End of the fourth week, already?

This week was the longest so far- not that it was a bad week, but long and tiring.

I was in the office on Monday, didn't have too much work to do. Half the reason I was excited for this trip was that I had 6 months to immerse myself in books and research. Not going to lie, that really hasn't been my top priority these first few weeks. However, after spending more time in the office without much to do, I decided it was time to start creating my own work. I began an outline for a paper I figured I'd write to take up some time.. researching poverty in Guatemalan, specifically rural poverty and an analysis of TechnoServe and how it attempts to address the issue. I also outlined a few reports that I plan to put together for Kask'i and Eco-Creativas.

Tuesday I was out the door around 5:30 in the morning and on my way to some avocado farms with one of our technicians, Nestor. We met up with the Project Manager, Alfredo, in Antigua and headed to the farms. The day consisted of Nestor and Alfredo speaking to a group of male farmers on proper avocado farming techniques, in addition to basic concepts to improve sale/export value. It was a pretty long day, we ended around 3 but then Nestor asked if I would go with him to another farm (unrelated to TechnoServe) since we were already in the area and he had some work to do. I didn't mind whatsoever, it was nice to spend time with him- he doesn't speak any English so it was great practice and he even enjoyed helping.

Wednesday I was in the office for the first half of the day then returned to Junkabal, where I was the week before, to visit the actual women making the products for Eco-Creativas. We had actually showed up just as they brought in a new group of women to start teaching them how to make the products. I won't lie, when I was there I felt a little defeated. Here I was watching young girls to old women learning a craft to hopefully increase their income, yet completely unaware that TechnoServe is finished with them at the end of the month and Junkabal does not have the funds to keep them going. Although it is not going to die out immediate- there is a decent system in place with Junkabal- it is still by no means sustainable.

However, I had a complete change of heart on Thursday when Maria, the director of the program, sent me their financials and sales in my attempt to put some order to it and create a plan for the women, products, and prices to make them more sustainable. After looking through the numbers all day.. it clicked. These women spend most of their time tending to their homes (if they have them) and families. They and their families struggle to survive, but fortunately now, on their spare time, they know how to make recycled products into beautiful new products. As I went through the sales, I see women bringing in bag after bag, some up to 65 Quetzales (around $8). And although that may not seem a lot to people in the States, its a drastic increase in income that they wouldn't normally have.. it's of no cost to them- a 100% benefit. Although the organization itself is not sustainable just yet, hopefully the work I do the next few weeks with Junkabal will help because these women NEED this money.

Friday I traveled to San Lucas Toliman to see Kask'i, the natural juice company I mentioned in previous posts. They too are having difficulty becoming sustainable, so I sat with the women running the office and gathered all their financial information since TechnoServe did not already have it. Hopefully, with this information, Michelle and I will be able to create a better long term plan for them. They are in far better shape than Eco-Creativas, but definitely still need help- I'll know more after reviewing all of the information that I was given.

After our short visit to Kask'i, Michelle took a longer way home- through the mountains along Lake Atitlan. I saw the Lake briefly on my way to Quiche, but it was from a distance. These views were absolutely remarkable. Fun fact- Lake Atitlan apparently started off as a volcanic crater many many many years ago. We also stopped at Panajachel, a small town on the lake, high in tourists and full of markets and great food. I've been seeing so much of the country through my field visits, and so much extra from the pure generosity of my co-workers and them wanting to show me their country!

I leave tomorrow to do the research on biofuels with the man from Boulder that I also discussed in a previous post. I honestly don't know that much about where I am going or what exactly I am doing, but I will be gone all of next week and some of the next. I'll definitely be busy the next few weeks!