Positive News in Heavy World Times

Cousins Fabiola and Abigail stopping by the house for lemons

"Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world"

Dearest friends,

First of all I want to Thank You for making our Urgent Mayan Land Conservancy Fundraiser an absolute success! We reached our $6,000 goal. Please allow me to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has joined us in our cause. Since launching and over the course of the last six months you have given tremendously meaningful support for the work I am doing in collaboration with the community I live in. Your backing and deeply treasured encouragement is carried forward with us everyday . I can't thank you enough for accompanying me on this journey; As we continue to do what we can to power change in the world together during this extremely important and critical time in the world... let us to continue to show each other our greatest kindness, selflessly care more deeply for one another, soulfully and gently nurturing all of our futures, in all of our lands, on this beautiful earth, with love.

Start where you are

to do what you can

with what you have

Barro Itzá TM

Traditional & Contemporary Ceramics

We are preparing the launch of our women-led Ceramics Cooperative! Working together with a group of Mayan Indigenous village women we have formed, initiated, organized, and activated a women led Ceramics Cooperative with 14 ladies ranging from 14- 65 years old over the course of the year.

Our Cooperative has been founded to be able to be supportive of the fact that our women need flexibility to accommodate motherhood demands by providing an environment that welcomes mothers to bring their children with them.

We are working with the massive abundance of locally sourced raw clays, reclaiming hand processed traditional Mayan methods that align with the Cultural Heritage and ecology of our region.

Our shared community production workshop space supports each women with skill sets, trainings, guidance as she builds her own line of products, be an entrepreneur, partaking with ownership, have dignity and take great pride dignity as a leader creating a local village industry- that can position and leverage each and every one in the cooperative to gain their own financial freedom with dignity and pride. The cooperative is not exclusively for women, and we hope some men will join us once we have a solid start and feel they could leave their current employment positions.

I will also personally continue to run and supervise our drop in open studio Kids Space.

Why creating local women led endeavours is so important-

Our village has a very high male migration rate, leaving many women here to raise children alone. Men who have made it to the US, have pay off their coyote bill as quickly as possible as they get hit with additional %'s. What they are able to send home the fist year is barely enough for the women and their children here to survive on. There are also many single mothers here with no paternal support whatsoever.

In general, given the majority of the women in the rural regions have a very basic level of education, the few and limited types of jobs that they could take would be in the realms of domestic maids- Where they are only permitted to go home for a weekend (to see their children) every two months or so. I saw quite a bit of this in Guatemala City. Many single mothers women will go to the city seeking a domestic servant job simply to be able to feed their kids back at home- growing up alone with grandmas and the likes without moms sometimes for years and years.

Here In Guatemala the Indigenous communities are leading the Entire Country in a national shut down now in Day 20 something of the strike as Peaceful Non Violent Protests and blockades continue

Guatemala is experiencing a historic social uprising that is being lead by the Original Pueblo Indigenous Communities of Guatemala, bringing the Nation together and uniting people from all walks of life in a way that has never been seen before. The Indigenous Communities have made it priority that the protests remain Non Violent and Peaceful. After 500 years of oppression and 36 years of brutal massacres, "Its not about power", it's about obtaining a truly democratic society where everyones voice and vote is heard, equally accounted for, and respected.

Roads are blocked all over the country, especially surrounding and in the capital of Guatemala City, but also elsewhere; in hopes of ousting corrupt officials who are trying to intervene the democratic vote made August 30th for our new and very popular Progressive President Bernardo Arevalo who secured a 61% majority win.

Although the entire country has been shut down for more than 20 some odd days ( Ive lost track), we are boasting an almost entirely halted economy, ports stalled with export, days of work lost across all sectors, with empty super market shelves and food shortages happening due to mostly stalled transport.

The economic loss that is happening is huge in the short and in some cases medium term. But if the economic leaking that has been going into governments pockets- year after year after year is stopped- in the longterm the country stands to gain infinitesimally more available resources to work with to improve the country overall . So yes, most people know its absolutely worth it, thus remain unwaveringly and unanimously in support.

For years now many officials in positions of power within the Political System have A) obtained positions through contrived and coercive votes, extorting, and B) been siphoning, and pocketing the peoples national money.

On the one hand the country ranks high in its overall Gross Domestic Product GDP.

It comes out as one of the richest countries in Latin America?

While on the other hand the current and ongoing status and reality is that it is- it is ranked in the "Top 3rd poorest countries in the world, with an average rate of 50% malnutrition- higher in rural areas like where I am, and has stats to compare like- Venezuela migration 1 in 10- Guatemala 1 in 4."

The über reality is it has left the vast majority of the nations population to labor without gain, to suffer the daily weight of these continual humanly unjust discrepancies, treading mud, trying to move forward in abandoned and impossibly challenging conditions.

The whole nation is coming together to say "Enough is enough!" Again, it is quite possibly the most positive moment country has experienced in its history to date. There is a feeling of hopefulness, even joy, a unification happening, people are dancing, musicians are performing in the streets, people are setting up fundraisers seeing how to get food to people who need it, people are setting aside their differences for the common cause. Everyone on all socio economic levels are screwed right now, but everyone also wants and desperately needs a permanent change for the better in Guatemala.

So no, the situation here has not been exactly what we would call front page news without riots or compared to what is occurring with our brothers and sisters across the sea, we haven't gotten much global attention right now as ours is really is quite positive and wonderful news.

Far away from everything life goes on as usual here except that the price of a litre of soda pop went up because of scarcity. We don't depend on tourism which has been hit hard up here as I image elsewhere as well. Our men work out back in the fields. Our women tend the homes, kids walk to our little village schools that aren't closed like elsewhere with kids around the rest of the country missing school again as it were during Covid.

So here I am 900 miles from the capital, on the edge of the countries 2nd largest lake- Lake Peten Itza- Directly under the folds of the 2nd largest tropical forest in the Americas the Mayan Biosphere that you see jutting down right at us in that deep dark green square- the Ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal- a few miles off the frame to the right.

Nestled right in the middle of this incredibly important Global, Cultural, Archeological, Ecological 'Hotspot'...

as they call it.

I can speak in terms of our little village on a micro level, but the same applies at the mid and macro level. Because of the inaction and failure to implement systems and infrastructure especially in rural areas like we are, there is a tremendous need for communities to come together and get themselves organised. Pushed to extremes with little government or social services support at all, it becomes up to communities and individuals who are driven to try to come up with and create solutions, cooperatives, alliances, partnerships- from scratch, usually with little to no financial resources at all to begin with. We are not alone is this but those are the shoes we are in.

As the first and only social assistance, environmentally minded, cultural community- led organization on location in our village, this asks us to address and work on issues that may seem outside of the frame our projects; But they are in fact one hundred percent inter related and of utmost importance to get sorted in order for everyone to be able to achieve desired goals and overall success.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, our village is a young quintessential agrarian and forest based Mayan Indigenous village that has grown up into existence somewhat quickly over the past 20 years. Before that it was mostly just wild jungle. It is already well into into 3rd generation with the newest bouncing baby arrivals. (The infant mortality rate in Peten is 40%. Our little village has just recently lost three.)

We are in an extremely remote location right on the edge of the line in the northernmost part of the country and we simply don't have all that much infrastructure yet. As I have mentioned before, it is also The silver lining as it means we have an incredible opportunity to determine, choose, and implement a " type of infrastructure" that best aligns and maintains the authentically of its tranquil nature centric livelihood and lifestyle of cowboys and farmers, safe and quiet, with animals and barefoot children free to roam as they chose.

We are landlocked between the lake below, large landholders on the right and left. Out back up top, straight right up to the line of the Biosphere are the original village families agriculture and cattle land plots. With little likelihood of further village borderline growth, it is a very unique little bubble with tremendous opportunity to be able frame, and maintain the beauty of its original essence as time goes by. As it is a physically confined community it is highly feasible we can set it up in a unique way, with structures that are consciously and intentionally built.

Within the frame of a holistic view Every part of the picture needs to be worked on and bolstered simultaneously

The Evolution of Systems happens as realtime solutions meet realtime problems-

Village Health

For you and I its somewhat a given that we know things like, "healthy soils produce healthy food and healthier people" We know that lack of proper nutrition, exposure to poisonous toxins, and living with hazardous environmental conditions for elongated periods of time produces secondary effects, causes many illnesses, and is often fatal.

We have chemical fertiliser from the agricultural aspect up out back, everywhere has been thickly littered with garbage along with customary trash burning rituals happening in front of houses under kids and everyones noses, plus generous doses of household domestic application of Roundup striped absolutely all over . We have the majority of homes leaking raw sewage and black water with detergents coming out of open pipes at ground level running right into the road, (the pigs and ducks love it) and all of it rolls right on down the hill into the lake with the goodly and generous washes of the rains. We are not alone in this. Many other surrounding villages are in the same position.

The over all health of the town is really bad. I mean reeeeally bad.

We are hustling as quickly as possible, doing everything in our power to create awareness and help to connect the relationship of our villages Humans Health with Environment Health because Id bet your button that a very large percentage of our human health issues have quite a bit to do with the very poor Environmental situation? Just sayin'...

We are getting word in at the local Gov. level

The local/national Government Health Department has been in the village on a campaign against Dengue and Malaria. A number of people have died recently in the area due to the mosquito born illnesses. Our whole village got DDT sprayed around everyones houses the other day. Pumped right on us just like 1940's USA. Not gonna talk about that one, its a one off, end of story. (They guys applying it didn't 'even' have masks on). They did come around beforehand to say 'cover up your food', that was it.

But I had a wonderful opportunity to have a long conversation with the Head fellow Rep from the Health Department who was here, concerning the connection between a healthy environment as a preventative measure countering unnesesary health issues and costs. He was very tuned in and motivated to bring all of the points we talked about to his respective municipal Gov departments. I was very grateful he very much got, understood, and agreed with me 150%.

Here again- The biggest problem is there are no systems in place. At every level in Guatemala there is a major lack of communication between sectors and organizations across the board. In this case its between the Health Department, the Environmental Department and the Ag Departments who are ultimately responsible to instate systems, but also to help them to work with one another to get the info to doctors, health clinics, to the women who end up sitting in medical clinics with their children as a result. To get info to farmers and municipal leaders who have not been given information, capacitated, and oriented. And lastly how do we do all this when there are no financial resources to implement needed changes. Yet.

If a man gets sick here and misses work, he gets docked his days field wages, and it immediately leaves his house, his family, little children and pregnant women at home without food. In many cases people don't have enough money for a bus fare, let alone a medical consultation, let alone buy medicine. Let alone the elderly who live by themselves, let alone people with mobility issues.

People literally cannot afford for to get sick, or have a medical emergency, it instantly puts the household in crisis, and it is happening all the time!

Because of these situations

We have a running a kind of ongoing Temporary Ad Hock Community Emergency Fund

It is not a solution but until we have better permanent solutions set up, on an ongoing basis for the past two years now we are often helping to support one or the other of our most vulnerable families- I check in on them on a fairly regular basis to see how they are doing, but they only come to me when its really an emergency- On the line with medical or critical food situations, ie have not eaten anything proper, ie Im talking "proper" being simply tortillas and beans, for more than a few days and their children are literally starving.

Like these kids. The story above is exactly what happened last month to their dad, he got sick, missed a weeks field work and voila in an instant a family can go from being ok, to mega emergency. Its these families and these little guys, right in front of me who I have a personal connection and human obligation to. Again, Temporary help is not the solution, yes it helps, but until and unless we stabilise and establish better longterm solutions in the village, these situations will only come up again and again.

+ Village Nurses I am in conversation and beginning to work on the issue with two of the village nurses who work at our little village Government run Medical Clinic to understand what support they need. They are extremely limited, often lacking in the most basic supplies, the clinic runs out of medicines without fail before the end of each month. We are seeing how we can approach the immense unaddressed need for better onsite health care , could be supported to be able to do house visits, and how to assure they have supplies and medicines they need. It will take some time, as we are just beginning to work on it.

Resolving the Garbage Issues

Yes Ive been picking up the garbage around my block since I got here but with the whole entire village being heavily littered, there was absolutely no way I was ever going to accomplish even a slight dent. The whole situation needed some major organising.

But then out of the blue HALLELUYA due to the Malaria/ Dengue Campaign- as a preventative means against sitting water and mosquito repopulation and Wooohoo to the village Lower School kids- the Catholic Church, the Health Department and the Village Mayor present in support~

For the FIRST TIME SINCE I have been here, I walked around a garbage free village...

For 1 DAY!

I can't tell you truly, truly, delightfully, wonderfully, NICE it was to be walking around town and see no garbage on the ground. Absolute HEAVEN !

Thank you so much guys!!!

By the following day there was a little bit of garbage, but now its manageable, and that's where I come in and Im totally ok with that. Informally, I do a half hour or more daily pick up the light here and there daily delinquent bits and bobs, bottles and chips wrappers that get rather habitually dropped. Its still about a big bag- a- day on my daily routes in lieu and until we see our community collection and disposal system completely up and running. Im not exactly winning but its a great opportunity for me to some Garbage Ed. with people of all ages that comment to me about it as I meander from one bottle and chips bag to the next- humming a tune joyfully, with a big smile, happy as can be just pickin' up the doodads.

Formally, riding on this wonderful wonderful impulse we are forming a working group with all of the community leaders, to get a Community garbage system set up- because as mentioned there is none, nada, and won't be any still for some time. I will go meet with the Municipal Mayor, but we wait for the government change in January it likely won't be until March/ April/ May who knows when before we can even bring it up to them, so in the meantime we are keeping forward march.

We have a long long way to go still to clean everything up. The watershed gullies leading down to the lake are in a terrible state with trash ending up eventually in the lake broken down a bit but mostly completely intact. The black water will be some number of years, we can help by keeping on nudging, but its a million dollar Government project that will take time. The round up, that's the Ag and Environmental guys. We will keep on them too.

Lake Network

This is what I wrote as one of my earliest impressions over a year and a half ago

"The whole lake front on north shore is lined with private beachfront properties that belong to wealthier owners who mostly have no connection or interaction with the village communities. Catering soly to the Airbnb, national and international rentals markets, and/ or are private family vacation homes. They offer few and poorly paid employment possibilities, some of which borderline human right abuses, and indentured slavery. The clientele that use the beach rental properties have little to no interaction with the communities, and leave no reciprocal take home benefit for the locals."

Our village only has one tiny public waterfront access spot and its not recommended you swim there- if you do its highly likely you'll get this weird itchy skin thing that recently just cost one village girl more than a months (well paid) wage with a $300 Drs bill.

So far with no reason to go across the road up into our villages, no tourist attractions, nothing to see yet, no one ever comes in here except for vendors. We are set out of sight and out of view, living amongst an ecological mess due to the lack of infrastructure development and financial resources to put them into place and Our village wash down is causing considerable damage to the lake.

That said down or up the road a little farther, away from our village watershed bed and drain pipes, the lake is likely better, until you hit the next village or town. The in-between places are likely okish.

Don't worry if you ever came here to visit here there are plenty of nice economical, as well as lots of luxury places to stay elsewhere along the shoreline ( Just be sure its a ways away from us). Heck Francis Ford Coppola has one of his world famous Coppola Family Hideaways joints just down the road here, just before the Marriot just before el Remate, around the side of the lake heading toward Tikal.

So its somewhat bizarre to me that the beachfront owners here haven't been more proactive in pushing the government and or support/invested to get the villages to clean up their act? The Lake is the money maker for the beachfronts after all, don't they need it to be healthy and clean? Anyway....

I put this photo out there from the beginning as it looked like to me that at some point I would need to look at how we can bridge divides and work more closely together within the context of the greater lake network in regards to ecological community development with direct correlation to the conservation of the Lake. I am always interested in how we all fit into the picture and again- as the success of the micro is inter dependent and inter related to the success of the macro and visa versa we do all need to work together.

THE GARDEN

We continue to work on propagating the Growth of healthy soils and fresh local Organic Food Sovereignty- To improve family Nutrition, Lower carbon footprints and dependancy on imports that come from 900 miles away- unrefrigerated produce deliveries reach us days old and sadly withered with little nutritional value having travelled all the way from Guatemala City and farther.

Tonight We're Featuring avant-garde cuisine

with local Native Exotic Wild Greens

Fancy I know right? Above in the photos are two native local greens in abundance that are used in quite a few other places around the world in similar climates for both culinary and medicinal purposes. Hoja Santa (Piper Adumcun) on the left has a liquorice sort of smooth taste and Hierba Mora Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) on the right are slightly bitter and similar to spinach in nutrients.

I have to be honest, I knew my first year doing a vegetable garden here was going to be a question of trial and error, hit and miss. In working with a changing landscape some unexpected things have flourished like crazy and others have been a complete flunk! No regular basil but there is a native wild basil that is amazing. No celery, carrots, or onions so far. The corn so so, green beans and black beans ok. The garlic and butternut squash are doing great. I have some potatoes sprouting in the fridge to try.

My seed starter boxes have been so so. Im continuing to do test trials and smaller batches of different plantings in different spots to see what works and what needs me to be slightly more proactive with natural add ins in order to get some better results. This place has been a bit of a baby maker. I have a zillion papayas and babies on the way, avocado and coconut babies coming up- to share with families and or to bring along to plant in future community agricultural spots.

Im doing it with zero bought in resources specifically- on purpose- intentionally- because that's what peoples situation is here. Nobody can buy a huge load of good compost or nice long hoses, or have access to enough water to run a sprinkler, buy seeds, you name it. For this 'in-town' first example garden its not about profitability or making money (at this point).

Its about Creating a Culture around home gardens, seed sharing, gift, swap, barter, and getting the ladies here to stop buying produce with money they don't have and grow it instead. To plant up their gardens so they can feed their kids some good fresh food from their garden and maybe sell some surplus. When we have our community land we will be looking at larger scale. At that point we will go full on heavy on investing in a commercial set up from the get go with everything we need to assure community livelihood, sustainably, productivity, and profitability.

But... for this 'in town domestic example garden' I do not want any advantage over anyone. Yes its more challenging and no I won't get the same results as if Id brought in a digger, topsoil, proper compost, and boughten plantings- but I want people to see is is possible to create a flourishing, balanced, beautiful, healthy garden just like anyone else here on a 'buy nothing' method.

Ive done no- dig, hand weeded, hand selected the natives, deseeded and seed saved, buried banana trunks for underground water conservation, waited and planted around the rains, raked up manure off the roads from our free range village horses, dragged in tarp-fulls of organic matter for compost and mulching etc.

Again one of the reasons I am focusing on the women is because its not like other areas of the country where the whole family still goes to work in the fields, babies and all on a back or put down to sleep under a tree and such.

Somehow that tradition with the women has been lost here. I have only seen two who go out to work in the fields regularly. Others will sometimes go with their husbands on a weekend day for a bit. So its the women who are in the village all day everyday that Im trying to GET GARDENING your gardens ladies, let's grow them kids and our families some nice fresh healthy food.

To end this post with a little local feature creatures

The other day a flock of around 50 of these little fellows from the wild landed in my tree. Once in a while a group takes a whirl down from the Biosphere to the lake. Babies do frequently get taken home to the village to grow up as pets. You see them hanging out on front porches, chit chatting words with owners, and sitting pretty on people shoulders. Yes of course its probably illegal and yes Id rather see it free in the wild.

The other day I heard my neighbours one barking along in chorus with the families watchdogs as I passed their house, surely made me chuckle and crack a big smile- surrendering hopelessly to the joy of it while simultaneously shaking my head. There are some things you just have to enjoy and leave it be as it is? Oh dear... well anyway...

Sending you all much love,

Keep on lighting the world up and being a force for good will my dear friends

Yours Truly

Emily