Chestnuts, Chapaya and Natural Sponges

Chapaya, a community meal, a fuel efficient stove, and chestnuts

Meals in the Communities

Let's talk about the most fundamental part of life in the communities (and everywhere)- food! In the top left photo is a plate of food we were given by a family who fed us during a community visit. There is pasta, chayote squash, and chapaya. I had never tasted Chaya before. It grows in clusters on a species of palm tree in Mexico. It's the long stringy pieces you see in the soup, whose texture is sort of like a baby corn. It contains different proteins and minerals and fiber, and it makes a nice addition to soups and other dishes.

Breakfast usually looks like the top picture to the right. Lots of beans, eggs, spicy sauce, a huge stack of tortillas and cups of coffee. The bottom right is a nut called castaña which isn't the same as a European or North American chestnut but has similar qualities... They are eaten boiled or toasted and are very rich and filling. A family gave us a bag of them boiled with salt and we ate them throughout our days traveling through communities. The castaña tree can be seen throughout the landscape. It stands out and is very beautiful because of its big, hand-like leaves.

Finally, the bottom left picture isn't food but it's how the families cook their meals. This is an example of a fuel-efficient stove that the organization I work with helps install in rural homes. It helps reduce the amount of firewood needed to cook and also reduces the amount of smoke that fills the home. The stove is closed to conserve the wood and reduce the smoke, and the chimney takes all the smoke out of the home.

Vine sponges

The Luffa

The tree in the photo above is covered with a vine that grows these fruits that are used as natural sponges. They are sold in organic, ego-friendly stores in cities sometimes. They grow abundantly on this vine, which is related to cucumbers and squash. We picked one up off the ground and peeled it open to see the fibrous interior. This is the original luffa! People used to use them lot more before plastic luffas and sponges became popular.

The Milpa

And, of course, the greatest source of food in the communities is the Milpa. We visited the Milpa of a family who has worked with the organization for many years and are promotors and leaders of agroecology and food sovereignty in their region. The grandfather, Don Francisco, and his children participate in the Seeds Guardians Network and attend the meetings in San Cristóbal de las Casas.

The Milpa is often a 30- 60 minute walk from people's homes. In this case, the walk was up and down a big hillside, seen in the photos above. They then cross a river, go through the neighbor's pastureland and climb up another big hill. It's quite a hike, and they do it multiple times a day, carrying heavy sacks full of harvested corn. You can see in the bottom right photo that a young man is carrying a sack of corn down the hill, supporting it across his forehead with a strap. This helps them put less weight directly on their shoulders and backs. The amount of physical labor and strength of the people who work in the communities is truly admirable.

This Milpa that we visited has the beans and corn separated rather than interplanted, as you can see in the photos. For them, this is easier for their planting and harvest, and then they can rotate their plantings.

Humble, admirable people like Don Francisco and his family support this work in agroecology without calling much attention to themselves. Don Francisco walks far distances to share the importance of this work with other nearby communities. Meanwhile, his wife and daughters welcome anyone into their home with a hot soup and elote (corn on the cob). They even adopted a young boy in the community whose father died and whose mother moved away. The boy lives in their home and is another child to them. These are people who make you feel like there is hope in the world.