AUTHOR: Nancy TITLE: StoveTeam Update DATE: 7/13/2008 07:01:00 PM ----- BODY:
As the rain is pouring down with lots of lightning at the moment, I have time to clack away on the computer while Ken reads about Morocco and Algeria.

This morning was nothing sort of amazing. Gustavo let us sleep in, and then he arrived with Salvador scrunched into the back of the Kia with a stove and Ethan and Elvira as passengers. Ken and I joined them and went off into the country to do a "demonstration." Normally, our demonstrations are uneventful. We drive to a small village, someone gathers the local woman at a central place in the community and Gustavo explains how the stove works, introduces me, we light the fire and start getting the ladies to cook tortillas. We take a few orders and leave.

Ahhhh, that's the way it normally works. Today was different!

We drove a little ways to a small village and met the Mayor who was, of course, a friend of Gustavo's. He introduced us to another gentleman who hopped into the back of our little Kia with Salvador and the stove and off we went…straight up a hill, and basically up a riverbed! Rocks (slippery ones covered with mud) were what held the car on the road as we bumped along dipping occasionally into large puddles of slick mud.

We climbed up into the clouds with fields of cane and coffee on either side and beautiful vistas across to the nearby volcanoes. The further we went, the deeper the holes in the road, until it became evident some of us needed to disembark and walk.

At this point the road was so slippery that I had to hold on to our local guide and use him as a burro to guide me down the hill. Again, we got into the car and bumped along and then again we disembarked. It took ages for us to reach our destination with most of us walking down the last stretch slipping and sliding while Gustavo caught us on film.

Once in the village of Suisa1 with members of Suisa2 in attendance we realized we had over 100 people gathered awaiting our arrival. We realized that if these folks need anything from town they have to walk for an hour and a half to get there, and most of the children walk this incredible road every day back and forth to school. The area is absolutely gorgeous so we understand why they want to live there, but the road is unbelievable. Thank goodness for the 4x4 on a truck chassis! Next time we may have to come by horseback.

We learned that this beautiful area had never been exposed to the war as neither the army nor the guerrillas wanted to go there because the access was so difficult. Ken said it reminded him of Vietnam and why he said on first arriving there he was convinced there was no way Army guys from Kansas could ever win the war! THICK vegetation combined with INCREDIBLE humidity but INCREDIBLE scenery.

So we did the demonstration and when we finished it and Gustavo asked how many wanted to buy stoves EVERY hand went up and people started pulling out their I.D.s and crowding around our host to get their names on the stove list. One woman standing behind me kept saying "I'm in LOVE with that stove!" WOW! Enough to make a woman proud.

Of course, then we had to return…this time on a different access road that was still a challenge but not like the one we came in on, and again we stopped at a local comedor for lunch. Again the food was fabulous (rice and chicken with hot tortillas) so we had a relaxed lunch for six for $10.00. Ethan said each time he looks at the initial plate in a comedor he thinks he won't have enough to eat, but each time he leaves with his stomach bursting.

In the afternoon our job was filming for the documentary so we drove off through a cane field to another beautiful site. This was land donated by one of the richest men in El Salvador prior to the war. He had the feeling he wouldn't live long so he donated his land to the local compesinos, and sure enough, six months later he was gunned down! The land was fertile riverbed with numerous small homes alongside the river.

We crossed a hanging bridge on foot and entered a nice-sized compound with a large family. It was typical Salvadoreño style…hammocks hanging from porch rails, kids playing with marbles on the dirt, a girl hanging up laundry, and various animals and birds roaming about, a few guinea hens, chickens, piglets, and a parakeet. Elvira played with the tame parakeet while Gustavo and Ethan filmed the creosote covered walls, the open fire, the new stove, and Lupe, the mother.

Lupe had received the stoves two weeks ago and interestingly was enchanted with it but wanted to "save it" so it continued to look good. For this reason she cooked coffee on an open fire but only used the "new stove" for tortillas. Gustavo had to convince her that it would last for years and that she didn't have to protect it at all. She could use it for everything!

Ah…again the challenges of culture…but she did say that her cough had been eliminated and she felt better when there was no open fire. We left hoping she'd continue to not only appreciate but use her new eCocina. It was hard to leave as there was a birthday party with piñata and mariachis and none of us wants to leave a party.

Eventually we started back for Nahulingo and the factory only to discover that this week is Nahulingo Fiesta Week, and we had arrived at the best possible stop to see the big parade of men in drag! After a few moments of fun we pressed onward, but then found Gustavo's neighbor who collects antiquities. We bought a few before making it back to the hotel as the storm hit.

I've been typing long enough now that the rain has stopped, and I'm going to join Ken in his reading marathon now that he's sharing his books on Morocco. After all, Ethan's coming for a swim and tomorrow the car goes into the shop to get new bearings. I figure it needs more than that by this time.

Nancy

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