Meaningful projects in Guatemala make a real difference

Posted in Guatemala on April 18, 2018

Day One: Team Guatemala

Day one in San Miguel Duenas found us hard at work adding the finishing touches to some houses that DWC had started earlier. The floors are now finished ready for the family to move in.

We visited Juan’s house, that we completed last year. The family (Juan, Leticia, Jaimee, and Jacqueline) have made it a comfortable home; the kitchen, with the eco-stove is a treat… no blackened ceiling or walls…with the smoke curling up and away via the flue.

Chris Hills, DWC Team Leader

Project work continues: Team Guatemala

Team Guatemala’s major project is to renovate the roof of the Duenas Fire Station. For quite some time the concrete roof had been leaking water into the building causing cracks to appear in the ceiling below. The flat roof gave an impressive view out over the city and the surrounding landscape. Most spectacular was the sight of the Fuego Volcano “letting off steam”.

The team, working with our Guatemalan partners, first had to chip out the cement surrounding the rotting re-bars, remove any loose and cracked cement, and score the roof surface ready for the new covering. Lunch breaks were taken at Open Windows, with lunch kindly provided by the teachers there. In the library we found the remains of some un-named, long-lost DWC team leader.

The children are always a delight to meet, curious about these strangers appearing in their midst! The 2018 team rejuvenated into young Guatemalan students.

Pictured is most of the team plus Teresa Quinonez on the roof of the fire station.

Exploring Guatemalan Culture: Team Guatemala

Last Friday saw the completion of re-roofing the Duenas fire-station. Dozens of buckets of sand had been manually hauled up twelve feet from the street to the lower roof section, where they were mixed with cement to make the final mortar mix; this then hauled a bucket at a time a further ten feet to the roof under repair. The Team worked alongside the five Guatemalan masons who provided the expertise to make this a successful project.

A short boat ride from Panajachel took us to the villages of San Juan La Laguna, Santiago Atitlan, and Santa Cruz La Laguna.

In San Juan there are several Mayan women’s weaving co-operatives producing cloth of the most amazing colours….all dyed naturally…no chemicals used at all.

Art galleries dotted the main street of the village, showcasing many local artists.

Santiago is the home of the Tz’utujil speaking Maya; women and men both wearing colourful clothing that is unique to this area.

Santa Cruz is an isolated village perched on the hillside above the lake with access only by boat; an attempt was made to bring a road here but it was destroyed by a huge mudslide. A steep cobbled road takes you from the dock up to the main square where you will find a simple, centuries old church.