CNA, Running Water, project updates

Hey everyone, I just wanted to update you on some of the progress that is taking shape in my community.

First, I am FINALLY living alone in my house! It feels really great to finally be able to cook whatever I want, when I want. I will be quite honest, I am not a fan of Paraguayan food. I lost a decent amount of weight trying to survive on scraps of meat and empty carbohydrates everyday. Literally within an hour and a half, I would be hungry again from just eating lunch. Now that I can cook more protein and heavier foods, I no longer feel hungry between meals during the day. Gotta get ready for winter hibernation!

Update on community projects: We have started working on the running water for the project. It is a lot of work. We started last weekend and a backhoe came in to dig the trench for the waterline. The backhoe digs 2.5 feet deep and has dug for 2 kilometers. We (community members) are required to lay the line, and back fill the dirt with our hoes (for however long the line runs). It certainly has been tedious, mind-numbing work but it looks like we are going to have running water by the end of May! With this, I can have a running shower (as compared to bucket bathing), a functioning toilet, and a place to wash my dishes and clothes.

Community running water meeting

 Backhoe digging the water line trench

Agriculture Projects: A large part of my work in March was gathering information for my Community Needs Assessment (CNA). All Peace Corps volunteers in country conduct a CNA in their first six months at site, and is a great tool to understand the history, politics, and potential future of the community. The CNA required me to visit community families to conduct interviews about the crops they grow, what needs they see for the future, and how I might be able to tailor my work to fit these needs. It is a good way for volunteers to interact with community members to get to know each other and gain respect as a volunteer. Conducting the CNA was really a lot of work to compile the information of each family, analyze what projects could be done within the next year and nine months, and create a document to send to my Peace Corps Agriculture sector boss. I really never thought I would ever be creating a large document in a foreign language in my life. After spending a few hours every night, I shipped my CNA off today for review and approval. 

Ag high school: I have started off my work in the agriculture high school by advising students on their "graduation projects." Once a week, I spend 4 hours in the school working with students on production projects. I supervise 27 students on projects that range from carrots, peppers, tomatoes, bees, chickens, soil recuperation, and yerba mate nurseries. Each group of students must produce at least two cycles of their respective project. This is a good way for me to start my work in the school. It doesn't require too much preparation and I enjoy this style of informal education with the students, as compared to given a weekly lecture in a classroom. It allows us to be out in the nurseries, gardens, or fields and we can discuss the progress, difficulties, and successes of the projects. 

 Laying chicken project at the high school

Primary school: In the primary school I currently work with 7th and 9th graders on the school garden. The past few weeks we have been prepared the beds by constructing, applying manure, hanging shade structures, and planting. So far we have planted carrots, onions, swiss chard, lettuce, beets, and turnips. We also have a compost pile that is in progress. We review the compost pile every week to see the rate of decomposition, and add to the materials so that we can have more organic matter to apply to the gardens in the future. I am also starting a world map project at the school, which I am really enthusiastic to do. World maps are painted onto walls of school structures so that students can literally view the world on a large scale. Many times rural schools lack infrastructure to view a map online, through a globe, and sometimes even through a textbook. The world map lets the students understand that other countries do exist outside of their own, and to see how far in relation other countries are from Paraguay. Though it may be a tedious project to complete, it will help me create one of my first tangible projects in site for many people to see. The primary school hosts a lot of various community meetings, so members of my site will be able to see the work I have done in the school. 

Example of world map project