Sunday, January 30, 2011
Bulleted like a train...the Amos Train
::January 20, 2011::
As the days begin to get more cram packed, we'll resort to bulleted imagery and hope for elaboration to fill the spaces between...
- Prisma visits
- Solar Explanation & Pictures
- Visit - Danli
- "Espunillas" maker
- "Corn lady" - Rosquillas, Tostaquas...Cafe, frijoles in other seasons
- Bloque maker
- Santa Cruz de Paraiso
- Presentation of TEGU.com toy
- Valle de Zamarano
- Roadway entering Tegucigalpa
- burning, smoldering trash
- housing, encampments, trails in and out of th valley sides
- steep inclines and declines to hillside structures
- brief glimpeses down alleys and walk ways, through communities and down into valley space
Inside Tegu.com
::January 18, 2011::
Tegu Visit
We took a 45 minute trip outside of Tegucigalpa to visit a "For-profit" toy company named Tegu. It is a relatively new company built on a fairly simple product: wooden, shaped blocks with magnets embedded into them. Chris, a Stanford alumni and former consultant with Boston Consulting Group, met us at the production facility and gave us an explanation and tour of the operation, along with his perspective on the current business environment in Honduras and some of the future plans for Tegu. Tegu had its first, full scale and "successful" holiday season this past Christmas, and it has grown from a starting employee base of 12 to the current 80. Its current product line offers sets of 26 and 52 block pieces with several color schemes. Originally, they started with natural wood finishes, but they incorporated the colored blocks for the past holiday season. Chris and his brother partner to run the company, which has been incorporated in both the US (2007) and Honduras (2009). In his description of the benefits and challenges of operating in Honduras, he explained that though they started the process of incorporation at the same time in both countries, the process in Honduras took several months as opposed to the single day in the US. Additionally, he explained that there were several benefits for operating out of Honduras, such as not having to pay taxes, but it took over a year for Tegu to get the proper permitting to access those benefits.
Recruiting is performed via strong recommendations and referral. They conduct basic math and writing skills along with a magnet test where they give employees a set of the magnets that they use in the toys to see how they adjust to using it (because many people have not dealt with such magnets). The last part is done to evaluate the employee's ability to adapt and figure things out. They want people who are willing to ask questions on how to do it right, rather than allowing things to continue if they are not correct. To date, they've fired 4 people (out of their current 80) becuase they really are trying to maintain a team environment where people work with each other. They pay a competitive wage and provide transportation to their employees (he said that maybe 5 or 6 have cars or motorcycles). Their employees work 4 days, 11 hours a day, in two rotations, which amount to 4 days on, 4 days off. Tegu has identified several candidates within their employee pool that they are considering sponsoring to take either night classes or send them to university. Tegu has hired on upper-management personel from a neighboring apparel factory and a fish hook factory that had recently gone out of business. They effectively have absorbed that talent to strategically bolster their own
workforce. Currently, Tegu pays into the Honduras social security system, which, in Honduras (as opposed to the US), allows the employees access to the nations health care system. Chris explained that the national health care system is not good and that they are looking into providing a private health care solution to its employees. Their overall hope when bringing people on, is to keep them and not treat them like commodities (like other companies might). They are looking into streamlining processes like painting and magnet installation, but he emphasized that, in doing so, the employees would be reallocated to more value-adding activities and not be cut necessarily.
Tegu's initial round of funding has come from friends and family, and, in some cases, mutual friends and/or referrals. Chris' brother runs the marketing and stateside operations, while he operates production on the Honduras side. Though they do work with local wood suppliers, the lag time with material delivery (which can be delayed as long as a month) means that Tegu imports wood from the US to keep the supply chain moving smoothly. They are working with local wood cutters to improve their process. However, he didn't go into much detail as to how they were doing this. He mentioned that future product lines might start to include other components like wheels and other moving parts. He explained the magenets that they used were the strongest magnets in the world and were sourced from China.
Val's take on Moringa
::January 17, 2011::
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but nobody in Honduras cares. We had beautiful sunny weather for the 20-70 minute ---20min according to Ricardo, 70 min by some estimates... the actual time is still unknown, but at this point I'm pretty sure Honduran minutes do not equal U.S.A. minutes--- ride out to Zamarano. First we met up with an American gentleman named Tom Currin, who married a strong-willed Honduran woman many years ago and moved to Honduras three years ago. The plan to show us his moringa tree (known as the "miracle tree" and widely used for its health benefits in India as Greeshma elaborated) plantation was almost foiled by hungry cows. But we went out to the fields to see the trees anyway. A few of our group ate the seeds from one of the few pods that the cows left after they ravaged his crops. The seeds were crisp and juicy with a spicy finish.
We left the moringa field to visit with a professor at the Zamarano agricultural college. He spoke with us about the school's achievements and its place in the global ag scene. His talk about the school was followed by an indoor presentation by U.S.A. Tom. Tom expects his moringa tree pet project to demonstrate the moringa tree's potential to become the future waste-free, grow-anywhere crop to be used as fuel, food, vitamin supplement, erosion prevention tool and more. Lofty goals for a pet project.
Next we visited Keeny's house for lunch and animals and a walk around campus. It was nice to get out of the city for a relaxed afternoon in Zamarano. We had plenty of time to reflect about our trip so far on the 40ish minute drive home. Dinner back in Tegulcigalpa, then showers and a S.W.O.T. analysis of CREA.
After our fourth day out, the group has gotten a hearty slice of Honduran life. This evening Adrian reflected that we have seen a diverse selection of Honduran poverty, sustainability efforts, social issues, traffic, charity... I could go on. Of course we've also enjoyed eachother's company in deep conversation, laughs and uncomfortably close seating in our Honduran charriot (see picture). Looking forward to tomorrow, aka "Fancy Tuesday" when we will all dress to the nines to meet either the Cardinal or someone else important or both or neither!
Greeshma and the Moringa
::January 17, 2011::
It was a beautiful day today. An early start at 8:30 helped us get to our destination - Zamorano, a US credited university focusing on Agricultaral studies and sustainability by 10 am. The day started with a tour of "Moringa" project by Tom Curin. Moringa project is about the use of Moringa, a plant that grows really fast; whose leaves are rich for in nutrition, pods used by certain Indian and African communities for food, the plant itself used as cattle fodder and also useful to avoid soil erosion-in short, a "Miracle plant" also as bio fuel. This is a experimental and innovative venture as there are no known projects using Moringa for bio fuel. He described the thought process that went into this venture - the various technical reports, the research and extrapolation of experimetns. Unfortunately, we were witness to some of the problems faced by agriculture, in this case, where a neighbor's cows had distroyed more than half the field. It was sad to see the destruction all around.
Shreema's Introduction to CREA
::January 16, 2011::
Today was a special day -- we went to treatment centers for children and teenagers facing an array of unimaginable challenges, and met a group of young people who were often confident, friendly and with an inspring attitude on life. The two centers housed children and teenagers who were sent there by judges and families for drug use and gang activity. On our way to the girl's center, the director of these Centers, Jorge, told us they've dealt with addiction and seen gang assissanations -- all at ages 12 or 13. Once I heard that, I expected to see a group of jaded, reserved girls who would roll their eyes at the sight of Americans coming to observe them. But to our surprise, they were friendly and even innocent. A few of them were delighted to find that I'm of Indian descent, and asked me about Indian food, clothes, what the country looked like and how conservative the culture is. They were in various stages of their recovery process, with some likely just leaving detox, and had mixed feelings about being at the center, they're away from their families and everyday lives, and it wasn't their choice to go. It's difficult to think about what will happen to these girls once they leave the center. But it was also inspiring and just plain fun to be able to laugh and relate with them.
CREA con Monica
::January 16, 2011::
Today we visited two of the Hogares CREA treatment centers. The day began with a hotter and sunnier day than we had in the past few days, but with a few of us (including myself) feeling a bit sick. However, we pushed through the sickness, stopping by the pharmacy for those of us in need. Luckily, unlike American pharmacies, meds are easier and cheaper to get!
We were able to acompany Jorge, the President and founder of Hogares CREA, to see his good work in action. Jorge first stopped our bus on the street to give a family in need shoes and money. Later in the day we went with Jorge to pick up supplies, including mattresses for another family in need, and shoes for the boys at the second stop. But before our second stop with Jorge, we went to the Hogares CREA treatment center for girls aged 9-19.
The visit got started with a polite handshake from the girls. Then, as the girls gave up their seats for us, another polite gesture, one of the girls well into treatment explained their process. This process is a replication of a treatment started in the 1970s in Puerto Rico, and is an 18 month process with four phases. Some of the phases include orientation and adjustment; education; and training and reintegration. Most of these girls are sent to the center by a judge or family. These girls have experienced drugs, gangs, and violence. Despite all of that, spending a few hours with them, we got to see how polite, considerate, and happy they seem to be. The thought in my mind leaving there is a hope that they will continue on this positive journey once they leave the center, even with the temptations they have once returning home.
We then ate Burger King with the girls, apparantely a special treat for them all. After that, some of us played basketball and soccer, while others chatted (as best we could) with the girls. Although communication is tough, I hope they enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed them. On Wednesday and Sunday the girls receive visits from their family, so by the end of our time with them, families began coming to visit. You could tell most of the girls were really excited to see their families, and they were able to change out of their white t-shirt and long shorts uniform into street clothes. Sadly, however, some of the girls don't receive family visits. One girl named Jennifer who was 13 stuck out to me and there was a sadness in her eyes when the families began arriving. However, I saw how Jorge comforted her, which makes me realize how much good he is doing for children, adults, and families in need.
Since Jorge is a busy, busy man, he swooped us away to go on our next stop. After picking up the mattresses, we ventured to the outskirts of Tegu to visit the equivalent of the first treatment center, with boys aged 12-19. The boys greeted us at the bus with a similar polite handshake. Their treatment is very similar, although I noticed that they have - or at least seemed to have - much more freedoms than the girls, and a way nicer facility. By this point in the day lots of us were tired and had low energy. Jorge brought us along to bring the boys new shoes, so after the boys got their shoes we talked to them for a few minutes and left. In talking to them, many more spoke English compared to the girls. But, the boys seemed shy compared to the girls, but maybe the low energy we exuded caused that.
After our visits, we went to a very American-like mall to use the internet - how American are we?
Now back at the house and feeling very exhausted. Although there was a lot more I wish we could do for the kids we hung out with today, I can't help but feel like we brought smiles to some faces, and if nothing else, they laughed at our inability to properly communicate. All in good fun, of course.
Hiking Day (with Charles)
::January 15, 2011::
Today wore me out. I got up about 7 am, not because I had to, but because that seems to be the time I wake up each morning. My roommate Kun is already awake. He seems to always be the last one to bed and the first one to wake up. The group has breakfast at 8:30 and we 
begin our day. Today we are going to take a hike with several children from an organization called Building a Future. We were told the national park through which we would be hiking would be about an hour and a half away, but the trip takes about an hour. I’m more than a little nervous about hiking with the kids because my Spanish is far from up to par and I suspect none of them will be fluent in English.
When we finally meet them, it goes more smoothly than I thought it would. The boys don’t know much English, but more words come back to me than originally planned. I spend a portion of the hike talking to a boy named Luis, who tells me a little about his family. I don’t catch everything, but learn he is one of 5 children. He tells me about what subjects he likes in school and about the animals he likes. I respond in kind. I am not a hiker by nature and after the first half hour, my feet and lower back are a little sore. I am captivated by the beauty of the mountain/park and it is great to be outdoors (I don’t do much outdoors while in MD, especially when the average temperature is 30+ degrees).
After the hike we expect to say goodbye to the boys, who really seem to have enjoyed the excursion. We are tired, dirty and sweaty, but the experience was worth it. As has 
happened every day before this one, we are in for a surprise. The boys convinced Jose, our BAF contact and the leader of the current expedition, to take them to a local “zoo.” We are already a couple of hours behind schedule and learn that the zoo is closed, but still use the opportunity to go to a lookout point that affords the group a wonderful panoramic view of the city. By the time we get back to the guest house, it is dinner time and we are ready to eat!
Panos on the Mountain
::January 15, 2011::
The second day of our trip started with a "dirty" suprise... The water in the shower was not only cold but also hardly dripping. As a result, no one showered this morning (Valerie's edit: I showered this morning). We wouldn't need it as much, anyways, as today things were about to get a little muddy! The schedule involved meeting the kids from Fativa and hiking the nearby rainforest "La Tigra" with them.
The day started as awesomely as yesterday with the three lovely ladies (Miriam, Lourdes and Lupe) greeting us with a broad smile and a delicious breakfast consisting of boiled plantains, red beans, scrambled eggs with sausages, tortillas, sour cream, milk, cereal, bread, and coffee. After the breakfast, while waiting for the bus that would take us to the rainforest, some people were engaging in various chit chats and some of us played with a game Valerie brought. They're called bucky balls, little silver shiny balls with magnetic abilities. As we were about to meet the little boys, Monica and Robert went to the mini market and not the 'pulperia' (the difference is the first is barred for security purposes) and got lolipops while Adrian and I got potato chips to give them.
The van arrived cleaner than ever before and took us to 
the La Tigra rainforest which is just outside Tegucigalpa. I wondered if there are actually any tigers there this season or other animals that we could encounter. On the way, as the hills surrounding the city got steeper, we saw some very big houses with beautiful colorful gardens, making us realize the social differences of the citizens within the country. Although the ride was short (about an hour van ride), it was eventful! At some point the van stopped and we had to push the van to get back on road (see video). After a while we finally arrived at the rainforest and to no one's surprise, it was raining a little bit.
We were excited to meet the children and they were excited to meet us too. Some of the boys were younger, some of them older but they were all well dressed (better than us), smiley and energetic. We also met 'la madre', a female symbolic figure that acted as a mother for all the kids.
Sadly, none of them spoke english (and only Adrian and Shreema could speak Spanish) so we had to find other ways to communicate and keep them entertained. We walked in a circle across the rainforest for about two hours with a small stop for lunch where we ate the sandwiches that the house ladies had prepared for us and gave to the children the potato chips and lolipops. During that time Valerie taught them how to make a funny noise with a leaf between their thumbs and they tried to teach us how to whistle. When we arrived tired at the point where we started, we cleaned our shoes as well as we could as both vans (the little boys and us) were about to head to the zoo (Pecatsu?).
Pecatsu offered us a panoramic view of the valley in which Tegucialpa was built. The weather was sunny and clear so we were able to take some very good pictures of the city. Although we didn't see any zoo or animals there either, there was a giant statue of Jesus Christ with his arms extended giving the feeling that he was embracing the city. It takes a minute for every tourist to realize that Honduras is a deeply religious country of Catholics and that giant statue attested to that. Across the statue there was also a temple, the ones you see in Central and South America with steep steps. This setting was perfect for our first group picture! After that, we greeted the kids and 'la madre' and returned back to Villa Olimpica.
Back home we waited for the water to be fixed so we could take a shower as most of us got muddy at the rainforest. We had tostadas with chicken/pork (questionable), lettuce, tomatoes/onions/peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, blackberry juice, and milk for dinner. I still havent figured out if that was any of that or the lunch that made Adrian, Monica, Femi and me feel sick the next day...
Today was our first SWOT analysis and it was for Prisma that we visited yesterday. We also tried to install a network (internet) card that Jose gave us but to no avail. Xuan needed that most of all as for the past couple of days was working on her assignment that was due at midnight! Eventually she sent her assignment from Jose's house so all was good. The night ended with some poeple reading their books and Amos, Robert, Kun, and me playing a game of Poker. We were ready to go to bed tired after the long day to get some rest for the next day that we hoped to be as amazing as the one that was just ending.
Femi's Perspective
Our first full day in Honduras started with a lovely breakfast at the villa. Everyone slept very well after our very long journey from Washington D.C. bright and early Thursday morning. After breakfast, Jorge and Nery's our hosts and guides while we are here, arrived to take us out for the day. So, well rested and full of yummy breakfast, we set off to explore the city. Our first stop: Prisma, one of the micro-finance institutions (MFI) based in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. MFI's are the main source of credit for small businesses. Increasing the number of small businesses is one of the ways of aiding economic development and poverty eradication in Honduras.
There are two main types of business in Honduras and they are described below:
- Micro-business: the business owner usually makes about $3,125 a month; the capital invested by the business owner is approximately $2,400. The business is chatacterized by the following: it involves manual labor; there is no division of labor; the business owner has little or no academic education.
- Small business: this type of business is a lot more capital intensive with about $25,000 invested in capital; the monthly revenues are in the order of $9,375 and the business is characterized by the following: semi-automated labor; more division of labor; business owner has some academic education and there is official paper-work filed with the goverment.
A few facts about the country: Honduras has a population of 7.8million people, 52% of whom are women and 4.5million people live in poverty. Prisma was founded in 2004 by a group of people interested in promoting small business in Honduras. PRisma gives out two types of loans: group loans and individual loans. The groups are usually made up of three people performing some sort of economic activity, must know one each other and qualify for individual credit. Individual loans are given to people who already have a source of income; the individual also needs two other people to guarantee the loans in the event of a default. Both individuals are required to have a steady source of income as well. Group loans have become more common because there have been more cases of defaults amongst individual loans.
Rob's Perspective
::January 14, 2011::
The group's first full-day in Honduras was spent with the micro-finance institution, Prisma. There was a bit of uncertainty in getting things moving as everyone straggled out of bed at different times, still unsure of what our schedule for the day would hold. All of us did manage to make it down for breakfast at 8:30 where Kun was the first person to point out how good the refried beans were, and almost all of us dug into the boiled plantains before getting on our way.
Some of us who were familiar with micro-finance were skeptical about the practice given recent controversies, particularly over high interest rates that one in the group pointed out are roughly as high as a monthly credit card or a check cashing business. In other words, in working with the poor, vulnerable and often uneducated, there was a concern about how those accepting loans could pay significant amounts at such high rates.
Prisma's staff addressed many of our questions and concerns in a well-organized presentation that covered the demographics and economics of Honduras, the goal in their operations - summarized as "Loans that change lives" - the individuals, groups and businesses they service, the ways they vet and work with their clientele and so on. While many of us focused on the social development implications with our questions, Kun really focused on breaking down the finance and economics of what they do in terms of the amounts of loans, rates of interest, rates of default and so on, and attempting to see where it fit in the larger Honduran economic picture.
It was interesting - if not necessarily surprising - to discover that most of Prisma's money came from the United States. We saw one small component of that in how, like many MFIs, they have worked with Kiva to finance loans for their clients, as well as to market Prisma online to the rest of the world.
A lot of attention was paid to the position of assessor, as these individuals are in many ways the most crucial members of Prisma's team. Handling a caseload of over 300 clients each, they are responsible for vetting customers, providing the money to them and ensuring payments are made. To service many communities, assessors will ride out on motorcycles to deliver services and collect payments.
For some, the fact that these employees receive commission (on top of a base salary) is somewhat troubling. It could on one hand force them to consider loans carefully to ensure that they are only finding customers who will successfully pay back the loan. However, it could also create an incentive for riskier loans in higher volume, and abusive scenarios by which the assessor ensures the loans are paid back. It's not that I believe Prisma would encourage such practices, because there are review panels that may help in discouraging such practices, but assessors seem to have quite a bit of autonomy. At any rate, it's more of a concern related to recent controversies in India where this sort of practice was being adopted by operators of for-profit MFIs, and it's an issue I would like to revisit in our next meeting, just to see what other controls Prisma has put in place to prevent such issues or situations from arising.
After wrapping up the presentation from which Adrian emerged a rock star for his ability to translate and interpret the questions and responses thoroughly, we traveled through Tegucigalpa to a local market where several of Prisma's clients operated. It showed in simple terms the differences in size of loans for individuals and businesses that Prisma provides. Moving in from the street, we first met a man whose watch stand and products were bought with microloans, followed by a woman who competed each day for a place to sell her tortillas in the doorway of the market. In both cases, the clients talked about how the loans enabled them conduct their businesses and how grateful they were for the opportunities Prisma had offered.
Entering the market, it wasn't initially unlike small markets you would find in most US cities, with fresh produce and slaughtered meats. But, it was jarring to see seemingly stray dogs roaming around, both directly outside and even in the market. We were also a little startled to have to make way for a side of beef being hauled on a man's shoulder right through the market, rather than through the back as one might expect in the US.
Inside we met Prisma's next client, who ran a small eatery. She said she was able to expand her business with microloans, and would like to continue expanding in the future. In each case, all three met us with smiles and talked about Prisma with a great deal of gratitude.
From there we went to a local restaurant, Al Asador, who was using microloans to improve its marketing. Even while the whole process of going from smallest to largest client type had been a bit of a marketing campaign itself by Prisma, we couldn't help but be thankful for the wonderful meal that came next.
The biggest debate centered around drinks, as we all wanted to try local fare and flavors, and so got pitchers of guanabana and berry-like juice. Coming out in waves of fried yucca, plantains (with more of the 
queso dura), tortillas with refried beans and more, the appetizers paled next to what came next. Al Asador is an Argentine-style bbq, and the meats arrived on on small grills and featured steaks, blood sausages, liver and much more. For the two of us who are vegetarians, special plates were arranged by the chef and owner as well, and all of us ate well. Out of what we ate, the desserts seemed the most unique from what you could find in the United States, as one seemed almost a type of french toast, and the other a ring of fried dough, but in each case cooked and served in a sugary sauce.
This wrapped up the "business" portion of our day, but seeing the direct connection between microfinance and the clients served there was at least a bit more optimism about the concept than there had been before. One of us even mentioned his interest in returning to Honduras to intern at Prisma.
With early evening coming we headed to a local shopping center for an adventure in getting the local currency. One interesting note, despite the typical shenanigans associated with being tourists that don't speak the language, was how the banks were all situated within the mall. We had noticed throughout the day how men with shotguns and machetes would guard various store fronts and businesses around the city, and within this high-end mall it was no different. Most of the bank's were clustered together with a security guard checking people before letting them even enter that section of the mall. Or, at least most people. While two finely dressed Honduran women were stopped so the guard could check their bags, we - the obvious tourists - were waved right through. Of course, once we saw the exchange rates and fees, we quickly turned right around to find ATMs and get Lempiras.
While Adrian and Amos left the mall to find an Internet cafe - with Charles and I getting slightly lost trying to find the same cafe a few minutes later - most of us went to the supermarket to get snacks, drinks and coffee.
At this point, we headed home for the evening, discussing what we had seen and experienced throughout the day, while some of us opened and shared snacks we had picked up along the way.
Valerie's perspective
::January 14, 2011::
After yesterday's 4 a.m. start and extra long van ride, most of us slept well last night. Our first full day in Tegulcigalpa was WILD! The day began with a delicious breakfast of beans, plantains, cereal, whole milk, ham and queso duro blanco ("cheese" as the Americans say). Our agenda: Meet (and meat ...) with Prisma (who I want to call Prismaers... sounds like prisoners) and visit with several business owners. Surprise agenda additions: Large Argentinian style lunch, traffic to rival the D.C. metro area, and some rousing Vegas-style card games played by College Park-style amateurs.
We arrived at Prisma in the mid-morning. After a warm welcome, Susan of Prisma led us through an informative presentation, translated in full by Adrian. Speaking of Adrian- apparently he knows Spanish or something? We will crown him King of Translators tomorrow. Susan led us through basics of micro finance, business ownership and the state of Honduran poverty. She engaged us in a dialogue about Prisma's role in Honduras. Prisma has four locations, located primarily in southern Honduras. Each location has 2-3 employees responsible for recruiting and evaluating potential clients. Business owners who apply for a loan through Prisma must have been in business for at least one year, proof of residence, financial records (personal and business), a financial plan for the requested loan and some other relevant business information that I may remember tomorrow. To assist with payment, business owners co-sign into loans with fellow business owners or family guarantors. Prisma grants loans to individuals who operate businesses in commerce (shops, food sales), service (taxi, beauty shops) or individuals who have building expenses (addition to home or business). These categories include basically any and all business needs. Susan happily answered our probing questions. Filadelfo (sp?) took a few minutes to speak with us about Prisma's relationship with Kiva, which accounts for $40,000 of Prisma's $900,000 in loans. I was impressed to find that only 5%-10% of Prisma's lenders default on their loans.
Susan showed us about 20 photos of business owners. Then we visited four business owners in various stages of business ownership. I'd abbreviate business owners "BOs" but traditionally "BO" means body odor, and nobody we visited smelled bad. In spite of our stationary targets, we were in the van for what felt like a very long time looking for them. When we finally parked, a short walk led us to a woman selling tortillas (or something circular and bread-like) from a seat at the market entrance, a gentleman (standing outside) whose loan helped him purchase goods for his stand, and a woman inside the market area whose booth serves 30-40 customers per day. She was thin. We took a picture with her. Other noteworthy sights in the market area included a man carrying what looked like half a cow on his back, about 4 dogs, and many heads of lettuce.
With translation assistance from Adrian and Nery, we spoke briefly with each business owner. It was inspiring to see people living and working in what to me are impoverished and unclean conditions so grateful for what they had. Each Prisma client appeared to have a great relationship with Prisma, and they were happy to speak with us about their livelihoods.
Our next stop was a restaurant owned by a gentleman who used his loan to improve marketing and refine his restaurant. Unlike the other clients, this man (can't remember his name) runs an obviously lucrative restaurant along the strip. I won't dance around the elephant in the room. Food was delicious surprise- Argentinian grilled meats, delicious chips and beans, juice that was not guava (guarano? not guano, that's bat Ebola-causing bat poop), a refreshing plantain salad and two varieties of honey-soaked breads for dessert. Liver and blood sausages added an extra dimension to the meat spread. Some people ate it. The vegetarians did not. People here have trouble understanding what it means to be a vegetarian.
Drove back to the home base where we were too full to enjoy dinner at a time when normal people eat. Played some cards. Chewed the fat. Ate more. We debriefed after dinner, and it's clear that our group will continue to grow and learn from each other and our experiences for the rest of the trip. I'm looking forward to defining and redefining our goals for this trip. Tomorrow we are responsible for 15 Spanish-speaking children in the rainforest!
Arrival
We made it! After landing in San Pedro Sula, we took a five-hour car ride down the Honduran countryside, finally arriving in our hostel in the capital, Tegulcipa. Today was mostly a haze of travel and watching a steady stream of vendors selling fruit, Pizza Huts and malls and kids playing soccer. I was struck by the huge presence of American corporations everywhere in the country, and am interested in how our economy and policies influence the people of Honduras. After finally arriving, ohur hosts greeted us with chicken and rice and we discussed our plans for the coming days. We were all happy to get to know our hosts, two of whom are a couple living in New York, and meet more people both in the capital and out. With the trip's theme of social enterprise, we'll be looking at examples of small businesses and nonprofit organizations that are working to help Hondurans and address the problems of poverty and violence here.
- Shreema Mehta
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Slight Delay...
The first International Graduate Student Alternative Winter Break has been put on hold...for a day. The wintery weather in the Maryland, Washington, D.C. area caused our flight to be pushed back exactly one day. We'll be leaving tomorrow on the same flight at the same time, only different day. The folks on the Honduras side have been very helpful and our schedule is still set to move along with only a few slight changes in organization visits. The only thing we are missing out on is Jose's birthday party. Jose is the person who has been primarly in charge of making arrangements with our contacts with Buiding a Future (baf.org).We're not sure what type of access we will have to the internet once we are down in Tegucigalpa, but rest assured, we will be busy blogging off-line and taking video and photo footage to share and blog!
