Over the River and Through the Woods... and Up the Mountain We Go!

When I am not making tortillas or playing hide and go seek with my blood-sucking roommates, I am working with a non profit called La Asociacion Mujeres Defensoras de la Vida, roughly translated: ¨Women, Defenders of Life.¨ Defending life takes many forms in this NGO: whether it be providing small loans to start a in home business, working with local health centers to monitor and improve child nutrition, or teaching women how to use their voice and become involved in local politics, every day is different!

Standing near a waterfall on the way up to visit the Chaguite community.

I am involved in all sorts of amazing projects here; however, the last few weeks I have had the pleasure of assisting a recently arrived volunteer from Canada with a general assessment of the women´s overall satisfaction of the Association and its work. PROFESSIONALLY: This has been a great opportunity for me to try and balance my academic scientific training with real world application. PERSONALLY: My favorite part of the work is that it requires us to visit women in their communities, which means lots of traveling! Driving a ´91 Toyota on its last leg up a flooded mountain has lead us to all sorts of adventures...

Today, our day went a little something like this:

• Ready to leave by 7:30am, actually left at 8:35am
• Got stuck in the mud on the way up the mountain, saved by 4 wheel drive
• Tried to turn around after missing our pass and almost backed off the mountain
• Got out and pushed the truck back on the road
• Met with the women and the chickens for 2 hours: work followed by lots of laughing about how to get past security in suitcases to get into the states
• Got stopped on the way back by a police officer who told us we would have to wait for 2 hours while they repaired the road (waited 15 minutes)
• Stopped for lunch and through miscommunication was served a full plate of fried plantains
• Home at 3:15pm with minimal sunburn, a tummy ache, and lots of stories

Check out the pics!

On the way up to El Casario el Chaguite

A picture of one of the many small communities nestled along the hillsides

The forest is a mix of palm and fruit bearing trees and hard woods.

Our meeting and the women of El Chaguite

Waiting for workers to fill the muddy streets as villagers watched... yes, everyone rides in the back of pick up trucks