Notes from Ben’s Arrival in Guatemala
I have been in Central America since last Tuesday and it has been a nonstop adventure. I arrived in San Pedro Sula, Honduras through Atlanta after a red-eye from PDX. I woke up from an uncomfortable nap as we were flying over the Caribbean and into San Pedro. I looked out the window to see vibrant green and blue coastal waters border lush agricultural land. As we dipped closer to earth for our landing, I got my first reminder of the work I would be doing here. Huge palm plantations surrounded the San Pedro airport. Palm oil can be used for biodiesel production; however, palm as a mono crop is horrible for soil health. Palm is also typically held in large, individually-owned plots, meaning the economic benefits of its cultivation reach few Hondurans.
The San Pedro airport is a shack next to a single runway. As soon as I got off the plane, the stifling tropical heat engulfed me. How does anyone work in this heat?! Anyway, I found a cheap taxi and made my way to downtown San Pedro to stay for the night. Traveling through the city to my hotel was a shocking experience. I had studied in Chile for five months and traveled throughout Chile and Argentina, a little through Mexico. I saw a lower standard of living in these places. Honduras is a completely different ballpark. The streets were broken down. Trash was everywhere. Malnourished, dirty children were in the streets. San Pedro is hot, dusty, and smelly. Diesel fumes spew out of cars and into my eyes and throat. I wanted to leave as soon as I got there.
I did some work on the Honduras conference at an internet café after getting a dark, humid room for the night. I have dedicated most of my time to the Honduras conference since joining the WDA team in Walla Walla after my semester was over in mid-May. The purpose of the conference is to bring together a diverse group of actors that all have an interest in the success of biodiesel. We hope to create a lasting, vibrant and mutually supportive Central American biodiesel community. The conference will provide people with the opportunity to understand the biodiesel production process and create important links for such a biodiesel network.
I have been communicating with some amazing, dedicated individuals through my work for the conference. I love the way information flows organically from one source to another, and through the process I can get a sense of the links and networks that already exist in Central America. One example is Mark Lester from Nicaragua. I’m not sure who Mark Lester is or what he does. He emailed me out of the blue when I began conference work in Walla Walla. Maybe he saw one of my posts on a Honduras or biodiesel related forum. Anyway, he immediately started offering his assistance in contacting community and environmental leaders in Nicaragua about our project. Through Mark’s work, Eduardo Zamora contacted me and I have been communicating with him frequently since then. Eduardo has offered to host a biodiesel conference in Managua, Nicaragua after the one we lead in Honduras. Eduardo responds quickly and thoroughly to all of my emails and he has basically told me he will get everything we need for a Managua conference.
I am so inspired by those who live their lives with such dedication and boundless trust. Mark did not ask for our credentials when he contacted people on our behalf. Eduardo did not ask what we would give him if he were to host a biodiesel conference in Managua, mostly on his bill. These people saw what our intentions and experience were and took a chance. This project has been filled with people who let our group down and with those who promote us and provide for us without asking much. There have been a lot of disappointments, but a lot of successes as well. I see more good than bad in all of our experiences with people related to the project. I feel inspired that people work quietly and diligently around the world for something beyond their own narrow self-interest.
Yet another example of an individual who gives me hope is José Deras. I met with José in Tegucigalpa after my one night in San Pedro. José works in the agricultural resources department of BCIE (Banco Centroamericano de Integración Economica), the main Central American development bank comprised of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. José is interested in biodiesel because there are many plants that yield the necessary oil for biodiesel production. So, the bank would be able to provide financial assistance to farmers for the express purpose of using land for oil production that would then be used for biodiesel production.
José met with a Mr. Starkman directly before we met. Starkman is the liaison to the Honduran president on a government biodiesel proposal. Honduras plans on converting all of its buses to B10 (10% biodiesel fuel) within the next two years. However, José told me that the government plan would exclusively use palm oil from large plantations. This certainly is easier for the government, since much of the palm oil infrastructure is already there. While palm oil may be part of the solution, the Honduran government is the position to utilize a more holistic approach to biodiesel production. There are already many people interested in using much more sustainable crops for biodiesel in Honduras, but do not have the funding.
I told José the environmental consequences of palm oil and he very receptive to my thoughts. He told me that the bank seeks all the information possible before investing in any proposal, so he was interested in Jatropha, Moringa, and other crops that could be used instead or along with Palm. I was pleased to meet with this bank official, in probably the nicest building in Tegucigalpa, and realize how pragmatic and conscience he was. I really felt that he was working at BCIE for the reason their mission statement says, which is to reduce poverty in Central America and integrate Central American countries economically.
I left the morning after meeting with José to go to Xela, Guatemala where the first main leg of our work would take place. Xela has a beautiful downtown area and is surrounded by wooded mountains. The weather changes every twenty minutes, meaning you can get caught in a deluge after a sunny day. The constant rain keeps the air fresh and clear though. I first stayed at a place close to the Parque Central and after only two days Curt and Joseph came to town. I was surprised and pleased to see them. Traveling alone can be exciting and liberating, but it’s nice to be with people you care about and respect.
After reuniting, we immediately got to work with Erick Gonzalez, the head of GuateBiodiesel. GuateBiodiesel is an upstart group in Xela trying to produce biodiesel. They also have links to other groups that we are working with here: Anacafé, a palm oil plantation whose owner is interested in biodiesel production; XelaTeco, an organization dedicated to appropriate, low-impact technology; and Nueva Alianza, a cooperative of 40 families that produces macadamia nuts and coffee. These groups are all doing incredible work and are comprised of smart individuals. I imagine Curt or Joseph will write more about our work with them.
I am still plugging away on conference work in Xela while trying to coordinate with local groups for our next two weeks here. The conference is really developing and already we have a great mix of people attending. There will be people interested in biodiesel because of the unique needs of their communities, like the people of the Moskitia in Honduras where they rely on diesel generators for all of their electricity needs. There will also be people who already have extensive experience with biodiesel, making our conference presentations much easier. Finally, we hope to have José from BCIE and other small micro-lenders, creating the essential linkages between vision and resources.
A brief update of our work from Friday, June 23rd: Curt, Joseph, and Annelle met with the folks at XelaTeco to work on the logistics of building our processor and jump-starting our solar work. Solar is an essential part of our goal of making the production process use as little electricity as possible.
I worked on more conference logistics while also meeting with the Erick Gonzalezes: Erick Jr. to talk about buying parts for a solar box and our biodiesel processor and Erick Sr. to buy chemicals, acquire more used oil for solar testing, and to see if he will attend our conference in Honduras. Like many biodiesel advocates, Erick Sr. really wants to come to our conference, along with another engineer and three students. However, resources are scarce. This makes our work of fundraising essential, so we can provide travel scholarships and ensure everybody who wants to come to our conference can, regardless of need.
We have four more group members! Tanner goes to the University of British Columbia and knows a lot about solar (great timing). Andie, Meg, and Amit all came two days ago to help out. They bought two ducklings yesterday: TinAmit and Hernandez, our new project mascots.