A little money goes a long way

Our gracious tour guide Molly, with two potential borrowers. The woman in blue is the proud owner of this sewing stand at the marketplace.  She is looking for a loan to be able to buy thread in colors that her clients have been requesting.

A few weeks ago, Susan and Norman joined us on an En Via Micro-Finance Tour to Teotitlan del Valle.  En Via is a small non-profit lending organization that has a wonderful system in place to loan $100 each to three borrowers.  The women must apply as a group and vouch for each other as worthy and responsible borrowers.  Then they all make sure that each one pays their $100 loan in the time period agreed upon.

We visited six different workplaces on the tour, we saw two groups of three women.  The first three consisted of a shop keeper, a weaver and a baker/weaver. 
 

Walking to the second borrower's home workshop

This self supporting weaver needed wool so she could make more rugs, coasters and hand bags.

The third woman runs a small baking business to supplement the family's rug weaving income. She is seeking a loan to buy baking supplies.

En Via charges $50 for a one day tour to visit the potential borrowers, that money is then used to finance the loans.  We got to visit workshops, which are usually in their very humble homes, to meet the borrowers and their families, and to ask them about their businesses and their hopes for the future.  It is a very special and respectful way of learning first hand what the local people must do to provide for their families.

Home sweet humble home

The baking money supplements the family's rug weaving income.  You can see the loom in the background.  This warm, caring woman broke down in tears as she spoke to us about her family and her concerns.

The great majority of the people in Teotitlan are weavers and have been for generations. Most of them are of Zapotec descent and that is the language they speak at home.  Children learn Spanish when they go to school, but they learn about wool as soon as they can move about.  Someone in the house is always carding or spinning wool, and the children will learn those skills very young.  They will also be able to dye the wool and to weave it into beautiful rugs and other useful items well before they are twelve years old.
                     _____________________________________________________

This second group of three borrowers consists of a young weaver seeking to branch out by raising chickens, a family of weavers who need dyes and raw wool, and a widow with a three year old daughter who has lost everything and needs to buy wool for her rug making.

The granddaughter of the first family shows us a rug she is working on. She is seeking a loan to buy live chickens.

The matriarch of this first family

The grandfather of the second workshop we visited.

  He stands the entire time and works the loom with his feet on the pedals and his hands moving all the time.

Two more generations of his family.  The young son looks on as his father cards the wool, getting it ready to be spun into yarn.

The third borrower of the group, our last visit of the day.  We were all deeply touched as this woman told us of her life since her husband died last year. She is in desperate need of wool to continue her weaving.

This is her beautiful little girl

Everyone on the trip was touched by the dignity of the people and their incredibly tedious and beautiful work.  Our tour guide, Molly, really made the whole experience happen.  She was able to communicate beautifully and respectfully with everyone we visited. Her deep respect for the people as well as her knowledge of their customs and lives made for a comfortable and warm experience for both visitors and borrowers alike.  Because of Molly's wonderful presence, the people we visited spoke openly about their families and their hopes for the future. I think each of us was humbled by their ability to maintain hope in such difficult situations.   It was a very moving and special day.

After our visits were over we had tacos and tlayudas in a local shop to keep to the spirit of the day.  The restroom is the shed with the green curtain.

Hasta luego!  See you soon!

Ahijados y Candelaria

Alan and I with our Ahijados (godchildren): Primativa, 20, Cristobal, 7, Cristian,  23, and Cristian, 12. The two older students are brother and sister, and he is graduating from college this week: a very big deal.

 We went to visit our four godchildren at the Oaxacan Streetchildren center, the organization that I wrote a bit about in the last blog.  The center has a dining room where the students can get a hot meal everyday and get help with homework, tutoring, or just check in with Cliff or other caring adults.  At this point, more than 600 students receive financial help so they can attend school.  The money that the sponsors give goes directly to the center where the uniforms, shoes and school supplies are purchased and distributed to the students.  This is important and assures that the money will be used as intended.

We really enjoyed being with our four godchildren and some of their family members.  Crisitian Cotez de Jesus came with his grandmother who cares for him and his sister since their mother left them four years ago. Our youngest godchild, Cristobal, came with his mother and three of his eight other siblings.

We had a cake to celebrate Cristian Flores Perez's graduation from college.  Both he and his sister Primativa, are in the city of Oaxaca to go to school.  They are from a village far up in the mountains where the highest education available is fifth grade. The younger kids seemed to be impressed that he could achieve a goal of college graduation, he will be an engineer, and we spoke about how it was possible for them, too.  At least I think that is what we spoke about. They nodded their heads like they knew what I was saying.  Thankfully, Cliff was there and he helped fill in the gaps in my Spanish.

We gave all the kids a few gifts: soccer balls, shirts, socks, etc., and that needed no translation. Big smiles all around and hugs, Wow!, Gracias! Muchas, gracias!

A window display of Nino Dios, Baby Jesus statues

Last minute preparations for Candelaria.  This is one of the stores where people bring their Baby Jesus to get him ready for the year ahead. Note all the accesories on the back wall. The workers dress the statues at each table.

 If you haven't been in Oaxaca on February 2nd, you probably
 haven't witnessed anything like Candelaria.  To celebrate the
 day that Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple, many

Saint Martin the Horseman Soldier

 religious families bring their precious statue of the infant Jesus to church to be blessed by the priest. 

Traditionally they buy him a new set of clothing, quite ornate,
and often new things like
a gilded chair to sit in, a pillow, or the various accessories that complete his outfit: staff, crown, sword, or stethoscope.  That's
right, they dress him up like a doctor, different saints, baseball players, the Pope - you name it!

You will see people bringing the statues to the stores to get them dressed or walking through the streets with the babies wrapped in blankets or seated on the thrones.  There are hundreds of them in the churches for mass on that day.  This is the only time these beloved statues leave the home altars where they are enshrined for the rest of the year.  They will be given flowers and candles as they are the center of the families' prayerful life at home.

Asleep with pillow

Infant Jesus of Atocha

Baby Jesus as the Pope

Not sure what Belen means. Maybe one of the Three Kings?

I know you didn't believe they really had a stethoscope!

Remember the special cakes for Three Kings Day on January 6th?  Alan got the piece that had the doll inside which meant he had to buy tamales for the celebration on Candelaria. Here we are at our Spanish school enjoying hot chocolate and tamales: Alan came through!  Luckily, Susan and Norman arrived the night before so they got to experience February 2nd in true Oaxacan style.

 We will let this little jam session be our goodbye for now. Can you spot the tourist?

How much can be packed into 10 days?

 Hello from warm and wonderful Oaxaca!

I am still behind on sending these newsletters so I am doing a quick "catch-up" attempt.  This edition should finish the ten wonderful days that Madeline, Pattie and Bill spent with us in January.

On the left, is a photo of Madeline and Pattie with Cliff Hindeman, one of the founders of the Oaxaca Street Children program.  They went to interview Cliff about his work on this wonderful program that helps children get to school by providing sponsors who cover the costs of their uniforms, shoes and school supplies.  For some of the poorest families in Oaxaca, this is an impossibility and the kids often are on the streets selling trinkets and candy instead of going to school.

Madeline and I enjoying one of the unique treats found in the streets of Oaxaca: baked platanos and sweet potatoes made in this wood fired rolling oven that sounds like a steam engine: toot, toot!

With Pablo at the ruins of Monte Alban, an ancient Zapotec city that flourished between 500 BC and 1200 AD and had approximately 25,000 residents!

Here is our cooking instructor, Luz, with the ingredients at the start of our culinary adventure.

 We all went to Luz's cocina at our Spanish school to make mole' coloridita with chicken, and a wonderful soup with squash blossoms, nopal cactus and other vegetables.  She also showed use how to make aguas frescas: we cut the perfectly ripe pineapple, and put the pieces in a blender with water and "nada mas (nothing else)!" Yum, so refreshing and healthy.

 

Alan and Bill working on the soup

As the soup simmers on the stove, I toasted bread that went into the mole' coloridita.

So delicious!

Most likely these adorable children will be gracing the pages of travel brochures enticing people to come enjoy the culture and the warmth of Oaxaca. 

 Alan noticed a photo shoot going on one afternoon in front of the beautiful old church of Santo Domingo so he took a few shots, too.

Pattie and Bill inside the temple at Mitla.  It is one of the most beautiful ruins in all of Mexico built by master craftsman without the use of mortar!

Looking out from the ruins

Remains of Mixteca drawings on the walls at Mitla date from 1200- 1500 AD.  You can see the layer of  limestone plaster underneath.  A coating of iron oxide was put over the white, then scratched off while still wet to make the drawings.

Who are those mujeres divinas?

 A very appropriate photo of  Tree Committee founder, Mrs. Lab, with her advisers and chaperones! We are in front of the giant 2000 year old tree at Santa Maria del Tulle.

When Alan was taking this shot, I told him what I always tell him, "Make sure we look thin!"  Our favorite guide, Pablo,  was with us that day and, funny guy that he is, came back with, "In front of that tree you look like toothpicks!"

Another appropriate shot, at the Peace Pole. May Peace Prevail on Earth

I know you all wanted another shot of the ever popular Gigantes!  As you can see, the Oaxacans never tire of this entertainment.  Of course, this was to celebrate a wedding at Santo Domingo church. When the guests exit the church, they are greeted by the gigantes, a raucous band and lots of bottle rockets: Boom! Boom!

Hope you are all doing well.  We send you lots of love for El Dia del San Valentin, February 14th. 

                      Mucho amor,
                             Kathy y Alan