San Cristobal Build

The last two days at this site have been incredibly busy. Each morning we start with a group breakfast at 6:30 AM following which we take our packed lunches and pile into our van and pick-up truck for a 30 to 40 minute ride out to our build sites. As we arrive the workers and families we’re building for are already onsite and working away.

View from Building Site

Anna and her younger daughter Karen are already working away as are the 2 masons and their labourer. Because it’s Semana Santa (Easter week) the younger sons of our head mason Hernan has his two boys working with him on our site. I think they’d rather be in school but here they are working away. The first day we arrived we found that only the exterior frame of the building and a few trenches had been dug for the structural walls. This was due to the steep grade that required the exterior to be built up before the foundation could be done.  This grade will certainly make the build a bit more difficult but the advantage of the steep terrain is that Anna and her family have an incredible view from their property.

Off-loaded Blocks Needing Moving

Day 1 - As I’d previously mentioned was made up of slogging cement blocks and sand up the hill to the build area. As well we were digging trenches and mixing cement which along with large rocks were used to create the foundation structure for each of the 5 rooms of the house. Once these were in place cement blocks with open channels were placed and these were filled with re-bar and cement.

Foundation Being Filled

Day 2 – This was another scorcher as we continued to put in foundation and first blocks with re-bar. I spent much of the day learning the Guatemalan way to mix concrete… believe me they have a specific way to do this that is very manual in nature. Much of my day was spent in the sun mixing batch after batch. Our team spent the day building re-bar structure needed and hauling large quantities of sand and cement block up the hill. As the courses of block were placed in we were shown how to follow behind and fill in with mortar the gaps left between the blocks. By the end of this day we had some walls going up and were feeling like we were progressing. By 3pm we were done…. And I mean done, like toast… You can’t imagine working in the sun and heat like this all day. Temperatures recorded at our other build site were 34 degrees in the shade and in the high 40’s to 52 degrees in the sun.

Building at Completion Day 3

Day 3 – Another blistering day in the sun. We were again busy as we spent much of the say, along with the masons and their workers mixing cement and laying blocks to create the interior walls. Overnight fill had been brought in so fill some of the rooms which had four foot drops due to the grade of the property. The Mason decided that myself and one of my co-volunteers Steve (from Ontario) were going to be given the honour of laying blocks. Apparently this is something the masons are often not willing to do and suggested we’d earned his trust as he was willing to show us how to do this. Our Mason Hernan would apply mortar to the previous course of blocks at each end of the wall being built and place the two blocks setting the level for the course. He’d then run a level and plumb line and it was up to Steve and I, working on different walls by ourselves, to place the mortar (butter the previous course of blocks) and then set the new blocks adjusting them for both level and height and plumb. We weren’t the only ones setting the blocks as Hernan and the other mason also continued on. As we went a long other members of our team would follow behind, filling in with mortar the areas between the blocks. We accomplished a fair bit by the end of the day with many of the interior walls 4’ to 5’ high as well as starting on the exterior walls. Tomorrow it’s off for the Easter break and a bit of needed relaxation in Antigua.

1st day of building

Today was our first build day… and what a day it was.  Our work day begins at 7am and ends at 3pm. This is being done to get our work started before the heat of the day which we are continually told is going to be very hot…and today it was. Colin and I are assigned to separate builds as I’d mentioned previously.
Our build is located in an area nearby Guastatoya, called Cristobal and is just above the highway on a steep hillside (which is going to be lots of fun for lugging things up to the build site).  Our other group, including Colin, are building about 2 km away in an area named Jicaro close by the Matagua River.  These spots are about 30 minutes outside of Guastatoya.

View uphill to San Cristobal Build

We arrived to our build site to find the workers, including our mason, already hard at work. Because of the hilly terrain the foundation is taking much longer then the other build site and is only at the preliminary stages with the outside concrete blocks in place and trenches and re-bar columns protruding from the outside walls. This property is owned by Anna who lives there with her 2 daughters Roxanna (17) and Karen (11). The property already has a small house that Anna, her daughters and her elderly mother reside in. The build site is just above this small house and is quite exposed with incredible views of the Valley below, mountains in the distance and the Matagua River meandering through below. Certainly what we’d consider a view property. The land also has mature mango trees, one of which is full of ripe fruit. The build area is exposed and means it can be very hot but fortunately much of the day we had a nice breeze providing relief from the heat.

Homeowner Anna and Current House

Because of the delays in construction most of the materials were yet to be delivered. That meant today was a day full of receiving and stacking concrete blocks, moving sand needed for mixing cement, and the cutting bending and tying together of re-bar. The pick-up truck delivering the blocks made about 7 trips, providing approx. 1800 blocks, but could only deliver them part way up the roadway to the location of the new home due to the steep grade.

Much of the day was spent carrying them from this off-load site with much more to be done tomorrow. Our homeowner “Anna” was hard at it all day, working with us and carrying 2 heavy blocks at a time up to the building area where we’re moving them to.  Incredible for a woman in her 40’s who can’t be over 4’6”. By the end of the day we’re all sore but happy with what we accomplished today and the family we’re working with and for. Tomorrow should be another interesting day, a combination of moving more sand and blocks up to the build area and hopefully the beginnings of the building of walls.

Tomorrow the HFH fun begins

Well we’re finally beginning the HFH build phase in so much as we’ve not got all of our volunteers here, had our orientation with our leaders and our Guatemalan HFH coordinators. This included the history of HFH Guatemala including the nature of their build process, how many homes they’ve built and the numerous areas they are working in. Items of note that came from this is HFH Guatemala is:

• The first HFH Int’l affiliate
• Hosted 98 Teams  for Global Village builds in 2009.
• Has built over 30,000 homes at a current average of  3,000 per year. 
• The average cost of a home is $4,800 USD.
• In Guatemala, unlike Canada, Most people applying to get a house have to already own the land that the house is going to be built on.

As a team of 17 we’ll be traveling, eating and basically living together as a group for the next two weeks.. One big happy family! So far it seems we’re forming up as a group that gets along well.

This morning we, along with our HFH Guatemalan coordinator and translators (both volunteers working here and from the USA), headed out in a bus for the City of Guastatoya in the El Progreso Department (a province). This is a small City, really a town with a population of under 14,000 including the surrounding area. It’s the capitol of El Progreso Region and located approx. 2 hours east of Guatemala City. The highway getting there was good, climbing up into the mountains and back down into Guastatoya. The area is very arid… almost desert like and arriving in Guastatoya it became clear that it’s going to be hotter then it was in Guatemala City.

Our Group and Families at HFH El Progreso

After a quick lunch we all headed over to the HFH El Progreso affiliate where we, had a welcome ceremony which included introducing ourselves to both the local HFH staff as well as getting to meet and hear about the 2 families we’ll be building for. That’s right not just one family but 2. It was a pretty emotional charged ceremony; meeting the families and listening to them explain how much our coming to help meant to them.  The history of   and were explained the history of the local affiliate as the families we’ll be building for.  The team will be split in 2 and simultaneously build at both locations. The families we are building for are:


A 40 year old mother of 4 children who has little income except the money one of her older sons has remitted back from the USA where he works. She has two daughters and her mother, who has Alzheimer’s, living with her. (note: apparently the number 2 source of income for Guatemalans is remittances from outside the country’ primarily North America)

A couple with 3 young girls, he works in the agriculture industry and she cooks for people needing food provided for events. They’ve worked very hard to save money to buy the land so they can get a HFH house built on it. They appear to be wonderful and needy families and worthy of getting these houses built for them.

Tonight we relax cause tomorrow the hard work, in what is promised to be very hot weather, starts.

Guatemala City-Tourists for a Day

Hotel Villas Espanola

We're still awaiting the remainder of our group, expecting them to arrive over the course of today. We've all been moved into the Hotel Villa Espanola located in Zone 9 In Guatemala City. A bit nicer of an area then the original hotel and the rooms are certainly nicer. Nothing fancy, no air conditioning... but the weathers not too hot and we're not here for a 5 star experience. Unlike countries such as Mexico there's much less English spoken here, including by hotel front desk staff. It's a good thing that a couple of our group can speak passable Spanish.

Meat Market in Downtown Guatemala City

Today it was off to the central part of town where we (as a group of tourist) visited a couple of markets and the main square where the National Palace and Metropolitan Church as well as several markets, both open air and inside. Great spot and all sorts of new fruits and food. A street food foodies paradise. I tried a fruit called a Mamey which has a light brown skin and several large seeds, tasting something like a  cross between a peach and a papaya. Stand after stand of fruit and vegetables as well as lots of dried fish known as Bacalhau. There were also lots of meat stalls with virtually everything you could think of and for some of you terms you'd rather not.

Fruit Stands in market

A quick snack of tacos at a local stand was had by many of the group ( 3 tacos for 10 qt- which would be about  1.5 dollars.

As we've driven or wandered around Guatemala City one thing that really stands out is the sheer number of private security guards with shotguns and handguns. Their in front of restaurants, banks and other business of course and even our hotel had two guys 24/7 standing guard in the front entrance area.

Tomorrow we leave for Guastatoya and should be getting more info on our build, our family we'll be building for. Looking forward to it.

On The Road

It’s always interesting flying out of Vancouver Int’l late at night. The usual hustle and bustle isn’t present and there’s a sense of calm that one doesn’t normally experience. Check in was easy for the first leg of our Mexicana flight to Mexico City. It’s pretty easy to pick out those of us that are tourist types versus those returning to Mexico… In one word LUGGAGE. The number of large bags full to the brime was incredible. Both legs of the flight the planes were comfortable (leg room was great) and we got feed meals at no extra cost …. take that Air Canada…. our first leg to Mexico City had us arriving with a good sleep thinking things were going pretty well. Silly us when we disembarked the fun (not so much) was about to begin. Think of this… Mexico City, more then 22 Million, an Int’l hub for flights into and out of Mexico, Central and South America.  Given this you’d think, and we certainly did, that they’d have a fairly efficient process for transiting passengers coming through here… I’m telling you that doesn’t appear to be the case. Numbered gates but no details as to flights arriving or departing, not a clock in the entire airport and gates assigned and re-assigned just before the flight is to depart. After a couple of gate changes and the passengers (I mean sheep) walking back and forth across the terminal we final got out of Mexico City.

Our Room

Arrival in Guatemala had it’s issues. Our shuttle from the hotel didn’t show up however we were able to it eventually get picked up and checked in.  Check out the photos of the room that Colin and I were checked into (can you say five star).

It turns out we weren’t going to be there long… having stepped out for dinner at a local taco stand down the street. 3 small tacos of mixed meat (chicken, chorizo and another sausage) and a cold beer 20 Quetzales. The food was very good and the beer was nice and cold. All for the equivalent of 3 dollars Canadian…. The owner “Miguel” has a good thing. A few simple items done nicely.. I’d certainly go back!

Returning from the taco stand we found the owner waiting for us. It turns out HFH Guatemala had decided they wanted to move us as a group to another hotel in Zona 9. A much nicer hotel named Villa Espanola. Still 3 to a room but much nicer. We’re still awaiting the arrival of the rest of the group tomorrow.

The weather is sunny and averaging about 27 degrees… It’s good to finally be here.

Trip Update

Map of Guatemala

Well as we move closer to leaving for Guatemala I thought it would be helpful to provide a sense of what our trip in going to entail. As previously mentioned our group is made up of people from across Canada as well as an American contingent. Team members range in age from high school to semi-retired, are from a diverse range of backgrounds and from different areas of Canada; 4 from British Columbia, 3 from Alberta, 2 from Manitoba, 5 from Ontario, 1 from the Maritimes and our 2 from California, making this different from most HFH Canada Global Village trips as they don’t normally include this mix of participants from more then one country... our benefit!

For Colin and myself the trip will start with a red-eye flight from Vancouver to Mexico City leaving March 25th. A short hop from Mexico City to Guatemala City will have us arriving by lunch time on the 26th....(hmmmmm. What to have for lunch that first day in Guatemala?) We’ll be there a day early as most of the team arrives on Saturday March 27th. Once we’ve all assembled there our HFH Guatemala affiliate will transport us to the El Pregreso Department (Region) which as you can see from the Map of Guatemala is North and East of Guatemala City. Although specifics have not yet been identified our build will likely be in and around this area. We’ll be arriving there and meeting the families we’re building houses for and on Monday March 29th the hard work begins. We’ll be working from Monday through Thursday on the build. Construction, due to earthquake issues (they happen a fair bit in this area), is concrete block and rebar construction.

Between Friday April 1st and Monday April 4th the worksite is shutting down for the Easter Weekend (Pretty important for Guatemala which is primarily a Catholic Country) With no work being allowed during this period our group is taking a side trip over to Antigua City where we’ll be able to observe some of the Eater festivities (Antigua is to the west and south of Guatemala City on the above map). Following this brief interlude it’s back to our build site for another 4 days of fun in the sun....We finish the build, and have a closing ceremony, on Thursday April 8th and then we’re apparently going to have 2 days R&R to the town of Panajachel, on Lake Atitlan an area surrounded by volcanos. This area has a large population of  Mayan people and should be interesting to visit.

Three Weeks to Go!!!

As in my previous post I'd mentioned that it's all done but the details......Well, the details are starting to role in and the excitement is building. A week or so ago it was into the Travel Clinic for a chat with the doctor about what we needed...followed by shots, prescriptions for meds...lots of advice on what not to eat...Note: I'm not certain I'm taking their advice as it'll take the fun out of the opportunities for the cultural culinary foodie aspect of the trip. Perhaps I'll leave that to Colin or some of the more timid travelers. After all, I've taken the right meds.... have the appropriate drugs, just in case, and I'll be dammed if I'm not going to try the food on the street !!!!

We've received details from the HFH Guatemala folks and specific details regarding our stay are starting to pour in. Don't yet know, beyond the first two days, where we'll be staying and the specific town we'll be working in but we're starting to get much greater detail as to what to expect, the history of the country and it's peoples. I've inserted a bit of details sent to us, can't claim the level of accuracy but it seems to be reasonable.

"Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in Latin America and in many respects is still trying to shake off the yoke of colonialism. The country is largely indigenous with approximately 54% of the population being of pure Mayan descent. The People of the Corn, as they are sometimes referred to, continue to primarily live an agrarian lifestyle, which has its roots in the thousands of years of Mayan culture and tradition. However, this picturesque scene has more often been stained by the long shadow of extreme poverty where 75% of the population lives below the poverty line. 

Guatemala in many respects is still structured much like a feudal society, where a small elite owns a disproportionate amount of the prime farming land and the means of production while a large uneducated peasantry is forced to work for them for subsistence wages at best. Even after a 36 year civil war, largely brought on by extremely skewed economic conditions, over 65% of the usable farm land remains in the hands of a mere 3% of the population, in large-scale land holdings (UNDP/2000). The largest land holdings, and the richest land, are used primarily for the growth of export crops, such as coffee, cotton, sugar and bananas, while much of the peasant population continues to make due with insufficient, extremely marginal plots. The population is, in general, young (42% are under 14), illiterate (at least 45% cannot read and write) and living without access to basic services (electricity, running water, road access). Total fertility rate stands at 4.66 children born/woman." -Not Known Source of Info

 Given the above it's no wonder that there's a real need for Habitat For Humanity Guatemala, and the work that is being done down there. Throw in some of the damage caused by earthquakes, over the years, and there's lots of  need... and not near enough work and support. Our part will be small, but hopefully, have a real impact of some good but poor people.

As for where we're staying... Colin and myself, and a couple others, are arriving in Guatemala City a day before the bulk of  our co-volunteers. We'll be staying at the "recommended" hotel in Guatemala City called "Casa Santorini". The price is right... less then $20 per night, kind of looks a bit like a hotel/hostel. If your interested here's a link to their website Casa Santorini Guatemala City (and hey... enjoy the music, it's free). With final details coming in and the time of departure getting closer it hard to focus on work and not the trip. In some of the time off, over Easter it sound like we're going to be busy visiting a local school, as well as a visit to at least one volcano and of course the cultural area of Antigua, Guatemala.