More fun?
We made to Esperanza for March alive and well. We dealt with some rudeness by Miguel (i.e., he wouldnt talk to us or greet us, only talked to me if he needed some of my supplies). But we survived. ACCA read my letter I had written about the food in February and they agreed for Martin to buy fresh fruits and veggies once a week, and with 250 soles for the month instead of 100. So at the end of this trip, we had a lot of fresh veggies, and that was fantastic.
Part of our team was back together since Made had returned, so the laughing definitely increased. The guys liked our idea of making a sofa on the floor to watch movies, using mattresses from the beds for the back and the seat. It is better than sitting on a wooden bench for two hours.
ACCA is going to start their construction soon, so we had 4 men from Sunchubamba staying with us for 4 days. One is the father-in-law of Martin, who is always very nice and pleasant. He and I have interesting conversations about the economic and conservation polices of Peru. The guys, after a long day of work...possibly in the rain without ponchos...would play soccer. Made, Valentina, Daisy, and I would sit and watch after dinner. They have to be careful not to kick the ball hard in one direction, because then it goes down the hill in the brush and someone has to go get it. It was always slippery, so Made and I were laughing all the time.
We visited Sunchubamba again, to meet with the president of the community. We wanted to ask permission to study on their land. The president didnt show up to meet us, so we had to drive to another city to track him down. You could tell by his attitude he did not understand our goals, and was only interested in how much we would pay. They told us to return with a proposal, so Made typed it up and printed it in Paucartambo. I was very glad there was no room on the moto for me and Made, because she ended up waiting all day for the meeting to start. She had to stay the night in a hotel in Paucartambo, where she argued with the lady that she wasnt going to share a room with 3 other people. She won, except that she ended up paying for two people. She said the mattress was curved like a pit, and she had to sleep on the edge to keep from falling in. The day of the meeting, after waiting in the cold and rain, she tried to explain what we wanted to do. They are afraid that we are from ACCA so they wanted to see her documents that prove she is from here and that she isnt a part of ACCA. They made all these restrictions (they wanted us to give them a little branch of everything we collect...they are afraid we might take them to the states and sell them for money). It will take a lot more work to make them see our purpose, so for now we are going to postpone trying to work with them. Made and I are going next week to visit Quillabamba to try to find other alternatives.
Part of our team was back together since Made had returned, so the laughing definitely increased. The guys liked our idea of making a sofa on the floor to watch movies, using mattresses from the beds for the back and the seat. It is better than sitting on a wooden bench for two hours.
ACCA is going to start their construction soon, so we had 4 men from Sunchubamba staying with us for 4 days. One is the father-in-law of Martin, who is always very nice and pleasant. He and I have interesting conversations about the economic and conservation polices of Peru. The guys, after a long day of work...possibly in the rain without ponchos...would play soccer. Made, Valentina, Daisy, and I would sit and watch after dinner. They have to be careful not to kick the ball hard in one direction, because then it goes down the hill in the brush and someone has to go get it. It was always slippery, so Made and I were laughing all the time.
We visited Sunchubamba again, to meet with the president of the community. We wanted to ask permission to study on their land. The president didnt show up to meet us, so we had to drive to another city to track him down. You could tell by his attitude he did not understand our goals, and was only interested in how much we would pay. They told us to return with a proposal, so Made typed it up and printed it in Paucartambo. I was very glad there was no room on the moto for me and Made, because she ended up waiting all day for the meeting to start. She had to stay the night in a hotel in Paucartambo, where she argued with the lady that she wasnt going to share a room with 3 other people. She won, except that she ended up paying for two people. She said the mattress was curved like a pit, and she had to sleep on the edge to keep from falling in. The day of the meeting, after waiting in the cold and rain, she tried to explain what we wanted to do. They are afraid that we are from ACCA so they wanted to see her documents that prove she is from here and that she isnt a part of ACCA. They made all these restrictions (they wanted us to give them a little branch of everything we collect...they are afraid we might take them to the states and sell them for money). It will take a lot more work to make them see our purpose, so for now we are going to postpone trying to work with them. Made and I are going next week to visit Quillabamba to try to find other alternatives.
posted by Becca at 2:03 PM
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