Program Visits – Day 3

Today was the last day of program visits. We went to see something a little different that we had previously seen. We drove up over the mountain passes and down into Huaccana to visit the office of “Accion Andina.” They are a partner of World Neighbors - their first funding was with World Neighbors and they started with a small fund for agriculture. We met Maximo, who is Julio’s brother. Maximo now runs Accion Andina.

The views on this drive were from an even higher vantage point and were even more impressive than anything we had seen before. At one point we reached the summit, got out of the van and took some photographs. To celebrate our climb to the summit, we took a special photo of our shadows; Uri included. We began the descent into Huaccana. On the way down we were treated to more spectacular views further proving that we had been higher than the clouds and were now descending into the clouds.

We arrived in Huccana and drove to the office of Accion Andina to meet and pick up Maximo and his staff and then drove on to their training center for breakfast and a talk by Maximo (pictured on the left in the photo). He gave us the history of the relationship between World Neighbors and Accion Andina. He told us how their model is very similar to that of World Neighbors: first identifying a community to go into by assessing their level of poverty and by assessing how much community involvement there would be if they did decide to work with that community. This is a simple but effective analysis.

Once they have identified a community where they believe the commitment will be successful (i.e. there will be community participation), they call a community meeting and they then guide the community through a series of questions and exercises to identify what their needs are. As an example, he told us that a community might first begin by saying they need a soccer field. He might then ask them: “Is this a serious problem?” “Less serious?” “What is the impact on your life in the short run?” “How can we help you and how can we be involved?” After this series of exercises, the community always identifies what is really important to them and they come to a consensus. They then help to identify who the promoters will be (see earlier blog post for a definition of “Promoter”).

At this point I asked Maximo if they use success stories of other community projects to encourage the new community. He said “No”, because they don’t want to influence their identification as to what their needs are. He wants them to take ownership of their unique problems and solutions. During the implementation of the program, small plot experiments work well with farmers as do the “Farmer Field Schools” where farmers are taught agricultural lessons right in the field. (An example of this might be how to use insect traps for pest management rather than toxic pesticides). He also stressed the critical need for active participation by the women in the community.

We then drove on to our farm visits. We first stopped in Allegre, where there was a very impressive large plant nursery of small fruit trees. We were told that the soil in the area produces very sweet and nutritious fruit and that everything in this nursery is organic. They were mostly producing for fruit juice production. The workers are encouraged to buy a few trees (at a greatly reduced price) for their own home gardens, and at the nursery they are taught the skills to grow and take care of these plants. (It costs 8-10 soles for an outsider to buy a plant: 2 soles for a worker to buy one).

We also visited the community of Progresso where we were treated to a “Panchamanca” celebration. Panchamanca is a feast which reminded us of a Hawaiian luau. A big pit is dug, and heated stones are put in and meat, potatoes and other goodies are placed inside and then the pit is covered over so the contents inside will slow cook (pictured right).

The ceremony begins with the uncovering of the pit. While we were waiting for the food to be unearthed, we were also given a demonstration of a nutrition presentation that is given to the community. Members of the community are encouraged to bring in plates of food they have prepared and they are taught the nutritional value of the meals they have made and suggestions are given as to how to change some things so they are more nutritious and more flavorful so the family will want to eat it. We were able to taste some wonderful foods, such as tortillas to which greens and carrots had been added and puddings made with milk from their own cows. We learned that the addition of greens was only possible because they had a gravity irrigation system so that they could grow greens in that normally arid climate. They told us that their children are healthier now because they can have these crops all year long.

After our Panchamanca feast, the harp came out and dancing just had to happen! We were getting used to this and were ready to be asked to dance as we were on the previous two days. Before we left Progresso, we were asked to visit the home and farm of one of the farmers there and this visit really made me happy. He proudly introduced us to his family and showed us his garden and also his new stove. Remember that most people in extremely rural Peru had stoves with no vents so that the smoke from cooking just filled the enclosed area resulting in many respiratory problems for their families. He also told us that before, they had no latrine, but they were now taught the importance of having one. (“What did they do before?” we wondered).

What made me happy was that Maximo told us that in that community, now, 100% of the families have their own organic garden and 85% have new stoves. This is an impressive advancement which will no doubt result in much healthier families.

A very nice way to end the three day tour of World Neighbors projects and in meeting their partner Accion Andina. Sadly, though, this was the point at which we had to say “goodbye” to Julio and Maximo. We had a long drive back to Andahuaylas (pictured left) where we spent the night before heading off to Cusco for a couple of days of tourism which is part of the World Neighbors Journey as well.

I hope that you readers have been able to get a sense from our writings as to how life-changing these projects are for some previously extremely poor, terrorized people. I hope you can get a sense from some of the photos, that these communities have now even been able to go beyond hope and are well into moving toward total sustainability. The music, dancing and feasting are manifestations of communities that have indeed been inspired and strengthened. And that is the goal of World Neighbors.

Please stay tuned, though, as we hope to inspire you with a taste of what this wonderful country has to offer in terms of tourism. Tomorrow we are off to Cusco and then to Machu Picchu. One little fact that I have learned about Cusco (in addition to the fact that it lies at over 10,000 feet) is that the name must be spelled with an “s” not a “z”. because “Cuszo” means “little dog” and “Cusco” means “belly button of the Earth”. I am not kidding. The Incas believed that Cusco was the center of the Earth and this is the literal meaning of the name. They also pronounce it something like “Costco” but with the “t” silent, not “coos-ko” as we do.