Week 6: Rabbit Cages and Gardens

31 July 2015

Our first week of work at San Bartolo has gone really well! On Monday, we spent the day conducting market research in Antigua with hopes of finding potential clients for the women in Sumpango. We collected information regarding the average price and quantity of sweet basil consumed on a weekly basis and advertised the cooperativa’s organic basil. We were happy to see that a lot of the local restaurants expressed high interest in trading off their supply of basil because of their concern with the synthetic pesticides and herbicides.

On Tuesday, we returned to San Bartolo and focused on four tasks: removing and replacing the plastic bedding used for the redworm composting, taking apart the worn out wooden frames of the rabbit cages that needed replacing, digging up the foundation for a concrete wall, and finally, loosening and leveling of the floor for the paving of a ramp. The workload was facilitated with the help of a hired worker, Bernabe, who with his limitless amount of energy, motivated us to work hard and touched us with his dreams of immigrating to the United States during the lunch break.

We continued to work in San Bartolo on Wednesday. After a lot of sawing and hammering, we managed to build the frame of 5 rabbit cages and painted the the cages of four others to protect the wood from weathering. We faced a small complication with the wood; because the wood was cut fresh when we received it, it was still moist and therefore a lot more fragile. Nonetheless, with a little patience and careful nailing, we were able to build large sturdy cages that will hopefully provide the rabbits with a little more room. Bernabe, Cintia, and Wendy started building up the concrete wall which is starting to look very good.

On Thursday, we drove to Santa Rosa along with one of Maria’s friends, Diane, from Toronto who was a really sweet and an incredible person to work with. We visited a place called La Cuarentiseis where we visited five families who Maria had worked with previously. We brought them the organic fertilizer prepared in the cooperativas along with a diverse amount of seeds from nutritious plants to add to their garden. In addition to bringing them fertilizer, seeds, and mature plants, we also helped repair the frame and door of a garden bed, and cleared up and fenced another bed to prevent access from the animals that could potentially feed on them. We stayed the night there in order to work early in the morning in La Joya.

On Friday, we made our way to La Joya carrying a lot of plants and a lot of fertilizer. We first worked with Edgar, who we had worked with two weeks previously and was the first to welcome and express his gratitude for the help we were providing to his community. We built two garden beds in his home and planted a great variety of medicinal herbs and fenced it all around. Edgar seemed very excited when we explained the origin of the organic fertilizer and was extremely interested in acquiring more for his future gardens. He even accompanied us to visit and work with two other neighboring families and all together, we helped clear the lands of two other homes and build two more small gardens, again with a great variety of medicinal herbs. At the end of the day, Edgar again expressed how grateful he was for all us and how happy and hopeful he was in seeing that there were people across the world who cared enough to try to make a change in the lives of those who lack the resources. His speech touched all of us and it was a great way to end the work day.

Written by Edgar Martinez