Paxtocá

The following is a guest entry by Michael Lewis: Some of you may not know what stevia is, but for those who are worried about artificial sweetners, you’ve probably heard of it. Stevia is a plant native to South America that tastes really sweet. It was originally found in Paraguay and parts of Brazil and has been used by the Guarani for 1500 years (according to Wikipedia) to sweeten teas and to have as a sweet treat. Apparently the FDA initially banned the plant in its raw form, but after some lobbying by some of the soda companies, the FDA approved as “safe” a highly processed, extracted, and purified form which also happens to be calorie free. Products like Truvia and Pure Via are based on this extract. Despite the fact that the whole leave version of the plant has yet to be approved by the FDA, I was curious as to how it tastes, so I followed Felipe’s lead and just ate one of the leaves. Not surprising it’s pretty sweet. Xeiprojuve doesn’t export the stevia. They have a rel...

The following is a guest entry by Michael Lewis: So I just want to say a word or two about water issues. When I was in Quetzaltenango at the school, the water in our district was shut down twice for nearly a full day each. They said a pipe burst, and it took the whole day to fix it and get the water back on. Sound like an isolated incident? Hardly. The second family I was staying with had buckets all over the house that were full of water “just in case”. When the water turns off we would use these buckets to flush the toilets. In Paxtoca, I was warned on almost the first day that it was best to take showers in the morning, because the shower water frequently ran out in the evenings. If I wanted a shower in the evening I was told they would boil some water for me. The way people wash dishes, and even their hands, is to fill a sink with water that just sits there full, and then they will pour water from that basin over a drain to rinse of their hands after having lather...

The following is a guest entry by Michael Lewis: A familiar sight to anyone who has spent some time in and around Quetzaltenango is the presence of a fleet of American school buses that have been decked out with rooftop racks, and frequently painted crazy colors. These are typically referred to as “chicken buses”. Despite the bright yellow color of most of them, and the fact that many of them still say “School District X ” on the side, these are not used to carry kids to school. This is Guatemalan public transportation in most places outside the capital. Thousands commute in and out of the larger cities like Quetzaltenango on these buses every day. If you need to travel across the country, these may be one of the cheapest ways to go, but be prepared for it to be crowded. Anyhow, I was a little surprised the first time I saw one of these school buses. I can’t say I had given much thought to the question of where our old school buses go to die, but now I know. And rece...

The following is a guest entry by Michael Lewis: This post is mostly just going to be photos, but here’s a little background. Paxtoca rests at the base of a small mountain. It’s not the tallest mountain around, but this mountain is pretty cool because it actually has a series of waterfalls. The only problem is there is a community upstream from the waterfalls that regularly dumps trash into the stream. There is also a laundry facility that apparently drains all of its water directly into the stream as well, without any treatment. The result is a lot of trash and piles of soap suds. A few years ago the cooperative bought the principal land around the waterfalls. The association now wants to acquire the rights to the waterfalls from the cooperative as well as purchase some extra land around the waterfalls to create a nature reserve. Mart ín has great dreams for the space. He wants the community to value the waterfalls. He really wants to put in a ...