While I have planted some trees so far in my first month as an ¨agroforestry¨ volunteer by far the majority of my time is spent in other endeavors. I have ended up using some skills that I didn´t really anticipate being useful here in Paraguay. For example, bacteriology lessons have come in handy in my recent yogurt making and all of the stained glass work I did in high school helped me last week when I made drinking glasses out of wine bottles. Lately I´ve been knitting a lot and after teaching one of my friends to knit I mentioned that bamboo knitting needles are popular in the states. Her mom overheard this, walked over to a pile of dry bamboo-like plant that they grow here and started paring it down with a machete. Once she had a desirable diameter we used broken pieces of glass from our glass project to shave the needles down and make them even. Now I´m experimenting with knitting plastic bags to make tougher shopping bags for when people come into town to shop.
In the lines of more ¨technical¨work I´ve started a series of meetings to prepare gardens with the families in my community. We´re hoping to buy seeds together to get a better price and next week I´m going to demonstrate how to make compost piles and then start them with every house that wants help. Right now it´s too hot to actually plant vegetables without complicated, expensive shade structures so we´re planning for March when people usually actually get seeds in the ground. I´m also planning a plantation with Don Ramon, the farmer I¨m living with, for wood for his grandkids´houses. The amazing thing is that here in Paraguay you can actually harvest wood for construction from 8 or 10 year old trees!!!!
I´m off to make peanut butter with a family that just harvested a quarter hectare of peanuts! I hope it turns out!
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Kaitlin, How wonderful to get news. Did not go to work today;;cancelled all. and found your updated blog. Have name of woman at Am. school. Related to a friend. She will be there in Feb. on vacation or some such. Guidance counselor. How best to get nos. to you? Much Love GMR
Hi, Hope the addresses e-mailed reached you. If not, I saved. Have "lost' your e;mails from my computer at the touch of some erroneous button. Much snow;;exceeded previous limits. Very cold in contrast to you. Will work through AAA to get visa and plane connections. Big dinner Sun. for our Tuscany travelers. Try to do regional. The wine should be easy. Love GMR
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