Runs & Reflections

I once dreamed about writing a book about the things I learn when running in various parts of the world. For me going on a run is one of the most centering experiences and I have found one of the most amazing ways to see the world. First of all, when out on a run alone I am more present with the moment and my surroundings then other parts of my day. Furthermore I am one of those people who tends to think better while in motion, I formulated almost all of my masters thesis running on the trails outside of Corvallis. For these two reasons, I tend to take in, process and reflect most deeply during those morning runs, no matter where I find myself.
During this trip in Guatemala I have found myself running in some very beautiful places, surrounded by a traditional lifestyle that has been infiltrated with the effects of a globalized market. Although women still dress in the traditional Cortes and Huipiles, there are some serious threats to the Mayan Cosmovision and traditional way of life, which can be expressed through the various crops that I find myself running among; corn, coffee and avocado. The dirt roads in the small communities where I have been running in Guatemala are usually lined with one of these crops, all of them very beautiful, providing a scenic run, very different from the forests I am used to at home. Although they are all pleasing to the eye, the histories and current effects of these agricultural endeavors are not all as delightful.
Lets start with the cornfields, which can give the feeling of being surrounded by “authentic” Mesoamerican culture. The Mayans believed a woman, initiating the fifth creation of man, created them from corn ground. Everything in the Mayan cosmovision is based corn, and working the land, including their calendar, whose 270 days aligns with its gestation period of corn. The Milpa system is the traditional way of growing corn which combines it with beans and squash creating a symbiotic relationship where the corn provide a stalk for the beans to climb, the beans fix nitrogen in the soil that the corn needs, and the Squash serves as a ground cover that protects against erosion, and prevents weeds. These three foods are also nutritionally complete when eaten together as a meal. The interesting thing about the cornfields I normally run though is that I rarely see this milpa system implemented, regardless of the centuries of proof on its effectiveness. Instead I see corn growing on it’s own and scattered signs that say Atrazine, which is a pesticide produced in Switzerland. Atrazine is the biggest contaminant of drinking water, and therefore illegal in Europe, but still used throughout the Americas. Why is it that harmful imported chemicals have taken the place of the successful farming techniques that have been created over thousands of years? In my opinion the answer is money, and the priorities and values that the global market tends to embody.
Coffee Fincas also provide a wonderful setting to enjoy a morning run as well. I love the end product of these farms and drink more coffee than I am proud to admit. Not only are the trees really beautiful, but I enjoy thinking about where this coffee will some day end up and who will enjoy it, and what kind of conversation or work will they enjoy it over. Coffee has become part of a culture and way of life for me, there is nothing I love more than spending an afternoon in a coffee shop with friends or reading a book. The side of coffee I am exposed to here is not always as romantic though. Guatemala is the second largest producer of “High Quality” coffee behind Colombia making up 15% of its GDP. But where does this coffee all come from? It’s grown on land here Guatemala, worked by local people in alarmingly bad conditions. Here in San Juan Cotzal we work with a women’s weaving co-op which was started in big part to provide an alternative to working on coffee plantations for women left widowed by the civil war. Guatemalans working on these plantations work hard 12 hours days cutting and carrying coffee across this mountainous terrain. People commit themselves to 30 days of work before receiving a paycheck, which works out to about $2 a day, and is oftentimes not paid in full. The plantation owners don’t hesitate to take advantage of the fact that many people from this region are unable to read, write, speak much Spanish, and in turn advocate for themselves. Coffee is a $600 billion global industry, where only .5% ends up in the hands of those doing the labor, the ones who most likely need it.
While running along the shores of Lago Atitlan I was awed by the majestic views, especially right outside of IMAP, the permaculture center where we worked while there. The road to IMAP forks off the main paved road and weaves through 2 Avocado farms before arriving at the lakeshore. The first trees I pass through are owned and operated by a Guatemalan employee of Monsanto. The trees have been genetically modified to produce upwards of a thousand avocados per season for export. It is ironic that this farm exists alongside IMAP whose permaculture philosophy urges working with nature instead of trying to control it.
A little further down the road is the second avocado farm, which is cultivated on land bought by a wealthy Guatemalan and fenced in with tall chain link blockades. I was told that this land all used to be local farmland where people grew food to sustain their community, land that is now dedicated 100% to a mono-crop for export. Much like the coffee, avocados are grown on Guatemalan land, and in general are not used to feed Guatemalans, forcing people into the global market where they must pay for food rather than grow it themselves due to a shortage of land. Ivan Illich articulates this phenomenon, and describes in part how a land as bio-diverse and rich as Guatemala still has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world:

e]lite professional groups . . . have come to exert a 'radical monopoly' on such basic human activities as health, agriculture, home-building, and learning, leading to a 'war on subsistence' that robs peasant societies of their vital skills and know-how. The result of much economic development is very often not human flourishing but 'modernized poverty,' dependency, and an out-of-control system in which the humans become worn-down mechanical parts.

Unfortunately, none of these issues I am observing on my runs are new to Guatemala, in contrast agricultural land was a leading cause of the civil war that occurred here and resulted in over 200,000 deaths of mostly indigenous people. The global economy has turned Guatemala (and many other countries throughout the world) into production plants, that fill every desire of the developed world, be it coffee, broccoli out of season, avocados or bananas, and robbing the locals of the land they desperately rely on, not only physically but also culturally. As I mentioned earlier, the entire Mayan cosmovision (or way of making sense of the world) is based upon corn and working with the land. Without land to work, people are denied the very basis of their being. My runs here in Guatemala remind me everyday that there is a connection between the global economy, the things I enjoy at home and the realities of people here in Guatemala. This economy and globalization is something we are all wrapped up in, it’s quite difficult to not be, but I don’t feel comfortable with its priorities overriding my values. And I definitely don’t feel comfortable knowing that Guatemala is producing food based on our desires, while its own people are hungry. I may not be able to singlehandedly take down this huge machine, but I do have the choice to live my life and spend money according to my values.

Plan Hormiga

As I walk though the fields of corn in Pachaj I can’t help but notice how familiar this town feels to me regardless of how different the corn appears due to the season. The community of Pachaj is home to Chico Mendes Reforestation Project, a long time friend and partner of Dragons in a reciprocal process of learning from one another. We have spent the last few weeks working together with Armando, the project organizer, in his Quiche village to plant trees for our collective future. Every day we learn more about the environmental issues of Guatemala, and the complexities of the systems that drive them. Armando speaks from his heart about both the problems he sees in the world, and the obligations he feels towards nature, as a form of repayment for all it provides him and his family.
At times I see the frustration of all the problems weighing on our students, and sometimes myself…they can seem so complicated and insurmountable. Throughout my trips with Dragons students I have heard so many times “but how can one person really go up against a system that seems so irreversible?”, a question I still ask myself at times, although less and less these days. I owe much of my optimism for the future of our environment to the community of Pachaj, and the time I have spent here. Armando talks with great passion about “Plan Hormiga” (The Ant Plan), which illustrates his philosophy on how to go about making necessary changes in our world that will benefit future generations. If you have ever sat and observed ants, you notice that they all work diligently, and selflessly towards a common goal. When volunteers and students come though Pachaj, their contributions are one step in the progression, their work will be picked up by the next person to arrive, and so continues the process, binding us all together by the this common desire to create a better future for all of our children through planting trees.
I don’t think until very recently I fully understood Plan Hormiga on a deeper level than just being a nice analogy created to give people hope, and a sense of purpose. This understanding comes from being lucky enough to see the links connecting into a chain through my student groups. The students this semester are planting trees in the plastic bags my group filled up in August. We have been hiking up into the mountains and revisiting trees planted by students from past summers, giving them care and making sure they continue to grow. As I watched my students clearing the weeds from the bases of these trees, it connected their work and intentions with those of my past students, and I realized that the Plan Hormiga is real. Even if students do not come back to Chico Mendes (although many do) they are taking a piece of this consciousness, a piece of Chico Mendes with them throughout the rest of their lives, creating a web that connects us all in a way that we may not even comprehend. I am only starting to understand the power of this solidarity that Armando has been watching play out over numerous years, through countless pairs of hands plunging themselves into the same tierra.
I am realizing although it may be easy to claim that our problems are too big to conquer, it is also easy to be part of a Hormiga Plan no matter where we are. I now know that when we pack up our bags and head out of Pachaj, when the season and corn fields change, other hands will take our place, and we will carry this new conciseness to our respective communities and beyond…and this gives me hope.