6 months is too long to go without blogging

A recent update e-mailed to friends and family in the states. Blogging has not been a strong point.

Dear Family and Friends,

A couple of weeks ago I turned 25 and I received several birthday wishes from friends and family where you all asked how I am doing. I started to realize that I have fallen behind on writing regular updates (I think it has been 6 months since I last wrote, and I thought that I ought to write one. So for those of you who sent birthday greetings, I apologize for the informality of a mass e-mail, but please know how much I appreciated the thoughtfulness.

So where have I been, where am I now, and where am I going? Summers in Paraguay are hot! Almost miserable, and this summer there was a drought. From around Christmas until the end of February it didn’t rain. This affected the crops and the pace of life, since there was no work. It was a slow summer and I spent it building fogones (a  cookstove and oven made of bricks for cooking with wood) with a nearby volunteer in her community, encouraged the women to plant crops for homemade chicken feed (the drought made this difficult), had a summer art camp for elementary students, and  picked cotton. I also started working with another women’s committee in a nearby community. I began working on a grant for a pig project, which recently has been set aside due to lack of funds from the NGO and my own perception that the women were not very invested in the project. I was very excited about the possibility of the project which would have included the installation of biodigesters, an alternative technology to animal waste and the creation of fuel, and was a little disappointed to not continue with it, but also relieved because I felt like already in the grant writing process I was carrying most of the work, and knew that this is how the complete project cycle would begin to look like. These women recently were able to put in a request to the local government for pigs.  I am hoping to be able to follow this up with sharing information with them about proper pig raising techniques as well as encourage them to plant and make their own pig feed.

Making Masks at Art Camp



At the end of February I made a significant decision about my living situation. As the relationship changed with the family where I had constructed my house and as I felt a need for more privacy and independence, I decided it was time for me to look for other housing opportunities. The reason that I chose to build my house in the first place was because of lack of housing, so I felt very stuck. I explored some mediocre options that fell through, and then a very ideal situation opened up near the end of March, and I moved in the first week of April. I am very happy that I made this decision. I am overall happier and more comfortable and it has impacted my relationships in the community for the best. I finally started my own garden, which has been a lot of fun to work in and experiment with. I just transplanted my tomatoes this morning!

My new house, a "typical" Paraguayan house, very old, but well taken care of.

I rent the room on the left. 

I am enjoying having more space!



Home Sweet Home!

 School started in February, which was a welcome to the slow summer, I started working in the garden with the students, teaching about composting and proper seed bed preparation. Shortly after I started my work with them, the school received funds for the 7^th, 8^th, and 9^thgraders to attend a special agriculture class in the afternoons. I now attend this class with them 1-2 times weekly and assist the teacher in the garden. The students learn aviculture, horticulture, natural resource management, rural administration, and rural engineering. They are also required to have a garden in their homes and the school. I have enjoyed this class and with the teacher and another volunteer we are exploring how to overlap our objectives.

Making seed beds!

At the end of May my host grandma passed away suddenly. She was a very dear woman who always called me her ‘princess’ or her ‘doll’ when I saw her. She left 14 living children. It was a very hard time for my host family as well as for me. I also learned and observed the differences between the Paraguayan death and grieving culture, and the one that I have known. I am working on a blog post to share what I learned. http://Maddieinparaguay.blogspot.com

I continue to follow up on the chicken project. Checking in to see if the chickens have started laying, what kind of food the chickens are eating and giving tips where I can. My chickens started laying the end of April! I now find 4 eggs in the nest every day. I have eggs coming out of my ears…and the women have plenty more than I do! There is a very distinct difference between the women who feed their chickens a complete protein diet, to those who feed a carbohydrate heavy diet. There are still chickens who have not yet laid and I am encouraging them to make more homemade chicken feed, which has a complete nutritional diet.

Making homemade chicken feed!

I have been talking to the women about proper nutrition for themselves and their families. I hope to follow this up with cooking classes. We received garden seeds from the local government and hope to also receive additional garden implements in the upcoming months. We are also working on planting trees throughout the community for reforestation. Yesterday a national organization, Refopar, brought 5 trees per woman and talked about the importance of the environment.

My puppy, Jasy, is no longer a puppy, she is about 20Kilos and likes to bark at everyone that passes, leaving them completely afraid of her, but she is the sweetest thing. She makes for a great companion and keeps my life exciting, especially as she chases Ara, my cat, through the house, or barks at the baby cows and tries to catch chickens. (She actually caught and bit my rooster so hard that I had to put him down.)

My time in Paraguayan is flying by so quickly. I only have five and half months until I complete the 2 year commitment. While a part of me would love to stay longer, I feel as if in 5 months my work will be complete, so at this moment my plans are to return to the states to celebrate Christmas with my family and new nephew (by then he will be over a year old!) for the first time in 2 years!

I thank you again for all your prayers, encouragement, and communication.