Late Summer 2010 Pigulca Update

In the last update I promised to tell more about movement in the community. When I returned from the US in July 2010 I was anxious to get back and visit Pigulca! The community garden is still being used as a "nursery" and many more people have started home gardens. Gregorio, the community president told us that several weeks earlier a foundation from Otavalo had visited the community to donate seeds! It seems this foundation promotes vegetable gardening and also the planting of indigenous trees which help improve water collection in the soil. The main trees growing in our area are eucalyptus, which actually soak up the groundwater causing dryer soil. The foundation donated a large quantity of vegetable seeds to each family in the community as well as 500 native trees! More and more people are planting vegetables, taking advantage of the donated seeds. We are so thankful that community members had already been working on gardens before the foundation came, or else the seeds might not have been well used. In addition, we have been encouraging people to share their knowledge with one another.

Remember Maria G. from the end of the last update? When I visited her at the end of July, she told me that she no longer has to buy carrots! When she needs carrots, she just goes out to her garden and picks them. She does the same with cilantro, cabbage and Swiss chard. She is working on onions such that she will not have to purchase them either. She showed me how she has continued to extend her garden area, saying that she desires to produce enough for her family's consumption as well as some extra for sale at the market in Otavalo. NOW we are beginning to see some economic impact!

There are a couple of other exciting developments in Pigulca. Last year, when we first began to get involved in this community, everyone always mentioned how they do not have a reliable water source. They wanted us to put in a water system, but that is not really our area of expertise. However, over the last several years I have developed some friendships with folks from HCJB (mission) Water Projects. We recommended that the community fill out an application with them to help them with a potable water project. Incidentally, I got giardia (a water-borne parasite) from eating grapes washed in the community water. Yes, I know I should not have eaten them, but one of the community ladies bought and washed them just for me, and I did not want to dishonor her gift to me. Anyway, community members began the process with HCJB about a year ago, and in May the first construction was done protecting the water source located in the community. Thanks to HCJB and their summer volunteers, the community came together for a week of work protecting the source and putting in some filtration to keep it pure.

In October a group from Horizon Presbyterian Church in Greeneville, South Carolina will come to help community members begin the work of system installation. It is not clear what exactly the group will do, since that depends on what community members get done before then. They need to build a pump house since the water source is at the lowest point in the community. Water will be pumped up to a reservoir at the highest point in the community, so that will need to be built as well. Additionally, trenches will need to be dug from the pump house to the reservoir and eventually throughout the community for water delivery to individual homes. We are praying for the group and for the community members. Unity is still in short supply among community members, though it is growing.

Another exciting development regards a new savings group. For the last couple of years, Horizon PCA has been helping community families with school expenses. In an effort to reduce dependency issues and to encourage community members to encounter economic solutions, the school help will be progressively reduced over the next few years. In anticipation of the 25% reduction in the school subsidy for next year, Mike and I began talking with community members about four months ago about the possibility of beginning a saving program. On Monday August 30, we distributed the first part of this year's subsidy and once again talked with the parents about a savings group. All were very interested, so we went up on Friday (Sep. 3) and helped them go through the rule-making process to set up their savings group. We helped them think through the amount they needed to be saving, and about half of the 18 families who are participating made their first deposit at the rule-making meeting. Sunday September 5 is the first official meeting. While Mike and I will not be there, we are praying for them. The plan is to meet on Sunday afternoons at 5pm in the community house. We pray that the savings group will be one more opportunity for God's love to be demonstrated in the community. We will be there in two weeks to do an ongoing group training, which is based on Biblical principles.

I am sure I have not included everything in these last two updates, but I hope to post more as it occurs to me (and as it occurs in the next few months).

Pigulca Community Updates

Well, an embarrassingly long time has passed since my last post. And during that time some wonderful things have happened. Mike and I spent lots of time in the community last fall (2009) and then had some health issues that prevented such frequent visits. To tell the truth, I was really concerned about the vegetable gardens. Between the time of planting and our last visit in October/November there was not much rain and the plants grew very little. We next visited in early December 2009, and I was afraid about looking at the garden. I was pleasantly surprised that the garden looked great! We harvested the first radishes and cilantro. The ladies were really excited and we had a meeting where we thanked God for the beautiful harvest.
In January 2010 we were back again, just in time to harvest beets and carrots. The colors of the veggies was gorgeous, but the carrots were very twisted. They had been planted very close together and rather than pull out every other plant (or more), they decided to transplant them further apart. Apparently, transplanting carrots is not the best plan because they really twisted up. The women were very surprised! Again, we had a meeting to thank God for the bountiful harvest. However, I was noticing a trend. Each time they harvested something, they divided it among many families of the community, even those not participating in the project. Thus, each home took home only one or two beets and several carrots- not exactly the economic benefit we were looking for. Also, each time we harvested, I encouraged the women to replant, so that the garden would continue producing.

In February 2010 I tried on several occasions to visit. The visits were great, but meeting with the women in the vegetable project was hard because I could not seem to get everyone together. Finally, when we met in early March, I asked why they had not yet replanted anything. They did not really have an answer, but it seemed that part of the problem was leadership. I encouraged them to appoint a committee, which they finally did. We also discussed options for solving the economic problem, and decided that each woman should plant a garden at her own home. Since it was very dry, they did not really want to plant anything, but I encouraged them to be getting the ground ready so that when it did rain, they would be able to plant their gardens. In April when I visited it had begun to rain, and a few women had begun to plant their gardens. Also, the leadership group wrote a letter to a local flower plantation where a number of community members work requesting plastic sheeting to put as protection around the home gardens. I also noticed that the community garden had been replanted. This picture is Maria G. showing me here garden started in April. More about her in the next update.

In May I headed to the US to finish my masters degree, but I still had questions for the ladies. I asked Mike if he would meet with them to talk about their gardens. He asked them about the re-planting in the community garden. They let him know that they were using it as a nursery and that they would transplant young plants to their home gardens. I thought that was great!
More details in the next update!