Update on Last Year's Projects

Our chainsawmill project is still active, but less so now than in the early months after the hurricane. One of the villagers, Pedro Pau, manages this program, storing and maintaining the equipment, coordinating its use, and training farmers to use the saw and guide when necessary. Pedro was one of the first men Jerry trained, and he has become a very capable sawyer.

The 1000+ library books we brought down a year ago continue to be housed in the village library and used by the village children. Connie and the elementary school principal have plans, however, to move about a third of them at a time to the school in the near future, and maintain a small library there during the school year so that more children can have access to the books.

The seed distribution project ended when we realized that the remaining seeds, mostly unusual or unpopular varieties down here, had lost their viability. The favorites from the seeds, though, live on through successive generations, and we are always pleased when somebody brings over a watermelon, a cucumber, squash or flowers grown from the original packets we brought down. The seed legacy also lives on in another way, as we've learned that, while the seeds were stored in the Opportunity Center building, insects had been busy removing them from packets and depositing them in all kinds of nooks and crannies inside the computers and our other equipment! An important lesson was learned.

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