Stepping Forward

Well……...Ryan and I finally left the community on February 14th…….el dia de amor. It was terribly difficult to walk out of there without feeling lost and heavy. It helped knowing that we are returning in the fall to visit the community again and finish the film…….but still.

So……when we left the community had a lot going on………………

This last year they have really put a lot of effort into diversifying their economic projects. The coffee harvest went well with the exception of the problems caused by the internal conflict. This year the community managed to de-pulp, clean, and dry the coffee; a huge advance from last year when they sold the coffee in the grape form. They harvested (I think) approximately 500 gallons of honey. They planted about 3000 new banana trees. And are experimenting with a “pig” project…..they received a grant and are raising pigs to sell. The community has also begun to make bottles of honey and 1 lb. bags of coffee available to visitors!!! They have teamed up with comunidad Mercedes and are toasting and grinding the coffee there. By the way……La Florida coffee is FANTASTIC! A nice rich smooth flavor……a bit chocolaty and nutty.

The conflict between the original SCIDECO group and the San Marcos folks seems to be the BIGGEST obstacle that the community faces right now……and it is still festering. Both groups still seem completely unwilling to really listen to the other group and to compromise. They talk a lot about their willingness to do these things but their actions don’t follow their words. In January a group of governmental negotiators came to the community to assess the situation. They had meetings with both groups and seemed to be hopeful that a solution could be found but it may take some time. The kids are now going to two separate schools. And the SCIDECO folks have cut the electricity to the San Marcos families. I had originally thought that the SCIDECO group was behaving very diplomatically until I learned this bit of news about the electricity. At this point, in my opinion, the conflict is disabling their evolution. It was terribly frustrating to experience this. But I do think they will find a solution…….because they have to. And Ryan and I have enough faith in their future that we are fully committed to supporting them.

As we all know(at least I think we all know)……the community of La Florida is a really special place. One of those experiences that fills you up. I want to write a bit about the projects that Ryan and I are working on…….perhaps you have some ideas, insight, and/or other resources to help us support the community.

The Eco-tourism Project. Yes! It is alive and well…….although it still rides like an old car down a bumpy road. To breathe new life into the project Ryan and I (with the amazing help of my sister, Sara, in NYC!) redesigned the flyer and then traveled…..hanging flyers in Antigua, San Pedro, Panahachel and Xela. Hopefully the community is dancing with visitors and volunteers right now…….as I write. There is a link to the new flyer at the bottom of this page.

The Health Project. Yes! We are trying like hell to increase the community’s access to health care. I won’t even discuss their LACK of access because I think we all know it quite well.
while we were there we decided this was something that we really had to do. It didn’t even appear as a choice…….but more like……a necessity. We thought about it, we talked about it, we spoke with the women in the Health Commission (Emilia, Mindri, Laura, and Miriam). We are now in the process of raising $5000 USD to get this going. With this the community can purchase basic medicine, first aid supplies and other medical accessories (thermometers etc)…..effectively creating a small communal clinic and pharmacy. They have decided the medicine will not be given away for free but will be available for half the cost. The money generated will be used to replenish supplies. There will be a small fund of $300 USD set aside for emergencies. $500 USD will be dedicated to the building and maintenance of an organic medicinal garden. Money will be available for trainings and workshops to further the community’s capacity to keep themselves and their children healthy. Preventative care! $2000 USD will be invested (by the community) in an economic project. The money earned by this economic project will be put back into the Health Project…….in this way the community can support the project themselves without becoming dependent on outsiders and relying on future donations. We plan to focus on this project throughout the year and to continue collaborating with the community. When the project appears to be well established and sustainable we will step back and let it go, smiling. We are still raising funds for this….SO…..if you can help please don’t hesitate! If you loved the community while you were there……you can really give something back. 100% of all donations go directly to the community. We just wired the first $2000 a few weeks ago. So the project is rolling! For more information about the project there is a link to the flyer at the bottom of this page.

The Film. Yes! Last but not least. Whew……what is there to write. We were so taken away by La Florida and its families.........it’s story…….that we decided to make a film about it. Really. I’m serious. We are serious. But we are experimenting. We researched, we planned, we bought a camera. In January and February we shot 35+ hours of footage. Interviews. Family. Work. Nature. The life campesino. the film is still taking shape so I won’t speak of subtext, storyline, content, and vision. Our next step is to make working copies of all the tapes, watching all the footage, seeing what we have, log and organize it. We are also getting the word out……testing the water……in the Seattle arts community. of course there is also a link to the film website at the end of this page. Please join the mailing list and keep up with our progress.

Cheers everyone- Mary