Florencio's Well

Here in Paraguay, we have met some some amazing people who perform incredible tasks with their hands and a few simple tools. Our neighbor Florencio digs wells and septic holes for people in our community.

Barefooted, he digs the 30-70 X 6 foot holes with a shovel and a stick which he rotates to form a perfect circle. 

When Floerencio reaches a depth where he can no longer throw the dirt over his head and out of the hole, he rigs up a pulley system attached to a bucket. An assistant turns the crank to raise the bucket of dirt out of the hole, removes the dirt, then returns the bucket to Florencio to be filled again.

Finally, he lines the well with handmade bricks, to maintain and support its structure.

As we walked to different parts of our community, Mark and I would stop by Florencio’s work site, stick our heads down into the well and ask him how it was coming along.

 Florencio seemed happy that we took so much interest in his work, as, to the rest of the community, it is commonplace. When we asked him about his work, Florencio just smiled and responded, “Es mi vida." ("It’s my life.”)

Tree Project!

Introduction to our presentation....

One of the goals of our service, based on the community survey we conducted in our pueblo, is to plant more trees or reforestation. So, following the request of our community, we did a presentation for an agricultural committee about agro-forestry and the benefits of planting trees on farm land. Though the farmers were very familiar with the native trees growing in this area, they were interested in learning that many of these trees: added nitrogen to the soil; could be used as living posts; prevented erosion; and could provide wind breaks and shade for their crops.

Mark shares information on agroforestry systems

When we completed our first presentation, the members of the committee signed up for 1200 trees!

Next, we did a little research to see how we might find funding for the project. Peace Corps works with a local nonprofit organization, concerned about the deforestation that has occurred in Paraguay, and funds the planting of native trees.  We worked with the president of the committee to write a grant and submitted the paperwork. Two days ago, we received word that not only would the project be fully funded, but that the trees would be delivered to our community free of charge, as well!

This committee has a high percentage of women- Yeah!

We have two more committees to share tree information with, this time working with leaders in the community to present to the groups.  It's exciting to think that we will have a hand in helping to "reforest" Paraguay in this small way! It’s also very rewarding to see the farmers extending their leadership as tree experts among their peers! Having the local people learn and teach about their trees and the grant writing process, using a local nonprofit will also, (hopefully), create a sustainable system that can be repeated, long after we return to the States. 

Closing of our Presentation...

The next stage occurs in May, when the trees will be delivered to our community.  The farmers will be busy planting trees, while Mark and I will be assisting and working with leaders of the committees to monitor the project. It will a busy and rewarding time for all of us! More updates on this project to come in May!

Mosquitos, Lizards, and Ants, Oh My!

Ahhh, it seems we have left our humid, 100+ degree days behind with summer. Fall has brought with it gloriously cool days with much more rain this year, than the last. Seems strange that we have been here in Paraguay long enough to compare seasons from one year to the next….. The change in “época” prompted me to reflect on the past three months…

The “cigarras,” or three inch long cicadas, with their high pitched buzz, announced that the watermelons were ripe. Our neighbors explained that this was a sure sign that summer was here, (the sweat dripping down our backs was a sure sign for us!).

Throughout the campo, you repeatedly heard the phrase, “Haku la mymbrui!” or How hot it is! This phrase prompted finding a spot in the shade under a big tree, sharing mass quantities of terere, and catching up on the local gossip. The days were long, slow, and tranquilo.

Remember the movie, “The Birds”, by Alfred Hitchcock? If he were still alive, I’m sure Mr. Hitchcock would have considered a sequel, entitled, “The Mosquitos”, had he visited Arazape. In the evenings we retreated, early, to the safety of our mosquito net. The loud, incessant buzz from the blood hungry swarms does indeed bring to mind a horror flick of major proportions!

Mark planted and harvested his first peanut crop. We learned how to roast the fresh peanuts and they were delicious! Since we rarely eat meat, except for special occasions, peanuts are eaten every day as one of our protein sources.

And then there were the ants- tiny; huge; Colorados- inflicting adrenalin pumping stings; leaf cutters- capable of carrying loads 5X their size; and all of them seeming to find their way to our bodies, leaving bites in EVERY location you can imagine. The bite or stings leave a red bump that fills with liquid, erupts, then leaves a small hole which scabs over and itches for about a week. Sorry for the gory details, just one of the realities of living in the Paraguayan campo.

I tutored two students, preparing for first grade. Lorenzo took off with his reading of “predictable text”. Johanna made good progress with her fine motor development and was gaining better control of the pencil with her higher functioning hand.

Two new pets adopted us. One, a three foot long lizard, or Argentine Black and White Tegu, became a regular in our yard. Our neighbors had definite ideas about his fate- they shared that he would eat our chickens and therefore needed to be killed. We also found out that Tegu is a delicious delicacy among the locals. Being the good environmental volunteer that I am, our Tegu was assured a safe home with us, with our neighbors checking their machetes at the gate!

 

Our other mascota is a Rufous-collared sparrow; we dubbed “Rufi.”Every day he sits on our window sill, waiting for the opportunity to enter our house. Some days he just sits there and watches us, like he’s visiting the "human zoo.”

Now, with fall upon us, we are back in full swing with work in the schools, agricultural committees, and planting our garden. Surely topics for future blog posts- stay tuned!

The Official Soap Recipe- A Guest Blog

This is a guest blog, written by a fellow Peace Corps volunteer and friend, Emily. You can visit her complete blog at: delcorazondeamerica.blogspot.com     Enjoy!

One of the most important goals of Peace Corps is to promote sustainable development—changes that will last after the volunteers leave. In my branch of Peace Corps Paraguay, the agricultural sector, one of the ways that sustainable development, or sustainable agricultural plays out is by working with the Paraguayans to use the products from their farms and communities as efficiently as possible, to create as much of a closed circle as possible. One way to more efficiently use farm resources (and increase the yield of an individual farm) is to maximize on the “by-products” of family farms. For example, waste products such as cow manure, fallen leaves, and vegetable scraps can be combined to make amazing fertilizer to increase the vegetable production in the garden or field. And the left over fat (tallow) from meat can be used to make soap (which is cheaper and possibly less “chemically” then the soap at the store).

            Speaking of soap…I have been itching to learn how to make soap since I’ve been in Paraguay. So, I was very excited when Mark and Susan from Arazape (a community that is about ½ hrs drive north of me) invited me over to try it out. Susan has made soap many times in the states, however, she always made soap using different vegetable oils. This would be first time for both of us using tallow. We figured, we would try it out once on our own and then teach the recipe to our communities. Susan had procured the recipe from another volunteer who had made soap with his woman’s commission, and so, after buying some lye and tallow from the local hardware store and butchery (respectively), we were ready to go.

The Official Recipe for Tallow Soap   

• Melt down cow fat in a large pot.

• Combine lye with water in a glass container.

• Dice up herbs and grind up some oatmeal to improve soap’s smell and add some gritty scrub.
• Check recipe to make sure you have followed exactly all the steps.
• Pour lye mixture into tallow.
• As your soap boils and bubbles over into yard, stir rapidly.

• Back away from smoking brew.

• Add herbs.

• Scrape hardening foam off of lawn and add back into pot, adding a couple spoonfuls of boiled grass and dirt.

• Attempt to find original recipe with snail-speed internet connection.
  

          Pour foamy brew into molds.

 

• When foamy brew cools down and is obviously planning on remaining a cold foamy brew, re-melt on the stovetop.

• Pour back into molds.
•  Let cure for a week and enjoy.   



Remove from mold, use corn husk to tie on fresh mint

• Optional: find a new recipe.

Growing Leaders

A Growing Leader!

When Mark harvests his corn, he saves some of the seed for planting, ensuring another crop to harvest. Our corn continues to produce, our chickens continue to eat corn and we continue to receive eggs. It’s a sustainable system.

So when I began to plan for an environmental summer camp for the children in our barrio, I had to stop and ask myself the question, “Is this a sustainable system? Will this project continue to happen even after Mark and I return to the States?” My answer to myself was, “Probably not….”

Putting my enthusiasm for making leaf prints aside, and the markers back on the shelf, I noticed my fifteen- year-old neighbor walking towards my house. Then it hit me- if they had an interest, the bright, energetic teenagers in the barrio could learn and lead a camp for their younger neighbors.

 It was time to “grow” some leaders!

Celsa was interested and recruited two friends to help plan, prepare and present an Environmental Summer Camp for the kids in Barrio San Miguel.

We started with brainstorming ideas and charting them. They decided on a 3-day camp, 3 hours per day. We charted daily schedules; listed resources needed, and divided the responsibilities.

Brainstorming, Organizing and Scheduling

 The girls did research on the themes they selected, (Managing Trash; Native Trees; Birds and Animals of Paraguay), created posters and practiced their presentations. They prepared art projects that went with each theme, (Yeay- they selected leaf prints!), and planned fun recreational activities.

Preparing Materials and Presentations

After 5, half-day planning/ work sessions, followed by walking the barrio to personally invite children to attend the camp, the girls were ready!

The teenagers did a great job “leading” their 18 participants during a fun, informative, and engaging 3 day Environmental Summer Camp! They worked together, followed their plan, and shared responsibilities that reflected their strengths.

"Tree Day" Discussion

Mark Shares Information on Planting Tree Seeds

Were there a few bumps in the road? Sure there were- That’s when I bit my tongue, and they learned from the process! We saved all of the planning charts, schedules and teaching posters to serve as guides in planning future “camps,” in hopes that it becomes a sustainable practice.

The end result? Happy camp participants, new learning about important environmental themes, proud camp leaders, and a new crop of enthusiastic, growing leaders!

"Campers" Showing Off Their Certificates

Who is the Tooth Fairy?

When our neighbors, Lorenzo and Jenny came over for a visit, we had an interesting conversation.

Lorenzo had lost a tooth, giving him that cute six-year old jack-o-lantern smile. After hearing the story about his aunt’s technique of painlessly extracting his loose tooth, I asked the obvious question, “Did you put it under your pillow?”

Jenny and Lorenzo looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Why on earth would someone put a tooth under a pillow? After asking twice, I realized the confusion was not stemming from misunderstanding my words, (which STILL happens), but from not being familiar to the whole notion of the Tooth Fairy….

So, I asked, “When a tooth falls out, what do kids in Paraguay do with the tooth?”

The answer to them was as obvious as the Tooth Fairy regime was to me- “Obviously you throw the tooth onto the roof of your house! Why would you put a tooth under your pillow? How would Kyju’i find it there?”

That led to my explanation of the story of the Tooth Fairy, (a really bizarre notion when you think about it…). Jenny then shared the story of Kyju’i. It went something like this…

In Paraguay, when a child looses a tooth, she must throw it on top of the roof of her house, and recite,

 “Kyju’i, Kyju’i, eme’e cheve che raira ipyahuva.” Translating from Guarani to English- “Kyju’i, Kyju’i, give me a new tooth.”

During the night, Kyju’i, a cricket, will visit and collect the tooth from the roof. If he is successful in finding the tooth, Kyju’i will keep it, and in return will ensure that another tooth grows in its place. And sure enough, those “new teeth” seem to grow in every time!

So there you go, no monetary trade off, just an exchange for a bigger, better model. Interesting these cultural traditions we have for children. Too bad the magic doesn’t continue for adults. Then again, I’d be happy to keep all of my teeth at this point!