Day 6: It was like we woke up

We departed for Malpaisillo early this morning, a day already steamy by 8:00. This small town is the setting for a women's cooperative focused on farming and livestock -- these women own their own land as a condition of joining the cooperative, and manage the farms themselves. Our first stop was a goat farm in the boonies, mountains in the background, lush green jungle around us. Our bus could only go so far, then we all piled into the back of a Toyota pickup truck for the remainder of the drive to the farm. Been awhile since we crammed 15 people into a pickup to get into the drive-in for one low fee, so it seemed like an adventure. At first. Then the pickup was rolling and leaning as it made its way up the road, and I was making a mental exit plan if the damn thing rolled. Then it reached a hill it just could not climb. We all willingly exited and walked the remainder of the way. (It's telling that -- on the way back -- we were asked to give up three spots for the women of the farm, and all 15 of us volunteered to walk back.)

The coordinator of the program is one feisty, fiery woman from Spain -- the one pointing upward in the photo above. I would not want to tangle with her. She was from the region of Spain that also gave us St Ignatius of Loyola -- and she had a few thoughts on him as well. She began the cooperative that now has more than 100 women involved as landowners, farmers, and ranchers. One of them was a mother of four -- the leftmost woman in the picture above -- who said after entering the program "It was like I woke up...it changed my life." They referred to their joining the coop as "I got organized," which of course has different connotations in the States. Their accomplishments are undeniably praise worthy, though, as these women were dragged up from illiteracy and poverty to become landowners and ranchers. The picture on the left above is of one of them, who owned the farm we visited. Her goats are in the background.

This part of the countryside is much less downtrodden. The houses are nicer, there is some industry, and the people look more nourished. Can't say the same for the cows or horses, but we did see one fat dog -- very rare here.

We had some barbecue for lunch. Never did quite get a straight answer as to whether it was sheep or goat. Either way -- tasty. Then visited the local health clinic. I had a chance to talk with the gynecologist, a woman trained in Spain who has worked at the clinic for 16 years. 9% of her clientele have papilloma virus and cervical cancer continues to be a common diagnosis, sometimes after menopause when it has already spread. I asked if her teens were willing to take the HPV vaccine."Probably, but we do not have any. We don't even have mammograms." Maybe this is something we could work on?

Had dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant after a welcome 2 hr break. Took a cold shower to try and bring my body temperature under 100 degrees. Geez, this is some hot stuff. No worries about my rings getting stolen as they'd never be able to get them off my fingers. Tomorrow, back to Managua to meet with the founder of the Feminist Women's Movement and the Director of a Jesuit Research Institute. The last few days have definitely been one for the girls. Stay tuned.