My new website: Mayan Threads!

Please visit me new website/blog, Mayan Threads, in which I explore issues, stories, and developments related to indigenous Guatemalans, their culture, and their communities.

Back in the bay

Now that I’m back in the Bay Area and gearing up for a new semester at Berkeley, I’m working to reflect upon and contextualize all that I saw and learned this summer working in Guatemala, and to determine how I can stay involved both with Nest and with Oxlajuj B’atz’. This past Tuesday, I was invited to attend a Meet & Greet for Nest’s Bay Area Chapter, and to make a short presentation about my Fellowship. It was a great opportunity to learn a bit more about Nest as well as to share my experiences and thoughts from the summer.

Leaving the Nest

I’m writing this while airborne, somewhere over Central America, en route back to the states. It’s hard to believe my Fellowship is over, but I’m excited to finally be heading home and to have some time to reflect on everything I’ve learned and thought about this summer. The past week has been a blur of showing my parents around Pana, wrapping up all of our projects, transferring files, preparing for OB’s Celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, and of course, last minute shopping and saying goodbye to all of my colleagues and friends.

Cooperative Xuaan Chi Ya

Last Friday, I returned to San Juan for a meeting with Elmy Hernandez, director of the Xuaan Chi Ya cooperative to continue on some Nest outreach that Kate, another Nest Fellow, began earlier in the summer. You can read about Kate’s visit to Xuaan Chi Ya here, on her blog: http://theweschnest.blogspot.com/2011/05/san-pedro.html

Rabinal, part two

 Okay – now time for part two! After a very successful Monday with San Rafael, we spent Tuesday with the Flor de Algodon group in Chuaperol, helping with the distribution and planting of medicinal plants. Though all of the women met us in the house of Mariana (the leader of the group), it turned out that all of the women lived far – like really far – away from each other…meaning visiting each house to help with their gardens was going to be a bigger challenge than we had anticipated. But, like everything else, Mildre and Lety took this challenge in stride. To be more efficient, we split up – I went with Mildre, Darcy went with Lety – and we headed off into the countryside.

Rabinal, part one: "somos todos hermanas en este mundo"

We just returned from our long trip up to Rabinal, to visit the last Nest community, San Rafael, and another one of OB’s groups, Chuaperol. The trip itself started at 6 am last Sunday and lasted all day – hopping from camioneta to camioneta, driving along curvy and bumpy mountainous roads, and finally arriving at our destination around 5 pm. We were joined on the trip by two OB facilitators – Lety and Mildre – who thankfully were there to help us navigate the bus system (which, even after all this time, I still don’t fully understand/trust enough to navigate on my own)!