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Pueblo a Pueblo Blog

Right from Santiago Atitlán to your computer. Your window into our world. Thanks for reading and comments are welcome! ​

Rainwater Collection at Patzilin Ab'aj

9/3/2018

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Picture
A student uses rainwater to wash her hands
“I think that water is the most essential thing because the 201 students we serve use water every day. I believe that this project has been a success for the day-to-day existence of our students, because water is constantly, fundamentally necessary. I therefore believe that this project has made a difference in the lives of our students.”
Picture
Caín

​Caín Barán Quievac is the principal of Patzilin Ab’aj Primary School. As an advocate for children’s health and hygiene in a community where running water is scarce, he has a difficult job. During the course of Pueblo a Pueblo’s two-year partnership with Patzilin Ab’aj, Caín has worked alongside our Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) team to carry out a number of infrastructure improvements. They most recent of these was the installation of a rainwater collection system that brings water to students when other sources fail them.
Pablo Ignacio Eulogio de Sancha is the coordinator of WASH projects at Pueblo a Pueblo and a firm believer in the power of rainwater collection. While diverting rainwater is a common enough practice in the Lake Atitlán region, he says, most residents do it as a defensive measure, to prevent flooding, and they do not take advantage of the water they collect. A system intentionally designed to capture rainwater for use in a home or school, on the other hand, can meet a meaningful portion of a community’s water needs. Given local rainfall averages here on Lake Atitlán, an effective system can collect up to 240 liters of rainwater in a single day!
Picture
Pablo
Pablo agrees with Caín as to the centrality of water to student life. “At Patzilin Ab’aj, students have an garden, they eat their lunch made in the school kitchen, they use the bathroom,” he says. “That means they need water."

PictureWire mesh stops leaves from entering the water tank
Installing the system
In April, Pablo and his team went to work. First, they installed a new water collection tank where it would be most useful—right between the bathrooms and the school kitchen. They then installed new tubing to connect the gutter of a large roof section to the tank. Finally, they placed wire mesh over the gutter to keep out leaves and other organic debris.



​What's next for Patzilin Ab'aj

After contributing some key material resources and technical expertise, Pablo and his team will be stepping back into the role of strategic support during the upcoming year. Now, with water flowing through the pipes of Patzilin Ab’aj, Caín is ready to lead his school through the next step: “Now my students want to use the bathrooms, they’re using the new sinks to wash their hands all by themselves—bit by bit we’re implementing good hygienic habits.”

The new rainwater collection system has been a relief to Caín because it has allowed him to retire a school policy that required students to carry water with them from home each day. “Before these improvements, students often had to make trips home for water, which was dangerous for them,” he says. Although this policy was a choice Caín felt compelled to make in the interest of his students’ health, he is glad that the new water collection system has relieved his students and their families of this heavy burden.

Rain makes the garden grow
School hygiene isn’t the only way rainwater will contribute to his students’ health. Patzilin Ab’aj recently started an organic garden in collaboration with Pueblo a Pueblo’s School Health and Nutrition program. The garden will produce vegetables that students can take home to their families, adding nutritional value to a diet that can become sparse during the months when family income from the once-yearly coffee harvest runs out. Now that Patzilin Ab’aj is collecting rainwater, students can water their vegetables even on dry days—and look forward to a nutritious harvest.

“It is a child’s right to exist in a healthy environment, to keep himself or herself clean, to feel good,” says Caín. With rainwater flowing through their school’s pipes, Caín and his school are one step closer to a healthier Patzilin Ab’aj!
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Reflections on Our Three-Year Partnership with Las Diez Rosas

8/8/2018

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Picture
Floridalma (second from right) and the Rosas on the day of their last Pueblo a Pueblo training
The last training day
On a warm morning in July, Pueblo a Pueblo beekeeping project managers Ana and Genaro arrived at the hillside home of Floridalma Tomás Gómez. Floridalma is the leader of Las Diez Rosas, an all-female beekeeping collective based in Cumbre de Huicá, a small community in the mountainous northwestern state of Huehuetenango.

Floridalma’s home has been the group’s designated meeting site since the beginning of their three-year partnership with Pueblo a Pueblo. It is also where Ana and Genaro have come to offer trainings, resources, and hands-on support as Las Diez Rosas persevered through their first three years as a collective. Together, they have discussed everything from correct beehive maintenance to effective communication.  Now Floridalma is opening her home to the last joint workshop--Las Diez Rosas are ready to operate independently of Pueblo a Pueblo support!
Picture
The Rosas pose with one of their hives in 2017
​Las Rosas
The women of Las Diez Rosas have much in common. They are all mothers, they are all coffee farmers, and now they are all beekeepers, too. They approach their triple set of responsibilities with courage and commitment. None of them finished primary school, and only one member of the group had any beekeeping experience when the collective formed. But since their first honey harvest three years ago, they have increased their yield seven times over.

Beekeeping is important to Las Diez Rosas because it provides them with a secondary source of income to supplement the small and unreliable income they earn from coffee production. This is a vital benefit given that the coffee harvest comes only once a year and their crop is under constant threat from disease, climate change, and market pressures. But the time Las Diez Rosas have spent working as a collective has come to mean so much more than just what they earn together.
Picture
Floridalma speaks to a workshop leader about a proposed bee-feeding technique
Change starts at home
As the beekeepers strive—and succeed—their children are watching. Having seen their mothers rescue hives from destructive storms and negotiate business decisions as a team, the beekeepers’ sons and daughters have become accustomed to seeing their mothers fight for success. Floridalma has felt this impact quite personally; many of her family members have taken note of her efforts. “The most significant change in my life because of this project is seeing the transformation within my own family,” says Floridalma. “Both men and women are now aware that women can perform tasks and jobs outside of domestic chores.”

Another collective member, Ema Castillo, expressed the impact this shift has had on her. “The most significant change this project has had in my life is the restoration of my own worth not only as a hardworking woman, but as a human being,” she says. “With the introduction of this project, our community has been reminded that women can achieve just as much as men can, and that we can be successful businesswomen if we so choose to be.”
Picture
Ema (center) and two other Rosas complete a skills evaluation at the close of their last training
The ripple effect
The beekeepers are proud to see their hard work changing minds throughout their community. “There are still people who believe that women cannot work in agriculture or apiculture as it is believed that this is work suitable only for men,” explains Floridalma. “With this project, not only are we improving ourselves as individuals and as professionals, we are also educating our community about the importance of gender equality.”

Over time, the group’s persistence silenced skeptics. “At first, we were criticized by our male counterparts as they believed we would fail in this project,” says Ema. “But after we all worked hard together and we had good results during the testing phase, they began to trust that we could be successful.” Their courage has paved the way for future iterations of the collective—and future groups of women who dare to do what Las Diez Rosas have done.

The Rosas’ bond
The space these beekeepers have carved out for themselves is unique, and so is the group dynamic they have cultivated among members. “This project has helped us all work in collaboration with one another, something that was new for many of us,” explains Ema. “In this way, we have learned how to develop a wonderful support group.” This web of caring communication and mutual encouragement will only grow stronger as the Rosas continue to work together and welcome new members into their fold.

Although Pueblo a Pueblo will no longer form an official part of the Rosas’ support network, Ana and Genaro will stay in touch with the beekeepers. We can’t wait to see all that Las Diez Rosas continue to accomplish and the impact they continue to have on their communities and on each other.

Check out this video to hear more of the Rosas' reflections!
​
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Science Camp and Smiles

11/27/2017

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Picture
Students at Nueva Providencia Primary School use the microscopes brought by The Tango Foundation
The end of October and beginning of November is a transitional period for children in Guatemala. The rainy season is over and so is the school year. Most students transition from working in school all morning to working in the fields picking coffee with their families. We, and our friends at The Tango Foundation, wanted to prolong the students’ time in school-- by inviting them to a week of experiments and fun at science camp.
Picture
Students at La Cumbre Primary School conduct experiments
Students from Nueva Providencia Primary School and La Cumbre Primary School spent a week with us learning about polymers, gravity, sound and vibration, germs and microscopes! From the sounds of their laughter, it’s safe to say they were also having lots of fun!

The science camp education team, which traveled to the Western Highlands from Canada and Utah, consisted of women from a variety of career backgrounds, but all had the similar goal of providing a week of fun and learning to students from our beneficiary schools.
Picture
Students draw what makes them happy
Two of the team were trained social workers, who invited the students to take short breaks from exploring science principles to participate in sessions with them. The students talked about their feelings, mindfulness and kindness. They expressed thoughts about  what makes them happy, and they created artwork that portrayed them.
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Lake Atitlan and the surrounding volcanoes were a popular art subject
In total,135 kids attended the week of activities. Some of our youngest participants were one-year-old, attending with their older siblings-- it’s never too early to learn! This week of smiles and exploration was memorable for all of us, for the young scientists, our guests from The Tango Foundation and for the Pueblo a Pueblo team. ​
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  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR MISSION
    • OUR TEAM
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • OUR SUPPORTERS >
      • COFFEE INDUSTRY PARTNERS
    • Annual Report
    • FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY >
      • AUDITS & FORMS 990
    • Partnership with Natik
    • Our COVID-19 Response
  • PROGRAMS
    • WHAT WE DO
    • WOMEN'S RIGHT TO HEALTH >
      • MATERNAL CHILD HEALTH
      • WOMEN'S HEALTH CHAMPIONS
    • SCHOOL HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND NUTRITION >
      • WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE IN SCHOOLS
      • PRIMARY EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS
      • PATHWAYS TO LITERACY
      • SCHOOL NUTRITION
      • ORGANIC TEACHING GARDEN
    • SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS >
      • BEEKEEPING
      • YOUTH LEADERSHIP
      • WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
  • BLOG
  • MULTIMEDIA
    • IN THE NEWS
    • PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
  • DONATE
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