La Zapotera - February 5th, 2018 - A Day with Dr. Todd Stong.

Poncitlan

When my friend Harvey wrote to ask if I was ready to return to La Zapotera, and that we were being accompanied by Dr. Todd Stong, I jumped at the opportunity.

First stop...Poncitlan to say hello to our friend Victor.

We quickly continued our trip to La Zapotera.  The backroads and alternate paths that I was being shown were beautiful.  Traveling through our Mexico is spectacular.

La Zapotera

Our mission was to take a physical inventory of the building that has been tagged for the Centro Comunitario.  We were there to make a list of detailed work needed and approximate costs for a preliminary budget.

Centro Comunitario Roof Top

One of the Center's main activities will be to function as a community kitchen, feeding the hungry.  For this reason we entertained the idea of a mirador dining room, half covered, on the building rooftop.  The Center will also act as a meeting area, community service area, possible bazar or token store and official office space. 

 Centro Comunitario

After our initial assessment, it was time for a town meeting.  The townsfolk started to arrive and we settled in for an informative exchange.

The design and plan for the community center were discussed and approved by all.

Escudo

I had gone to assist with the community center work and also to personally invite the women of the La Zapotera Medicinal Plant Garden to visit our garden in Ajijic.  We brought a few plants to share....Ruda (rue) y Ajenjo (Absinthe Wormwood)

Plant Gifts

I was especially hoping that the women of the medicinal plant garden would show me their "farmacia" or pharmacy.  I was in luck.  We discovered a covered basket type fryer in the corner that contained a plastic laundry basket inside.  This indeed was the women's farmacia!

Farmacia

Each tincture or remedy is carefully labeled and stored in a dark, dry place.  The women reuse glass jars or bottles, and especially seek dark glass to store their remedies properly.  As I read my way through the farmacia, I had a zillion questions.  Lucy was able to answer all of them...and then some.  I asked if she was the most knowledgeable of the women healers.  She simply stated that they all have this information and they share it freely.

 "Are you Santa Claus?"

As the meeting and gathering was winding down, it was time for some casual conversation.  One of the young women of the town approached Todd and asked in Spanish "Tu eres Santa Claus?"  Todd toke it in stride and started singing Christmas carols for her.  I'm not sure she understood the words or the melody, but she smiled all the same.

 Town Meeting Notes

Artists In Residency - Opening

After a few more stops in La Cuesta, San Pedro Itzican and Mezcala to work with my Poco A Poco crew on our projects there, it was time to return to Ajijic.  My dear friends Jennifer and Thom were holding an opening for their latest project - an artist in residency program, housing 3 or 4 artists at a time.

Everything that Jennifer and Thom do is extraordinary, and this place and its purpose is wonderful.

The afternoon was full of supportive friends and family, fantastic jazz and yummy eats.

As a special treat the work of Maestro Antonio Lopez Vegas was on display.  Always a feast for the eyes and soul, I fell in love with the following painting.

Pescador Cosmico

Amtonio Lopez Vega

If all our days could be this wonderful and magical I would dub this existence heaven.

La Zapotera - January 29th, 2018

La Zapotera, Municipio de Poncitlán

An acquaintance had guided people working in the town of La Zapotera to me.  They heard that I had started a Medicinal Plant Garden at the Lake Chapala Society and thought that I might be of assistance to the townspeople of La Zapotera, since the people there had started their own medicinal plant garden.

Map of La Zapotera

As you can see from the map above, La Zapotera is on the north eastern end of Lake Chapala.  The drive to arrive at La Zapotera from Ajijic is 2 hours.  The people of the town have no medical support.  A DIF representative comes out from Poncitlan every once in a while.  Basically the town and its medical needs are isolated.

Our friend and guide Gerardo Padilla

Medicinal Plant Garden at La Zapotera

The medicinal plant garden at La Zapotera

The women of the town maintain the medicinal plant garden.  They tell me that scorpion bites are common among the people, although they very rarely have any antivenom available to give to the scorpion bite victims.  Instead they use a medicinal plant remedy of Horse Tail Reed and Santa Maria in tea form to help the biten person.

 Fco. and the women who run the medicinal plant garden of La Zapotera

Lemon Grass

 Lucy with the plants we gifted the garden

I also shared with the women of the town our project in Ajijic.  Our medicinal plant garden is at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) and is growing slowly during the winter, but shows great promise.

 LCS Medicinal Plant Garden

 LCS Medicinal Plant Garden

 LCS Medicinal Plant Garden

Leaf Cutter Ants are everywhere!  Even in La Zapotera

 Lucy places Ruda and Calendula in their garden, gifts from the Ajijicans

Artemisia spp. 

Other Common Name:

Cudweed sagewort, Silver sagebrush, Istafiate, Iztauhyátl, Ajenjo del país, Estafiate de Castilla

Parts of the plant used:

Principally the leaves and flowers, and sometimes the stems.

How is it used?

The leaves and flowers are steeped in boiling water to make a tea for the treatment of various ailments, most of which are related to the digestive system.

Other Common Name:

Cudweed sagewort, Silver sagebrush, Istafiate, Iztauhyátl, Ajenjo del país, Estafiate de Castilla

Parts of the plant used:

Principally the leaves and flowers, and sometimes the stems.

How is it used?

The leaves and flowers are steeped in boiling water to make a tea for the treatment of various ailments, most of which are related to the digestive system.

A plant that brought much reaction when mentioned was the Toloache.  I was not aware that in English it is known at Datura.

 Datura innoxia – Toloache

MEDICINAL USES: In Mexico, toloache is used as a remedy for many disorders and symptoms, particularly fevers. The Apache use the juice of the flowers and roots to disinfect wounds. Dew drops that have collected in the flowers are used as an eye wash (Ratsch 1998, 199).

Community Center at La Zapotera

An abandoned building in the center of town has been donated for use as the 

Centro Comunitario

Gerardo, Harvey and I met with the elected town officials in the building.  These being the Presidente Ejidal, Ramon Flores and the Delegado, Sr. Antonio.

Present also at the town meeting were the women of the medicinal plant garden

Water Purification System

The town has a preliminary water filtration system in place.  Lake water is pumped to a high tinaco, purified and is available to the town for use.

Harvey was wise enough to not allow us to visit empty handed.  He spotted a great deal on tomatoes at Pancho's Deli Market and purchased a few boxes.

These were distributed to the townspeople at the end of our work day.

As we continue the development of our respective medicinal plant gardens, we've vowed to create a bridge of knowledge and amistad (friendship) and interchange information and plants.

May we all grown beautifully!

Poco A Poco San Pedro Itzican, Garden Project - Jan. 20th, 2018

“Growing Plants from Seeds” Program

With help from the Foundation for Lake Chapala Charities and the Brigadistas we were able to install our first garden in San Pedro Itzican this past Saturday Jan. 20th, 2018.

 Arriving with a car full of garden materials for Xochilt's home garden

The aims of this project are to:

·         Teach the youth to grow plants they can eat, trade or sell;

·         Grow food that will augment the family's diet, as well as provide youth with new         (vocational or avocational) skills;

·         Teach youth about nurturing something, with the reward being food;

·         Encourage healthy, productive activities in which families engage together.

Garden Site

The container garden we had planned for Xochilt and her family was based on available space and need.  Since her family had an entry area (mostly concrete) a container garden seemed like the appropriate choice. 

Unloading the inventory and taking stock

Entry (garden) Area

 Garden Crew

Second Entry (garden) Area

 Xochilt planting albaca (basil)

 Jorge Hard At work

Xochilt in her new garden

Garden Crew 2

Our hope is that this new garden will be a model for others from the town to emulate.

"From a small seed can grow a great oak"

We'd also like to thank our new volunteer Jan Clayton-Miller for her hard work and assistance.