Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Benjamin's work at the American Bird Conservancy takes him to Abra Patricia, Peru
Participants reading their packets before the workshop kicks off.
Benjamin explains the conceptual model.
The Lodge.
A beetle.
The Tayra.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayra
Working on their results chain.
Teamwork.
Putting the lodge to good use.
Not a bad place to have to attend a workshop.
Keeping it light... the trust fall.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Benjamin travels to Abra Patricia to give a Workshop on Survey Design and Monitoring and Evaluation
Ahhh, the fruits of Amazonas. Orange, mango, cocona, pineapple, banana, star fruit, lemon, and papaya.
A stop to pick up some bananas for juices at the workshop.
Bananas are split in thirds and laid out to dry; they are then ground into a banana flour.
Yumborama!! Sweet bananas right off the tree!
This is the van that brought the group from Tarapoto to Abra Patricia.
Climbing up into what they call the 'ceja de Amazonas' or the eyebrow of the Amazon.
Welcome to the Abra-Patricia Private Conservation Area.
Dinner and pisco sours at the ECOAN Long Wiskered Owlet Lodge.
Each evening, to the hum of the generator, the participants gave presentations about their bird conservation efforts.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Benj spends a morning with our Godchildren in Musho
Innes checking to see if her new shoes will fit! Looks like they will!
Jenson holding up his new shoes to see if they will fit! This kid runs his shoes into the ground, so the new pair was much appreciated.
Here Bianca, Jenson, and Cristian watch Innes write a letter to Libby on a piece of paper from her new notebook.
Bianca and Jenson eat Betty's famous noodle soup before being served a plate of potatoes and guinea pig. When I called Raul's cell phone to see if they had seen Benj yet, Betty and Raul just giggled about his arrival the day before, so surprised to see him. Betty was disappointed that he had only been able to eat a simple soup (pretty impressive considering that he'd been traveling for 20 hours and had spent about a year back down at sea level). So she made him promise to return in the morning for a 'real' Musho meal.
Betty still uses her improved wood burning stove! You can see that the smoke still is escaping a bit and staining the wall above the burners black. But it's better than when we first met them and they cooked in a little room with a pot precariously balanced on three rocks; cats, dogs, and chickens sharing the same space; and smoke filling the room.
A classic Florentina shot.
Little Bianca, dressed in pink... Musho's favorite color.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Benj goes back to visit Musho 11 months after finishing our Peace Corps Service
Mount Huascaran, 6,768 meters above sea level, towers above Musho, Peru. This was the view we woke up to every morning (except when it was shrouded in clouds.) We would wake up and say... "It's a 'hey baby' morning."
Abraham and Albina's old burros live in the field behind the blue room.
Elsa, Doris, Estefani, and Sheyla with Benj.
The view down the road from Pariantana. When we first arrived in Musho in October of 2006 this road was all dug up so that a sewage system could be put in place. Unfortunately, it still doesn't work because the Sanitation Committee in Musho won't allow the sewage to share their tank or create a space for a new tank. Our replacement volunteer just finished a big latrine project in Pariantana where most of the families just had holes in the ground near their homes or went to the bathroom in their fields.
The newest addition to Musho is this tiny squirrel monkey.
Teofila leads the pack back from showing Benj a latrine (the world-vision-orange structure in the back right).
Sonia, Yanina, Yasuli and the new baby who was born just days after Eleanor in May.
Don Lorenzo and Don Abraham walking on the main Musho road. The blue tub has pig meal mush in it, just-add-water style. The yellow building down on the left is Abraham's new 2nd floor! This was in the works the whole timewe were there.
The Senora of Rinconcito, the store we always went to to buy eggs, rice, carrots, tomatoes, garlic, onions, etc. We never bought potatoes because we were given potatoes in mass quantity regularly :)
Juvencio and Macedonio in Rinconcito.
It took us a while to convince people that we were friendly and fun to play with...they obviously remember! Here Benj is playing with Innes and Cristian.
Here Benj is with Innes, Cristian, Pedro, Bianca and Jenson... just off three planes, one combi, and one taxi. He left Washington at 8:30pm on Monday night and was in Musho by noon on Tuesday.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Remembering Stalim
Our good friend Stalim, from Musho, died in his sleep last week after coming home from the fields with a high fever. He was 15. He was a health promoter. So is his mom, Lydia. He had a wonderful, warm smile. He was strong. He worked hard. He loved his mom and sisters and grandparents. He was a leader among his peers. He made us feel welcome as Peace Corps Volunteers in Musho. We shared many meals with him, hiked to Armapampa, started a small juice making business, played frisbee, and laughed together. We loved him.
Stalim with his brother Yomer, playing with their mom's cell phone.
Stalim (in the center) trying to untangle a human knot with Ryan during our small business class. (jan 2008)
Stalim with his brother Yomer, playing with their mom's cell phone.
Stalim (in the center) trying to untangle a human knot with Ryan during our small business class. (jan 2008)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sunday morning in the VE25 at Caledonia State Park, PA
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