The first Condega Homemakers Project brigade is leaving on Friday, February 19, 1999 for Condega. Currently we have 6 brigadistas, including a forewoman from Wales, and another to join us in mid-March. More later... marg ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- 19 february 1999 the first 4 brigadistas (sonja, pat, isis, and i) have arrived in managua safely. ------------------------------------------------------ 22 Feb 1999 we made it safely to condega (with lucy and sarah who arrived yesterday. tonight there is an organizational dinner with the women's groups here. tomorrow the real work begins with a tour of the damaged areas, a visit to the building site, and an organizational meeting in the workshop. -- Helen Shears -------------------------------------------------------------- Condega 14 Marzo 1999 sorry about the infrequent updates... the construction has been progressing, though there are still some details to sort out regarding the land for the 30 houses -- the local council has planned a whole new satellite community complete with park, school, etc. there is one beneficiary, beatriz, who lives in the nearby town of Santa Teresa. it couldn't be better to begin/learn on a single lot (and not have to face a vast and formidable terrain for our first try...) we wake up at about 5:30 every morning and try to get up to the land before 7:00. the commute takes 30 min each way, bouncing around on the back of the collective's pickup truck. the route is a winding mountain road with breathtaking views -- we have to dodge chickens, cows, horses, pigs, children which keeps it exciting. the dirt road follows the river which at parts reveals vast barren areas where houses once stood. beatriz's house is on a slight slope which has made digging, etc. interesting -- everything is done by hand including the cement mixing. the sight of new construction (often on steep an hard to get to places) is quite familiar: it seems that about half of Santa Teresa (a small rural community) is rebuilding. the good news is that a private donor has funded about 20 of the 31 houses -- but we have made modifications to the plans including adding an extra room and plumbing/electric (!). we need to rework the budget when i get back but if we keep the goal of $50K we can spend some of it on a cement mixer! we quit at about 4:00, when we stumble into town to buy Fresca (the soft drink) and hand-made pastries or ice cream. we're accumulating a degree of notoriety in condega -- a bunch of extremely filthy gringas and a chinita driving around in a big grey pickup truck. without a cement mixer or back-hoe we've finished setting out the cement footings of the house and are ready to attach the seismic beam, which sits underneath the cinderblocks. we have to fetch water and gravel for the cement from the river; we gathered fieldstones to put in the trenches underneath the cement. we're all working very hard and learning a lot. the brigadistas (sonja, isis, lucy, and sarah) couldn't be better. we eat refried beans, beans with rice, rice with beans, and gallo pinto ("painted rooster" -- rice fried with beans or is it beans fried with rice?) not to mention tortillas: fried, toasted, or in soup (hmm now that i think of it the same goes for plantains). the women we are working with here are amazing: they have been working non-stop since the hurricane last november -- and planning new projects such as a women's university, a women's construction business, and a battered women's shelter to boot! same goes for the brigade: there is not much personal time as once one work day is over we come home to dinner and showers and immediately start planning for the following day (computing lengths of iron re-bar to cut, lengths of wood for the formwork, planning tools to bring, etc.) new brigadistas arrive next week: jennifer from New Jersey and penny from the U.K. Penny will be the new forewoman to take over for isis who leaves in 3 weeks. i myself will return to new york city on sunday 21/3 with stories, pictures, cuts, blisters, and a farmer's tan... marg -- Helen Shears