Meeting in Embarcadero

We arrived on Saturday in Embarcadero at about 11 am. We drove two vehicles, a Hyundai Santa Fe and a Toyota four wheel drive pick up. When we got to the river, it was not much more than a mud puddle, but the folks in the Toyota convinced us to leave the rental car behind and climb into the pick up to cross the muddy depression. During the rainy season (December & January) the water flows nearly as deep as the wooden footbridge on the left. Access by vehicles is often limited to the village because of this unpredictable drainage. 

Once we crossed the mud puddle and made our way into the village we were greeted with smiles and hugs, mostly from women and children because we learned the men were in a Co-Op meeting in the school house. We were able to walk around and visit and get a look at the latrines our team built in January. The folks of Embarcadero had built a third latrine near the church. I put a 

picture of one of the latrines on my last post. We were very encouraged by the way the community has embraced the value of the ecological, composting latrines. They prevent pollution of their water source and provide fertilizer for their crops. 

A little later in the afternoon we were able to hold a meeting with the

 

folks of the community in the school house pictured here. Our

discussion covered three primary topics. First we wanted their feedback on the latrines and we wanted to hear what they felt would be best for their community.

Men and women from the community expressed their appreciation for the latrines and also related that because

 of the education offered last Januray's visit, they no

 longer wanted to use the "Pit Latrines" because they understood that those would contaminate their wells. They are eager to enter into a partnership that will provide a "Composting Latrine" for each family in the village. When you include the church and the school, this will require the building of approximately 25 more latrines.

The second topic we discussed was the logistics of our on-going partnership between William Jewell College and the village of Embarcadero. Our goal in this partnership is best expressed through the phrase: 

"Communities engaging for the purpose of healthy change through partnering, learning and practicing."  

As we discussed ideas for our next trip to Embarcadero we arrived at the following model. A group of no more than 15 will travel to the village in January of 2010. They will sleep in the school building and each participant will be "adopted" by a different family for meal times eating what the family eats, when the family eats. Our group will cover the expenses of the extra meals and lodging in the school building. This plan helps meet our goals a number of different ways. Students will truly be immersed in the local culture, also we will be very close to our work sites as we build more latrines. Also because we will be right there with them we will have so many more opportunities to get to know them and learn from them. Building these relationships will be a great benefit to both of our communities.

Finally we discussed the best way to move forward in our plan to construct latrines and engage the folks of Embarcadero in the process. We talked about the need for resources to build the latrines. Materials for each one costs about $300 USD, which translates to just over 5,600 Lempiras. The average annual income for an agricultural worker in Honduras is only $450 per year or 8,500 Lempiras. They are committed to providing labor, along with our teams. We are also negotiating how housing our students can also be seen as an investment in the project. Each family will also plan and prepare the ground for the site of their family's latrine. 

In the coming months we will be raising funds for this project, but in our discussion with our partners we both agreed that we want both groups to contribute equally to the project. It is important that we continue to support and encourage their community as they strive for healthy change. 

Tim McNeely is serving at Proyecto Alcance in La Masica and teaching school in San Juan Pueblo. He is works with David and Dialis Romero, who have been our partners for the past 5 years. Tim will continue to visit Embarcadero every 3-4 weeks and keep our communication current as we move forward in our planning. Tim will be instrumental in getting supplies and building materials to our partners as we move ahead on this exciting project.

More next time about the great potential this project holds for participants from William Jewell.   Mucho Gusto - Jeff