Asociacion Cerro del Quetzal

Hola Buen día a todos.

En las siguientes imágenes nos encontramos con los señores de la Aldea San Pablo Xucaneb, de Cobán Guatemala, dando el primer paso y gestionando para la conformación y legalización de la asociación Cerro del quetzal.

Adriana y los señores, se encuentran en la oficina del licenciado tramitando la legalización de la asociación de hombres de san pablo xucaneb, nombrada por ellos como: “Cerro del Quetzal”.

Los señores se sienten muy orgullosos de sus raíces, Además, por años han cuidado el hábitat del Quetzal, Así que por el gran aprecio que le tiene a su comunidad y sus raíces ellos la honraron así.

Conociendo ellos la importancia que tiene toda organización de estar legalizada, ya que conocen que esto les abrirán las puertas para solicitar proyectos que contribuyan al desarrollo tanto personal como colectivo de la gente de la comunidad.

Dentro de sus perspectivas está el de obtener un medio de transporte, para que se les facilite la transferencia de sus productos agrícolas a las ciudades de Cobán, Chamelco y Tactic, (municipios de Alta Verapaz) en donde frecuentemente comercializan sus productos.

Para ello los señores, han visitado personas y talleres de autos, para conocer cual es el funcionamiento de los camiones, y que tipo de cuidados se le debe realizar.

Aunque dentro de sus objetivos también se encuentra el de mejorar sus cultivos, comercializarlos y aprender a administrar sus propios bienes.

Con todo gusto seguiremos trabajando por el desarrollo de nuestras comunidades, por el momento nos veremos para la próxima.

Aliria y Adriana.

Greetings from Coban, Dec. 21, 2008

Hi, everybody.

I'm here in Cobán, and, with the assistance of Aliria who knows a whole lot more about computer tech than I do, I'm going to try to load some photos we took the other night of the new house we've built on the land I share with the señoras of the Women's Association of San Pablo Xucaneb'.

The villagers conducted the bendición de la casa that the Maya do when they build a house, so we have some photos of the house and of the ceremony, at which all the right people got pretty drunk, which I guess is part of what's supposed to happen.

I'll have more to say, but for now we just want to get the photos up here so you can see what it all looks like.

For those of you who are dying to send us your support, the next thing we're going to need is a wood stove that is more efficient than the open fire you'll see here, and that has a chimney to take the smoke out of the house.

hasta pronto...y feliz navidad,
un abrazote,
Ann
p.s. come on, admit it...we have the cutest outhouse you've ever seen! And it works like a charm.

the outhouse

Adriana Lazaro Participates in Training Program at CSU

Here's a photo of us, Adriana Lazaro and Ann Jefferson (r to l), from about 4 or 5 years ago. We're putting it up here now so you can get an idea of what we look like...we haven't changed THAT much in 5 years, although in some ways it seems like a long time ago.

Adriana recently visited Fort Collins to participate in a Village Earth workshop on participatory practices in sustainable development. She felt as though she learned a lot and she certainly contributed a lot! It was her first time outside Guatemala, so it was a big adventure, and she took full advantage of the opportunity, giving 2 radio interviews, and various presentations to sponsors of the scholarship program, my Latin American history class, and to a Friday night Salon Duc Tape, and also making 100 Guatemalan tacos and the rest of a lunch for the students and teachers of Oakwood School on Mountain Ave. So it was a busy month, but it was worth it. This project made itself more visible in Fort Collins, and folks here learned more about what life is like for the Q'eqchi' people of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.

Adriana will be adding to this blog from Guatemala, now that she's gone back home. And I'll be posting comments from Fort Collins. We hope this blog will give those of you who are interested a chance to see some of the many photos we've been taking over the years. And, given the length of the reports I've been known to write after coming back from a visit to Coban, we'll be saving quite a few trees!

Next time I'll say something about my last visit in July and put up some photos of the Gran Inauguracion of the Women's Center in Coban. Just in case you're in a donating mood, I'll include the project's wish list.

Actually, my biggest wish is that we could hire Adriana fulltime after she graduates from the university this fall as a Licenciada in community organizing, but that would cost about $6,000 a year. Pretty low for a professional salary, and heaven knows she's worth all that and more, but at the moment it's considerably over our budget.

hasta la proxima,
Ann

Adriana Lazaro from Coban Guatemala to Speak in Fort Collins, CO This Friday

Adriana (left) with scholarship recipients and Ann Jefferson, Village Earth project coordinator.

For 5 years she has been the Guatemalan coordinator of a small sustainable development project in Coban. She works as a community organizer with a women's association in the Maya Q'eqchi' village of San Pablo Xucaneb' outside of Coban. At the August 24th Salon, Adriana will talk about and show photos of the daily life of some of the Q'eqchi' people. She will also show a short video made by Rights Action, a group that works on development and human rights issues in Guatemala, that captures the intrusion of the forces of corporate globalization into communities of the global South. In this case the culprits are a Canadian transnational mining company.

Adriana will have crafts available to sell after the presentation. Salon duc Tape, a public forum sponsored by Strength Through Peace, meets on 2nd through 5th Fridays from 7:00 -- 9:00 p.m. in the basement of Mugs Coffee Lounge on 251 South College, the NW corner of College and Olive . For more information, contact Strength Through Peace 419-8944 or distaso@frii.com.