, photographic story of my day today.

Tires. Potatoes. I never would have guessed that this project would take off the way it has. I had a hard time keeping the women interested in nearly any of my ideas before this one. What started originally as around 30 active families has now exploded to around 70. As such, Ela and I are scrambling to keep up with these fast-growing papas. All the families have their first tire planted, now we are on to placing and filling the second. Here, Dominga piles dirt into the tire while her daughter, Emma, holds the plants back. 

Before.

After.

Doña Francisca has been a consistent and active part of the group from the beginning. She is a tiny old woman who doesn't speak a word of Spanish. We had to loosen soil from packed ground and carry it about 10 feet to the tire. She took tiny little swipes at the soil while I shuttled the small buckets. I asked her if I could help her, if we could switch, and she would have none of it. This is not because she is a prideful woman, I believe, but because of her desire to do things herself, to show that she is not taking advantage of my support and that she is serious about the project.

In the end we filled both the second and third tires. Afterward, doña Francisca sat me in a dim room with overly sugared coffee and moldy bread. She sat with me, her wrinkled face turned toward the light. She had a one-sided conversation with me in K'iche while I smiled and agreed.

The dry season is construction season. Most of the houses in Chirijox are made from adobe and from November to May one can find at least one work site that looks like this at all times. These men mix straw and water with the ground beneath their feet to form large blocks that dry after a few days in the hot sun.

This man was particularly nice and offered to help Isabel fill her nearby tire.

Last time I saw Santa she was big and round under her traditional skirt. This time I was introduced to Melvyn Martin, now some 40 days old. Here, when a child is born, instead of clothes and toys (I suppose there are enough of those laying around from previous kids and neighbors) household items like soap, sugar and eggs are given to the family. I brought Santa a half dozen.

I finished my tour of tires with Ana after nearly 6 hours of visiting women. Ana is one of my favorites. She lives nearby and is active in the group, has an adorable little daughter and has a wonderful sense of humor and demeanor.

Once home I updated Ela on our progress. We needed at least 40 more tires to have each women complete their stack to a height of three tires. As we debated the best way to get more tires (as we have depleted Chirijox) I mentioned that I had seen some in the next town over. Ela suggested we go right then to look for them. Tired, sunburnt and hungry I agreed. Hendrick joined us on our journey and provided entertainment in the truck ride there. We didn't find any tires.