We have been really enjoying our first week and a half here in Peru. The delay in posting comes as the cost of an extremely busy schedule and very spotty internet access. Our hostel is located in Huanchaco, near the city of Trujillo. Huanchaco is home to a rich culture–well-known for its fisherman in fantastic reed boats and for being a popular surfing spot (the longest left-breaking wave in the world is close by). Any free time has been primarily devoted to exploring the area, trying new foods, and hiking the mountains. Through our partnership with MOCHE, a nonprofit that promotes community development as an extension of heritage preservation, we visited a variety of archaeological sites in the coastal region.
After a few days of adjustment, Karla, Steven, and I are off to a great start with our community development initiatives. This year, we are focusing on three main efforts- expanding the women’s coop in Ciudad de Dios, building “cocinas mejoradas” (improved stoves) and improving a bridge in Jesús María. We are very excited. Working with Jesus Maria is a unique opportunity because there have not yet irbeen many social projects in the area. This allows to collect some firsthand ethnographic information on the members of the community and to try to understand and mitigate their difficulties. Yesterday, we had a successful “charla” with some community members on the importance of nutrition and promoting variety in our diets. We encountered some technical difficulties with our interactive food pyramid activity-the paper food items were blown into disarray by the wind…we ended up using rocks to hold them in place. But overall, we consider the talk to have been a SUPERBIEN success and hope to plan more of a similar nature. The women said that it was interesting to hear about the unique benefits of certain foods and helpful to know the variety of food items that make up “un plato del buen comer”.
So much more has happened in the past week, that it is difficult to narrow down the details. After visiting Ciudad de Dios for the first time, we made immediate connections with the women and children. It has been incredible to be welcomed so warmly into their homes and daily lives. One afternoon, all three of us even ate lunch with separate families. Being alone gave us the chance to become more confident with our Spanish-speaking ability, to understand life in the middle valley on a deeper level, and to make lasting friendships.
Last Wednesday, the coop met with Fernando, one of the store owners that sells their embroidered products. He gave a talk on the relationship between the producer, consumer, and the product. On Thursday, we went on a successful “paseo” with the women’s coop to Huaca del Sol y la Luna, an archaeological site. This trip allowed the women to see their embroidery patterns in a historical context and to understand the significance behind their favorite symbols. Now, I can more fully understand the empowering effect that the ability to earn extra “plata” outside of their husbands’ income and to expand their business skills has on the women.
Today, we plan to meet with an engineer to evaluate the water system in Las Cocas (another community) and the bridge in Jesus Maria. Also, we are going to have our first exercise class with the women of Ciudad (ZUMBA!) and begin to prepare an upcoming fair in Cuidad (more details later). Next week, we are starting to build the Cocinas in Jesus Maria.
Each day, I feel as if our understanding of life in developing Peru is growing and we are constantly having new ideas of how best to impact the communities in which we are working. It is very exciting to have so much on the horizon.