Work Update

Vivero

The tree nursery is still successfully operating! It is small but mighty. Okay, it’s actually tiny and could probably hold a maximum of 500 seedlings at a time. But the important thing is that, even when I leave, the women continue to work there. At this point, the forest service employees have taken about 500 seedlings from the women to reforest the area of the park which was invaded.

Cocinas

The improved cooking stove project continues to be ongoing and never-ending. However, I finally gave up on the local municipality and decided to write a SPA grant, a U.S. government grant available to Peace Corps Volunteers and their communities. In June the grant was approved and the money was expediently delivered to my account. In order to receive a stove, each participant must assist three training sessions, make a pre-specified number of adobes, and be present the day her stove is constructed.

So far, I have completed two of the training sessions, one about healthy households and the other about household waste-management. The final session will be based on the themes of protecting the dry forest and natural resource management. Honestly, I was shocked and pleasantly surprised by how smoothly the first session went. Everyone was there within 30 minutes after the scheduled starting time. Some were even there early which is basically unheard of. People paid attention and participated. Only a couple of families didn’t arrive. The second session was good enough, but several families were no-shows due to another meeting which was held at the same time. They just assumed that the Señorita Karen would make an exception for them and allow them to participate anyway. And so it is. I momentarily contemplated informing them that they would no longer be receiving a stove, but then realized that I would rather see more improved cooking stoves implemented than teach them a lesson about responsibility and respect. Nonetheless, it was frustrating because they didn’t seem to care that they were making more work for me, as I will now have to repeat the training.

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One of the downfalls of being a Peace Corps volunteer as opposed to a NGO worker or a host-country professional is that, because you more-or-less become a member of your community, you are often not viewed or treated as a professional. Therefore, in my case, my fellow community members expected me to make an exception for them because I am their neighbor and their friend, because I see them everyday and talk about the mundane and discuss the town gossip. Clearly, this has its benefits. On a personal level, I am certainly cherished more than your average NGO worker; but, on a professional level, I am often dismissed.