OFC Visits Cecosesola: It's a Wrap!

This morning, Yenny asks me if my shoulders are sore. To tell the truth, I tell her, my entire body hurts. And yours? Hasta mi pelo, she says.

This is not the result of a 12 hour day stocking products in the feria, though I was sore after my first fin de semana here at Cecosesola. Rather, it is the effect of 3 straight hours of sand volleyball at the granja. And if we are moving like a pair of rusty machines while scrubbing the floor of the escuela this morning, I for one, will say it was worth every ache.

This weekend was the start of carnival here in Venezuela, as in many other parts of Latin America and around the world. Schoolkids are out of class until Wednesday, and many businesses are closed. In honor of the holiday, Cecosesola threw a huge party for it's compañer@s, producers, and members of associated coops, as well as their families. In total, more than 700 people were invited, and activities planned included a planetarium, telescope to view Venus and Jupiter, swimming in two piscinas, softball, fishing, bola criolla, ping pong, pool, bingo, dancing to live music, and my favorite: volleyball.

Around 100 of us went down to the granja Sunday in the evening and camped overnight. Typical of the generosity we've experienced while here, although Ale and I weren't sure where we'd be sleeping, when we arrived there was a tent set up for us, complete with a dinner of cachapas and a blow-up mattress: more comfort than I've experienced camping at home!

Several times throughout the day on Monday folks asked me whether we have gatherings like this at our coop. I explained the difficulty of gathering all together--that our stores are always open, that it's hard on the members to close early, that it's not always easy to justify the expense. People at Cecosesola can certainly understand these difficulties--they, too, are trying to serve the needs of their community, are concerned with financial solvency, and would have a hard time doing what they do if the ferias were open every day of the week (my description of our store hours is most often met with na´guara!) And yet, there is also a strong sense that gatherings like this one are important--that knowing each other's friends and families, and building relationships outside of work are tools as crucial to the success of the organization as reporting sales and margin numbers, which has been done in every single large-group meeting I've attended here.

In today's reunion de gestion, we are discussing an overall financial loss experienced at the Central Integral de Salud (el C.I.S.C., pronounced "sees"). As I listen to percentages of total use and cost experienced by areas such as acupuncture, radiology, alternative therapies, etc., I shell and savor the taste of tamarind fruit, which Yenny (of the sore everthing) harvested for us this morning by repeatedly tossing a broom into a tree outside the escuela.I consider the faces around me, with whom yesterday I splashed in pools, and dove after kills on the volleyball court. We drank cerveza and jugo de jamaica. We danced, got sunburns, and talked with kids about the solar system. The people around me look tired, and it's hot enough that we move our chairs from the meeting room at Ruiz Pineda down to the patio outside the feria where there's a bit more breeze, but still the effects of a weekend spent together show in the midst of a difficult conversation. People laugh easily and cede the floor to each other so that each person can say what they need to. When the conversation is over there's an amiable lull while people chat amongst themselves until Ricardo says that I have something to say, and I nervously offer my gratitude for all I've experienced over the last four weeks, and say how excited I am to host representatives from Cecosesola in Olympia this May.

Here are some pictures: of the granja, of meetings, of Carnival, and a few of my favorite shots from the trip that haven't made it onto the blog yet. Also, check out "Work and Play," where Ale has added a bunch of photos from our trip to the beach and our work in the ferias.

I fly out tonight, but will also leave you with some profiles of the compañer@s who are preparing for their trip to Olympia. Thanks to everyone who's been following the blog these past five weeks and a million thanks to my coworkers at the Coop, for their support with this intercambio. I'll see you all soon!