Report 8 Vivienda de Arrba Assembly. 7 de julio del 2010
Where: Vivienda de Arriba Chapel
When: Wed, July 7, 11 a.m.
Who: Chela, Holly and Saul Juarez (Cedesa), 27 people from Vivienda, 2 from La TInaja, 4 from Presita de Santa Rosa and 2 from San Lorenzo.
Ana Maria Torres was designated as coordinator of the assembly, she also took roll. There were four new people from Vivienda de Arriba at this assembly, Marta Maria Ramírez, Azucena Ramírez and Irene & José Luis López. They are interested in phase II.
Saul Juárez was introduced as a new CEDESA promoter in this region.
The progress of the current cistern construction was reviewed – all are finished except a few need to be waterproofed and connected to the roofs. Roofing materials has arrived for Lorena, but there are two more roofs that are problematic – very rusty lamina (Tomasa), and dirty clay shingles (Andrea Granados). They asked if they could also get lamina, but Holly said she thought the project was closed, she would have to confer with Laura.
Chela asked: What was the experience like? It was hard work! “We enjoyed working together even though it was hard, especially putting the ‘hat’ on the top of the cistern.” “I liked it a lot, we got along well. Gloria is really good with the shovel!” When someone couldn’t come to a work-session, they sent someone else in their place, or doubled up before or after their absence. “I had to miss a day, but the next day I made my husband come with me.”
“How do you like the cistern that was made by all the old people? Did you see how the cap came out, all crooked! But it’s only that one came out badly, all the rest look nice. Each cistern is different and some of us have decorated our cisterns.”
“Many thanks to Lupe, who helped with the cuchara (skilled masonry work), and also Don Carlos, Don Felipe y Andrés. We now have technicians who can help in our second phase and other communities. We all know how to weave and make the cement mixture now.”
In Group 1, everyone went home for lunch, “that gave me a chance to feed the pig!” said one woman. In Group 2, the “host” of the house where they were working provided meals, almuerzo around noon and comida at 3 or 4 in the afternoon.
“We are happy to see the level of water in the hose. It was worth it, even though we had to postpone planting in order to finish the cistern.”
“We had fun, laughing and talking together. We worked really hard. But now, every morning it makes me so happy to see the cistern. The water is really delicious, it tastes better than the water you buy in bottles.”
Some people asked about disinfecting the water and Holly explained the SODIS process, and promised to bring a sheet on maintenance and SODIS to the next assembly.
Ana announced that the people of Vivienda would like to celebrate the finishing of their cisterns with a “convivencia” including a reflection on the importance of water, a mass by the priest from Cruz del Palmar, a tour of some cisterns, and lunch. She asked when Laura would be back, and Holly told them July 20 so they chose Friday of that week, July 23. Holly was asked to invite the Rotary Club and government officials.
Chela in turn invited everyone from Vivienda to attend the “Food Sovereignty” event at CEDESA, which would also include a reflection upon community development work. A list of 10 people wanted to attend; Holly agreed to arrange for transportation (it turned out that 17 people from Vivienda attended – the largest turnout at CEDESA from any single community!)
A list of names for Phase II was compiled (after some discussion about whether or not people who are in the U.S: qualify .- the decision was to give priority to people who live full-time in Vivienda, but to keep a second list of people who are in the U.S. but have representatives who will work for them – in a later conversation, Ana told Holly that if neither of her brothers-in-law are included in Phase II, she cannot volunteer to be the community contact any longer):
People living in Vivienda de Arriba:
1. Gloria Arreiega (also helped in Phase I)
2. Luisa Vargas
3. Rogelio García
4. Francisca Ramírez
5. José Guadalupe Ramírez
6. Marta Ramírez
7. Ubaldo Granados
8. Irene & José Luis López
9. Cristina Morales
10. Leovardo Ramírez
People who are in the U.S.:
1. Juan Carlos Ramírez (represented by Nicolasa)
2. Gerardo Ramírez (represented by Acuzena)
3. Frederico Ramírez (represented by Azucena)
4. Adelino Ramírez (represented by Azucena)
5. Santos Torres (represented by Bernardo)
6. Noe Granados (represented by Alma Lorena)
7. Valentin Ramírez (represented by Marcelina)
8. Salomon Ramírez (represented by Ernesto)
9. Elias Ramirez (represented by Fili)
The next assembly at Vivienda de Arriba will be Wednesday, August 4 at 11 a.m.
12:30 p.m. - La Tinaja
Two representatives from that community, north of Vivienda off the highway to Guanajuato (about 30 minutes drive), Adela Ramírez and Maria Candelaria Mosqueda.
There about about 250 inhabitants, 50 families in the community, it is near the ejido de Peña Blanca. The water there is good, that’s not a problem, but there is a group of about 35 people interested in dry toilets.
They have seen different models. Chela: “The ones in Rancho Nuevo de Guadalupe are very expensive, we would need to do a more economical model, and you will build them in mutual-aid groups, we won’t send someone in to make them for you.”
Fili knows where the community is, he will guide us there. Meeting set for Thursday, August 5 at 12 noon.
1:00 P.M. – Presita de Santa Rosa
Four representatives from that community, near Banda, also off the highway to Guanajuato – nearest community in which we are now working: Capaderillo. Rita Gabriela Hernandez, Jose Luis Ramirez, Antonio Vazquez and Rosalia Ramirez.
There are about 200 inhabitants, 40 families. They share a well with 5 other communities, so there isn’t enough, we are the ones who run out. The other communities are Banda (ejido), Bandita (small property owners) Rancho Nuevo de Banda, Artesano de Banda, and San Isidro Bandita. Before the well was drilled, we had artisanal (shallow hand-dug wells) – observation: their teeth are stained.
They have done some community work before, they built an extra room in the school with a small loan, with the local people providing the labor. They will attend the July 14 meeting at Capaderillo to see how the cistern-building project gets organized.
1:30 p.m. - San Lorenzo
Two representatives from this very small community – actually just four houses belonging to members of the same family (Umberto Ramirez Lanas and Audelia Ramirez Lanas), across the river from the community of Juan Gonzales (about 50 families, 200 people). A friend of theirs, Doña Antonia from Vivienda told them about the cisterns. In Juan Gonzales they have only hand-dug wells that dry up during the dry season. In San Lorenzo they don’t have any tap water, they have to haul it in.
It was decided to put the four families of San Lorenzo together with Vivienda Phase II.
2:00 p.m. - San Isidro Capadero
At lunch with Doña Teresa, Jesús Rico of San Isidro Capadero arrived with a list of people from his community. San Isidro is located between Cruz del Palmar and Vivienda and has a primary school and kindergarten. There are about 150 inhabitants, 30 families, and they have no water on tap. No arrangement was made to visit the community, but we later discussed visiting San Isidro Capadero on the same day as Cruz del Palmar.
List of persons from San Isidro Capadero (I think this is a complete list of the community compiled by Jesús; we have not visited there yet):
1. Jesús Rico Franco
2. Antonio Rodríguez
3. José Rodriguez
4. José Ramirez
5. Remijo Ramirez
6. Francisco Curato
7. Trinidad Rodriguez
8. David Rodriguez
9. Javier Rodriguez
10. Rafael Ramirez
11. Troncito Ramirez
12. Roberto Ramirez
13. Leonardo Ramirez Pérez
14. Mario Ramirez Trejo
15. Luis Rodriguez
16. Yolanda Rodriguez
17. Yolanda Ramirez
18. Santiago Banca
19. Cirilo Reyes Ramirez
20. Galdino Reyes Tellez
21. Lorena Ramirez Colunga
22. Faustine Reyes Tellez
23. Miguel Banca Luna
24. Guadalupe Banva
25. Francisco Rodriguez
26. Roberto Reyes
27. Jesús Cerrafa
28. Cirilo Rodriguez
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tierra Blanca meeting. 7 de julio del 2010
Where: Tierra Blanca churchyard
When: Wed, July 7, 3 p.m.
Who: Chela, Holly and Saul (Cedesa), 33 women, 2 men, 15 children and various dogs.
We waited for over a half hour for Jesús, since he was to report on the various projects we discussed during the last meeting, but since he did not arrive, we started the meeting at about 3:45 p.m. Lucia was chosen to coordinate and take roll. All who attended last month’s meeting plus four more people were present.
A delegation of five people from the community of Cinco Señores came to find out about the community development projects in Tierra Blanca. That community consists of about 15 families, 80 people, across the river from Juan Gonzales. We were going to discuss their concerns at then end of the assembly but the meeting was cut short by a major downpour.
Pending from last meeting: Jesús was going to help Tierra Blanca take a census in preparation for government and ONG applications regarding 1) a health diagnostic 2) a bridge 3) cisterns and 4) dry toilets, but he was unable to do so on the previous Monday that he came because of afternoon rains. He did get a water sample from the well but it has not yet been analyzed and he did some preliminary interviews with some families and was able to draw some preliminary conclusions about the incidence of cancer in certain family lines (see attached report).
While awaiting the arrival of Jesus, Chela mentioned some investigations we have been doing with the Instituto de la Mujer (for breast cancer examinations) and CASA, which does health work in the communities. Several people mentioned that there are more men than women who are dying of cancer in Tierra Blanca. We then mentioned the Secretary de Salud and the Midday Rotary Club (Holly said that Laura is in touch with several MD doctors about various symptoms and conditions). Chela emphasized the need for hard data, not just hearsay evidence in order to deal with the health problem.
We discussed doing genealogical research for the health diagnostic at the same time as the census, and promised to bring a questionnaire within two weeks with which to start the process.
At this point it started to rain, and we all huddled under the tree but within a few minutes it started to pour. We ran into the chapel but it was a very hard downpour and Chela was worried about crossing the river. We jumped into her truck and started down the hill toward the river but got stuck in a rut in the middle of a torrent and could not see the road. After several attempts, we got out of the rut, and with wheels spinning and the truck lurching over hidden rocks and holes, we headed toward the ford, even though we couldn’t see it. At the bank of the river, Chela just aimed toward what looked like a shallow part with plants growing above the water, and we made it across! The rest of the way was easy in comparison.
We did not have time to schedule the next assembly, but we will set the date and time (August 4, 3 p.m.) when Saul and/or Jesús take the genealogical questionnaire to Tierra Blanca within the next two weeks (by July 21).
It turns out that Jesús’ car got stuck in the river near Cruz del Palmar, and he could not reach us by phone since Telcel does not have coverage in Tierra Blanca.
So, rainy season has really begun. It appears that we will have to use the footbridge to get to the next assembly at Tierra Blanca – we can park the truck in the community of Espejo (next to Vivienda de Arriba), walk across the river and then to Tierra Blanca. Saul will investigate the location of the footbridge.
We also want to look into getting USAcel telephones since all the phones in Tierra Blanca and Vivienda are USAcel, which has much better coverage than Telcel in the rural communities of the region. Several contacts in Los Torres and Capaderillo and our suppliers (sand and herreria) have USAcel, which provides free calls among USAcel phones, though the rate for fixed lines and Telcel is higher. Holly agreed to investigate and consult with Laura and John about getting USAcel phones.
SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT on Tierra Blanca Health Issues
On July 15, Chela, Saul and Holly met with Jesus Guiterrez at CEDESA. Jesús reported that according to his informal investigation (questionnaires filled out at the June 2 assembly), going back three generations, there are 14 distinct families in Tierra Blanca, of which ten have a high incidence of lung cancer, and two have a high incidence of other types of cancer. He also mentioned that there is a carcinogenic spore that is known to be associated with tombs that contain mummified remains – thus the legends of “curses” befalling tomb-robbers in Egypt and other places. We started work on a questionnaire that would enable us to trace genealogical incidence of cancer (family trees) but ran out of time and Holly agreed to work on it on the weekend so that we can test it, and Jesús and/or Saul can deliver it on or before Wednesday afternoon, July 21.
When: Wed, July 7, 3 p.m.
Who: Chela, Holly and Saul (Cedesa), 33 women, 2 men, 15 children and various dogs.
We waited for over a half hour for Jesús, since he was to report on the various projects we discussed during the last meeting, but since he did not arrive, we started the meeting at about 3:45 p.m. Lucia was chosen to coordinate and take roll. All who attended last month’s meeting plus four more people were present.
A delegation of five people from the community of Cinco Señores came to find out about the community development projects in Tierra Blanca. That community consists of about 15 families, 80 people, across the river from Juan Gonzales. We were going to discuss their concerns at then end of the assembly but the meeting was cut short by a major downpour.
Pending from last meeting: Jesús was going to help Tierra Blanca take a census in preparation for government and ONG applications regarding 1) a health diagnostic 2) a bridge 3) cisterns and 4) dry toilets, but he was unable to do so on the previous Monday that he came because of afternoon rains. He did get a water sample from the well but it has not yet been analyzed and he did some preliminary interviews with some families and was able to draw some preliminary conclusions about the incidence of cancer in certain family lines (see attached report).
While awaiting the arrival of Jesus, Chela mentioned some investigations we have been doing with the Instituto de la Mujer (for breast cancer examinations) and CASA, which does health work in the communities. Several people mentioned that there are more men than women who are dying of cancer in Tierra Blanca. We then mentioned the Secretary de Salud and the Midday Rotary Club (Holly said that Laura is in touch with several MD doctors about various symptoms and conditions). Chela emphasized the need for hard data, not just hearsay evidence in order to deal with the health problem.
We discussed doing genealogical research for the health diagnostic at the same time as the census, and promised to bring a questionnaire within two weeks with which to start the process.
At this point it started to rain, and we all huddled under the tree but within a few minutes it started to pour. We ran into the chapel but it was a very hard downpour and Chela was worried about crossing the river. We jumped into her truck and started down the hill toward the river but got stuck in a rut in the middle of a torrent and could not see the road. After several attempts, we got out of the rut, and with wheels spinning and the truck lurching over hidden rocks and holes, we headed toward the ford, even though we couldn’t see it. At the bank of the river, Chela just aimed toward what looked like a shallow part with plants growing above the water, and we made it across! The rest of the way was easy in comparison.
We did not have time to schedule the next assembly, but we will set the date and time (August 4, 3 p.m.) when Saul and/or Jesús take the genealogical questionnaire to Tierra Blanca within the next two weeks (by July 21).
It turns out that Jesús’ car got stuck in the river near Cruz del Palmar, and he could not reach us by phone since Telcel does not have coverage in Tierra Blanca.
So, rainy season has really begun. It appears that we will have to use the footbridge to get to the next assembly at Tierra Blanca – we can park the truck in the community of Espejo (next to Vivienda de Arriba), walk across the river and then to Tierra Blanca. Saul will investigate the location of the footbridge.
We also want to look into getting USAcel telephones since all the phones in Tierra Blanca and Vivienda are USAcel, which has much better coverage than Telcel in the rural communities of the region. Several contacts in Los Torres and Capaderillo and our suppliers (sand and herreria) have USAcel, which provides free calls among USAcel phones, though the rate for fixed lines and Telcel is higher. Holly agreed to investigate and consult with Laura and John about getting USAcel phones.
SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT on Tierra Blanca Health Issues
On July 15, Chela, Saul and Holly met with Jesus Guiterrez at CEDESA. Jesús reported that according to his informal investigation (questionnaires filled out at the June 2 assembly), going back three generations, there are 14 distinct families in Tierra Blanca, of which ten have a high incidence of lung cancer, and two have a high incidence of other types of cancer. He also mentioned that there is a carcinogenic spore that is known to be associated with tombs that contain mummified remains – thus the legends of “curses” befalling tomb-robbers in Egypt and other places. We started work on a questionnaire that would enable us to trace genealogical incidence of cancer (family trees) but ran out of time and Holly agreed to work on it on the weekend so that we can test it, and Jesús and/or Saul can deliver it on or before Wednesday afternoon, July 21.
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