Proyecto Y'abal

Last weekend we went up in the mountains with my friend Yet's project Y'abal. (I'm also helping Yet spruce up the website, so hopefully you can check back soon for a whole new, improved, more user-friendly site) The project is helping two villages (composed of refugees that were displaced by hurricane Stan) to build permanent houses. The people, which used to live in the tropical region of Guatemala, farmed bananas and other tropical fruit. They were forced to relocate to the high plains, where it always seems cold and rainy. In addition to having to leave their homes, which were washed away by heavy rains and mudslides, they've had to adapt to a totally new climate. They've also had to find new ways to make a living, since it's impossible to grow bananas anywhere near their current homes. Most all of the 200 or so people in the two villages are living in temporary shelters, made up of a roof and heavy plastic sheeting.....basically a tarp... for the walls. Only about half of the villagers that I met speak spanish, many spoke only Quiche, a mayan dialect. Often, there was a line of translation in the group. English(American #1) to passable spanish(American #2) to better spanish(Mayan #1 asking American if this is what they meant to say) to Quiche. It makes you wonder what actually gets through, but everybody is good humored about it and eventually everybody figures out the basics. To anyone who's been on a "Skipper Brigade" Habitat for Humanity trip, some of these pictures will look strikingly familiar, only everyone's wearing long sleeves and sweaters, and the sun is nowhere to be seen. This is the house we worked on, with part of the village in the background, and the fog rolling through. In the previous picture, you'll notice that most of the houses in the background are just temporary roofs, with tarps hanging down on each side. Mostly provided by USAID, the tarps say this[see picture].......seeing the tag line every where I went around the village made me cringe over and over. My only hope is that none of them know enough english to have a clue what it says. (Many of them were hung upside down.....so it's thoretically possible.....although it could have just as well been a political statement) Three of us mixing glop, the cement that they pour to reinforce the cinder blocks. It's nice that it was cool, but it's still impressively hard work at 10 or 11,000 feet. Two men carrying huge stumps using a strap that goes around the forehead.....I was impressed. Especially since I was out of breath just from mixing concrete. A backstrap loom, which the Mayan women use to weave. It can be attached to pretty much anything. The women weave smaller items like the traditional, brightly colored clothing ("traje") that you see them wear. The men use much larger, wooden frame looms to make things like blankets and rugs. A very common part of the traditional traje for Mayan women is a large cloth that wraps around, much like a satchel bag, to hold something on her back (very often a baby). Here, a stuffed panda bear subs in, as a small girl immitates her elders.