San Pedrito Has Enormous Potential

Today the people of San Pedrito can barely think past the next day, as all their efforts and energies are devoted to daily survival.  However, with the right relief efforts and investments they can climb out of their current dire situation and attain subsistence level poverty.  Only once subsistence is achieved can they begin thinking about their future, and leveraging the many strengths and assets they have to develop a future.

With adequate water, shelter, and food to feed their families, they can finally begin to leverage their many inherent strengths and underutilized assets.

Community

The sense of community and its importance is an inherent strength in the Mayan peoples, and in particular in the village of San Pedrito.  All decisions are made as a community and all activities are executed as a community with very clear roles for every individual.  The Mayan sense of community and its impact on personal lives and vice versa is much stronger than among Western developed societies.

All issues are discussed publicly between the men, and then brought home and discussed with the women.  However, women have an equal voice and quietly but very actively participate in the decision process at home.  The men then take these decisions back for discussion.  This is very different from the typical stereotype of Latin machismo.

The women of San Pedrito have also been known to publicly participate in traditionally male forums and discussions as evidenced during the inaugural JWAV signing ceremony.

Sustained long-term wholistic development of the type we are pursuing with this effort is not possible without a strong community identity and structure.  These people’s particularly and uniquely strong community is a valuable asset in their eventual success.

Faith and Spirituality

The people of San Pedrito are Presbyterian and predominantly devout and deeply spiritual.  While they are human and subject to the same daily struggles, tensions and sins as ourselves, their faith has been their greatest asset.  Their survival through all these hardships can only be explained by their deep faith and the Holy Spirit’s presence in their lives and in their community.  The Lord’s presence is very palpable here and evident in the many Miracles and Stories we experienced during our first service trip.

Faith, community and politics are all one in the same for them.  For example, their leader, Jose Ruiz Vasquez, is also their lay pastor.  Community decisions and planning with Agros, justice, service and education, all take place in the same Community Center.  All decisions are made with prayer.

Daily service, devotionals and prayer are a central part of their daily lives.  Their services are very structured and organized with many hymns and a very well trained village band.   This band is very unique in that few indigenous communities in the region actually have a skilled band, particularly in a village of this size.

Pride, Dignity and Strength

Mayans are a proud and dignified people, the Tzotzil peoples, and in particular, the people of  San Pedrito, are no exception.  Their strength is physical as evidenced by the small undernourished boys that hike up to 6 hours every day to each fetch a 70 pound load of firewood up in the mountains, or the pregnant women that each day hike hundreds or thousands of meters with a baby in arm to bring 10 gallon containers of water back to the village.

More importantly, the strength comes from their proud traditions and their faith.  They have been deceived, abused, discriminated, and neglected by Mestizos and Westerners.  Yet, despite all this, they are willing to place themselves in yet another vulnerable position by opening up outsiders from Agros and Cross Sound and partnering with us.

It is essential that their trust in us not be compromised, that we live up to our commitments and that their dignity is not eroded, but rather heightened during this process.

Leadership

All these strengths are best embodied in the leader and pastor, Jose Ruiz.  Jose is one of the four founders that came to San Pedrito looking for a way out for his people.  He was not a Christian at the time.  However, he eventually came to discover Christ and live the Gospel in San Pedrito.   Jose is by their standards highly educated and also a skilled mason.  He could leave this place and find a much better material life for his family.

But he has chosen to stay and forgo a paying job to spend every waking hour pastoring his community, fighting for their rights, and tending to crops for the young men so they can in turn go out to look for some money for their own families.  He cannot bear the thought of his people and his community disintegrating in the face of so much adversity without him.

Land and Natural Resources

As barren as this land may first appear, and as limited as their dwindling natural resources may seem, there is enormous potential.  Top soil is actually being developed organically over the next 5 years to eventually be able to sustain multiple rotating crops.

With the right investments, San Pedrito can eventually collect and reserve enough stream, spring and rain water for all their needs and particularly for irrigating crops and developing top soil.

The climate and terrain, and eventual top soil are well suited to tomatoes, beans, peanuts and citrus, that although very different from the corn and coffee these people are accustomed to growing, provide high yields, high margin and good nutrition.

The land is mostly hills and forests that on the surface may not appear usable.  But if managed properly, it can provide use it not only hunting, but to host livestock, raise vegetables, and so forth without further denuding the hillsides.

They are already growing crops today.  Though yields are very low and crop failure is high, the land can support crops.  Intelligent farming and crop management with the right investments can eventually deliver bountiful harvests.  Surpluses will be eventually highly profitable.

Existing Knowledge

and Skills

San Pedrito’s farmers are experienced but they must now learn new techniques and new crops to adapt to their environment.  Many of their women and even some of the men weave and make their own clothing, so they have the skills to manufacture textiles and apparel for tourists and wealthier urban populations.  The village also includes masons, construction workers and other skilled people which can ultimately put these skills back to use  once they have the fundamental basis and resources to begin thinking and dreaming beyond just the next day of survival.

Future Generations

San Pedrito’s high number of new births is currently a problem given the lack of food, clothing, education and basic services required to properly raise their children.  The high percentage of illiteracy seriously limits their opportunities.  However, their children are bright, energetic and imaginative.  Though stunted in growth and malnourished, they have somehow managed to continue developing mentally.  Thus, with access to education, nutrition and basic hygiene and medical care, they hold a bright future for themselves and their family.