Middle of the trip

Day 6

Today we left SEMILLA to head up into the mountains to the Community Cloud Forest Conservation center (CCFC).  It took us six hours and one ice cream stop to travel through the various mountain terrains before we arrived at the completely hydro and solar powdered center where we were greeted by Rob and Tara Cahill.  We had an incredible dinner prepared by some of the indigenous students that work at the center to obtain a scholarship to further their education.  After dinner, Rob explained the WALC program which educates Mayan high school girls from small mountain villages on agroecology, nutrition, personal hygiene, and most importantly, self-worth.  They come during vacation from school in order to earn scholarships for next year's schooling. He also explained the Kids & Birds program which educates elementary students in the villages on agroecology and the impact deforestation has on their village and its future. 

Day 7

The early bird gets the worm, or probably what they would say at CCFC is, the early worm makes the best compost.  Rob showed us exactly how they recycle basically every resource on or around the center to improve the land and crop yields.  For instance, the toilets at the center were compost toilets which means the human waste and other kitchen scraps are used to create fertilizer for the vegetable and fruit trees they use, and the shower and sink water go through a gray water filtration system which adds phosphates to the dirt to better enrich the soil.  He also took us on a tour of the land and showed us the cave that many indigenous people in that area use to pray.  

That was all before we had an incredible lunch that was completely prepared by using the CCFC’s or surrounding village’s homegrown fruits, vegetables, and livestock.  Then after lunch, we continued to learn about the various problems the villages in the mountains face and the programs CCFC has developed to try to help them.

Day 8 and 9

                                           Evening view from one family's front door

Today is the big day … the homestay visits!  We drove two hours further into the mountains to the K’ekchi village of Sesalche’I where we were welcomed at a Catholic church service and then provided lunch by the families of the church.  We then paired up with families of girls who previously attended the WALC program and hosted us for the night.  Some of us had hard, high altitude hikes where our host girls showed us up by climbing the mountain in sandals.  

The stay allowed us to live a day in the life of a K’ekchi villager and understand the obstacles they face in their daily lives.  It also allowed us to see how family oriented their culture is and how happy they are living a simple life without electricity or running water.  It was truly an eye-opening experience that none of us will forget.  The family provided dinner and a -place to stay even if that bed was a just a slate of wood with a blanket.  The next day we were waken by rooster at the crack of dawn, and after a homemade breakfast of a boiled egg, squash greens and homemade tortillas, we headed to school with the children.  

At the school, the Kids & Birds program was discussed along with personal growth stories from the women that participated in the WALC program.  

Next, we helped the students plant trees and plants in the village to support the reforestation project and to help the people of the community.  

It was then time for our herd to head back to the CCFC so we all rode back in a cattle truck.

Day 10

Today was our last day at the Agroecology Center and in the mountains.  We started the day by listening to testimony from three former WALC students who now lead the program about how their lives have changed and their vision for the future. 

Afterwards we joined them in grinding flour and making bread and jam.  Next, we visited a coffee plantation where we got to see steps in how coffee is produced. On our way back we stopped outside of the agroecology center to visit the site of an ancient Mayan “Pok-A-Tok” stadium which has not been excavated yet. Then we thanked our great hosts for an awesome stay at the CCFC and the K’ekchi women for making us wonderful homemade meals from scratch and headed back to Guatemala City. 

Please take a moment to check the website of the CCFC to see pictures and learn more specifically about their work.  It’s pretty amazing.  http://cloudforestconservation.org/