Global Guide Issue 1 (2012)

The Land of Luv & Tortillas in 2012

Tzibal Slideshow from Ben Sampson on Vimeo.

Community Constructions

Dear Contributors, Stakeholders, and friends,

An incredible year has passed since OGG first met the small community of Tzibal in 2011 and, in their effort to continue the connections created during one unforgettable week, com- mitted themselves to the construction of the Cancha. Not merely a basketball/football court nor a water-catching roof. The Can- cha is a collaborative project proposed by the Comité de Mujeres, promoted by the COCODE, conceptualized by Baird Sampson Neuert Architects/Blackwell & Associates, and funded in large part by passionate young students from across North America. But most importantly the Cancha and Centro Comunitario will be produced and presided over by the men, women, and children of an isolated but inspirational pueblo.  

This rag-tag consortium of dreamers and doers continues to be connected by friendship and solidarity but many now find themselves cast out and spread across the hemisphere, some by travels, some by studies, and others by professions. So, to all those who remain committed or perhaps just curious, read on, these pages are for you. First you will find a comprehensive up- date including news on the Cancha’s design and construction, other community developments, the state of fundraising and financing, as well as evaluative perspectives and prospects 365 days on. You will also find stories, in word and image, from OG’s most recent visit to the land of luv and tortillas. 

On Behalf of the OG Alumnos and the community of Tzibal, thank you and Bantiox. 

Developments

From its conception in the dirt to its most recent digital rendering by Baird Sampson Neuert and Blackwell & Associates, the Cancha as seen some dramatic changes. Originally envisioned as little more than a slab of concrete measuring 22 x 25 metres, the imaginations of local and international stake- holders now see a community campus encompassing four cuerdas (40 x 40 metres). The official NBA sized court complete with hybrid basketball/soccer posts and Mayan styled bleachers will occupy the lower three-quarters while a tiered community fruit and vegetable garden will occupy the slope above. Freestanding composting latrines and sink facilities will be discretely situated amongst Macadamia and Cypress trees on the facility’s outer edge. The Cancha’s roof will be constructed with an innovative steel cable and polypropelyn rope web onto which aluminum and plastic tiles will be fastened using bamboo purlins. This represents a wholly new and novel intersection of modern design, local materials, and indigenous know-how. Despite the incredible reductions in load due to the minimizing of structural and material costs, the four A-frames that punctuate the Cancha’s four corners have had to be reinforced to support the tension system above. The result is as impressive as it is innovative. 

To accommodate the more ambitious structure and its surroundings, the community and OGG 2011 ponied up Q15,000 (approx. $2000) to purchase more suitable land in close proximity to the school. Despite the reduced grade and increased accessibility however, the site still required a great deal of preparation prior to the commencement of construction. In this regard an appeal was made to the Municipality, economic conditions, the Municipality refused Tzibal’s re- quest for help. So, in place of bulldozers, jackhammers, and gas powered tempers two OGG crews joined with the men, women, and children of Tzibal clearing, tiering, and levelling the Cancha's acreage. But the manual labour was hampered by the local climate, economic and otherwise. Due to a poor growing season and consequent delays to community bean and corn harvests, Tzibal’s men were called away to work for fincas as far as Petén and Mexico. Unsurprisingly in their absence, little progress could be made towards the completion of the Cancha. With added, inflationary pressures, increasing fuel costs, and decreasing government assistance, construction schedules have had to be amended. 

In place of a single sustained effort, the Cancha will now be created in two phases. Phase 1 was inaugurated on August 25, 2012 in small a ceremony attended by the local teachers, the Director of the District School Board, the CO- CODE, members of the community. The uncharacteristically quiet occasion was also marked by the donation of the remaining $10,000 raised by OGG participants.    

During the coming months, the Cancha’s large foot print will be formed and poured. The innovative trusses will be made to order by steelworkers in San Pedro Carcha be- fore being anchored in concrete. And the basketball nets/ football posts will be acquired and attached. Completion of phase 1 is expected in the first quarter of 2013.  

Phase 2 which will include the construction of the roof, and composting toilettes will then extend through the spring and early summer with the Cancha’s inauguration tentatively planned for July/Aug. 2013 to coincide with the OGG “Off the Grid” program.  The new timeline is based on a reassessment of construction schedules and re-evaluation of budgetary projections conducted in collaboration with the community.  Based on these discussions and recent developments we deter- mined that current financing would be insufficient and a renewed fundraising campaign would be necessary to complete all of the Cancha’s component parts. The new campaign, which will launch on Nov. 26, 2012, will therefore seek to raise an additional $5,000 to cover the budgetary shortfall and allow phase 2 construction. An updated detailed budget has been released (below) and donations are currently being accepted at the Cancha's new Causevox page @ www.cancha.causevox.com.    

Your continued support is greatly appreciated

Thank you and Bantiox

Local Headlines

 The Mano Dura grips Campur

President Otto Perez Molina, a man both respected and reviled for his “mano dura” has so far lived up to his slogan. Elected in 2011, the ex-general pulled no punches launching an ambitious expansion of Guatemala’s military and police. Both will see physical increases of 20% and 40% respectively and detachments will be deployed to communities, small and large, across the country. In Campur, soldiers have replaced civil police in a dramatic sign of the Mano Dura’s reach. A fortified barracks has replaced the modest office of the exiled PNC and the sight of green camo is now a common occurrence on the streets of Campur. In the con- text of increasing delinquency reaction has been mixed. Some see the military contingent as a bastion of security while others see only its own misconducts. Either way the Mano Dura shows no signs of softening.

 The COCODITO’s plant new roots

17 year old Alejandro is in most respects an ordinary Guatemalan teenager. A spitting image of his dad, Alfonso, the young Tzibalense man is a mean footballer, a talented drummer, and a charismatic DJ and MC. But Alejandro is also the ambitious leader of the new COCODITO’s. A common Spanish play on popular words, the addition of ITO denotes a smaller, cuter version of the local COCODE or Community Development Council. This small group of impassioned youth aged 12-17 have launched a campaign to ignite the developmental imaginations of their companeros and see those visions of what Tzibal could and should be realized through small scale projects. The first of these mini-proyectos is a tree planting campaign to introduce shade and shelter to the otherwise sun baked or rain soaked road connecting Tzibal to neighbouring Campur. The second project will be to chronicle the COCODITO’s increasingly ambitious campaign. So, stay tuned.