PBack in Action

After a hard morning run I ate a delicious bowl of fruit and headed to school with Wick. At Amauta (our school) we discussed the different products we are working on introducing in the area. The main one my group focused on was a stove. This stove would be built by a local in a rural community and would allow women to cook using more pots, and installs a chimney with decreases health issues. It is a wonderful product and has been wildly successful in Gautemala but begin to sell it is incredibly complicated. We are working on finding men who could be trained and used to build the stoves in their region. Price is an issue and figuring out a feasible payment plan is necessary. While there are a lot of unknowns we are working hard to research through surveys, the internet, and community visits.

Lunch at home was one of my favorites today—lentil soup, rice, tomatoes, avocadoes, and meat that was like a crab cake but with tuna. Yummy. The afternoon was filled with Spanish and the evening with walking around town and enjoying dinner at a quaint restaurant that is popular for travelers and has fireplaces inside.

The weather in Cuenca is funny right now and the days start very chilly, around 40 degrees, and by mid afternoon it is sunny and hot, in the low 80s, returning to cold by sunset. It is hard to dress for. Tonight after class I found myself freezing and I have been wanting another jacket or sweatshirt. I walked around markets and shops for a good hour with Elizabeth trying to find the right item. Finally it was spotted, a beautiful cream colored, hand knitted large sweater---perfect. I met the woman who made it, tried it on and immediately felt warmer. I tried to bargain ever so slightly and made the price $20. The look on her face told me something had to be wrong, I asked again how much it cost and she said $18. No wonder she was so willing to sell it to me for $20 but seemed utterly confused when I suggested that price. We got a good laugh out of that one. I must be a little homesick because the sweater I chose is very much like one my mom wears all the time. This sweater of my mom’s is a go to and it is one of those articles of clothing I see when I picture my mom in my head. Wearing this new sweater tonight was a little taste of home.

This week is the festival of Corpus Christi and the main square is lined with at least 25 tents full of nothing but delicious sweets and treats. Everything from chocolate cover coconut balls to cookies to cakes to candies to bars to lollipops—literally more sweets than you know what to do with. I walk through just to see it but tonight I finally cracked and man was my sweet tooth satisfied. The square in the center of town was covered with people, vendors, food, entertainment, music and fireworks. Apparently the celebration ends tomorrow but I am adoring the colorful crowd.