Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all of you! I decided to celebrate the holiday in San Cristobal in company of friends. I wanted to thank them for welcoming me to San Cris and to AlSol and share this beautiful American holiday with them. I prepared the turkey (all 8.6 kg!) and traditional dishes of sweet potato casserole, mixed rice and cranberry sauce. Luckily we had more than enough food for the 16 people that showed up (I had yummy leftovers for the next couple of days!) I was happy the dinner turned out so well, it made the effort worth it! Thanks mom for your recipes :) 

Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos. What a holiday full of traditions! I was certainly impressed…The holiday began a few nights before Nov 1st with children dressing up in costumes and going house to house singing a chant that they are angels that have come down from heaven and they are asking for sweets. Even the poorest children will make their own masks and participate in the tradition…Then Nov 1st was the Day of the Dead for Children or Day of the Angels. Children who have passed on are remembered and their graves are visited by their families. Nov 2nd was the Day of the Dead or All Soul’s Day where all who have passed on are remembered. Families will erect altars in the memory of their loved ones, placing not only flowers and candles but also food or things that they enjoyed in their lives (for example, if a little girl passed on they could place candy or her favorite doll on the altar).

I went to the panteon or cemetery to see what it was all about and the place was swarming with people and vendors (flowers, candles, food, toys!). There are colorful tombs of all shapes and sizes, some are small houses that may host a few family members. There are even old houses from the 1500s that resemble chapels. All are beautifully decorated with flowers. Families go visit and pray for the soul of their loved one. They even bring food and hang out for a while. Families may even request a special song for their loved one from the mariachis or other musicians that are roaming the cemetery.

I attended a special mass at the cemetery chapel at noon. It was nice to be outdoors and pray for the souls of those that have passed on. It was incredible to observe these traditions and how important this day is for Mexicans!

Scenes from Motozintla and Surrounding Areas

 

Motozintla in the Sierra Madre of Chiapas

So for most of October I was in Motozintla, Chiapas for work. This city is about 5 hours away from San Cristobal and is very close to the Guatemalan border. It is in the heart of the gorgeous Sierra Madre Mountains. While beautiful as it may be you also notice that it is very risky to live here as it is vulnerable to landslides and flooding. Last year’s Hurricane Stan greatly affected the area, people were killed and many homes were destroyed. Inhabitants who lost everything have been given new homes by the government and relocated to other municipalities. Truthfully I was scared on some of those roads, as parts had been washed out by landslides, and rocks fall blocking the way (that weren’t there the day before!)

So what was I doing here? We were conducting a market study for AlSol to determine if the MFI will open a branch in this area. We had a team of 8 researchers and I was the supervisor. The first week we received training on these MicroSave tools adapted to the Mexican context by a microfinance consulting firm, Alcance, and practiced them in Motozintla. The following week we implemented the methodology in four other municipalities. The researchers conducted numerous focus groups with the tools and many individual interviews and would enter their data into these spreadsheets. I would visit a team each day, accompany them to their appointments, clarify any questions or concerns, and spend time with them at their local internet café to help them process their information. It was a tiring week but I learned a lot and saw more of Chiapas. I am beginning to understand their reality a little better…

We found that many women are interested in microcredit and would like to work with AlSol. Some of their small businesses include small neighborhood stores or abbarotes, selling of prepared foods, clothes, fruits and vegetables. Some have comedores or informal restaurants. Another MFI who recently turned into a bank, Compartamos, is strong in the area. I’m amazed by the coverage of this MFI, they are everywhere!

The third week we finished compiling and correcting the data and Alcance joined us for an Analysis workshop, discussing our findings and making some recommendations. The final report is being presented to AlSol management and to the Board of Directors where they will make the decision as to where the branch office will be located and when operations would begin. Now that we know the methodology, in the future we can implement this market study in another area.