Friday, October 12, 2012

Nutrition, Trash, Festivals, and Luxury

Nutrients for People and Plants

After last month’s community analysis meeting resulted in the long term goal of eating a more nutritious diet, I teamed up with a neighboring volunteer Jim to host a training focused on two semi-related topics: Nutrition and Compost.  I started off talking about three principle food groups and how people should eat from all of them instead of just one (carbs).  I also explained how important it is to stay hydrated especially when out working in the fields.  Jim transitioned to compost-talk, explaining that plants, like us, need nutrients to survive and that we can provide these nutrients without having to buy chemical fertilizers.  Woo!  We then split the group up and had them practice making a compost pile.  I was pumped that we had such a large crowd – 19 attendees total.


Proteins - help form our muscles, bones, organs, and blood; Fats/Sugars/Carbohydrates - help give us mental and physical strength and energy (this is what most Panamanians subsist on since it includes rice and yucca); Vitamins/Minerals - help protect us from getting sick; & Water - necessary to live and boy do we sweat it out here all day long

Jim taking over to explain that plants need nutrients just like people, and that we should give them organic fertilizers, aka compost!

Wrapping up the talk explaining possible applications of finished compost.

Practical application time!  Making the compost mix at my new house.  What Panamanian reunion would be complete without a baby sleeping in a chinchorro?
                                                       
For the obligatory free snack, I wanted to provide something showing different nutrients than what they usually eat, using foods they can find or produce around here.  Cucumber and tomato salad!  Plus toasted bread and oranges.

They ate all the salad but I still can't get them to eat a whole orange.  They cut the tops off and suck the juice out leaving behind the rest of the fruit.  Silly.

Help from Outside Agencies on Trash and the School Garden

I had some better experiences recently with outside agencies.  The Ministry of Health decided that since construction of the fancy paved road through our community, trash has become a serious health issue.  They organized a trash clean-up day, which went well in terms of enthusiastic involvement from community members.

Taking a break after gathering bags of trash
Making signs telling people not to litter

Yep, all the trash collected that day was burned.  Glass bottles were buried.

After being told to write a sign for the main intersection / hang-out point that says “Please, throw trash where it belongs” it confused me to realized that the Ministry of Health did not provide us with a trash can or even a bag to keep at that location permanently.  If we don’t provide a place to throw trash, how can people put it where it belongs?  I tried asking around, and people said they thought someone will be bringing something soon, but no one knew who or when.  Hmmm.

Main intersection where people love to throw trash on the ground with a new sign but no trash can...

The technical expert from the First Lady’s project that funds our school garden came out last week and will be continuing to visit throughout October to help get the garden going.  Fortunately, our trainings seem to complement each other well.  She emphasized the importance of compost and went over low-resource seed-starting techniques including the use of newspaper to make little seed bags.  The project requires contribution of all parents of school children, and hopefully will start getting the kids more involved as well.

Making seed bags out of newspapers and filling them with a mix of cow manure, rice husks, and sand

Garden project technician explaining how she wants the corn planted

Time-out from garden work to catch a snake.  eek!

Festivals

I’ve been warned that not much work happens between October and December due to a series of holidays and they are starting!  El Harino kicked things off this week celebrating “Spain Colonization Day.”  The teachers organized an annual march where the kids held colorful handmade torches and paraded down the main road one evening.  It was very cute and pretty.

Kids with torches

I asked if the symbols on the torches had any significance.  Nope.  Just pretty.

When we got back to the school, the kids helped dress me in a pollera (typical Panamanian skirt) and we did some folk dancing.  Fun!

Lila baila!

Other upcoming events will include some intercommunity school soccer tournaments, Panamanian Independence from Colombia Day on November 3rd, Panamanian Independence Day from Spain on November 28th, Mothers’ Day in December, etc.

Luxury

I made the big 3-month move and am now living on my own in a charming wooden home.  Moving was mentally and physically challenging, but well worth the effort.  Me, myself, and I lugged all my earthly belongings from my host-family’s house to my new one (no helping horses this time).  It took about 3 trips plus a few loads from shopping out of site.  I didn’t ask for any help carrying stuff and no one exactly offered.  A few people asked me if I was sure I could manage everything, and I said yes, because I could and I did.  Whew.

My host-family told me they wanted to cook me lunch on my last day.  I thought this sounded sweet but a little silly considering I’d been eating all my meals with them.  But then they surprised me with a non-traditional lunch of SALAD with LETTUCE and rice and chicken.  In this one meal all 3 food groups from my nutrition lesson were deliciously present.  So happy and proud.

yum!
After a few rainy afternoons trapped inside my new place, I have arranged it how I want it.  Compared to some of the hardships of the last few months, this home truly feels like luxury.  Water from an aqueduct comes to two spigots just outside.  I bought a 6-inch foam mattress and am sleeping comfortably for the first time in a long while.  This house feels big!  I have space to spread out my things and to walk around.  So lovely.  The house is an undivided L-shape, but it almost feels like I have different rooms.  Here are the photos.

Outside

Spigot and board for doing laundry, etc.

Nicest latrine in town

Faucet above my head! No more bucket baths.  Yes, the water is still cold.

Trying to make my front porch as interesting as possible for visitors: basketball; community map; info sheets on nutrition & compost; poster on coffee pests; posters from past talks on community goals, nutrition, compost; copy of community analysis document; Peace Corps magazine.  Also hoping this keeps visitors from entering my house.  I don’t go into other peoples’ houses when I pasear, so I’d like to try to maintain some privacy.  I should probably put a hammock out there at some point.

Kitchen! Gas tank & stove; cookware; dishwashing bowl; food storage containers including large ziploc bag, bucket, cooler; rechargeable solar lamp on a 2-year loan to me from Women’s Group project.

Living room! Comfy chair; Peace Corps calendar (want one for 2013? $18); family photos; clothes shelf; work-stuff shelf; Panama map; bench

Bedroom! Clothes rack stick; luggage storage corner; bed

Bedroom! Bed; shoes/boots; water filter; machete & other tools; door out!

This will be the longest I have ever lived in any one physical place other than my parents’ house.  One year and nine months.  Crazy!  Also, this is my first time living by myself with no housemates or roommates.  Nights are a little quiet, but compared to crying babies, this is a nice change.  My radio is on frequently, and yes, “Gangnam Style” has made its way onto Panamanian radio stations.  So far the only main negative of my little casita is that the strong rains bring in quite a bit of water under the walls.  May need to work on some outside drainage improvements at some point.

Sooo when are you coming to visit?

This toucan agrees that you should come visit Panama.