Week 2

  The weekend was spent settling into our houses and the town with the help of the national volunteers.  Unfortunately, we had our first bout of illness in the group as well.  Not fun, but an inevitable part of the experience at some point.  Thankfully everyone is well now.

  On Monday, we took our first trip up to the community that is to be the base for our project – La Azomada.  The journey is about 40 mins from where we live.  The first section of road out of Gracias was a pleasant surprise, then we reach the turn-off for La Azomada.  Not so much a turn-off as a turn-up.  A turn up a very bumpy, very steep, very rocky and very twisty track.  Every bruise to the glutes is worth it though, for the views.  Oh, the views!  On our first morning we stopped at the radio hut, met a community leader and scrambled up a hill to see the radio tower, a water tank and…the views! 

  After a little further exploration of the village, we headed home.  Our street was randomly fumigated for bugs, with no warning.  By no warning, I mean “They’re fumigating the house.  You have to get out right now and stay out for twenty minutes”. Great.  For several hours after said fumigation, dying insects wobbled out from every crevice of the house and were met with the sole of my flip flop.  That night, just as we were drifting off, we felt a tremor that apparently lasted 30 seconds.  This tremor was a result of the 7.4 earthquake that had occurred in the Pacific Ocean.  Not the first I’ve felt, but still unnerving!

  Tuesday and Wednesday were dedicated to drama workshops which built up to our performance at a festival in La Azomada on Thursday.  We played microorganisms.  Yup, microorganisms.  The idea was basically that we were happy microorganisms doing our thing in the soil until humans came along and started throwing rubbish everywhere (litter is a massive problem here) and spraying harmful chemicals on their crops (also a big issue for the communities).  This obviously made us sad, sick microorganisms that could no longer help the farmers by decomposing organic matter.  The sketch had a happy ending though; the farmers changed their ways, cleared the rubbish, ditched the chemicals and replenished the natural material that we lived in.  And of course, we helped them in return by restoring soil fertility.  Volunteering certainly leads you places that you never thought you’d go…

  The festival on Thursday was titled “Semillas del Futuro” (Seeds of the Future) and was hosted by Red COMAL.  In addition to our muddy contribution, there were local musicians playing songs about the issues affecting the local communities, local producers displaying their crops and a forum with academics and producers that focussed on the value of traditional knowledge and passing it on to future generations.  It was a good, if exhausting, day and a great way to raise our profile in the community during our first week.

  On Friday, we were back in La Azomada for a radio workshop, because we have a radio show.  In Spanish.  This part of the project is going to be veeery interesting!  Our weekly programme will be split into four segments – I will be sharing the research and presentation of “Natural Medicine and Health” with Antoinette and two of the Honduran volunteers (Salomon and Ilda).  I am really looking forward to researching it every week…the presentation side, not so much.  I’ve already been told off for laughing, which will not come as a surprise to those of you who have performed with me in the past!

  In other news, I have switched with one of the girls, so am now in the smaller house with the boys and Lola.  It hasn’t really changed anything, but there is less squealing and running between houses at night due to insect sightings, which was the reason for the swap.  Antoinette and I are settling into our roles as the Monitoring and Evaluation volunteers and have sent off our first report.  I am getting back into the swing of Spanish - am not quite in dual language mode yet, but that will come.  That’s about it.  Another busy week planned, so I will be back next weekend with updates.  Que se vayan bien.

Ellen xx