Thursday, August 15, 2013

Wanderlust: Northern Guate and Belize

After leaving Santiago, I met up with Casey and Lisa (my friends I'd met in Xela) and we toured northern Guatemala together! We had a truly amazing time filled with adventure, crazy bus rides and new friends. I also met up with Kate (from Santa Cruz) in Belize and we had an incredible snorkeling adventure. Here is a glimpse of some of the highlights of my trip on my way home to the states!

Casey and I at Volcan Pacaya roasting marshmallows in a heat vent
Volcan Pacaya, an active volcano
Semuc Champey- beautiful spot
Semuc Champey limestone pools from the ridge above

About to go for a swim!

Semuc Champey

Lanquin River, view from Zephyr Lodge

One of the world's largest Mayan ruins

Buildings poking through the canopy

Tikal

Main center of town


Ready for battle!

Welcome to Belize

Morning watching the sunrise on Caye Caulker

Belize motto

Snorkeling with sharks

We're about to dive in!

Kate and I on the sailboat after snorkeling

Beautiful Caribbean water

Caye Caulker


Sunday, August 11, 2013

Final Days in Santiago

Throughout my time in Santiago Atitlán, I’ve learned a lot about the challenges of microenterprise and small-scale development work. Working on a community-based project like Just Apparel requires a dedicated interest to the community, an ability to triage complicated issues, and most importantly, a capacity to communicate effectively and work together with individuals who come from a cultural background that is very different than your own. When I first came to Santiago, I didn’t realize how dependent I would be on Dolores for translating between Spanish and Tz’utujil, the indigenous language that all of the women speak. Communication would have been nearly impossible without a translator. Even with Dolores acting as translator, many of the specific details about the product designs were lost in translation as we began to come up with new product designs and ideas. Since the product designs had Western influences, many of the women were unfamiliar with why or how one would use, for example, a placemat or headband. These are items that the women themselves do not use. We had to be very patient and detailed in describing the products and actually using models and examples of what we had deemed marketable to an American consumer base. However, it is also important to make sure that by doing so we weren’t requiring our artisans to abandon their traditional techniques or individual style.

Natik has such a strong foundation in the Santiago Atitlán community, and something that I think has made the Just Apparel project different is how have incorporated the women’s insight in the creative process. While we did specify sizing details and fabric templates, the product color schemes and specific embroidery designs are all unique works of art created by each woman of the cooperative. A believe that a key component of the success of our Just Apparel project is this incorporation of this participatory development method that supports and respects local community traditions, while still encouraging economic empowerment opportunities.

Like I had realized at the beginning of my project, the problem in this community isn’t the lack of desire to work but instead the lack of opportunity to work. My time in Santiago Atitlán has shown that with a greater awareness and expansion to bigger markets, this project has great potential for genuine improvement in human livelihood in this community. I left Santiago on August 1, after a farewell party with new friends at the local bar and saying goodbye to my host family and Dolores. It was sad to say goodbye to Santiago—a town that I called home for two months—but I feel proud of the work that I have accomplished there in such a short time. I know I’ll come back someday! Next up, I spend 11 days traveling northern Guatemala and Belize with some friends that I have made in my time in Guatemala. Stay tuned for tales of cliff jumping, spelunking, volcano hikes and snorkeling with sting rays and sharks!