Today was the third morning Seth and I traveled by Izuzu Trooper to the village of Pastores, about a 15 minute drive from Antigua.
Like most of Guatemala, this area was devastated by a tropical storm in May, which washed away many houses built too close to the mountain. Many families lost everything, and our venture aims to provide new houses to the poorest of those families, none of whom can afford to pay for new housing.
Pastores is small village, known for its cowboy boots, nestled in a narrow valley. The village, which has partnered with our church and a church from Tulsa to build 12 houses, donated land in the middle of mountain cornfield. The walk up the dirt trail is next to impossible to complete without a break. Not surprisingly, the local Patores public works crew seems to have no trouble carrying up the 800 lbs. boxes with the housing materials.
The houses are a simple 15'x18' one room structure with two windows and a skylight. Unlike many prefabricated homes, these come with insulation, which in Guatemala's moderate climate, ensures the homes will always be a livable temperature. The total cost for each house is about $2000.
Each day we try to divide up the pieces of the four walls and the ceilings and try to assemble the house faster than we did the day before. Wednesday's house had four walls done by 11:30 when Seth and I left for our Spanish lessons.
However small these shed-like structures are by American standards--or white by Guatemalan standards, the view from the former cornfield is phenomenal. The valley stretches across to mountains rising only a few miles away, mountains so high their peaks are often obscured by the clouds.
Once we get our pictures uploaded, we'll try to find one that does the view justice.
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