Weeks 5 & 6

  Hooooola!
  Apologies for the long silence - it has been a very busy fortnight.
  A large part of what I've been up to is murals.  Murals, murals, murals.  We are working on some murals designed by a local artist that are part of a larger project and some that I have composed out of designs drawn by local children and our volunteers.
  We have finished three murals ourselves so far and have another two to complete.  Picture time!
  Our first muralito (mini mural) in Rancho Grande:

 

 

  This muralito is on the side of the house of one of the farmer's that we work with. 

  

  Catatao's mural, based on the design of the local artist (now finished with our own message and twist!):

 

 

Another one based on the artist's designs:

 

 

  I can't upload a picture of our other, incomplete mural, so you'll just have to wait!  It's gonna be a good one!

  The other reason that we have been busy is that we have had our mid-term evaluation.  This involves staff from Progressio (including Lucy from London!) and Red COMAL visiting us at our project and a day of evaluation that includes a presentation from us volunteers on our progress so far.  The continuation of the project partially depends on the success of this evaluation, so it's a big deal.  It went brilliantly, because we have a brilliant team, so happy faces all round!

Ciao for now!

Ellen xx

Halfway

To mark the halfway point of our time here in Lempira, here are 10  things that are parts of daily life in Honduras:

1.  Bumpy roads - in minibus, or mototaxi (tuktuk), or on foot.  Pretty dangerous a lot of the time, but they add excitement to every journey!

2.  Chickens/pigs/mules - everywhere in the communities.  Not as many dogs as I expected, more chickens that I could have imagined.  Pigs and horses tethered by the roadside (be it main road or footpath) to root/graze.

3.  Corn tortillas - with every meal.  Eaten like we eat bread.  An acquired taste, but they've really grown on me.

4.  Hand-washing - all clothes and towels and sheets, etc.  Clothes fine.  Towels and sheets no fun at all.

5.  Water dispensers - we have one in each house.  Seven people in hot country go  through a LOT of water.  Carrying the replacement gallons is good for building upper-body strength.

6.  Flip-flops in mud - it's like skiing.  But hotter.

7.  Toilet paper bins - no flushing allowed.  It was the same deal in Chile, so I don't feel too phased.

8.  Noisy Sundays - we live next to a football field.  Sunday is football day.  All events in Latin America are accompanied by a large sound system and music.  Therefore, noise.

9.  Hand sanitizer - there's not always water.  There IS always dirt.

10.  Altitude - took some getting used to.  I felt very unfit on our first few hikes, but the ol' lungs are adjusting now.  Grateful for the altitude, as it is what gives us those views!

Week 4

  The end of this week marks one month of being in Honduras.  I cannot believe it!

  We presented our first full radio show on Monday.  I think it went VERY well for a first attempt!  Our segment discussed the value of the AloeVera plant as a traditional and readily available ingredient for natural medicine.  The other segments reviewed the group's previous activities in the communities, advertised our upcoming activities, discussed environmental awareness and (to make sure people actually listen), gave a sports roundup.

  Tuesday was our first experience of producing the natural agricultural products with a farmer who has been trained by Red COMAL.  We made the micro-organism base that I discussed in the guest post, "supermagro" which is an organic fertiliser and the calcium sulphate spray.  We had another session on Thursday with a different farmer producing the same products, although the weather was not so much in our favour then - stormy!

  We travelled to a new and veeery remote community on Thursday.  Half the group worked on a finca planting coffee and the other half held a drawing session with local children (school holidays) to develop ideas for the planned murals in several communities.

  Friday was another day and another community.  Los Altos de Guanteque is home to two of our Honduran volunteers, so we received a very warm welcome.  The group again divided and half worked on a finca while the others visited a school to teach English and hold a mural design session.  We were given lunch by one of our volunteer's families.  One of my favourite mealtimes so far.

  The weather has taken a turn for the worse in Gracias.  The ground is saturated, there's a chilly breeze and the temperature has dropped. It's fiiine, still warmer than the UK...

Abrazos.

Ellen xx

Guest Post

  Laptop on the blink, so proper week's summary post will follow.  In the meantime, I am guest writer this week on our team's blog, so here's a sneaky look for you guys:

Micro-organism Soup Recipe

  

 We spoke about micro-organism soup (definitely not the scientific name) last week.  This yeast-smelling concoction has been a recurring theme during our agricultural activities and this week we were taught how to create the base for the solution.

 This product is a very economical option for small-scale farmers and is an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical fertilisers.  Using the techniques promoted by Red COMAL - our partner organisation, the finished micro-organism brew would be applied to crops alongside a natural, organic fertiliser that we also learned how to produce this week.

  So, how does one go about creating a giant micro-organism stock cube?

Step 1:

Collect some rich, decomposing leaf litter/forest floor material.  We used four large sacks of the stuff.

Step 2:

Tip out one sack of organic material, get down on hands and knees and start sifting.  The organic gold we seek is the material already undergoing the process of decomposition; that’s already home to colonies of bacteria and fungi. Remove any healthy material such as green leaves, seeds, live roots and hard twigs.

Step 3:

Add grain and sugar.  Once the decomposing material has been isolated, the micro-organisms need food.  For this purpose we use grain (wheat or rice semolina) at a ratio of about one part grain to two parts organic material.  For further microbial sustenance, a sugar solution is added to the giant, doughy mixture.  This ideal solution is molasses, but it can alternatively be honey or dark sugar melted in water.  As the grain is tossed into the organic matter (on the ground, using elbow grease), this solution is sprinkled over the pile to keep it moist.  The ideal texture is firm when compressed, but still crumbly and not damp.

Step 4:

Dump out another sack and repeat steps 1-3 until all organic material has been combined with grain and sugar and mixed together.

Step 5:

Compact the mixture into a barrel.

The enriched organic material must now be compressed little by little into an airtight barrel and left in a cool, dark place to ferment for one month.

 Et voila!  We have one giant micro-organism stock cube for future dilution.  All for only the price of a bag of semolina, a bottle of molasses and a barrel.  The solution is applied with a sprayer direct onto the plant, just as artificial fertilisers would be.  The difference is that our natural spray benefits the crop without making its presence felt.  It gets on with its job quietly without the threat of water pollution, it enhances rather than depresses biodiversity.

And it (sort of) smells like bread!

By Ellen Shields