Whirlwind week!

It’s been a crazy week, full of community visits, traveling, and exploring new places. My apologies for such a long delay between blog posts – there never seems to be enough hours in the day here, and my internet has also been spotty thanks to the low pressure system that’s been sitting over us for the past week or so. Silly me, just because it didn’t torrentially rain for two days last week, I thought that rainy season might be over…but this week’s monsoons have proven that that’s clearly not the case…

The Start of Rainy Season, Tuk Tuks, and La Palapa

I woke up yesterday to a beautiful, sunny Pana day and went to OB around 10 to meet Andrea. Darcy and I spent the morning looking over OB’s brand new website (http://www.oxlajujbatz.org/) - launched today! – and giving Andrea some feedback and suggestions on how to improve it. Then we went over a more detailed orientation with Andrea and talked specifically about our Work Plan. The plan is definitely ambitious – and it’s possible we might not get through everything that we hope – but we will be spending the next week or so doing the research and planning necessary to accomplish as much as possible. A large part of our Work Plan involves working directly with the cooperatives of women that OB and Nest partner with, so starting in a week or so we will be traveling along with OB’s facilitators to these communities to conduct interviews, take pictures, and do the research we need to put together the production guide, look book, and other projects we’ve been assigned.

!Hola de Pana!

Darcy and I overlooking Lake Atitlan, which borders Panajachel

After landing in Guatemala City this morning and and a three hour drive on winding mountainside highways, Darcy and I finally arrived in Panajachel this afternoon. We were greeted by Andrea, who showed us the beautiful little house where we will be living, with our own bedrooms, a sitting area with couches and a TV, a dining area, and a fully-outfitted kitchen, all surrounded by a beautiful garden. The whole place is clean, spacious, and just a short walk from Panajachel’s town center and from the OB office.

Two Weeks and Counting!

With only two weeks to go until I leave for Guatemala, I’m beginning to finalize my packing list and logistics for the trip! After meeting in Houston, Darcy and I will fly together to Guatemala City, and then drive about 3 hours to Panajachel, which will be our new home for the following two months. We will be met by Andrea, our site supervisor, who works with Nest’s partner organization in Panajachel, Oxlajuj B’atz’ (Thirteen Threads). Andrea will help us get settled in our apartment and get oriented with Oxlajuj B’atz’ and with Panajachel before we begin our work as Nest Fellows. 

From that point on, Darcy and I will be busy working through the different projects that we’ve been assigned for the summer. In Panajachel, Nest works with Oxlajuj B’atz in generating a more robust market for the goods produced by Mayan Indian weavers, in a sustainable manner and without the use of middlemen. Some of the projects I will be working on to support this mission include: