The schooling continues

Work in the school is continuing and extremely enjoyable. The only frustrations have been in dealing with the teachers and setting up times, as well as their participating in the teaching activities. My way of teaching is different from what is traditionally done in the school systems here and I hope that teachers may see something useful in new teaching methods.
When I first told them I wanted the kids to do a majority of the work in the garden, the teachers were a bit hesitant and told me that the parents do the work. This was the exact opposite purpose of the school garden. It is there to teach children about gardening and then use the produce to make healthy snacks. The garden can also be used to teach other subjects such as science and math. Regardless, I pushed the teachers and more or less demanded that the kids work with me. Needless to say, the kids had so much fun. We prepared seed beds for our tree seeds. Discussed the advantages of making raised beds and giving them a good batch of fertilizer. From there we also prepared our garden beds and vegetable seed beds. We talked about companion planting and started planting some vegetables.
The kids were so much fun in the garden. Not only were they excellent workers, but they showed more interest in the topics and actually wanted to learn about the garden - something I can't say about all the adults I work with.


Cleaning the garden.

Preparing the tree seedbed.

Preparing one of the garden beds.

Students and teachers worked side by side.




Planting Swiss Chard alongside with carrots.

The power of success

That's a pretty heavy title for a blog post, no? It sounds like I'm going to give a lecture to a group of businessmen in a nondescript convention center - "We may be the number 4 wholesaler of paperclips in north eastern branch, but gosh darn it if we keep pushing our products we could make the 3 spot!". Okay, not quite. Hopefully this should be a bit more interesting.
You all know that I work with three woman's committees: two have been around for almost a decade and one is brand new. I have had difficulties with one of the older groups due to a lack of participation in meetings (nobody would show) and them simply asking to be gifted things from myself or other organizations. I had little hope for this group and felt that it would probably fall apart sooner than later. So, we sat down and had a talk. I know I've previously discussed how Paraguayans shy away from confrontation and would do without strong words. I tried my best not to be too strong and direct in the way I said things but still told them how I felt. I told them that they could not accomplish anything without being responsible and showing up to meetings - they all agreed. Then I asked them exactly what it was they expected to gain from being members of a committee. Did they want a place to sit around and complain about neighbors? Did they want to find ways of making extra money? They decided that they wanted the committee to be a place where they could learn new things, and find ways of getting more resources (food, money, etc.) for their family.
With their goals clear it was much easier for me to work with the women; they started showing up more regularly to meetings and actively participating.
Our first project was to make detergent soap. Detergent soap, along with cooking oil, yerba mate, and meat, are the biggest expenses families have on a week-to-week basis. The women and myself both felt that this was an important and potentially profitable thing to learn. All the ingredients could be obtained locally: cow fat (tallow), caustic soda, fabric softener, room deodorant,and water. We also made the fabric softener and the deodorant as a side project before hand. We made around 8kilos of soap and the women were ecstatic. The process was so easy and fast while the end product was just as good as commercial detergent soap.
This got them thinking. They could make these products and sell them to neighbors and other communities. Currently, they want to make more soap and want to expand to bar soap and other deodorants with different colors and fragrances.
I was amazed at how well this simple project got the women so excited. You could see the ideas popping into their heads and they really got enthusiastic about working together as a group.
So, I brought up the garden seeds I had received from the national newspaper. Last year we divided them up and each woman took them back to their own individual garden. I have been pushing community gardens since the day I got here with no success, but I figured I might as well try again. After five minutes of ironing out the logistics, the women decided that they wanted to start a community garden! Before I knew it we were grabbing hoes and rakes and preparing the garden. All this happened within about 15 minutes of bringing up the idea. By the end of the day we had prepared and planted our seed beds, prepared the other beds with manure and planned out how we would plant the garden.
It was truly unbelievable. This was the power of success. The women were so excited after successfully making soap that they felt they could do anything if they tried, especially if they did it together. The one group in my community which I felt would fall apart has now become the strongest,and most active one. I can only hope that this trend continues.

Teaching Photosynthesis

This school year I asked if I could participate more in classroom activities. The teachers were more than happy to give me time once or twice a week to come in and teach both morning and afternoon sessions (school days are half-days in Paraguay). The school is very small, only 57 students in all. Because deforestation is a major problem in Paraguay I have decided to start off with a series of classes on trees and reforestation. Our first class was centered around the importance of trees as well as the current problem of deforestation. The idea of this class was to nail home the importance of trees and develop a deeper appreciation for forests while the children are still young. The most recent class was centered around photosynthesis. This is a tricky subject to teach. Most people in my site don't really understand what photosynthesis is, so to try teaching it to children was a challenge. We first started talking about breathing; why do we breath? What do we breath? What is oxygen and carbon dioxide and where do they come from? From there we went into trees and plants and how they too breath just like us but instead of breathing oxygen they breath carbon dioxide.

Once the basics were established the kids easily grasped how clorophyll captured photon energy and transfered it through the electron transfer chain in the light-dependent reaction thus creating ATP and the full mechanism of the Calvin cycle (ok, not quite).

To drive home the topic we did a little art/science project. The kids did leaf rubbings (which they LOVE!) and we made a diagram of what goes into a plant/tree and what goes out. Using arrows we showed nutrients from the dirt, water from the clouds, energy from the sun, and carbon dioxide from humans going into the leaf, while an arrow leaving the leaf depicted oxygen leaving.

Whether or not all the students really understood photosynthesis is not necessary. I wanted to teach this subject not to increase their knowledge of the workings of plants but as a means for increasing their appreciation and awe in trees and other plants. Maybe that way they will be more inclined to plant more trees, or at least not cut down those that are left.

Work Stuff

Michael (dad) was also able to see what type of work I do in site. It was good to have someone from the outside there to observe and give ideas as well as another take on the issues I was teaching about. He came to check out my demonstration plot. Now that winter is almost here it is time to play my winter green manures. I invited a neighbor (kai Andres) over to help me since he has a rollocuchillo (rolling knife). This is a great farming tool used to cut and press down green manures, leaving a thick mulch. It is a simple farm implement; it is a heavy metal cylinder with blades that, when pulled, cut and press the plant matter to the ground. I used it on my patch of Mucuna, the nitrogen fixing vine. We did this before the plant flowered and set seed so that all the Nitrogen fixed in the soil stays in the soil. Prior to rolling over the Mucuna I seeded the plot with black oats, the winter cover crop that also makes great animal forage and mulch. I seeded before we used the rollocuchilo so that the seeds had a chance to get to the ground. Had I seeded afterwards the seeds would sit on the mulch and not sprout. When I came back from Ecuador the Avena had already sprouted and looks great.


This is a panorama view of my demoplot. The mucuna (on the left side) is what I will cut and use as a mulch.

Avena is seeded by hand.

Kai Andres and the Rollocuchillo.

It turned out to be a good teaching day. He had a lot of questions regarding planting avena and mucuna.

This is the rollocuchillo.

This is what it looks like after being chopped and pressed down.

Update - The Avena has sprouted, though the mucuna mulch was so thick that there are parts in which the Avena could not come through. I plan on planting sunflowers in this patches.


He also came to school with me. I am starting a reforestation program in the school. Deforestation is a huge problem here in Paraguay and the earlier the kids learn about the value of trees the better. I started this program with basics: what do we use trees for, what does deforestation mean, what does reforestation mean, what is agroforestry etc. I will continue with sessions on how to treat seeds and properly plant them in the garden. How to take care of trees, etc. Eventually all the children will take trees back home and plant them.






Finally, he came down to check out one of the womens committees. I gave a short charla on companion planting in the garden. It is garden season and everyone is getting ready. Most people here plant a mini monoculture in their garden; one line of tomatos, one line of carrots, one of lettuce etc. It is a better practice to associate plants of different space requirements and nutrient requirements together. In this way the space in the garden can be used more effectively and also certain associations keep bugs away from plants while others help plants grow even better. Examples are carrots and tomatos, basil and tomatos, beets and lettuce. etc



Finally, this is a beautiful shot of Rubito's year old pineapple field. After talking to him about it for a long, long time he decided to leave all the weeds he took out from between the pineapple lines. The resulting mulch is so thick that no other weeds will grow.

Back after Vacation

I'm back from a wonderful vacation. My father came down to visit me for a week in site. I don't think he could have picked a better time to be in Paraguay since he was able to experience the one week we call Fall in this country. Prior to that it was scorching summer, and now it is very cold winter. During his stay in site we were able to visit the neighbors and give him a flavor of Paraguay. We did some cooking with the neighbors (we made Chipa Guasu, which he agrees is the best cornbread in the world). After his brief stay with me we headed to Asuncion for a day to give him a taste of the big city and from there we headed to Ecuador. What a wonderful country. We landed in Quito, which is located up in the mountains and the thin air was a pleasant surprise after the thick air of Paraguay. The next day we headed down to Tena, the capital of the Napo province where we stayed at an ecolodge for 3 nights. We explored primary Amazon rainforest, went to waterfalls, a butterfly conservatory, a canoe ride down the Napo river. From there we headed back north to the Mindo area to visit a cloudforest. It was absolutely magical. The number of birds, especially hummingbirds, was exceptional. We also were able to hike around the forest there. The difference between the cloud forest and the rain forest is astonishing. While the rainforest is muggy and very buggy with huge trees, the cloud forest was more stunted in it's tree growth (though by all means not small) and everything was covered in epiphytes. Plants growing on plants growing on other plants. In the cloud forest the mornings are clear and then after 12 the clouds roll in and enshroud the whole forest in a mist. The bugs are not as ever-present as in the rain forest and we were able to see many more birds. Also, it was rather chilly in the cloud forest due to it's altitude.
After our trip through the cloud forest we headed to Otavalo, a town about 1.5 hours outside of Quito known for it's large market of indigenous goods. The main square was packed with stall after stall of goods made by indigenous (though it seems that more and more of the items were made outside of the country). None the less, we bought our fair share of recuerdos and then headed back to Quito for one last night.
It was a great trip, though more time was needed...at least another week or two. For such a small country, it's diversity makes for much to visit.
I will post a couple pictures on the blog, but we are creating a link to all the pictures and videos which I will post when ready.

Mist rising off of the Napo river in morning.

Morpho butterfly. Don't worry, the butterfly was not killed and flew off. These things lazily glide all over the rainforest.

Michael in front of a giant Cebo tree. These trees are huge and house all types of plant and animal life in their canopy.


The cloud forest once the clouds roll in.




A wall of green in the cloud forest.


Blue Jay in cloud forest.

Building a Fogón

We started building Kai Zakaria and Ña Maria´s Fogón yesterday. Unfortunately I have been sick with the flu and have been on the sidelines for most of the construction. The whole process is actually rather simple and a fogón could be built in one to two days. Basically, a fogón is a wood burning earth and brick oven/stove. No cement is used except for the chimney which is placed outside of the kitchen. The whole thing is designed so that hot air and smoke pass around the oven, heating it, and then leave through the chimney outside. In this way the cook doesn´t breath in all that smoke, every day, three times a day. Also, it is raised high enough so small children can´t trip and potentially burn themselves like on traditional fires.


This is Ña Maria´s traditional way of cooking. We placed it outside while the fogón was being built. She has squated over this fire , breathing in all that smoke for decades.


Kai Juan Ramon (left) came to help build. He is the communities mason and does excellent work.

The first couple layers of fogon. The larger opening on the right will eventually be filled with dirt and the stove will be placed on top. The left opening will hold the oven.


Almost finished.The stove (red box on the left) will be enclosed in bricks with an opening outside to the chimney. Firewood is placed underneath the stove.


I believe that of the 80ish families in my community, only 8 or 9 are using the traditional floor fire cooking method. Hopefully I can find a way to get funds so that all families in my community are cooking with a fogón.

Back in Asuncion....

Well, here I am...again. I didn't clean my beans so well the other night and left a rock in there, which I bit down on and broke a filling. I went to the dentist here in Asuncion to get it done and there was no power, so she fixed it using her assistants cel phone light to see what she was doing....only in Paraguay.
But, good news. I got the tree seeds! How did I do it? Well, first I called them every day and nagged them, every day, about where the seeds were. Usually I do not like to bother people over and over, but under the circumstances I felt that I was doing the right thing and felt no shame. Finally they must have given up and said I could come get the seeds. It was a very, very long journey to get these seeds. As usual I left my house around 3am and made my way to the routa to catch a bus. This morning, however, was rainy and the dogs were extra mean. Every time I travel at night I have to carry a long stick because the dogs are extremely viscious at night and will bite. I had to swat at a couple of them on my long walk to the routa, but luckily no bites!
I caught a bus at 4am and made it into Asuncion at 7:30. From where I get off I had to take two city buses and then walk about 3 miles to get to the tree nursery. I arrived drenched and muddy, but I was there. I talked to one of the ingenieros about seeds and he turned out to be an extremely nice guy. We were talking in Guarani, and I was trying to be formal when all of a sudden he asked me a couple rather crude questions about girls and drinking in my community. I was taken aback, but at the same time I felt right at home. I thought to myself "so, if this is the game you want to play, lets play" and proceeded to tell jokes in Guarani, we talked about drinking, girls and what not. The guys in the office were in tears from laughing so hard. They had never met a Paraguayan who speaks like a good 'ole boy farmer in Guarani. It was actually a lot of fun and we ended up talking for a while and the ingeniero wanted my contact information so we could keep in touch. And the best part was that he gave me all the seeds I wanted. Finally.

I am happy to have the seeds, but still find the whole process to be illogical. There is no way anyone in my community would go through with what I had to do just to get seeds. The main purpose of this organization is to get seed to these people, and for projects like the one I am doing with my committee. It just isn't run well and overly beauracratic.

Since the past few posts have been relatively negative I feel like I should give something on the more possitive side.
First, work with one of the women's committees is going exceptionally well. There has been a push to continue with more cooking classes after a brief hiattus, which I always get excited about. Also, the garden season is starting to get going and I have been giving lots of classes on gardening and trying to get the women to do even more with their gardens this year. We had a long session on committee funds, lots of brainstorming on what exactly the funds are for etc. The women decided that the funds would be used as a form of medical insurance for members. If a member were to fall ill, or a members family member were to get sick, the funds would be there as an emergency backup for doctors visits and medicines. Now that there is a clear idea as to what the funds will be used for we started going over ways of raising money. Usually the women sell baked goods and have events, but we were looking for different avenues or ways in which we could make more from these events. Last Friday we had a volleyball tournament, a piki volleyball tournament (its volleyball played with soccer rules, no hands or arms), and a Trucko tournament (a traditional card game usually played by men). All participants had to pay an entry fee and there were prizes such as a pig, cooked chicken, baked goods etc. The women also sold cooked food. The event was a huge success and the intial funds were doubled. They plan on continuing on with events like this and maybe more bingo nights.

My neighbor, Kai Zakaria, had such a great honey season that he decided he is ready for the next step and wants to market his honey. Usually we just fill recycled coke bottles, but he wants a more professional look and we are looking into bottles and creating his own label.

We were also able to find funds to build his family a Fogone (brick oven). There are only around 9 families in my entire community who still cook over a fire on the floor and I am going to start a Fogone initiative and try to find a way of raising funds so that every family in my community has one of these ovens. The traditional fires on the floor produce a large amount of smoke, which is extremely detrimental to the health of the women cooking and also there are many instances of young children falling into the fire. The fogon offers a way of containing a fire above the reach of a child and vents the smoke outside through a chimney.

A farmer down towards the farther end of my community came over and we were talking about gardening and he wants to start a new garden to supply his family with food and also potentially for sale. So we went down and checked the plot, and he seems very open to my ideas.

Lots of good stuff.