Record of Event
Where: La Loma de Cocina
When: 15 Dec 2011
Who: Saul, Laura (& Fili – tech asst) + 18 community members from Lomas including Abel (from Cedesa – he lives in this community) & later 11 women from El Ocote (neighbouring community).
Purpose of the meeting: To visit the 4th day of the solo cisterns Project for Sapasma II Project & witness & participate in Stove Demo.
Background:
Sapasma requested that materials for 2 cisterns be made available from their Project II grant the community of Rancho Bonito. It was intended that Sapasma organise this community & we do a pilot there to get the 2 cisterns built for this community in need.
Unfortunately the people of Rancho Bonito were not able to organise to build these 2 cisterns which was only discovered after the delivery of the materials. A large component of the materials is the cement & cement has a limited shelf life of approx 2 wks so it was imperative another location be found for these 2 cisterns…. Luckily the community of La Lomas de Cocina had been organising with Abel (new Cedesa Promoter) for approx 8 mths & were very willing to take the materials & get the cisterns built so the materials were hastily re-delivered to Lomas & the construction took place 2 days later.
The day unfolds:
I followed Saul out to this community as I had not been there before.
We left SMA at 8.30 & arrived at 9.30, as the crow flies it is not that far, but it takes a long time to arrive there!
When we arrived the cistern group was busy working on the cistern.
A little later a group of women arrived walking from neighbouring El Ocote.
They pointed out in the far distance a wáter tower & described themselves as “close”, distances have a different meaning in the campo.
We had a very informal meeting, more of a Q& A session & Saul prefaced it by, they probably havent met too many foreigners before but not to be nervous, that I was the same as them, they said they’d never met a foreigner who could speak spanish before. I laughed & said they still hadnt…
They told me (or I think they told me – unfortunately we didnt have Holly there to help with translations!)
- La Lomas has approx 90 families
- El Ocote approx 32
- Test had been done on the wáter it was fluoride 1.7 mg/l, & arsenic 0.030, if there was wáter,
- they had not had wáter for 2 months. The Wells deplete as there is a major agribusiness right next door.
- The agribusiness is the major employer, but many have been layed off lately.
- None of the men are working in the USA right now, they have a history of being agri workers for the big agribusiness, they are not abaniles, hence can not find alternative work.
- They have a kínder in each community – La Joya (other neighbours) 12 kids, Cocina 21 kids.
- Primary school in each community – La joya approx 20 kids, Cocina approx 80 kids (kids from El Ocote attend Cocina school)
- They have only 1 computer in the school
- Some have dry toilets
Saul joined our meeting & asked them what the issue is with Arsenic & Fluoride. They were not certain, some knew a little, Saul explained that it affects the brains, bones & all major organs, if it is affecting your teeth it’s definitely affecting other parts of the body too.
He explained that the materials for these cisterns are courtesy of Sapasma, & were moved to their community as the people of Rancho Bonito did not want to work to build the cisterns, & that the wáter these cisterns will capture is important to the health of their family & community, but as important is the need for them to continue to take responsibility for improvements in their lives.
“Who brings your food?” They respond that they produce a little in summer but mostly buy their food. Saul explained it was better if they take control of their own food production, for many reasons including the quality of the food they will therefore be eating.
There was a little discussion about backyard production, I thought they had been working with Ezekiel from Apoyo on this they said, no they have been working with Abel from Cedesa.
Saul asked how they build cisterns & took the op. to describe integral community development, health, economy, agriculture, how they are all related. He reiterated that solidarity & working together to assist eachother is essential, as is respect for eachother & together they can achieve an increase in standard of living for all, ie improve their own conditions.
Even though they have a Sapasma well, this year they have already been without wáter for 2 months as the wáter table has dropped so low. They also said they have a shortage of Wood too & Saul explained they need to plant trees that will provide Wood & maintain their trees, & that the stove he will demonstrate later also uses a lot less Wood.
They meet monthly with Abel & are working on various things for example, working together to buy a molino (grinder for maize), they have also been learning how to make bread & galletas for sale in the big ovens that Cedesa demonstrates, as well as planning to grow excess veges for sale.
Saul suggested they could have (or they have been having, not sure) a “tanda”, each person contributes $100 pesos per month, & can build one pizza oven per month.
Saul explained about the Consejo (regional citizens’ council) 21 communities who meet 1x per month & work on common issues, he suggested each family could contribute 5 pesos per wk & have sufficient funds to send a couple of representatives to this meeting each month.
He said they would be surprised how rapidly the money accumulates if they choose to save it instead of purchasing coke everyday.
The women came & dragged me into their “kitchen” they cook on a fogón (open fire) inside a room with a space between the Wall & roof on one side. The walls were pretty black. They were making gorditas & insisted on showing me how & I gave it a go. It is certainly harder than it looks, but they have all been making them since they were little kids & found it pretty funny that I, at my age, had no idea!!
Lesson on making Gorditas...
The process to cook/soften the maize until it can be ground to flour (fine for tortillas, more course for gorditas) is to cook the maize over a fire with wáter & lime (as in cal, not the fruit), for an hour or more (depending on qty) until it softens slightly (to biteable) & then cool it, remove the wáter & grind it.
We stood around the fire, with a large comal & first slapped the mixture into shape rotating our palms in opposite direction, while keeping the edges uniform (& unsplit – them, or Split me!!) then we gently lowered onto the comal & kept an eye on all of the gorditas sitting there, when they looked cooked, or dry enough, gently peel them at the edges & flick them up & then lowered them back onto the comal to cook the other side… After they were cooked, they were Split with a knife & filled with various previously prepared mixtures of shredded chicken, egg, beans, red rice & guacamole.
At the same time the demonstration of the ecocina stove was started, Saul explained all the benefits & the process of lighting it, & cooked some quesadillas for everyone. This was about when I was dragged in to cook gorditas so I didnt see the end result, but I believe he reported this in his report.
So many tortillas/quesadillas can fit on this comal!
These photos show the overlap of two projects, the cistern project & the stove project
I then headed off, Saul asked one of the women from El Ocote to accompany to show me a “short cut” which was a real offroad experience, we followed a very rudimentary track between many cactus, & eventually came out on a sealed road, my guide left me at this point & pointed me in the right direction.
I picked up a woman walking beside the road & she turned out to be the Govt registrar for the área. She Works in a little office in this community & services approx 10 surrounding communities, registering births, deaths & marriages. The office she reported to was in Dolores Hidalgo, I asked if she knew of Cedesa, she said yes, of course, she knew Chela, small world. I ear bashed her about the projects, & then we stopped & picked up a Young woman & Young boy, they were heading to the highway & were surprised by how warm it was in the sun & happy for the lift… The woman registrar explained what I had just told her & so she too was “informed”…
We parted ways at the Dolores Highway & I headed home.
See photos on the blog http://ecocinastovemexico.blogspot.com/ also.
