Posted in Guatemala on March 18, 2025
Day 1 – Sunday March 16
We prepared for our week of work by venturing out into Guatemala. Half the group departed Antigua at 6am very sleepily headed to Lake Atitlan. After a nice breakfast stop, and lots of coffees, we continued our journey to Panajachel, more awake and ready to take on our fun day. Upon arrival introductions were made with the whole team- waiting outside the bathrooms. We were now ready to meet our lovely guide George and his brother who took us down to the boat to San Juan La Laguna.
When the boat arrived, we were whisked away through the busy docks and along the packed streets to Abeja Obera where an enthusiastic young man shared about honey and bees of Guatemala. We sampled honey from three types of bees, each primarily pollinating their respective flowers of lemon, coffee and orange. Being explained the benefits while doing so. Followed by a tour of the hives.
Bee Fun Facts:
Bees need to pollinate 5000 flowers to produce 1 spoonful of honey.
The queen bee must produce 2000 eggs per day, or else the worker bees kill her.
Our next stop was Xocolatl; a chocotary where we were explained and shown the process of making chocolate and got to try grinding the cocoa nibs on tha Ka (the Mayan name for it) while singing “Paté Paté Chocolaté!” Followed by chocolate sampling.
Chocolate Fun Fact:
The fresh cacao pulp is put into banana leaves in a wooden box to ferment.
We then ventured up the steep street -where we encountered a large procession of motorcyclists- on our way to Coopartiva de Mujers – Ruk´u´xkeen. We were shown the process of making yarn from cotton, dying it and then weaving it. Getting the opportunity to try spinning the yarn ourselves.
Fun Weaving facts:
Dye is made from a wide variety of plants and BUGS.
For some plants the full moon changes the shade of the dye.
After a busy morning we had a lovely lunch at Karmela´s, above the chocolate factory before heading back on a bumpy boat ride, followed by a sleepy van ride back to Antigua. And thus finishes our pre-work day of adventuring!
Day 2 – Monday March 17
Monday began our week of work. Our DWC crew drove about 20 minutes by mini-bus from the hotel in Antigua to the town of San Miguel Dueñas, a town of about 14,000 people. Upon arrival at Ventanas Abiertas (Open Windows Foundation), we learned about the organization and what is being offered in the community and had a tour of the school.
We then went to the worksite, which is to be a top floor classroom above two other classrooms. We met Juan, the mason and Claudia, school administrator turned interpreter. For Monday morning, all 14 of us worked on the worksite, landing in what our work for the week would be- roughing up pre-existing cement in preparation for future plaster, mixing cement by hand, building forms with wood to surround the rebar for the pillars and filling these with cement.
At noon, we broke for lunch. We received a locally prepared lunch in the library while we took a break. Then in the afternoon, much of the group continued on at the school worksite, finding their stride as a work rhythm began to emerge.
Meanwhile, a group of 4 joined Dennis and Yosselin to install stoves in the local community. These stoves had already been delivered and the home owners had prepared the space for the stove to sit. We walked from home to home carrying a few bags with tools and extra stove pipes in case needed. We met the home owners upon arrival and were welcomed in. The installation process is relatively easy and straightforward, and the team under Dennis´s guidance, learned the process, adapting as necessary as we went. The final step was getting a stove pipe venting out through the corrugated metal roof so that smoke no longer circled inside the cooking space. Seeing the stoves complete, with fire inside and a pot of water boiling on top was a rewarding experience.
Both groups met up again at 4, and had a quick coffee stop on the way home to much needed showers. The day ended with dinner out together in Antigua, and a few of the group celebrating St Patrick’s Day at the local Irish Pub. Day one of work was complete.
Day 3 – Tuesday March 18
Tuesday commenced with a few members of the team not feeling so well. They took some much needed rest as the remainder of the team headed back to the work site after breakfast.
Upon arriving four of us headed out as the stove team for the day. Today Nino took us in the van to a smaller village about fifteen minutes away. We drove the increasingly smaller roads with some concern that the van wouldn’t make it. Fortunately we arrived at our destination without a scratch.
Tools in hand we arrived at our first house. Each home that was to receive a stove had hung a red ribbon, string, apron or flag at the gate as most of them didn’t have an address. Each house we visited was a little different, most with a dirt floor. We did our best to level these in order for the blocks holding the stove to stay flat. Though we abided by Denis’s mantra “Stable is better than level”. Many of the homes had children in them who peered at us curiously. After walking up the dirt roads and a kind gift of an orange fanta refreshment we had completed six stoves and made our way back to the van. Arriving back at the worksite for a late lunch.
Back at the worksite the team had been hard at work mixing cement and filling wood forms to make pillars. The process involves lots of shoveling rocks and sand.
In the afternoon a slightly altered team headed out to complete one final stove a ten minute walk from the school. In the chimney installing process we rescued a toy plane from the roof to the great excitement of a small child.
After a long day we headed back and rejoined our team at the hotel who were feeling better. After dinner, cards were played by some and an early bed time was had by many.
Day 4 – Wednesday March 19
Wednesday at the school was a continuation of our previous labours. Lots of forms made and taken down, nails straightened, and cement mixed. After our fantastic lunch of rice, mixed veggies, estofado and tortillas, a splinter of our group joined the first grade class to learn vowels in spanish! Today was all about the letter U. We learned how to say words like “unicornio” and “uva,” and sung along to their anthem of self-empowerment;
“Soy grande, soy fuerte y muy inteligente!”
Meanwhile over in Alotenango, like previous days, a few from our group were installing stoves. Curious young children observed as we assembled the stoves. Always adapting to different houses and finding new creative ways to get the chimney cap on! With five stoves complete in the morning, we headed back to the school for a late lunch and early departure.
Why an early departure you may ask? We were off to make chocolate at Fernando’s Café, a local Antigua chocolatery. Living out our Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fantasies, we tempered and molded our own chocolate! Then we tasted a large variety of chocolates ranging in cacao content, cacao farming processes (it makes a HUGE difference!), spice mixes, and temperedness. Lastly, we had the chance to walk through and see the elaborate setup they used for production. Basically; we ate a lot of chocolate.
To cap off our night, we had dinner at Vice Pizzeria. They had fantastic thin-crust with a variety of both American style pizzas and Guatemalan twists. Their drink menu was super elaborate and they came with edible straws. After our food coma, we hit the hotel to recharge for another day of concrete, nails, and stoves.
Day 5 – Thursday, March 20
We got up to another beautiful sunny in Antigua. Late yesterday a new load of sand was delivered.
So the priority was to bring it up to the future classroom. Which was done expeditiously.
At the same time Selina, Lee Sr, Joy and Richard, along three staff members went to a nearby
village to install five Eco-Stoves. The trek uphill was arduous, but WOW, what a view at the top.
We could clearly see the three main volcanoes, Agua, Fuego and Atacetenango. Installing stoves
also brings instant reward. It only takes about thirty minutes to install per site but the smiles and
gratitude expressed by the recipients are instantaneous. We were done by 2 pm.
Back at the school we first had lunch and rejoined the other team members working concrete.
Earlier in the morning an inspector had visited the site and decided that some of the rebar
installed by the previous team was not up to par and had to be taken down. Something stronger
was required for this type of building in a region prone to earthquakes. Disappointing for Johann
and Richard who had worked during the first week to build and put it in place, however the safety
of children is more important than personal feelings.
The days work was done. That night after a delicious dinner, a few team members went for salsa
dancing class, which they very much enjoyed. And that concluded another day in beautiful
Guatemala.
Day 6 – Friday, March 21
Our final day of construction was a frenzied rush to pour our last mold of concrete before a celebration the children performed for us.
Our group wanted to share some art and school supplies with Open Windows, thus on Friday morning a couple members of the group headed out to the local tienda to purchase these supplies. This turned out to be quite the process as each item had to be ordered over the counter and then the desired number counted out. Almost two hours were spent in the shop. During this time locals came and went for an egg for their breakfast or a candle to celebrate upcoming Semana Santa, the holy week before Easter.
Team stoves had great luck, finishing off the twenty five we had scheduled for the week. The factory even came in clutch, delivering the replacement piece for the faulty stove from the prior day.
After the final bucket of concrete was poured we headed downstairs to see the celebration the children had prepared for us. There was an interpretive dance telling the local story of a bull, a similar dance with boxy costumes depicting a man and a woman, and at the end we each received a certificate each signed by a different class of kids thanking us for our service to the school.
We then danced, and danced, and danced, round and round the courtyard with 80 (ish) kids with balloons and conga lines. It was a fantastic experience that let us really appreciate the opportunity to have an effect on the community.
Dinner was another banger, our team leader got us a reservation at 27 Adentro, a notoriously busy and coveted restaurant in Antigua. Lots of Guatemalan classics like Churrascos and Ceviche, with options like a steak sandwich for those who felt so inclined. Their drink menu was quite varied and fun, and dessert was to die for. Everyone said their goodbyes either after our meal or with breakfast, which made for a happy conclusion to our DWC trip.
Posted in Guatemala on March 18, 2025
