April 2008 Update

Having fallen ill in Cochabamba with a shigellosis* it has taken me longer than expected to crank out my project update. With a week’s worth of antibiotics under my belt, though, here it is. Enjoy!



The beekeeping group, “Grupo de Apicultores Chimeo,” has recently signed contracts and the project has been turned in to my bosses here at PC to check over. The group consists of ten families, some of who are experienced beekeepers, others are beginners. Project participants will all supply a counterpart- class and workshop attendance, 40 Bs, one homemade set of bee mask and gloves, preparation of apiaries, capture of three feral colonies, tree nursery work, and the planting of 10 meliferous (nectar giving) trees near their apiaries. In return, they will receive what they need to become productive beekeepers- protective gear, tools, three hives, and a nucleus hive for captures. The entire group will share equipment for the processing of wax- which mush be melted down, filtered, and re-stamped every year or two- and bottling materials to sell their harvest. They have agreed that some of their profits after the first harvest will then be reinvested to purchase more bottling materials. If all goes according to plan, this will transform Chimeo’s current stalled-out honey industry into a productive, sustainable source of income for participants.

The funding for the project will be drawn from what is called a Peace Corps Partnership. Partnerships can have any monetary value- sometimes as little as $500 and as much as $10,000, but they all demand at least a 25% counterpart on the part of recipients. Our project is asking for approximately $3000. Each of the 10 participating families will receive 3 boxes, one bee suit, the gear they need to work with bees like smokers and hive tools, and the community will receive equipment to melt, filter, and restamp old wax for their hives. In return for these goods, participants will attend classes on hive management (given by me), prepare their apiaries, capture feral colonies, sew one protective suit and pair of gloves, and attend a workshop on genetic selection given by a technician. Once the project receives the final signatures by my bosses at the PC, a profile will be uploaded onto the internet. There, interested contributors can donate directly to the project. Once we reach our goal of $3000, I personally will receive a check from the PC to go about buying all of the goods. When everything is purchased I am responsible to turn in receipts to cover every last Bs to the PC. So, the project (as well as other ones like it made by other volunteers and listed on the same website) has 0% overhead and 100% accountability-a philanthropist’s dream. When I have the web address Ill send it out to those of you on my listserv, but don’t be shy- feel free to send it to any friends or family who might be interested in helping out. Thanks in advance for your support.

In March I met with the 48 women who raise chickens and sow corn as part of Chimeo’s womens’ group to discuss the possibility of a family gardens project. The women were interested, and we are contemplating just how we will go about the garden project. I am interested in utilizing grey-water systems, where simple filters are installed to reuse water from kitchen and laundry to water vegetable gardens. The problem right now is that most of these systems are for deeper roots than vegetables would have, so we’ll have to tinker with the model a bit, or look for a different kind of technology for our family veggie gardens. The project itself is still in its developing stages and nothing will likely be planted until December.

I’m still passing Guarani classes every Tuesday night, and as of now we have recorded about a dozen traditional stories. Bartolome and Silvia, the storytellers, are interested in making CDs for sale. I would like to include with the CDs a booklet of written English and Spanish translations, but it will ultimately be up to the storytellers. We will hopefully get started burning CDs this (Bolivian) winter when the agricultural work comes to a standstill.

The tree nursery has its 10,000 L tank but not much else has been done with it as of this writing. Various community cleaning dates have been foiled due to an extended rainy season. We will somehow eventually clear out the grass and paint the tank itself before installing the beds for the saplings themselves. The funding is already there (its funded by the mayor’s office) so it will si o si be happening this winter. The bee keepers will also be lending a hand in the nursery, having committed to planting at least 10 melliferous trees around their apiaries-to-be.


*Shigellosis.