Friday, October 29, 2010
Proud of Fair Trade
These four women are some of the leaders of the Fair Trade organization, El Murcurio or "Murcury." I have talked about this group before, but this was my last encounter with them. During the year I went to their artisan workshop 3 or four times and was welcomed with open arms, but I will never forget this experience because I was translating. One of the group that was traveling with us asked them, "how has Fair Trade changed your life?" and their response has forever become a part of who I am.
"When we started, our husbands didn't want us to do this because they wanted us to be in the house cooking, but once they saw how much money we were making they changed their minds. We now have enough money to send our kids to school and to make our homes a little better. But we now, even more than the money, we have more faith in ourselves and more pride in who we are. That is how Fair Trade has changed us."
Monday, October 25, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
The afternoon commute
When we visited the Amazon, I was amazed at how many people were out on the river. I love this photograph because it really shows the normal life that existed in that region. I don't know much about this guy, but it just seems like he is enjoying is afternoon commute home after a day of work. It is something that looks so different than the hours spent in gridlock on I-5, but such a strong example of just life.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Menu
This is one of those photos that I almost forgot to take, which would have been tragic since the menĂº was a daily part of my life. In Peru, the menĂº is the normal lunch or dinner meal that everyone gets. It usually comes in 2 parts, an apatizer and then the main course. They were usually the common food for the part of the country that you were in and were 6 soles ($2) at most, usually cheaper. So, this sign shows what a normal person, who was eating on their lunch break in Iquitos would eat.