Day 8: Meeting Plutarco & More Building
Estoy escribiendo sobre nuestras adventuras hoy.
7:30 AM: Woke up to Kevin snoring and mosquito bites.
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Ate breakfast with the team and Petrinila
9:30 – 10:00 AM: Walking to Plutarco's Home...
10:00 – 12:30 PM: Plutarco told us about his work in the community and his commitment to education and nutrition.
12:30 – 1:00 pm: Walking to the worksite....
1:00 – 2:00 PM: Preparing the work site and beginning to assemble solar oven and structural support. Minerva brought everyone a traditional palm leaf sombrero to wear while working.
2:00 – 3:00 PM – Lunch at Carlos’
3:00 – 5:30 PM – Finished building structural support and solar collector
5:30 – 6:00 PM: Raced JoAnna home and was chased by a couple of street dogs
6:00 – 7:00 PM: Team Meeting
7:00 – 8:00 PM: Dinner
8:00 – 9:00 PM: Played some group games with the team and community member (shout out to Petri)
9:00 PM – Starting writing the log/blog
Today, I met the man who first wanted to bring the mesquite project to Suchilquitongo. Plutarco is nothing short of visionary. He is a man passionate about his agriculture and education within his local community.
Plutarco started his story by discussing the problems facing the agricultural industry in Mexico. He described how the government subsidized farming and provided fertilizers that depleted the soil. This led to a culture of relying on the government for assistance and, consequently, slowed innovation. Plutarco also described how the industrialization of farming led to monocrops that harmed the quality of the soil. Plutarco wanted to bring life back to fields and individuals. He worked on developing a forgotten technology in rock flower powder. The substance is used as a supplement to soil in conjunction with organic compost and microorganisms. The last year has shown positive results in his strawberry crop by producing larger, more flavorful, and deeper colored strawberries when the mixture was used. He is also interested in educating farmers in the local area about soil misuse and alternative natural resources to enhance crop production. He was also very interested in the politics surrounding the U.S. and Mexico. He believes that a sharing of knowledge and technology would generate more employment in the hometowns of the Mexican people.
Plutarco is also battling in education politics to change the culture of the community and increase the amount of opportunity. Section 22 is a school district that goes on strike almost as much as they have class. This results in large periods of no schooling and a higher drop out rate, as students have to go out of their way to complete school. He is looking to bring in new teachers and prevent the union strikes from occurring again. He also wants to introduce foods like mesquite and amaranth at the grade school levels to create a relationship with and culture around the local produce. He hopes to create a project based educational system that makes education more applicable to local workers. Plutarco was adamant about family involvement in education and wants the parents to be activists and spokespersons regarding their childrens’ education. He then talked about creating a savings program to give the individuals economic security.
It may sound like I am jumping all over the place, and that is because Plutarco is truly involved in various places within his community. He was thankful for our time and efforts and encouraged us to try and understand the community.
P.S. – The ovens are coming along nicely!
