Producer Soup

One of my favorite parts about Cerro Gallina so far has been the chance to work with a newly formed "grupo de productores" of 16 families. So far, I've been to four juntas (communal work days) for this group. We macheted several parcels, planted rows and rows of yucca, banana, rice, and herbs, and prepared rice tanks for future planting. The idea is that each family shares in the work and each will receive a portion of the food produced. The instigator of this group, Marcelino, is a very motivated guy. Since I've been in site, he has traveled to several conferences and events around Panama to learn about organic farming techniques, eco-stoves, endangered sea turtle protection - all kinds of environmental topics. The goal is for this whole endeavor to be done completely organically. The work days are fun! As I'm still getting used to the whole Panama time thing (every event seems to start between 1-2 hours after the scheduled start time) I am usually the first to arrive in the morning. We'll all gather, everyone brings their contribution for lunch (rice, vegetables, soup broth, coffee, sugar, etc) and someone is put in charge of cooking the meal. Then we work - chopping, digging, planting, giant gallon jugs of coffee and chicha are passed around, men salimar, women get right in there hacking the ground with garden hoes, everyone gossips, I listen along and try to get the gist of the half Ngäbere-half Spanish conversations. This past Tuesday, Adriana asked if I wanted to be in charge of cooking lunch with her for the day at Elsa's house. I've been helping out with cooking meals at my host family house lately, so I jumped at the chance to show off my new fogón cooking skills. No, I'm kidding - did you really think they trust the gringa to cook their meals over an open fire? I do help a lot, especially when Walter, my little brother cooks dinner. But he always delegates to me the tasks that don't actually require cooking. "Bei, go pick and slice peppers from the bush" "Bei, rinse this rice" "Bei, wash this spoon" "Bei, open this can of sardines" Yep, I get bossed around by a 10-year-old in the kitchen. Anyways, on Tuesday Adriana took charge of the actual cooking and put me to work peeling and slicing. We made a paila of rice and porotos (type of bean that is in season) and a paila of soup with uyama (like a squashy pumpkin), bodá (stringy green vegetable), ñame & ñampi (potato-like root veggies), onion, bell pepper, garlic, and a bunch of herbs. Elsa kept running to her garden and picking more herbs to throw in - culantro (like cilantro, but better), oregano, parsley, celery leaves. As the soup was simmering, we the cooks snacked on bread and the ever-flowing coffee. Elsa had the radio tuned to a station with American music (!!), there was a cool breeze blowing through the rancho, the sun was peeking out, the women talked and laughed and I listened, and the smell of garlic and oregano wafted through the air. I think it was one of the moments I have felt the most content in my whole almost-five months in Panama so far. And the soup was the best dish I have eaten in the Comarca, hands-down. Not just because I helped make it, really...I never wanted my bowl to end. As I slurped down mouthfuls of soup with rice and beans, I thought about how almost every ingredient in the meal was grown right here by the community, or if not, at least from this region of Panama. Switching from 22 years in the heart of the consumer class to living now in the heart of the producer class has definitely been a tough adjustment at times, but this meal was a reminder of how incredible and admirable of a life this is. Though it wasn't Thanksgiving back home...I sure was thankful for this day!

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone in the States! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. In just 2.5 weeks, I head to San Felix for several days of additional Ngäbere training with fellow Comarca volunteers, then to Cerro Punta for the Peace Corps holiday party, then when I get back to site I will officially be moved into my own house. Finally!!! I love my host family but I cannot wait to have my own space. I am continuing visiting door-to-door, helping around the house and in my host family's finca, attending work days and meetings and celebrations, and trying to and get to know Gallina and all of the people that make it up. At several community members' request, I decided to start a small informal English class on Monday afternoons, and my first class had four eager participants :) I hope the motivation stays up. My mental list of ideas for the community continues to grow and become ever-more complex the more I talk to people and learn about family dynamics, the history of the community and the Comarca itself, and the local economy. This Friday I have my next Peace Corps meeting, in which we'll hopefully dive a bit deeper and start solidifying and developing plans for some of these ideas. Or we'll just drink cacao and go way off-topic and not accomplish anything. Who knows??

Photos!

 Handwashing seminar in Kaboy

 Ya know, just almuerzo on the roof

 Handwashing day at the school in Mesa

 Manuel and Gabriel

 Daily walks through corn fields in the clouds

Sledding Comarca style: pulling babies in cooking pailas

School marching band at the Comarca Panamanian Independence from Columbia Day parade

p.s. changed my blog header background - I took this photo from right outside my future house!