The week in our last field site, Huehuetenango, is almost over and it’s kind of hard for me to reflect on the experience this week. In some ways, I’m still just trying to recover from Nebaj. I have bed bug bites on my arms, legs, hands, feet, stomach, and back and, let me tell you, they are no fun. I’m also a little afraid that they’ve somehow gotten into my luggage and that I’m carrying them around with me. My mom told me she’s going to bring me a towel so I can take off all of my clothes on the porch when I get home. Then we’ll take the clothes to the laundromat to wash. Bed bugs are awful, though; I don’t think you can be too cautious.

I also managed to bring a fever with me from Nebaj. I’m feeling better now, but still not completely well.

Anyway, the work in Huehue can pretty much be split up into 4 projects:

1. Proyecto Santo Tomas (Asesor Por Favor). Asesor Por Favor is the initiative of the nonprofit I’m working with that provides free consulting services to social projects. Proyecto Santo Tomas (proyectosantotomas.wordpress.com is the website we helped them make) is a community development project that is run by Nelson, a man who lives in Santo Tomas, and his wife. Nelson went to the US for 10 months and worked with a church there. He returned because he and the church felt that he could do more good working in his own country. The goal of his project is to promote unity within his very rural and very poor community. The government gave him about 150 acres of land in the community and he wants to use that land to help the environment, provide recreational activities, and encourage people in the community to spend time together. He has created four groups - a womens’ group, an agricultural group, a teens group, and a kids group. The women’s group has educational meetings and makes pottery and other things to earn more income. The agricultural group has educational meetings and the men share ideas. They also work together to plant trees to combat deforestation in the area. The childrens’ and teens’ groups are meant to give kids something to do so that they don’t join gangs or turn to crime. Nelson wants to put a soccer field on the land that he was given. We went there to teach him how to create and update a website as well as to provide some samples of logos and fliers that they can use to raise awareness and for the event they’re having on August 6.
2. The Peanut Butter Project (Asesor Por Favor) - Peanut butter is really hard to find here, but it’s delicious. I’m not sure who, but someone had the idea that we should try to create a market for it in Guatemala. Two of our asesores now make peanut butter in their homes and will begin selling it. We were able to help by giving them recipes on good ways to eat it, logos, and ways to name the company. Other groups went around with the PB and gave out samples — appparently people really liked it. :)
3. The Campaigns (Soluciones Comunitarias) - I had some mixed feelings about the campaign I attended this week. It was in Najab, a 4-hour drive to a very rural indigenous village that spoke yet another language. It was pretty difficult to communicate with some of the people there, especially the older people. It was a very successful campaign, though. When we got there about 30 minutes before the campaign was scheduled to begin, there were probably about 40 people waiting. The asesores gave a presentation on all of the products and we were all asked to give brief introductions about ourselves, which was very professional on their parts. Then we started giving eye exams, and it was difficult because of the language barrier. At one point I had to stop because I felt like I was taking advantage of someone. She was about 35 years old and she complained of pain in her eyes. I asked her if it was caused by the smoke from cooking over a fire or by the sun, and she didn’t really respond (I don’t think she understood what I was saying). I brought her some eyedrops and told her they could help with the pain, and I brought her some sunglasses that I said could protect her eyes against the sun. I explained that these things could help her, but that they would not be a solution to her problem. In spite of this, she was eager to buy both; I don’t think it even mattered what I said. She spent a huge amount of money, at least for her, and I felt like I was misleading her somehow. The asesores also brought their own products. One of these was vitamins; they were charging people Q180 for vitamins that would “prevent your eyes from hurting.” These vitamins were very expensive and the claim sounds pretty ridiculous to me. I’m not sure if I agree with letting them sell these products under our name, especially since they use our presence as US university students to make everything seem more legitimate. I guess the model we’re working under has its weaknesses and this is one of them. There is a lot of room for mistakes and for asesores to misunderstand what they should be doing and/or manipulate or mislead people. It’s good work and a great concept, but sometimes it’s still frustrating because, at times, it seems like we could be hurting some people more than we’re helping them.
4. Surveys - We also give surveys to find out a bit more about the communities and their needs. We use this information to make changes to current product offerings or to learn more about potential product offerings. The new products we’re considering offering are diabetes testing kits, solar hearing aids (my group’s project), and solar flashlights. Of the surveys I gave this week, my favorite was one to help determine the need for wood burning stoves. I spoke to an older woman and her daughter, and they were so excited about the product. They were willing to share their own story and said they’ve had problems with their eyes, lungs, and burns because of the smoke and fire in their home. They would be willing to pay our price; they simply haven’t had access to the product before (at least for a reasonable price). I took down their information and hopefully we’ll find enough people in their area to give a presentation and offer the stoves.

It’s been a good week and a great trip, but I think I’m getting ready to come home. I’m going back to my host family and Antigua tomorrow. We’ll give presentation on our projects and do some other wrap-up stuff Tuesday-Thursday.  Friday I fly home. See everyone soon :)

I had to leave my host family yesterday, and it was actually kind of sad. Which is weird because I’m saying goodbye to bedbugs and cockroaches on my face while I’m sleeping, weird diseases from eating poorly cooked food, etc. I really do like them - they’re a really great family. I wrote a note to them before I left and it really made me think.

Their whole family has the flu right now, but they don’t take medicine or anything. I’m not sure why - maybe they don’t have the money to buy it, or maybe it’s an indigenous cultural thing that they don’t use it. The kids are great, though. They’re all so excited about going to school and learning. The mother works very hard - she’s a teacher in another town and she takes care of her own kids. She grew up in a town outside of Xela where they speak another indigenous language (Mam). Then she had to learn Spanish. Then she got married to a man that speaks Ixil and moved to a community where Ixil, another new language to learn, is spoken. The father, Domingo, built everything in the house himself. He even made the chuu, the sauna, which is really impressive. And he teaches Spanish lessons.

Before I left, they all took a photo with me. Then the mother told me that the house is very “humilde” (humble), but that I’m always welcome.