Nourish Goes to Guatemala

- David Palacios

This past weekend I experienced one of the most severe allergies in my life. Nebaj is surrounded by beautiful mountains with a rich variety of trees and plants. I rarely get allergies, but Nebaj’s natural diversity and weather have given my allergies a comeback. I began to take amoxicillin to alleviate my symptoms. After taking this treatment for several days, I did not get better at all. The next step I took was talking with my doctor who told me to start a treatment with an antibiotic which is stronger than amoxicillin.

There are over a dozen pharmacies in the central area of Nebaj, but I had to go pharmacy-hopping until finally I found one pharmacy that had the medicine that I needed. I took this super strong antibiotic on Sunday night and by Monday morning I was feeling significantly better and well enough to go to work at AcTxumbal (La Pista).

We all felt anxious about our first day of work at La Pista. That morning, we met with Miguel Brito from Community Enterprise Solutions to plan our daily tasks. We ate the most energizing breakfast that we could given the time constraints and then we took a 20 minute bus ride to La Pista.

When we got to the construction site we started by clearing the area where the greenhouse is going to be built. We collected the trash that was spread throughout the area and removed all the plants that would hinder the construction work.

I think all of the team would agree that everyone was incredibly productive. Some of us were successful in removing large plants after battling with roots that went very deep into the ground. Others focused on preparing the land for its future uses by picking up all sorts of things from the ground such as pieces of glass, wood, plastic, etc.

I remember hearing some of our team members talk about how rewarding this day had been for them. Personally, I view my time at La Pista as a way of putting forth an effort to try to make a positive contribution to this community. This contribution could develop in different forms in the long term.

I think that these forms can be seen as three types of capital on which we are investing. By investing in them, La Pista is more likely to attain higher wellbeing levels in terms of nutrition, health, housing, education, job opportunities, and reduced violence.

The first type of capital is human capital. A more robust educational system in La Pista is likely to make its economic growth more sustainable in the long term. I hope that the Exploration Center strengthens the education levels of La Pista by helping the future generations to learn more about their interests, talents, and skills.

The second type of capital is financial capital. Increased inflows of financial capital will empower the locals to create more wealth or capital for their own community. The greenhouse is likely to make a difference in this aspect if it encourages the members of La Pista to diversify their agricultural production, produce with more efficient methods, and engage in more commercial activities. Also, I hope that eventually the center facilitates trade amongst the members of the community by serving as a small-scale market.

Lastly, fostering civic capital could be beneficial to increase the inclusion and pluralism of the members of La Pista in their community. The Exploration Center and the greenhouse might be able to create more cohesion in the community through the involvement of the parents. Also, by enhancing the education of the children, the center will have the capacity to shape future leaders who might strengthen the regional democratic institutions such as municipalities, offices of the judiciary, and local governance committees.

Our first days in Nebaj and La Pista have nurtured us more than a college-level course. We have been able to learn about the region’s politics, economy, and social issues with a great amount of detail. Moreover, our readings of articles on development have also expanded our views on the subject and have allowed us to evaluate their ideas in relation to our project. Yesterday we had a seminar on different readings which gave room for debate and an exchange of perspectives. Without any doubt, this project will be an esoteric experience that is representative of the social reality in which most Guatemalans live in.