Bathing with pigs
Well, not quite literally, though almost. This week, I made my first move to a new community, from El Roblar, a two hour bus ride from Matagalpa, to La Pita, which is a half hour bus ride from Matagalpa and then a 2 mile walk from San Ramón, where one is left by the bus. This, among other things, has made me realize that I have too much stuff, even though everything for my year currently fits in a large backpack and a daypack. So, I am putting myself to thinking some more about what else I can send home… What in the world made me think I needed three pairs of pants, or an entire first aid kit, or a sweatshirt, or 8 pens? As we can see, I am really getting down to it…
One of the things that has made me giggle in this new community is the slightly different bathing situation. Whereas in my last house, there was a small brick room with running water one dumped over one’s head with a bucket, here the water is pumped through a hose into a structure of four wooden posts enclosed by black plastic tarps. I have some issues because I am much taller than everyone in the family here, and thus have to crouch while I shower, or expose my upper body to the wide open world! Directly next to the shower area, is the pig sty. This means that right along side my showering, I can hear the happy pigs oink-oinking as they eat, play in the mud, or do whatever else they do. Just gave me a chuckle when we think about bathing with pigs.
The community here is much more isolated, the cooperative has only 16 members (one woman), and all the land is held in a collective. This means that each member is responsible for some acres him/herself, but that the community as a whole is responsible for the production of the coffee. But how do they ensure that everyone works? That everyone puts in the same effort? How do they do it?
Well, it seems that each member is paid 25 córdobas a day when they work in the coffee. A book is maintained of who went to work when. If one doesn’t go, they simply don’t get paid for that day. However, since the land is held in a collective, the overall revenues of the coffee sales, (after each member is paid), is divided evenly among the 16 cooperative members. I have yet to discover how this all works and how everyone feels about it, but it is interesting to see the difference between here and the other community. There, all the land is held under an individual title, as opposed to here, where it is a collective title.
Here it is also clearer that a lack of knowledge is impeding some progress. The cooperative’s president, in whose house I am staying, is less aware of the channels and funds available through the UCA and CECOCAFEN for community projects, and thus says that the community has not seen the social proceeds from Fair Trade. On the other hand, he also explained to me that CECOCAFEN does not know the community so well, the president has never been here, and only a few director’s of the cooperative have been to the office in Matagalpa. So I am getting to see a little more the distance between base cooperative member and international cooperative team. Interesting and enlightening the communicative path through the ranks…
One of the things that has made me giggle in this new community is the slightly different bathing situation. Whereas in my last house, there was a small brick room with running water one dumped over one’s head with a bucket, here the water is pumped through a hose into a structure of four wooden posts enclosed by black plastic tarps. I have some issues because I am much taller than everyone in the family here, and thus have to crouch while I shower, or expose my upper body to the wide open world! Directly next to the shower area, is the pig sty. This means that right along side my showering, I can hear the happy pigs oink-oinking as they eat, play in the mud, or do whatever else they do. Just gave me a chuckle when we think about bathing with pigs.
The community here is much more isolated, the cooperative has only 16 members (one woman), and all the land is held in a collective. This means that each member is responsible for some acres him/herself, but that the community as a whole is responsible for the production of the coffee. But how do they ensure that everyone works? That everyone puts in the same effort? How do they do it?
Well, it seems that each member is paid 25 córdobas a day when they work in the coffee. A book is maintained of who went to work when. If one doesn’t go, they simply don’t get paid for that day. However, since the land is held in a collective, the overall revenues of the coffee sales, (after each member is paid), is divided evenly among the 16 cooperative members. I have yet to discover how this all works and how everyone feels about it, but it is interesting to see the difference between here and the other community. There, all the land is held under an individual title, as opposed to here, where it is a collective title.
Here it is also clearer that a lack of knowledge is impeding some progress. The cooperative’s president, in whose house I am staying, is less aware of the channels and funds available through the UCA and CECOCAFEN for community projects, and thus says that the community has not seen the social proceeds from Fair Trade. On the other hand, he also explained to me that CECOCAFEN does not know the community so well, the president has never been here, and only a few director’s of the cooperative have been to the office in Matagalpa. So I am getting to see a little more the distance between base cooperative member and international cooperative team. Interesting and enlightening the communicative path through the ranks…
posted by Hilary King at
2:59 PM
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