Week of Village Stays - San Vicente Lachixio

Last week the seven of us stayed in a small village called San Vicente Lachixio, working with an NGO called Centro de Desarollo Communitario Centéotl. This organization, among other things, works with various communities, helping them to be self sufficient and sustainable. They are currently working on an amaranth project in the pueblo teaching the people about the nutritional benefits of amaranth and how to plant and grow it successfully. Our job was to go to the homes of 30 different women in the community and interview them about their lives in San Vicente (such as water availability, food consumption, income...). With Zapotec as the primary language spoken in the community, we knew we were in for a challenge!

We arrived in Zimatlán on Sunday afternoon, had a delicious dinner at La Ballena Azul, and saw a traditional dance in the center of town.

The following morning we got breakfast and fresh juice in the market and went to Centéotl's office for a brief presentation about the organization.

We went to an amaranth factory in town to learn about what products exist and to see how some of them are made (as well as sample them!). We then headed for San Vicente, stopping on the way to eat spicy and delicious quesadillas. We arrived at night and met our host families and their children. After introductions we all went to Juana's house, sat by the fire, drank café de olla and listened to Domingo and Ángel sing and play guitar.

We went for a hike to see Las Grutas, which are amazing caves near the town. We spent the day exploring the caves, where after defeating a horde of the world's most terrifying bees, we got to climb through the darkness and see

mass amounts of guano.

After a delicious lunch, we went to the home of one of the town members and planted amaranth and radish. We took turns shoveling, planting seeds, and watering the soil.

We took a short break, played pool and drank cantaloupe water. That night some of us played in an epic 2-hour marathon of a basketball game in the town center with some local ballers. Though we struggled to make layups, it was still a great time bonding over what we were repeatedly told is the pueblo's most popular sport. Also, Natalie played with the town's women and was officially a giant (and also the undisputed MVP).

In the morning we awoke at 6:00 am to help make tortillas.

It was a difficult, lengthy process but amazing to watch.

Over the next two days we spent a lot of time going to the homes of different women in town. We asked them questions from a questionairre, mostly about their local customs, about how they get food/water and what they eat, about the town's economy and job opportunities.

There were some very interesting experiences: many of the women spoke limited Spanish and required translation from María , the extremely helpful local who acted as guide, accompanying and assisting us throughout the week. We learned, among many other things, that women in the pueblo cannot attend town assemblies, and therefore cannot vote or hold positions in the local government; we had some interesting moments trying to understand how the women, many of whom were fairly timid, felt about this situation.

We also learned about the annual fiestas that involve plenty of dancing, singing, eating, and, yeah, you guessed it, basketball tournaments. The final night we went to a townswoman's house where many women had come to meet and speak with us; we were amply fed, we had many great conversations, and it felt like an appropriate way to spend our final night in town.

Another essential part of the trip was our varied experiences at the homes where we were staying. There were many little niños running about, asking for shoulder rides, playing marbles, bringing the energy, speaking in mandatos, keeping us on our toes. We definitely bonded with them, and it was a sad moment saying goodbye to Erica, Genesis, Job, Brisa, Emanuel, Ezekiel, Jesica, and Haciel. There were also some puppies to play with, which is always a good time. Our host parents were extremely welcoming, helpful, even loving. They asked for us to return, and we hope that some of us can make that happen while we're still in Oaxaca.

The next day we saw presentations by members of Centéotl in the neighboring pueblo, Santa Maria Lachixio, where we also watched an extremely entertaining and informative film about efficient agricultural practices (that was produced in Maoist China no less), ate a delicious comida of mole rojo con pollo and drank the nectar of los dioses (horchata con fresa), and then returned to Zimatlán and subsequently Oaxaca City-- just in time to crawl into our comfy beds and get some much needed sleep.

It was a difficult experience to summarize. The pueblo is nothing like the city. The way of life, the daily rituals (such as grinding corn and making tortillas), the economic situation that leads to many people emigrating to the city or the USA, the material conditions (kitchens with dirt floors, very limited water, bucket showers, tons of animals-- dogs, donkeys, turkeys, pigs-- roaming the streets (except that most of the pigs were actually tied to trees...))-- were so different and new for us. For most (all?) of us, it was like no other place we've ever seen.

We're now happy to be back in Oaxaca, ready to begin our new classes-- Spanish, Botany, etc. We've passed the midpoint of the trip and it's exciting to anticipate what comes next (or, even better, wade in the moment, experiencing what comes as it comes: something we've learned to do in the last couple months...)

We send our love and positive thoughts to everyone reading this!

Thanks for reading,

Ariel, Ash Mo, Schwitney, Natalie aka Scatalie, Pedrito, Sierra aka Mountain Dude or even better Mountain Range Female Deer Dude, and Jack Lit