Carta de Navidad

Dear friends and family,

Happy holidays! I've been thinking about you all, especially these past few weeks, and hope you're doing well and are enjoying some time off for the holidays. I've now been here at my site for nearly a month, and there's much to report. It's odd to think that it's Christmas with the sun blazing outside and cold and snow a distant memory, but the warmth of the Dominican people and their unique way of celebrating continually remind me of how fortunate am to be here. Enriquillo is festive and cheerful: the evergreen Christmas trees I'm used to have been replaced by creations made out of bunched-together recycled plastic bags, empty juice boxes dangle by the hundreds from tree branches in people's yards, and Christmas lights twinkle and flicker on the small, colorful houses--but only when there's electricity, of course. I'll be spending Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) with my host family, as that's the big family day here, and then I'll head up to another volunteer's house to spend Christmas day with some other Peace Corps volunteers from around the area, baking holiday treats and enjoying some American food (most likely spaghetti or pizza--not traditional holiday fare, but a welcome change from the standard Dominican diet of yuca and boiled plantains). And then I'm meeting up with Kimberly and Nate so we can welcome the New Year in together, on a gorgeous Carribbean beach with some of our new friends. Honestly, not a day goes by when I can't believe this is actually my life!

Enriquillo itself is a decent-sized town with a population of approximately 15,000, and is absolutely beautiful. The coast here is breathtaking, with green lush mountains rising up dramatically from the aquamarine sea, and the town, though poor, is colorful and alive. Though I'll be living mainly in town, my project partners also arranged for a room for me to use on a small coffee farm up in the mountains. The currently-empty house is directly above a coffee 'depositorio,' so I'll have to weave my way through piles of coffee beans to get upstairs to my bed! It's much cooler and more tranquil up in the loma (the mountain), and I know it will be a welcome refuge once the heat of summer sets in. Despite its natural beauty and varied terrain, this area has yet to be 'discovered' by the tourists that crowd most of the country's beaches. On the one hand that's a good thing, as locals retain their traditional way of life, but an influx of tourist dollars could really help the struggling economy here. The principal sources of income here are farming (primarily coffee, beans, and fruit) and fishing, and the small towns along the coast are shrinking as students leave to go to college in Barahona or Santo Domingo and rarely return. The people are resilient and hard working, and I can see that there is much opportunity for growth here as well. It should be an interesting two years.

Although I will likely be working throughout the community, I have been assigned to work with two groups in particular: a newly-formed womens group and an organic coffee cooperative. The womens group currently hase 24 members, middle age and up, and they are wonderful. They're awful about arriving on time, but they're charming and friendly and excited about their new group. 14 of them just received pregnant cows as part of a rotating pregnant cow program: once the calves are born, the women will return the cows to the group so another woman gets a turn. It's sort of ironic that they assigned the only vegetarian in the group to the cow project, but I'm hoping the women will choose the dairy/cheese route rather than raising these lovely cows for the butcher! We had our first meeting a few weeks ago and discussed other ideas for the group, and their enthusiasm was inspiring. We discussed cooperative lending and other services as well as small-scale income generation projects such as selling homemade candies and making our own floor cleaner. They also want to open the group up to other members as soon as possible, and are eager to get started. Oh, and they voted on a name for the group: Cooperativa de Mujeres Amor y Fe, which translates to "Love and Faith Women's Cooperative. As one woman explained, the name encompasses the two most important aspects of life. This project is about as grassroots as development projects get, and I think it will be great.

My other main project is working with COOCAFESUR (Cooperativa de Cafe del Sur), whose 150 members work on small farms in the mountains stretching from Enriquillo north to Paraíso. They're currently in the process of being certified organic, and will be able to sell the next harvest as such--and hopefully gain a better price for their beans. There is another volunteer who has been working with the group for the past year, and she should prove valuable in learning the ins and outs of the cooperative--and understanding all the various organizations associated with it. I spend a lot of time on the back of a government agronomist's motorcycle, climbing the steep, rocky dirt roads that weave throughout the lomas. Considering I was terrified to get on the back of a motorcycle just last year, I'm loving it now! The views, as I mentioned before, are stunning. As volunteers we will work to strengthen the organization, teach basic business skills like accou8nting to the famers, and work with the directiva to better their product, search out domestic markets, and tap into the export market.

Well, I had hoped to write more, but my guagua (minibus) will be leaving shortly and I should go. Again, happy holidays and thanks for all the warm wishes. I love and miss you all!

Amor y paz,
Melissa