Community Service, part 2

OK that last post was a bit maudlin and emotional. Sorry. This stuff brings it out in me.

So, what was our project in San Clemente? Well, simply put, we moved about a million rocks, more or less, down a dried up ravine, as part of an effort to begin building a retaining wall for a road that is constantly threatened by the seasonal rains. This roadway is crucial to the town's budding cultural tourism business, as many of the homes where visitors can find lodging during homestays are located upon it. The road is split at one point by what can only be called a river, which is dry this time of year. This river is crossable even when it flows across the roadway, but the flowing water erodes and destroys the sides of the road as it climbs a steep hill beyond its banks. Our project was the begining of a much longer one, which will build a large stone retaining wall to protect the hillside and preserve the road in all seasons.

hauling rocks at the work site

What this meant for us was we had to move a huge quantity of rocks, to fill these giant wire cages that, when filled and stacked against the wall of the ravine, would create an unerodable protective barrier against the rushing water. So move rocks we did, forming a long chain to pass them from person to person and form gigantic stone piles, then moving those piles in a similar fashion to get them down to where the cages were being assembled, wired together, and finally, painstakingly, filled. Our work usually begain around eight thirty or so in the morning and would continue until around one in the afternoon. Long hot mornings in the sun, working side by side with people from the community who were also recruited to help out.

Liam and a local woman rock & roll at the work site

This was frustrating work at times, seeming endless and pointless at first, but as the ditch was excavated along the hillside and the cages were fitted into it, it became more obvious what our goal was, and we could take satisfaction in seeing some slow progress towards an endpoint, some time off in the future. We actually got quite a lot done, and made an excellent start to the project, which will be continued by the community, and aided by two other WCE teams that will be in San Clemente in August.

Lunches during the project were provided by the community, and were a wonder in and of themselves. At the lunch break we'd walk up the hill just a little way to the house of Raul, Manuel's brother. This was a gorgeous, leafy hacienda with llamas in the yard, an incredible traditional outdoor kitchen, and the feel of a colonial era ranch house.

Imbabura, seen from Raul´s casa

The women there would spread out large woven mats on the grass of the lawn, or in the shade of the covered courtyard one day, it being good and hot, and several dishes were laid out for the ultimate traditional, family style communal meal. Giant pots of quinwa and potato soup, boiled potatos, roasted maize kernels off the cob, several different kinds of thick, fantastically fresh juices, rice and greens and strips of meat marinated in lime juice. After lunch we´d ride out our food coma with a sweet communal siesta, then it was back to work.