The UGK Foundation also carries out projects for women. Supports producers as well as wives and daughters of members of the Cooperatives of Fedecocagua R.L. Today we introduce you to Victorina, who currently is preparing her final exams to get her diploma as an accountant. She has received a scholarship since 2015 and proves with excellent grades what her potential is. Do you want to read more? In an interview she tells what the consequences of Covid-19 are for the people of Tuiboch, the village near the Mexican border, where she lives and how her studies changed.
The interview ends with these words: "I'm very grateful to all the staff who work at the Cooperativa La Todosanterita since through them I have received the scholarship since 2015. Our community also owes other projects to the Cooperative that gave a great benefit both for the associates and for the rest of the inhabitants of Tuiboch. Don Felipe Pérez Pablo, the manager, is a great person. He and the managers know what to do not only for the small coffee producers, but also for the community in order to help its development - collaborating always loyally with Fedecocagua, the Federation which they joined in 1990, 30 years ago yet."
Update December 25th
The food transports are arriving!
Only after many weeks it was possible to provide the people in the cut-off villages and hamlets with food. In the Barrillas area (Huehuetenango), the roads have been restored to such an extent that picups can use them. In the Quiché area, on the other hand, machines are still working. Thanks to the Feed the Future project, all members of the cooperatives in these areas receive their food kids. The Fedecocagua technicians responsible for the area bought the food and are organizing the transport with the beneficiaries. In Quiché, 628 families from 5 cooperatives, in the Barrillas area 247 families from 3 cooperatives, each receive 1 bag (100 pounds) of black beans, 1 bag of corn, 5 pounds of rice, 5 pounds of sugar, 5 pounds of salt, 450 grams of incaparina (a high-quality protein vegetable food). The cooperatives Covenorte (Quiché) and Nueva Providencia as well as la Cocolense (Barrillas) could already be supplied before Christmas. It is the success of Fedecocagua, its employees and members who work well with the responsibles for the Feed the Future Project, which in this case provides the funds.
Update 11/12/20
2 days to buy groceries 40 km away
WhatsApp contact with Horténico, Leader in El Mirador,
Board member of the Estrella Polar cooperative
The odyssey of 110 men and women between the ages of 20 and 65 began on December 8 at 11 p.m. when the first group was brought to the Estrella Polar on board a Pi-cup. The last group arrived there at 2 a.m. It was the beginning of a long march to the municipality Chajul. At the moment you can buy food only there, 40 km away from el Mirador. In addition, numerous people had to renew their expired identity cards. Actually, it seems you need an ID to receive support from the state or an NGO.
From the Estrella Polar, other vehicles took people to the point where they would get stuck due to a huge landslide. A strenuous 4-hour march began under difficult conditions, as the photographs show. The pictures also illustrate the extent of the damage caused by the tropical storms. Finally there was a bus connection for the last leg of a few kilometres between the last landslide and Chajul. The group arrived there at 1 p.m. on the afternoon of December 9th.
People only had a few hours to get food, clothes, soap, etc., update IDs, and find accommodation. After a few hours of sleep, the return began early the following day - now with a load. At least it was not raining, it was sunny even after more rainfalls. The odyssey ended in the late afternoon of the same day.
In a phone call he commented on the atmosphere on the bus to Chajul: "Yes, they are happy and cheerful." Though, the day after, before he left Chajul, he wrote: "What a hard suffering to have to eat". A few hours later he sent photos: "People are marching quietly" and finally, with the last photos: "We are already at the vehicles."
There is no doubt that, at this point, thousands of people living in the affected areas are making the same efforts as those in el Mirador. They would deserve to be talked about too.
Update 09/12/20
Area Nebaj and Chajul (Quiché)
From the report of one of Fedecocagua’s technicians, responsible for Quiché:
“In the communities in the area around Nebaj and Chajul, people saw in just 10 days how a large part of their belongings, plantations and houses were partially or completely destroyed. They lost furnishings, clothing, food supplies and animals.
Access to 95% of the villages and hamlets is still blocked. The dirt roads and paths have slipped down, are covered by landslides or uprooted trees or still under water. There is no electricity, which makes communication by mobile phone difficult or even impossible. Neither the supply of drinking water nor food is guaranteed, as pipes have been destroyed and the shops are sold out. Food prices are rising all the time. It is feared that some families will have nothing to eat "
Action plan of Fedecocagua’s technician
The next steps will be carried out by the USAID project led by Fedecocagua. In his detailed report, the technician specifies the following urgent measures:
- Restoration of the unpaved roads to the villages and hamlets that have been cut off in order to enable the supply of food and the transport of coffee. It is important to know that the harvest will begin in these weeks. The idea is to pay for the use of machines that support work already in progress.
- Food transport for members of the cooperatives.
- Delivery of products to prevent plagues in the coffee plantations.
- Delivery of drying systems that are operated with solar energy.
- Support of the Farm and House Program, which will help families better cope with the consequences of the natural disaster. .
WhatsApp call from the assistant technician of the Cooperative Estrella Polar:
To get an idea of the situation, the young man drove his motorcycle to one of the huge landslides that make it impossible for vehicles to get through. He walked on foot two hours and got to another landslide, where the vehicles coming from Chajul have to turn back. From there he went first to Chajul and then to Nebaj, where he met Fedecocagua’s technician, responsible for the area.
Here are his findings:
- Only a few machines are working to restore the road from Chajul to the village of Estrella Polar. Part of it can be repaired, and part of it requires new routing.
- Above all, the technical team of the Xacbal power station are on duty, machines from the public sector are hardly seen.
- He estimates that under these conditions it will take months before the road is open again.
- That is why they will only be able to get supplies from Barrillas. This road is also partially interrupted. So the goods have to be reloaded and partly carried on foot.
- That increases the prices massively. A bag of maize e.g. (about 45 kg) usually costs 150 Quetzales ($ 20), now it's 350 Q ($ 44). Usurers are already benefiting from people's plight.
- Since there is no power supply in his village, he could not charge his mobile phone. He will take the pictures to document the situation on the way back.
Update 12/06
The whole dimension of destruction
Further food transports reached the Cooperativa Flor de Café Tanchí, in the municipality of Carchá, Alta Verapaz, and another group of the Nueva Providencia cooperative in the Barrillas region. In this case the vehicle drove to an impassable gorge. It took 45 minutes to cross it with the load on the back. Then it took the men two hours to reach Yulconop on foot. At the same time, 200 people from Cocolá were working to repair the road to their village. Possibly the roadway has to be changed completely.
The two photos above show a collapsed road in the Barrillas area giving access to 65 communities and men restoring the path to Cocolá.
On the other hand, the extremely complex situation in the Ixil area makes it so far impossible to supply people in the isolated villages and hamlets with food. According to the Estrella Polar cooperative's assistant technician, two giant landslides are preventing food from being transported in vehicles from Chajul to his cooperative and to that of Chel. The Fedecocagua technical team, supported by the UGK Foundation, keep struggling together with representatives of the USAID project led by Fedecocagua to help the people in the Ixil area as quickly as possible.
Update 03/12:
Good news:
The first transport of food kits to a cooperative
Initiatives in the Ixil area (Quiché)
In the Barrillas area it was possible to bring the members of the Cascadas Nueva Providencia cooperative a food kit with the most important foods (corn, rice, pasta, oats, black beans, sugar, salt, oil).
The Chojzunil cooperative will also be supplied soon. Since some landslides have not yet been cleared, the transport takes place in stages, partly with vehicles, partly on foot.
In the Nebaj / Chajul area, work on the roads continues. We try to cooperate with the technical support team of the Xacbal power plant. The road from Nebaj to Chajul is open. There is still a lot to do between Chajul and the Estrella Polar. The road between the Estrella Polar and el Mirador is trafficable despite serious damage. Food kits are in preparation. Waiting for more positive news!
Update 02/12:
Call from a board member
of the Estrella Polar Cooperative
Lack of food!
Horténico, member of the board of the Estrella Polar Cooperative, was the actual promoter of one of the most important projects of the UGK Foundation. Today he announces via WhatsApp that his colleagues in the village of Estrella Polar have no network coverage. In the rain he climbed a hill near the hamlet of el Mirador, where he can make some phone calls. He describes the enormous damage to the dirt roads between the Estrella Polar and Nebaj on the one hand and between the Estrella Polar and Barrillas on the other. The dirt road between the Estrella Polar and el Mirador, where he lives with his family, is also damaged. He is in contact with the mayor of Chajul, who promises to help - but without saying when. In el Mirador there are families who are even running out of corn. Thus it is most urgent to open the roads so that people can be supplied with food. The weather these days: it is cold at night (around 10 ° C), there is a little rain almost every day.
(see album)
Update 01/12:
Report of one of Fedecocagua's technicians, responsible for
the cooperatives in the Quiché department
"I can confirm that repair work was carried out on the streets Nebaj-Sumalito and Nebaj-Xecotz from Thursday, November 26th to Saturday, November 28th. It was an initiative of the Cooperativa Vértice del Norte, which also bore the costs. With the aid of individuals and some local entrepreneurs. They restored a section of approximately 12 km blocked by 9 landslides.
This initiative was very much appreciated by the neighbors who contributed to the work themselves. It's just the beginning, however. It will take time to open the way to the villages and hamlets that are still cut off. The cooperatives Covenorte, Estrella Polar, Las Pilas, Flor del Café and Centro Ilom hope that they will be supported in their effort to get access to food and other essential goods. We recommend buying the goods in Nebaj and transporting them overland to the villages. However, this requires extensive restoration of the paths. To date, we have not seen any help from national and / or local authorities.
The cooperatives, for which I am responsible, ask for help to give access to their villages, as far as possible with heavy machinery. They all promise joint work when it comes to help working with shovels and pickaxes. Since several bridges have collapsed and entire sections of paths have slid down, it will take money and the commitment of everyone to do this as quickly as possible."
Update 11/26:
Interview with one of Fedecocagua's technicians responsible for
the Barrillas / Quiché area:
The situation in the Barrillas area
The technician reports the latest data in a written report. As there is currently no access to 8 of the 9 cooperatives in the Quiché and Barrillas areas and communication between the many villages is difficult, the data are still incomplete. However, they give a preliminary idea of the magnitude of the damage caused by the storms:
Deceased: 1
Families particularly hard hit: 192
Affected parcels: 586 / hectares: 137
Houses with light damage: 65 / with serious damage or destroyed: 25
.
Additional information in an interview on WhatsApp:
Road Huehuetenango - Barrillas: "It has slipped down in three places. It can take a month to restore. Since the other route to the capital of the department is also blocked by landslides, transport is hardly possible. In Barrillas there is a risk of a supply shortage, especially for food. Initial estimates suggest that 80% of local maize and bean production has been destroyed by overflowing rivers. "
Food supply: "When whole caravans of vehicles from the Quiché region arrived to Eta to get food in Barrillas, prices rose and there was a shortage of goods.
Traditionally, there is great solidarity in the villages that have no access at the moment. Those who still have food share it with the hardest hit people, who have lost everything. The panic with all its consequences begins when everyone's supplies are exhausted. "
Urgent needs: "The most urgent measure is to bring the people food - but this is very difficult at the moment because of the condition of the streets and paths. The people is willing to enable the paths and in many places they are already working on it. The second measure is to equip them with tools such as shovels, picks, etc. where there aren't enough. Plus we should ensure that machines are used to remove large earth masses"
Update 25/11
Interview with the technical assistant of the Cooperativa Estrella Polar:
Where will we get food?
"After Eta, I rode my motorcycle from the Estrella Polar to Chel, a slightly larger village where we usually go shopping. I found that all the shops were closed because the owners had no food or other products for daily consumption . We could no longer drive to Nebaj because the road had been badly damaged by countless landslides. On the other hand, it was possible to repair the road to Barrillas, which is a small town four hours from our village, where we supplied ourselves with what we needed most. But then Iota came, followed by days of intense rain. The roads and bridges were definitely destroyed. So we no longer know where to buy groceries. There is no getting through to Nebaj or Barrillas. And nobody will bring us food with helicopters...
The people here almost exclusively produce coffee or cardamom. So they have to buy corn and beans. Now they have nothing. Of course, we are worried: where will we get food? Personally, I've bought corn for my family, the supply lasts ten to fourteen days for us. As for beans, there are still a few pounds left per family while the main problem is the corn. Not even the people who benefitted from the laying hen project can eat eggs because the chickens at the moemnt are barely laying.
In Chel and the Estrella Polar, shopkeepers and retailers are organising a campaign to restore the roads that will allow access to Barrillas. As I see the situation, this is a complicated endeavor. The Juá bridge has been destroyed. The technical service of the Xacbal hydropower plant will need at least two days to repair them. In another part, about 400 meters of the road slipped completely down. In other places, roads have turned into a river bed. When all the people in the villages and hamlets along the road, the dealers, the members of the Cooperativas - everyone! - it may be that we can go back to Barrillas in a fortnight. On the other hand, if we wait for the government or someone else to resolve the problem, the situation will only get worse. "
November 24th: The rain subsides slightly - very heavy damage
People without access to food
The administrator of the cooperative Covenorte in Nebaj called members. who live in villages and hamlets all over the area of the Nebaj district. Here is his report on the situation in the Quiché department:
(See album for photos)
“A street collapsed at the entrance to the small town of Nebaj. Transports to and from the main town are prohibited. This also has an impact on the district capitals Chajul and Cotzal. I'd say most of the villages and hamlets are completely cut off from the outside world. The grocery stores no longer have any food to sell and the people don't have their own food. That is why it is important to bring them corn, beans, rice, atoles such as incaparina, mosch, milk and of course bread.
Only five communities in the Nebaj district have connection with the district capital, while more than sixty remain cut off. Same situation in the district capital Chajul. The Estrella Polar, Chel and Ilom cooperatives have no access to Nebaj or Barrillas, so people are already short of food. For this reason, the supply of food is a priority. In a second step, we need support in restoring roads and bridges. By raising funds, the cooperatives can participate in this work alongside the municipalities.
The authorities never take appropriate action, they never send help. In remote communities like ours, everything is done by the private sector or local aid workers, e.g. members of our cooperative. We need helicopters, but here in Nabaj we have no contact with a company that offers this service. As a cooperative we will see how we can support the community, possibly with machines to restore roads. Without a passage, we cannot bring people food or clothing. They also have no electricity. This makes communication difficult. At the moment we are helping each other and are working on a voluntary basis as always. "
WhatsApp from the President of Cooperatica Estrella Polar:
"Without communication. We lack any care. 200 affected members."
WhatsApp from a technician:
"In these communities the stores have nothing to sell. Chel, Ilom, Estrella Polar, Las Pilas and Covenorte."
Update 11/19: Immediate help after storms Eta and Iota
COLLABORATION / LOCATION / NUMBER OF MEMBERS or FAMILIES / DONATION
(Exchange rate Quetzal - dollar: 100 Q = 12.89 $)
Agua Dulce / Aldea Agua Dulce / Cuilco / Huehuetenango / 30 / 6,000.00
Aquíl / Aldea Aquil / San Cristobal Verapaz, / Alta Verapaz / 75 / 10,000.00
Comon Calebal / Aldea Quixal / Carchá Alta Verapaz / 70 / 10,000.00
Esmeralda del Norte / Aldea Chiquixji / Carcha, Alta Verapaz / 40 / 5,000.00
Mus Mus Hab / Colonia Petet Central / Coban / Alta Verapaz / 11 / 8,000.00
Flor del Café Tanchí / Aldea Tanchí / Carchá / Alta Verapaz / 30 / 5,000.00
El Milagro / Aldea Lampocoy / La Unión, Zacapa / 11 / 3,000.00
La Unión / Colonia Vista Hermosa Taiti / La Union / Zacapa / 9 / 3,000.00
San Francisco de Asís / La Unión Zacapa / 15 / 4,000.00
Flor de la Montañita / Aldea El Paternito / Olopa / Chiquimula / 60 / 8,000.00
TOTAL 351 Familias beneficiarias / 62,000.00 Q
We will inform you as soon as possible about the distribution of the relief supplies and the situation in the affected cooperatives. Access to the affected areas is currently difficult. An example: the road between Estrella Polar (Quiché) and Barrillas (Huehuetenango) is interrupted again.
Update 117/11: Destroyed plantations
(Cooperativa el Milagro, La Unión Zacapa, Zacapa
To give an impression of the damage to the plantations, one of the technicians sent a few photos - see album - which illustrate the situation to Eta. In the Cooperativa el Milagro 3.24 hectares of coffee plantations are affected. The corn fields are also affected, which will make food supplies more difficult. A member's house is in danger of collapsing. It is the only documented case at the moment.
Update 11/16: 610 members who urgently need food
Communication is extremely difficult as remote villages currently have no electricity or road access. In a second phase we will also assess the destruction in the plantations. For now, however, we will concentrate on the food supply. Cooperative members who are in need of help.
1 Agua Dulce / Aldea Agua Dulce / Cuilco / Huehuetenango: 30
2 Aquíl / Aldea Aquil / San Cristobal Verapaz / Alta Verapaz: 150
3 Comón Calebal / Aldea Quixal / Carchá / Alta Verapaz: 75
4 Esmeralda del Noe / Aldea Chiquixji / Carcha / Alta Verapaz: 60
5 Mus Mus Hab / Colonia Petet Central / Coban / Alta Verapaz: 70
6 Flor del Café Tanchí / Aldea Tanchí, Carchá / Alta Verapaz: 50
7 El Milagro / Aldea Lampocoy, La Unión, Zacapa / Zacapa: 55
8 La Unión / Vista Hermosa Taiti, La Union / Zacapa: 45
9 San Francisco / Aldea Mochan / Quetzaltepeque / Chiquimula: 75
Update 11/15 Cooperative Estrella Polar (Quiché)
According to the provisional forecast of the authorities, the road between the district capital Chajul and the village Estrella Polar will not be reopened for three months. The members of the Cooperativa Estrella Polar can, however, take pic-ups to the district capital Barrillas, which is four hours away by car, and stock up on food there. The road between the hamlets of Estrella Polar and el Mirador, where a group of members live and work, remained intact.
Update 11/11: Cooperative Mus Mus Hab
(Alta Verapaz)
For the members of this cooperative, who had not been able to be evacuated after the flooding of their finca since November 5th, food and other relief goods were bought. They had to wait four days for food. Finally, on Sunday and Monday (November 8th and 9th) the families were given aid packages. It is still difficult to reach the place. That is also the reason why there is no concrete data on the loss of houses and property. The water level is slowly falling and the situation is improving.
