Where Are Steven and Laurie?
Peru, 17 November 2008 - 17 March 2009
Steven and Laurie in Peru, 2007
Cusco, Peru, February 2009
7 February 2009
Afton, Virginia, USADear family and friends,
I've had no word from Ron since the last post, so presumably he is lounging on a beach somewhere (or riding a bus to somewhere else). I'm sending out two updates from Steven and Laurie. Good news from them: Laurie's health is much improved, the project is going well, and they will finish things up and leave for home about two weeks earlier than originally planned.
Here in Virginia, our temperatures are fluctuating wildly between daytime highs of around 15C/25F and (in today's forecast) 15C/60F, so one day I need both wood stoves going and another day neither! The seeds I ordered on 2 February arrived yesterday. Despite the occasional warm day, I can only look at them wishfully for another month until it is time to plant the early things: lettuce, radishes, spinach, peas. I also ordered my seed potatoes on 2 Feb, but they won't be shipped until planting time in mid-March; the traditional potato-planting day in our area is 17 March, St. Patrick's Day, but I don't usually have my act together or the potato bed prepared by then.
Love to all,
Ellen
3 February 2009
Cusco, PeruLaurie says on her blog:
I am continuing to feel better! yeah! we went to the Dr Pinedo yesterday and he thinks i am improving and has adjusted the medicines. basically it is a type of asthmatic bronchitis. why and how he can't really say, but he does not think leaving is necessary. so now I'm on gradually decreasing doses of prednisone, an inhaler and medicine for acid reflux, and cough medicine only if i need it. he is treating what he feels are triggers for my coughing fits where i lose my breath. so i am to note what seems to trigger them and minimize them, and it's working! steve was right there too and if he was satisfied. (and if he was satisfied, perhaps others will now believe i am not taking unnecessary chances...) he did mention i need to stay back when lighting our new stoves (they do smoke a bit at first), so steve will be in charge of that and i will hang by the door until it gets going. so, as i said to steve a couple nights ago, i am truly stubborn. no doubt. but to say "oh lets go out tonight," and then change your mind is one thing...but to come here, have our goals, do all we do, and to know what you leave undone could come back and bite you in the butt, and that you won't be back for a good long while, its hard to just say f*** it without really making sure. (what would anybody do, i ask??!!) so i will say no more and just be thankful i have the fortune to have the doctor i have, the money to see him and for the medicine, that we can still finish this, do it well, do it early, and at the same time take care of myself. next appointment with my attentive doctor is thursday.
so i am posting pictures from the visit to Victoria´s house yesterday. Jorge, from Hampy.org and some volunteers, who will be working with him on this, came along as we plan on giving him five chimneys for his project in the village of Choco. interestingly enough, one man, Dan King has family who live near Larry Winiarski and they know each other. (small world!!) his wife Cynthia also came along. they had been in the peace corps in northern peru, (they met jorge through his former work with the peace corps teaching spanish). also, Brian, a newbie to stoves, and now a new convert came (and he is from seattle) along with Christian, a peruvian who works in the Hampy organization with Jorge. all went perfectly! tomas got a chance to meet everyone and as soon as he is done with our stoves (now 13 families are participating!), we will pay him to go to choco to teach a local there the design for jorge. we will also give them our remaining baskets we are using for retention cookers along with the rice sacks. and speaking of the cookers as it turns out, after 15 minutes boiling time and 2 hours tucked away in the basket snuggled up with those sheepskin filled rice sacks, those potatoes were actually a bit overcooked! so yes, steve took over for the talkative laurie yesterday, as before my appt with the doctor i had thought talking too much sometimes brought on these damn attacks. so he did us all proud, all in spanish. covering all points while i just interjected this and that. Victoria´s response to the stove was "exelente". that does not need translation. the folks from Hampy too were thrilled and look forward to doing something similar in choco. (and, Dad, i told tomas about the damper idea in the chimney as well as the need to make the next set of chimneys a wider diameter and he was totally with you.) he thinks we can add the dampers even at this point. so as i write this i will make a note to myself to see if we can leave money to cover that. the Hampy folks also know of your suggestions because if they end up doing more than the five, they will enlarge those chimneys.)
so today i resume dental work and get to take it easy. we are going to the valley for the day tomorrow, just for the sun! and on thursday, steve will get to visit choco (and take pictures that i will post). i will go to the doctor and probably have the finishing touches of the dental stuff. and then friday we will return to mandorani for teaching of two families,. with another trip planned on sunday. we've decided to try to get there on sundays because kids are not always home during the week for the spirometry and oximetry tests we are doing as part of our exams and surveys. maybe we'll even have party the last sunday we are here to tie things up!
and speaking of lung evaluations, it is not just damn ironic i am here with this lung thing whole doing a stove project with their lung function in mind! when i went to see the doctor yesterday, i happened to bring along my own oximeter (to which he replied was a nice one, and was of note 94%!) and my spirometer! (i think that is why he decided to not send me to another guy to have it measured, it was 598, which he thought was good!)
so again our best to all and don't forget to check out the latest pics accessible on Flickr.
And then Laurie added what Steven titled "Brief update of OUTRAGE" when he sent the message to his distribution list, saying, "From Laurie's blog, I see it and raise it."
one other thing. we found out something SHOCKING yesterday. while having coffee at a little local cafe, Ayllu next door to the main cathedral, we discovered that STARBUCKS (of all f*****g things) is aiming to take over this space! apparently it is owned/managed by no less than the ARCHBISHOP. He is refusing to reauthorize their lease. (see reason below!) they have been here 37 years! this location is on the MAIN PLAZA where Tupac Amaru was pulled apart by four horses back in the day. this is HISTORY here folks. First, I am shocked that the ARCHBISHOP seems to think so little of their history and culture to put something like a STARBUCKS here. Second, how outrageous STARBUCKS has the balls to set themselves up here. (they are apparently denying it at this point.) as far as i am concerned big f*****g deal they use advertising ploys claiming they support poor coffee growers. it is totally bullshit. i am ashamed they are a northwest born organization and doing this. we all know they are going out of business thanks to greed in the states and are now participating in the ruin of the culture here. shame on you Starbucks.And shame on you, Mr. Archbishop. the archbishop will receive $10,000 a month from Starbucks for this spot and unless Allyu can pay this, they are out. Apparently on review of some internet sites here, he is also the one responsible for something no less despicable, a McDonalds´a few doors down from this quaint coffee shoppe. (get this: they import frozen potatoes from Idaho, no less while in the country where the potato was literally BORN.)
Comments from tourists on various blogs wonder what Cusco residents think of this. the sad part of this is that residents of places like cusco are dependent on tourism. and then we have the greedy catholics. we tourists and visitors can make a difference. Write! if you come here, please only support the local businesses and keep these trashy places where they belong, on strip malls on ugly main drags in places like the US.
it is such a shame.
Here are contacts:
Mailing Address Archbishop:
Arzobispado, Apartado 148, Hatun Rumiyoc s/n, Cusco, Peru
Telephone: (51) (84) 22.52.11# Fax: (51) (84) 22.27.81
arzcusco@speedy.com.pe
seccusco@speedy.com.pe
Official Web Site: http://www.arzobispadodelcusco.org/email contact for Starbucks Peru:
http://www.starbucks.com.pe/content/pagina23.php?pID=139&pIDSeccionWeb=10McDonald's links:
http://seecusco.blogspot.com/2008/10/mcdonalds.html
http://americaninlima.com/2008/09/24/totally-offensive-mcdonalds-opens-at-cusco-plaza-de-armas/
6 February 2009
Cusco, PeruLaurie says on her blog:
another day here in peru. i am uploading new pics from our latest visit, today, in mandorani where we reviewed and taught about the stove use, retention cooker use and did interviews and exams with three families. things are moving along and we have a system, so to speak. ie., what to bring, what order to present things in, time with tomas and plans for our next visits. bing. bing. bing.
one challenge today, and really the first for us in mandorani was to vist a home where it was truly filthy, and truly all were sick with something or other. worse yet the home appeared to be owned by an older couple, Reynalda y Juan, but their two daughters lived there each with young children. they all sleep separately and cook separately. so while there is a nice new stove, paid for and used by reynalda and juan; it sits in the same house as a traditional firepit only partly separated by a wall that does not enclose either space. so yes, we arrived to a smoke filled house in spite of this nice new stove. I was mortified and went on a bit until i realized this is an example of a family who does not understand all. worse yet, shit was everywhere, kids without shoes, with moms' seemingly not attentive to all the dangers that lie lurking.
their first question for me was that these kids needed madrinas (godmothers). i declined.
So in spite of this scene, it also presented itself as our first family where maybe we could make a huge difference. we showed them our posters (previously pictured in flickr). Interestingly enough Basilla's (one of the daughters) first comment on seeing the poster of the more dirty household was to note the tree and squirrel pictured outside the house and it was us who first pointed out the kid with diarrhea, the rats or garbage strewn around. with more conversation (they did speak spanish) it was clear they understood the relationship between the filth and illness, especially when she explained the kids were sick with diarrhea and we pointed out her son was playing in this dirt and putting his fingers in his mouth.
so interesting family dynamics here as well, especially when i kept suggesting all share the new stove. clearly it was not what they planned to do. we did talk to tomas about it and he suggested talking to the sister with the traditional stove about putting in a cocina mejorada. we will see.
so as to numbers we go back and forth a bit. we are now at twelve families with two to four possible extra chimneys we can still give to families in córao. tomas will talk to more families and if people can pay their 30 soles they can have them! five additional are still saved for choco and jorge of Hampy.org. we spoke to andres, originally he was to assist tomas with the building of the stoves but for reasons unknown clearly to us he has no time. we stopped by to see him as tomas had mentioned many times he asked him if he was ready for the new stove and he hemmed and hawed. he has paid his 30 soles but claimed to not have the material ready. when we went to see him, it seemed like something was up. both he and tomas denied any problems between them. we offered he and his daughter, mafre a job to be our person in the village to vist all the families with the stoves every two months to follow usage and care of the stove. (we have an agreement that with evidence of usage and care of the stove and chimney, each family can receive their 30 soles back when we return in two years along with 5 soles extra). originally we had thought of his daughter to do this, but because the entire family could benefit, we decided to offer the job to both of them. he wanted to think about it. again his response seemed a bit coolish. he wants his stove but wants to build it himself. and he wanted to think about the job we offered as well. we are hoping he has not been placed in the middle by the presidenta and secretaria, juana and victor, or pave for that matter. truthfully it was our gut feeling. it would be a shame. i told him his wife honorata needed this stove as her is huge and in a small kitchen and very smokey. so we will see. we plan on bringing her the retention cooker and if indeed he wants to build it himself, to return half the money he paid. just to be fair, as part of that fee does consider tomas' charge for building each stove.
so that's enough, isn't it?!
So tomorrow is a day off. we are looking forward to downloading the latest LOST show for a treat to watch on the public computer! We'll be in mandorani on sunday, monday, wednesday and friday of next week. my last dental appt is saturday! my next MD appt is monday and yes, i continue to improve. We'll be taking another day off maybe tuesday to go to lower elevation to a lovely village called Urubamba as it seems to help my bronchitis. (we enjoyed a lovely day there last week!)
and final good news is that we are leaving earlier. anticipated date is march 5th out of Lima! we anticipate our project being all done (and done well) in spite of our many challenges these last couple months.
thanks everyone!
And, covering the same few days, Steven says:A long and productive week.... last Saturday we got to meet Jorge's volunteers. In another bizarre small world coincidence, one of them grew up in Eugene and knew Larry Winiarski (the "grandfather" of rocket stoves). Another was from Seattle. So Dan (Eugene guy) and Cynthia are married and had spent the last two years in Northern Peru working for the Peace Corps. Brian (Seattle dude) is new here but speaks very good Spanish. We hung out with them and Jorge, talked stoves, etc.
On Monday we all went out to C'Orao for our second home interview, they also brought along another volunteer named Christian, so there were seven of us! Victoria, the woman who had the stove, was very psyched about the new one. She buried her old one! There was much discussion as Tomas was there also. We boiled up the potatoes and did our whole interview rap in about two hours. After that, we went to Anna's house for our 2nd interview, but she was working in the chacra (farm). So we caught a bus back to Cusco and I went to check in with Victoria about the potatoes on Tuesday morning. She said that after two hours they were a little overcooked, which is awesome. This means the retention cookers are performing well, I deliberately selected bigger potatoes for her.
Tuesday was a doctor and dentist day for Laurie so I amused myself on the internet trying to find eBay bargains. Since we decided to leave two weeks early I have a little bit more disposable income to play with. Wednesday we went to Urubamba in the hopes of finding a better climate, we were not disappointed. It was gorgeous there, hot and sunny with perceptibly more oxygen in the air. A nice market on the streets. Laurie bought a sun hat. We hung out in the plaza for like two hours and nobody tried to sell us anything, a huge relief after the almost-abusive hard sell onslaught of Cusco that we have to negotiate every day. We spent a long time talking (more like being talked at, really) to a German/Spanish guy who had done a lot of work with the indigenous movement since the 70s. Interesting to get some of the history around the struggle to get the UN to recognize indigenous rights. He said the Quechua people were having a harder time organizing than (for example) the Mapuche of Chile, but I never got a chance to ask why.
Thursday was another doctor/dentist day, Laurie is almost caught up with the dental work and her health is steadily improving. Somewhere in all this (last weekend, I think) we finally got caught up with the new season of Lost by downloading episodes at our local internet cafe and watching them using a signal splitter for two sets of headphones. So exciting! Anyway, while Laurie was at her appointments I went out to the "suburb" of Choco, where Jorge's Hampy project is working.
The first thing we did was take a taxi to the edge of Santiago, past where Nino and Adela live. Then we walked for a few minutes and came to the "lower" community, called K'uychari ("rainbow" in Quechua). Here, an organization called World Vision had recently (like, last week) built 15 stoves. Jorge had not seen them and we were all curious. The model was VERY similar to what we are building with Tomas, except that they used a metal plancha (plate) for the top of the stove where the burner holes are. They also had a flue/damper flap built in. The family was quite pleased but apprehensive about how long the metal would last - it was quite thin. Pictures are on the Flickr site, for the curious among you.
After spending a leisurely morning discussing various other issues with the family, most of us continued our walk up to Choco proper. There, I checked out another stove that Jorge had built for a woman, it was closer to a traditional model and was lacking a chimney. However, it was drawing properly and all the smoke was pouring out of the hole where the chimney should be. It is my understanding that this woman (Juanita) will receive one of the five chimneys we are giving to Hampy.
As we were leaving, we stopped in briefly at another stove that had been built next to the Choco community center. This one was poorly designed and rarely used. I have no idea who built it but it was far too expensive for what they got. Again, photos on Flickr.
Yesterday we returned to C'Orao for more interviews. We made our way to the first house, one of two families with a padre named Juan Quispe. As soon as we walked into the yard, we knew something was wrong. Smoke was pouring out of the front door of the building where the new stove was. When we went inside, we realized that it was a two-room building with a half wall separating the two rooms. In the other section, five feet away, a traditional stove was smoking like crazy and filling both parts of the building. Laurie just barely kept her temper. As we looked around a little more, we realized that this was definitely a family that needed more education. There was a muckpit of shit and trash in the middle of the yard, the kids had no shoes on, chickens and puppies were running around with the kids, etc. So we sat down with the mom (who was 60) and two of her three daughters, both of whom appeared to be single mothers. We fired up some potatoes for the retention cooker and did our health rap. When we brought out our poster of the "family with problems," we asked the older daughter what she saw in the picture. Did she comment on the trash, the baby with diarrhea, the drunk father, or the pregnant mother? No, the first things she pointed out were "Oh, look, there's a tree! And a squirrel in it!" Our work was cut out for us.
So after we discussed the proper uses of bleach, soap, fingernail cutters, etc., we did the health interviews. When we got to the questions about wood collecting and food being cooked, we discovered that for some reason the mother and her daughters refused to work collectively. Each had their own stove. Each gathered their own wood. No, of course the daughters could not use the mother's new stove. We left somewhat discouraged, but resolving those problems was clearly beyond us. Hopefully the other daughter can also come up with 30 soles for one of our spare stoves, they were definitely interested in doing that.
Our next two interviews were with families we had already worked with before, so those went much faster. Mostly we discussed the use of the retention cookers. When we were coordinating the next few families with Tomas, we discovered that Andres (MaFre's dad) was for some reason dragging his feet on his stove, had not collected the clay, and kept putting it off. We promptly marched down to his house to ask what was up, and he was disturbingly evasive. Since he is one of the key people at the Purikuq market, we are very concerned that Pave refused to let him work with Tomas and is possibly also refusing to let him have a stove. Of course, he did that typical Peruvian thing that isn't exactly lying, but simply refusing to talk. We offered him a job doing the checkups on the families for the next two years, and he was also evasive about that, saying he would have to think about it. HMMM. We are going to be doing some detective work this Sunday!
Last night was a big night, we went out for the first time since Laurie got sick, it's been like a month! We went to Ukuku's to watch music. As we arrived, we saw a bouncer marching a well dressed Peruvian woman down the stairs and out the door. I have never actually seen a bouncer dust his hands off after ejecting someone! Unfortunately, the band was only half decent and the sound was TERRIBLE, harsh and bright and full of treble, excessively loud as well. So we ditched out quickly, but it was still nice to be out. I noticed to my great delight that this excellent band called Totem is doing some shows at the end of the month, I got to see them while Laurie was sick.
Now we are here on the internet. Laurie is applying for new jobs and writing letters to Soncco and Sipascancha about how to fix their stoves. We are waiting for Episode 4 of Lost to finish downloading. We have a full schedule this week, four days in Mandorani. We booked our flights, and spent a little extra to fly directly into Eugene instead of Seattle. We arrive on March 4th.
S
Forward to more stove checks (and one bad stove), 8 February 2009
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Last updated: 9 February 2009
