Making Worm Beds

On Friday, November 9, we made worm beds in Teticic as part of the garden project. We used panels with styrofoam, wire to tie the sides together, and cement. The cement beds will hopefully last awhile. Each family now has a worm bed. The California worms turn donkey manure into organic fertilizer that will later be used on the garden. The third picture is of the surprise birthday party the group threw for me after the workshop.

November Birthdays

Martin and I celebrated our November birthdays with my sister-in-law Marie and 3 families from our neighborhood. Our neighbors brought over lunch and Martin made cake. We ate, danced, and laughed a lot. It was great fun. And yes, that is confetti in our hair, as is the tradition here for birthdays and celebrations. That same weekend, Marie stayed with the boys while Martin and I went to a dance in the late evening hours with our friends Chuchi and Malena. Good times!

Sewing Classes with Marie

We had a wonderful time with Marie in November. She came and taught the sewing group in Zacango how to use rotary cutters and mats, make cloth bags, new apron designs and ideas for Christmas decorations. Everyone had a fantastic time. Every time I meet with the group they ask when she is going to come back. THANKS SO MUCH MARIE!

Painting the Sewing Room

We are still working with the women´s sewing group in Zacango. Here are two pictures from when we helped paint the walls.

Micah

Micah turned 3 in July. In November, his padrinos (Chuchi and Malena) decided to have a special blessing for him during the evening mass. We went to mass and then had a wonderful Indian meal at our house afterwards. Tia Marie was here too, making the whole event extra special. (Sorry I didn´t get a picture of Micah with Chuchi and Malena. Next time.)

Our Very Own DRY LATRINE

We think it is important to have some first-hand knowledge about the technologies are we promoting in our roles as "Community Development Facilitators" here in the mountainous region of Guerrero, Mexico. (How many of you are smiling to know our job description/title only 1 1/2 years later?!) So at our home, there is a worm bed, compost pile, gray water filtration system, drip irrigation garden, AND a completed, functioning dry latrine. Our hats go off to Martin, who did the 96% of the work. The Work and Learn team that was here in July did the other 4%. There is a urinal, toilet, and sink inside. All three of these are connected to one tube which carries the water out of the dry latrine to a bogenvillia bush. There is a big window in our dry latrine which provides a lovely view of the town. (High enough so no-one can see in.) The toilet is special - in the front part there is a separator, so the urine is carried away (to a plant). The excrement falls in the back, down into a barrel. After every poop, we dump a scoop of saw dust on top of the poop in the barrel. Once the barrel is full, we will put a lid on it and let everything decompose for a year. After that we will have some great organic fertilizer. So the secret is keeping the whole system dry. No smell. No flies. Works great. There are a few differences between this dry latrine and the ones we are building in the communities. This one is larger, has a tiled floor and large window. Martin is a Chicago carpenter after all. :) Come check it out!

Family Gardens - Filtration System

Remember the family garden project we're working on? Kiara and I (Liz) continue to meet with three different groups each week. These pictures show us making a simple gray water filtration system. We used a big blue barrel and pvc pipe. We fill the bottom 1/5 of the barrel with gravel and the next 3/5 with sand. The last 1/5 we leave for a small metal bucket with holes punched in the bottom - where the gray water gets poured in and falls like rain onto the sand. The plan is that people will filter their water after washing dishes, clothes and taking baths, and use the filtered water for the drip irrigation in their gardens. Step by step. Or this time, drop by drop.
P.S. Isaiah got to go along when we made the filters at one of the communities. He really got into the whole process and helped people measure and cut the pvc. He also marked the "grava" (gravel) and "arena" (sand) levels on the outside of the barrels with marker. It's great to broaden our team.

New Roof

Our good friends Chuchie and Malena are building the second story of their house. Last week Wednesday they put the roof on. The tradition here is that friends help carry cement up to the roof, bring a small wooden cross and fireworks, and then stay and eat chicken mole for lunch. I (Liz) helped Malena around the fire all morning and then helped serve everyone in the afternoon. Martin helped carry cement. Now we know to bring a cross and fireworks next time.

Trip to Chilapa

Last weekend we went to nearby Chilapa. We went to buy seeds for the garden project and to see the artisan market. There were lots and lots of bike riders in Chilapa, including bike taxis. Other highlights included a huge gorgeous cathedral and a local restaurant with lots and lots of masks on the wall. (Sorry, we only took pictures of us on the bike taxis.) P.S. If you look carefully, you'll notice we're all wearing MCC shirts. First time so far :)

Hot Springs in Papalutla

Some friends invited us to spend the day at the hot springs in Papalutla, 2 hours from Olinala. It was beautiful! We went Sunday afternoon, spent the night, and came back Monday evening. We spent all day Monday swimming. The boys loved it! This is definitely on our "recommend places to visit around Olinala" list now. (We had to add it to our guidebook.)

Three Kings Day

This year we decided to open our gifts on Three Kings Day, January 6. That is the tradition here. We like this because it separates the commercialism from the day of Christ' birth. (Although we didn't witness a great deal commercialism here in Olinala.) Thanks to friends and family who sent some treats and a few "parcals" (as Martin wrote in his weekly letters to his parents while he was in boarding school in India) along with our visitors. We appreciate your thoughtfulness. We hung some Christmas decorations and the snowflakes our nephew Colin sent us last year. We also set up a nativity scene. Again, much smaller than everyone else'. The ones we saw included lots of colored lights and as many plastic animals as possible. Friends from Zacango gave us real moss to put around the manger, so at least that part we did "right." The other pictures are the boys enjoying the new toys (Lincoln logs, wooden marble-roller set, and magnetic construction set, and their special hand-made mittens. The mornings have been cool, so they wear them in the house for a bit.) Peace to each of you.

New Year's Eve

We spent New Year's Eve in Cuernavaca again, with our friends Katey, Mike, Noah and Peter. We had a few wonderful days in Cuernavaca and a trip to nearby Tepotzlan where we climbed a hill to see a pyramid. New Year's eve the boys broke pinatas, we ate 12 grapes and mades 12 wishes. After the kids went to bed the adults watched fireworks on the rooftop. Best wishes to everyone

Christmas in Olinala

Christmas Eve we went to some friends house around 8pm for a supper of pozole, tamales and ponche to drink. We ate, talked, and toasted. The kids broke two pinatas and played games. At 11pm some people headed to church for mass, while others headed to bed.
Christmas Day we spent the morning relaxing at our place. In the afternoon we went to the mountain-side with some friends, about 20 of us in all. We went to the top of a mountain covered with pine trees. The view was incredible. The smell was refreshing. The company was delightful. We grilled cactus, tortillas, chicken and thinly-sliced beef. We drank ponche - a hot-cider drink made with different fruits and sugar cane. We ate a lot of the Christmas cookies we made too. It was a wonderful relaxing time.
(We will open presents on January 6, Three Kings Day.)