Anyway, I'm a fan. I do not regret my C in biology in 10th grade, but I do wish I knew some more basics of science. However, permaculture is like Bill Nye type of science, fun and easier to understand. Someday I want to have a composting toilet, a house made of recycled materials, and an edible forest in my backyard.

On Monday, on the other side of San Lucas Toliman, we visited the Comité Campesino del Altiplano, or Campesino Committee of the Highlands, an association founded by ex-Guerrilla fighters. In April I went there on my Rights Action delegation. They blew me away because they are amazing people who do brave and incredible work. They are so good about public education efforts, with a quick call the president himself happily invited my group for a presentation despite how busy they are. The president is a man named Leocadio who started with the CCDA as a leader almost 30 years ago as a young man. Since then he has had to leave Guatemala a couple of times in exile because of threats to he and his family. But he's back now after 3 months in exile in Canada. His compañeros said it was a short time, they are amazed he is back so soon, but that's just the type of guy he is.

Our talk was given by Elvis, who gave the talk I first heard back in April, and an amazing young woman named Lesbia. Lesbia was... incredible. Between the two of them we learned about land struggle, a law they've been fighting for these past 10 years for rural development and agrarian reform, the reality of indigenous farmers (80% are subsistence farmers, minimum wage is suposedly a whopping $7 a day in Guatemala but most people are paid $3-4 per day, and so on), and the effects of natural disasters and climate change on these marginalized communities. Lesbia spoke clearly and powerfully about human rights, dignity and the huge disparities in her country. She said, Guatemala has a lot of money (it is #2 in the world for sugar production) but the money is not for everyone, she continued, We indigenous campesinos are not "poor people" - we just don't have access to resources. When Lesbia spoke, I was heavy-hearted, I could have cried, I looked at Adelaide at one point who looked at me and we said without saying how incredible this young woman was. She spoke clearly about a massive action campesinos all over the country are planning soon because they need to be heard; in the government down in Guatemala City they are ignored completely. The CCDA is full of people who do dangerous work, say things out loud that we as Americans can say, or blog, at anytime, but they live with very real danger for their convictions.

After the talk I bought 2 lbs of their coffee called Cafe Justicia and we took Rigo - the guy from the CCDA who picked us up and took us back to IMAP - out for lunch. I liked Rigo a lot, he was a cool guy who just graduated from college in social work (social work!) He works with the CCDA as a community organizer and helps communities in disaster preparedness. He liked that my students had stickers on their water bottles that say "Deport the Migra" (from my immigration lesson, haha) and said the current president won't run again next year because he's too ashamed of all the money he's stolen from the people. Rigo was fun to talk to.

Back in Pachaj now for our final week of homestays and Spanish class. I'm going to Concepcion on Friday to arrange the next homestays and activities. I won't be back here until December. Our next adventures will be great as we head to Concepcion, then through the Ixcan. Our students will sit down with ex-Guerrilla fighters and hear their stories, visit an exhumation site where people were massacred and thrown into mass graves, hear from early founders about the Ixcan's cooperative movement, and meet their Guatemalan peers as we visit my school in Concepcion and rural schools in the Ixcan. By October 17th we'll be down in Guatemala City again to sit down with Jennifer Harbury and visit the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation, then head south into El Salvador.