Cochabamba is one of the most contaminated cities here in this part of the world and people here are slowly becoming more conscious of it. This year for the first time the mayor’s office has decided to have 3 pedestrian days instead of only 1, with the hope that eventually we will move to 1 a month. Pedestrian day consists of not allowing any vehicles or motorcycles to move about unless it is for emergency purposes and the streets are opened up to people, animals, bikes, skateboards and whatever else you can think of. I really like pedestrian day a lot (it always occurs on Sundays) because there’s a feeling of community, of commonality and being in touch with where we live that is refreshing.
There were lots of people selling food, plants, “stuff,” as well as organized games and recycling. For example, a paper company set up a tent to receive paper in exchange for toilet paper. It was very calming to walk all around the city without fearing for a car charging past you as if you had no right to the streets as well. It was a good day (my second pedestrian day so far here in Cochabamba) and it would be nice if we could institute something like this in the States…maybe one day?
As you may recall from past blogs an effort I’ve been involved in since before I got out of language school is encouraging families to compost and then use the compost to have a small garden. Last year with my friends/partners-in-crime Reneé and Pablo, we got involved with a project at the university agricultural department, where the agricultural engineers help us learn how to manage a square foot garden best and we help them explore different ways to go about gardening and help harvest vegetables. Because of this connection, the engineer invited us to be a part of his project’s tent at the agricultural fair that lasted for 3 days, so we got to show off our tire composter and also how we use the tires for raising worms to make their own compost.
Recently we made a square foot raised garden out of plastic bottles and another one out of tires, in an attempt to lower the costs of having a garden to make it more accessible for families with fewer resources and also to recycle material that would otherwise be sitting on the side of the road or in the dump.
As a small reminder for how incredibly common it is to be around trash the majority of one’s day in Cochabamba, one day I went to Tiqti Sud where the parish San Carlos has a center with a chapel, after-school program, dentist and space for retreats. I was struck by how pretty it looked as I was walking along the dirt road to get there, but then by the contrast of all the nasty trash people dump outside.
Granted, they have limited trash service…you really have to make an effort to get your trash taken to the dump, so I can understand how the convenience and lack of service has made disposing of trash in this manner a habit. My hope is that one day this will not be the case, but that requires both people caring enough and money from the local authorities to provide more thorough trash management.
In my family’s neighborhood in Virginia, a private company comes to pick up trash two days a week and another day of the week the same company comes to pick up recycling, which includes many different kinds of materials. For a long time, my parents would drive their trash to the dump because they didn’t have this service. In the central city of Cochabamba, we take our trash to a dumpster in the street and those outside the city center either have to deal with it themselves (ie burning it or dumping it outside their house or in the streets) or run outside when they hear the trash pick-up truck go by early in the morning.
No matter where you live, there is no easy option for recycling. There are several organized groups of individuals who go through the streets and the dumpsters picking out items that can be sold to a company that recycles them. On my way home one day, I came across this woman with her 8 year-old daughter collecting and separating recyclables as a way to get an income.
I chatted with them for a while and the daughter told me that she was only there that day because the most current street blockades prevented school from being in session so she could help her mom out.
I knew what she was talking about because I had to walk many extra blocks due to these blockades and since I had my camera with me, I took pictures of what I came across on my walk home.
There was a group of public health workers striking because I think they wanted more benefits, but to be honest, I can’t remember any more why they were striking and blockading but it was bothersome for the rest of us in trying to get around. This is a fairly common occurrence.
Switching gears to something that I really enjoyed, my host family from language school invited me over for dinner to celebrate my host-mom’s birthday, and it was a really nice time.
The two daughters are around the ages of two of my actual sisters, so it feels especially comfortable being with them. I’m so grateful I was placed with them while I was in language school and they continue to be my family in Bolivia. We took a picture of me with my Bolivian sisters and the boyfriend of one of them.
5 Things I’m thankful for today: warm blankets at night; delicious mandarina fruit that is in season; playing cards with my kid neighbors in the social center; sunny weather that gives me energy; watching a 4-year-old and his older brother eagerly pick spinach with me from the after-school program garden.
