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| Español: Departamentos de El Salvador (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The best way to describe the work of CORDES
is to talk about Rio Lempe. CORDES is
very active in this former insurgent enclave.
This was the site of our first visit into the country. We visited a small community that is located
on the site of a former cotton plantation.
The previous owners deserted the area during the war. The present community located on the
plantation after the Peace Accords in 1992.
This was the story wherever we went. Relocated communities are trying to make a go
of it with little government support.
Most of these communities have very dramatic stories of the
conflict. This on was no exception.
We visited a small community museum where
captured arms are stored in a room with bullet-pocked walls. The local commander gave us a tour of the
facility. His picture, from earlier
days, with military uniform and black beret, were part of the display. We also visited the site where 28 insurgents
are buried after a battle with the military in the community.
This is a country of graves.
One of
the captured guns from the community museum.
Note the holes in the walls.
The past and the future are so close
here. We were on our way to see a
community that is growing and developing, but we had to pay homage to the past
first. You can’t understand El Salvador
Funding has provided support for the
development of local products including gourmet cheese, organic fruits, cashews
and sugar. Community supports include an
eye clinic, a water purification plant that provides good drinking water to the
community, biological pesticide control and a biogenerator that provides
methane gas for cooking.
The community has also developed a fishing
co-op that seeks to return a greater share of the profits to local
fishermen. Training has also been
provided on filleting and salting processes.
CORDES has also supported the development of an eco-tourism facility
- Hostal Lempa Mar.
Hostal Lempa Mar consists of four cabins
that can sleep three persons each. The
hostal is located on the Lempa
River
Profits from the Hostal stay in the
community and all employees of the Hostal are members of the local
community. Plans are in place to develop
hiking trails in the area and it is hoped that Hostal Lempa Mar will soon be
able to promote to the international community through the Internet.
Hostal Lempa Mar.
Great fish and an afternoon ride on the Lempa
my Spanish for this week on Bajo Lempa
Porque eso
quiero volver a Bajo Lempa
Yo he escrito de Bajo Lempa antes. Yo tengo un diario
para cada viaje de El Salvador y Guatemala.
En 2005 y 2009, yo fui a Bajo Lema con los
grupos Canadienses. Yo no conozco la comunidad
de Bajo Lempa y San Vicente como yo conozco la comunidad de San José las Flores. Esto es porque este es el grupo CRIPDES quien
decide a dónde íbamos. Durante la
guerra, San Vicente y Chalatenango fueron lugares que fueron controlados por
los grupos militares afiliados a CRIPDES. Yo no sé el nombre de los grupos, pero los
afiliados existen hoy en El Salvador.
Las comunidades de Bajo Lempa no están bien organizadas
como las comunidades en Chalatenango.
Cuando visitábamos las escuelas en esta área, los maestros no tenían los
recursos necesarios para realizar su trabajo.
Yo espero que cuando visitemos este año, haya cierta mejora.
Bajo lempa es un área amenazada por el calentamiento
global. El océano pacifico está
creciendo e inundando la tierra. Cuando
hay una tormenta, la tierra y la gente se ven afectados. Cada vez, hay mucho daño.
Cuando yo regrese a Bajo Lempa, quiero ver que las
cosas han cambiado. Como están las
escuelas? Como están los proyectos de
CRIPDES, CORDES y las otras organizaciones?
También, fue un pequeño hostal, se llama Hostal Lempa
Mar. Este hay un gran
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hostal. La comida en el hostal fue maravilloso.
La cocinera era un excombatiente que aprendía como a cocinar en San
Diego mientras él se recuperaba de sus heridas.
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Nuestra cena
en hostal Lempa Mar
Creo que hay muchas oportunidades para aprender en
Bajo Lempa. Yo voy a ver pronto lo que
ha cambiado. Ojalá, yo espero que las
personas no cambien.
